Posted in Home, Uncategorized, tagged 15 minutes of fame, A Year in Redwood, pig rearing, The Sod Show, Wholesome Ireland on May 11, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Gosh, I cannot believe I’d been a bit remiss about posting in recent weeks…. and then this week I’ve posted everyday! 
So if you missed all the excitement I was on the SodShow yesterday. My 15 minutes of fame!
The Sod Show
The lovely Caitriona from Wholesome Ireland was here for a pig-rearing course and interviewed me for the programme. We talk about pigs, pork and blogging…. go on have a listen in here….
Posted in Uncategorized, Undiscovered Ireland, tagged Meelick Church, Meelick Weir on April 15, 2013 | 4 Comments »
As the crow flies Meelick is only a few miles from us…. but that River Shannon gets in the way (unless you fancy crossing the river by boat), so it takes us about half an hour or so to get there.
Last Saturday, the sun shone, the skies were blue and Spring was in the air, so we went on a mission to bring you some photos of Meelick.
Although I don’t really like boats, in fact if truth be told, I hate them…. I have enjoyed some boating trips on the Shannon, so it was interesting to go the land route and visit sites I had only ever seen from the river.
We stopped at Meelick Weir which is reputedly a great spot for salmon fishing… and I’ve also seen crazy people in canoes going through their paces there!
Then it was on to along tiny by-roads, mostly only one car wide, to Meelick Village. A tiny hamlet rather than a village with a few houses on the way up to the church. It must have been a busy enough place at one time… you could make out which house was the shop and which one was the pub. Sad to see villages like this all closed up.
The Medieval St. Francis church was built in 1414 with Papal Permission – and is still in use today. It is a hugely popular destination for weddings – and you can see why.
The church sitting proudly overlooking the village originally formed part of a Franciscan Abbey. 
However, there are no residents there now but the church and its grounds are still beautifully maintained. Look at that lawn!
We had a quiet wander inside the church. The light was kind of surreal and eerie all at the same time.
As I left the church I spotted this on the notice board. The church may be medieval but hey how’s about this for moving with the times – QR code and all!
If you are around the East Galway area, you should definitely take a little detour to Meelick – bring a picnic lunch and sit and watch the world pass by on the river.
I had to share this final photo with you. Spotted on the ground around the back of the church on a cold bright day in April. It was real, with a long stem and just slightly wilted. I wonder what the story is to this? Had it just fallen there? Had someone dumped it there?
Posted in Uncategorized on November 9, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Have been a bit under the weather this week, and not had much time or energy to go taking photographs…. but never fear! Here’s one of the harvest moon last year!
Posted in Uncategorized on August 17, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Posted in Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged A Pig in Provence, Cheese & Tomato Tarts, Daili, Georganne Brennan, georgeanne brennan, Glebe Brethan, Katzwizkaz, Mossfield Cheese, redwood, The Chef on July 25, 2012 | 6 Comments »
If you’ve been watching along you will know that life here in Redwood has been busy this summer. We’ve had people coming on day trips, visitors for the weekend, and even for longer stays. Now I could say that I’m the hostess with the mostest… but to be honest sometimes I totally struggle to try to produce something different when people come to stay!
My friend, Mary, is the true ‘hostess with the mostest’…. she will always remember peoples likes and dislikes, will remember what she served on their last visit….. me I struggle!
Two weeks ago we had the lovely Daili staying with us (she is responsible for the great photo of the tarts), and then Mr & Mrs. Katzwizkaz came to stay too. So while dinner was sorted… what to serve for lunch??? And then the gods inspired me! Thank you, gods!
I had been planning (but had forgotten about it) to try the Chef’s Cheese Tart.
And then a new book, A Pig in Provence by Georgeanne Brennan, arrived in the post and flicking through it… what do I spot a recipe for a Tomato Tart. (I’ve only today started to read the book, and I know I am going to so enjoy it!)
Decision made on menu for lunch – Cheese Tart with Tomatoes.
I combined the two recipes. We took lots of photos before the tarts went into the oven BUT forgot to take some when they came out….. chatting too much!
Rather than making one large tart, I got a bit fancy and made individual mini tarts.
Ingredients:
Method:
Preheat your oven to 180 deg. C
Line your tins or flan with the pastry.
Apply a dollop of mustard and spread about.
Pile in a mix of cheeses. I used some Mossfield Organic and Glebe Brethan
Top with tomato halves (or you could just use slices of bigger tomatoes). Sprinkle in the thyme leaves, drizzle some olive oil. Season with a little sea salt.
Bake in oven for about 15/20 minutes. I had to watch carefully as I was doing the smaller version.
Serve with a nice salad from the garden and enjoy!
Posted in Friday Photo, Photographs, Uncategorized, tagged Favourite Recipes, Theodora Fitzgibbon on April 20, 2012 | 6 Comments »
Look at what I found in the charity shop during the week…
Does anyone else remember Theodora’s recipes from the Irish Times? My Mum used to cut out the one’s she liked . I inherited a lot of scraps of paper! This was only €2.00…. just couldn’t leave it behind!
Posted in Friday Photo, Uncategorized on August 13, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Posted in Uncategorized on July 15, 2011 | 8 Comments »
Posted in Uncategorized on June 3, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Posted in Uncategorized on May 21, 2010 | 2 Comments »
We figure this guy must have fallen out of the nest. Alfie nursed him back to full health on a porridge like substance made up from some baby duck feed!
The biggest challenge of all was protecting him from the cats!
Nursing a young rook
