Green lentil soup with lime
This weekend's offering from The Soup Book contained home-made chicken stock, fresh thyme, green lentils, and the grated zest and juice of a lime (I can't claim it was the organic lime required by the recipe). The recipe is from the Pulses and Nuts section of the book. I made it for our lunch today. The slight tang of the lime contrasted with the stock. It was somewhat thicker than I expected - more eating than drinking in it - but very tasty. I wonder should I use more stock or let the lentils cook longer if I make it again.
Nettles
A friend kindly sent me a booklet from the RTE Guide, entitled The Restaurant Recipe Collection. She had marked Michael Healy Rae's recipe for nettle soup for my attention. The Soup Book also has a recipe using nettles, which are in season from March to October inclusive. The two recipes are quite different. Rae's recipe calls for a wider range of ingredients including butter, onions, leeks, celery, potatoes, cream and chives. The other uses spring onions, leeks and potatoes and sounds less rich. It also carries safety advice in handling the nettles: wear two pairs of latex gloves when picking the nettles and avoid wilted and yellowing leaves.
From one stinger to another!
Moving on. While driving home last Friday I heard Philip McCabe on the Mooney Show talking about how bees see. While trying to find the link to that item on the programme I discovered that Philip is one of Ireland's "best known bee-keepers" (follow this link to find out more - www.rte.ie/radio/mooneygoeswild/team.html). Some time last year I heard Philip, Derek Mooney and the team talking to a very confident young boy who was selling honey. Good for him!
"Stung by bees"
On Facebook during the week I saw a notice from the Soil Association about an article by Rowan Jacobsen that appeared in Newsweek in June 2008. The tag line reads: "A mysterious ailment of honeybees threatens a trillion-dollar industry and an essential source of nutrition" (read it at www.newsweek.com/id/141461). Very interesting - more about the dwindling number of bees, colony collapse disorder and the effects of large-scale agriculture.
I don't have the space in my urban garden for a bee hive, but if I did, I'd like to think I would start keeping bees. While outside the Pale during the week, I sounded out my sister-in-law about bee-keeping. No pressure, but it's not going to happen. Yet.
And finally ...
Yesterday I baked a kiwi ricotta cheese tart (see photo). I don't just make soups, you know. I had kiwi fruit left over from last weekend and decided to give the recipe a go. The adult members of the household liked it while the youngest had reservations. That was after I told him there was rum in it. What's the connection from this to the rest of this blog? There is honey in the glaze!
P. S. I have been instructed by the non-bee-keeping family members outside the Pale that the next time I visit I should bring a chocolate or lemon cake or a banoffee pie.
This weekend's offering from The Soup Book contained home-made chicken stock, fresh thyme, green lentils, and the grated zest and juice of a lime (I can't claim it was the organic lime required by the recipe). The recipe is from the Pulses and Nuts section of the book. I made it for our lunch today. The slight tang of the lime contrasted with the stock. It was somewhat thicker than I expected - more eating than drinking in it - but very tasty. I wonder should I use more stock or let the lentils cook longer if I make it again.
Nettles
A friend kindly sent me a booklet from the RTE Guide, entitled The Restaurant Recipe Collection. She had marked Michael Healy Rae's recipe for nettle soup for my attention. The Soup Book also has a recipe using nettles, which are in season from March to October inclusive. The two recipes are quite different. Rae's recipe calls for a wider range of ingredients including butter, onions, leeks, celery, potatoes, cream and chives. The other uses spring onions, leeks and potatoes and sounds less rich. It also carries safety advice in handling the nettles: wear two pairs of latex gloves when picking the nettles and avoid wilted and yellowing leaves.
From one stinger to another!
Moving on. While driving home last Friday I heard Philip McCabe on the Mooney Show talking about how bees see. While trying to find the link to that item on the programme I discovered that Philip is one of Ireland's "best known bee-keepers" (follow this link to find out more - www.rte.ie/radio/mooneygoeswild/team.html). Some time last year I heard Philip, Derek Mooney and the team talking to a very confident young boy who was selling honey. Good for him!
"Stung by bees"
On Facebook during the week I saw a notice from the Soil Association about an article by Rowan Jacobsen that appeared in Newsweek in June 2008. The tag line reads: "A mysterious ailment of honeybees threatens a trillion-dollar industry and an essential source of nutrition" (read it at www.newsweek.com/id/141461). Very interesting - more about the dwindling number of bees, colony collapse disorder and the effects of large-scale agriculture.
I don't have the space in my urban garden for a bee hive, but if I did, I'd like to think I would start keeping bees. While outside the Pale during the week, I sounded out my sister-in-law about bee-keeping. No pressure, but it's not going to happen. Yet.
And finally ...
Yesterday I baked a kiwi ricotta cheese tart (see photo). I don't just make soups, you know. I had kiwi fruit left over from last weekend and decided to give the recipe a go. The adult members of the household liked it while the youngest had reservations. That was after I told him there was rum in it. What's the connection from this to the rest of this blog? There is honey in the glaze!
P. S. I have been instructed by the non-bee-keeping family members outside the Pale that the next time I visit I should bring a chocolate or lemon cake or a banoffee pie.
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