Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daoibh!

Yes, it is true,  I do feel jealous of you blog readers who live in a hub of big Patrick´s Day celebrations!

That said we did have some fine fun here yesterday; a local club in the area, situated in an old milk house, had a most enjoyable Patrick´s Day gathering: music, bag pipes, Irish stew, the lot.  AND more, there were lots of people who talked to me... at least 10!   So I was not totally without some Patrick´s Day fun.

The day that´s in it is a perfectly wonderful day to introduce a new aspect to this wild and exciting well read blog. -  A blog with more fans than one can count on two hands.  Oh alright then, one hand.   Hey one lives in the hopes of a following that needs two hands to be counted.  But, this wild new section of the Irish Stew for the Soul, could be the clincher!

Today I am introducing Hausfrau Róisín Housekeeping Tips.  

Now a Hausfrau Róisín Housekeeping Tip could be anything pertaining to managing a home, be it cooking or cleaning etc. Indeed, on days I may be feeling a little bolder, I may even stretch to tips on managing one´s life.  But, it would be running said home/life a lá Hausfrau Róisín. 

The main characteristic of a Hausfrau Róisín Housekeeping Tip is that it would offer the best possible outcome with the least amount of effort/time/cost; and if Hausfrau Róisín gets a few brownie points after expending so little effort/time/cost for achieving said fabulous results - then so much the better!  (Absolutely no cook, or medical professional anywhere has ever recommended any Hausfrau Róisín Housekeeping Tip.)

So to kick off this exciting new adventure, I will give a great recipe AND two tips!

First the fabulous cooking with little effort/time/cost.  

This is a recipe from cook Donal Skehan that I heard yesterday on the Marion Finucane Show on RTE1. (Full details at the bottom of the blog).

Now as chefs go, Donal is my kind of man; he suggests one should  have basic things in the cupboard, the kind of stuff we all know we should have; pasta, spices, sun dried tomatoes, chickpeas etc. With those ingredients always to hand, one can, without too much effort, put together a very yummy meal with the minimum amount of e.t.c.   See recipe below and let me know what you think?

Creamy Salmon Tagliatelle with Garden Peas and Sundried Tomatoes
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Serves 4
300g (11oz) tagliatelle
2 tbsp olive oil
2 handfuls of peas, fresh or frozen
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
200g (7oz) low fat crème fraîche ( Hausfrau Róisín: how about a little half and half milk instead.) 
 A good handful of fresh dill, chopped
75g (3oz) sun-blushed tomatoes, roughly chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
200g (7oz) sliced smoked salmon, cut into strips
Juice of 1/2 lemon, to serve
This is a great meal to throw together in just minutes and it’s really filling. You can pick up sun-blushed tomatoes in the supermarket. They are a much brighter colour than sun-dried tomatoes and a little less intense in flavour.
Alternatively roast some halved cherry tomatoes with a little olive oil with sea salt and black pepper at about 200oC for about 40 minutes.
The Method
Cook the pasta in a large saucepan according to the instructions on the packet.
In the last few minutes of the pasta cooking time, drop in the peas, then drain.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat, add the garlic and fry gently for 1 minute.
Add the crème fraîche and heat through then add the dill, tomatoes and a good pinch of salt and black pepper and stir through.
Finally add the salmon strips and hot tagliatelle and toss everything together until coated.
Serve each portion with a generous squeeze of lemon juice.

Source: Marion Finucane Show Saturday Morning on RTE1.  http://www.rte.ie/radio1/marian-finucane/programmes/2013/0316/376980-marian-finucane-saturday-16-march-2013/?clipid=1032190

 See http://www.donalskehan.com/ for more.

And the housekeeping tips.  Source: MOI

a)  The acquiring of all these ingredients can be a bit of a bore.  But once done, its done and then only topping up required.  I suggest you set yourself a day just to buy the basics AND then plan a big treat (ie bribe) for yourself AFTER the job is done.  I have found the ol´bribe technique works very well on me. 

b)  O.K. so you have made this wonderful meal, its eaten, it was yummy, the cook got the brownie points and now... all those pots to be washed...ugh... Not so.  

Stop and think.  

What pots and pans can you safely store in the oven without washing and use again tomorrow?   I mean why wash out all that wonderful olive oil in the pot you cooked the noodles in, a waste of perfectly good olive oil that is!  So there you are not not washing up, rather creating a ´base´for what ever you plan to cook tomorrow. 

Get creative with your ´bases´ -  but be sensible, do not not wash a frying pan that had a cream and chicken sauce in it, esp if its 90o outside!  - even Hausfrau Róisín has her limits, however tenuous they may be!

 Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daoibh! For the non-Irish speakers among you: Happy Patrick´s Day to you!  

A snowy day in Allensbach

   



So, as I write this blog I am in bed.  Its Sunday morning.  Just had breakfast – in bed.  A wild thing to be doing in Germany I can tell you!  Looking out the window I can see it snowed. If you look carefully, you can see a thrush down by the flower pot.

Of course a walk was obligatory.  One can´t let the sunshine go un-enjoyed.

And of course a few photos were obligatory too.  Enjoy!