Ireland, Green and Grand

Castles, Gardens and Rugged Coastline – Ireland’s Awesome Beauty

I have become a believer in the ‘luck of the Irish’. On a recent tour of the southwest of that green island, I lost a twenty euro bill, and found it stuck inside my touring map. A random choice of pubs for lunch in Glengarriff resulted in the best seafood chowder I have ever enjoyed, and, against all odds, I snapped a photo of an Irish castle that will forever be my tangible memory of Ireland.

I had been trying to get a good photograph of historic Dromoland Castle but every time I reached for my camera, the sun disappeared and it would begin to rain.  Not rain exactly, more like a light mist, what the Irish call ‘soft’ weather.

So I had little hope as I headed out in the fog to tour the grounds. An hour later, returning to the castle via a curving path that wound around the famous golf course on the property, I emerged from the trees at the exact moment that the sky cleared and the sun lit up the castle. The light lasted only long enough for me to take a few pictures, before the clouds descended again.  I felt I had been in the right place at the right moment – Irish luck.

Even in the mist, Dromoland Castle Hotel is dramatic.

This five star property is a short 12 k from Shannon Airport and the perfect place to unwind after a long flight.  It’s also an ideal starting point for a driving tour of the southwest of Ireland.

Driving the Irish roads is less intimidating than it used to be – many roads have been widened, and there are modern multi-lane highways that can get you where you want to go quickly and easily. 

But in Ireland, getting there is not the point, and the Ireland you want to experience won’t be found along the freeways. You need to take the winding roads that lead you along the coastline, through the mountains, and into the villages where pubs lure you into stopping for a pint or two and lush gardens seduce you into long walks.

On a drive along the Irish coast this Spring, from Shannon to Cork City, I followed the quieter roads.  With minimal planning and some Irish luck, these roads took me to seaside towns that each possessed a character and a story.

Knightstown, on Valentia Island, partway along the Ring of Kerry, is a tidy little village that borders the harbour.  This is a summer holiday place, with water sports, fishing and boating.  It is best known as the place where the Transatlantic Cable was completed.

You can take the ferry from Knightstown to the Skellig Islands, with Skellig Michael the most captivating. Rocky and forbidding, this jagged island was home at one time to a group of ascetic monks who craved the isolation and austerity that the islands promised, for their spiritual health. The remains of their monastery, abandoned in the 12^th century, are a compelling and sobering vision of the monastic life that would once have been lived here, but the climb up rocky steps can be challenging, and the trip out to the islands can only be made in good weather.  The island is a Unesco World Heritage site.  

After an island adventure, The Moorings in Portmagee is the place to warm up by the fire.  You can spend the night in a room with a harbour view, enjoy great seafood and maybe spend a few hours in the Bridge Bar with a glass or two of Guiness,listening to the locals make music. You could even join in, if you know a song or can carry a tune.

Waterville is a small town further along the coast that boasts one of the best golf courses in the country, - Tiger Woods comes here to golf and fish, silent film star Charlie Chaplin lived here for years, Barrack Obama has visited and Richard Nixon hid out in Waterville House after his disgrace.

“Seventeen U.S. presidents have roots in Ireland,” my Irish friend, Byron, tells me.

Kenmare is a serene town comprised of quiet streets lined with colourful shops and cottages.  There is a stone circle and a haunting fairy tree, under which unbaptised babies were traditionally buried in the past.  Visitors still leave little tokens tied to the trees for luck, and to appease the fairies.

 

“Be careful to speak quietly when you are near the tree – the fairies don’t like to be disturbed, and they are notoriously dangerous when they aren’t happy,” Byron warns me.

In the centre of town is the Park Hotel Kenmare, whose grounds are a gardener’s delight, with green sloping lawns leading down to the bay and paths lined with rhododendron and azalea.

For an inland diversion, head out from Kenmare through Moll’s Gap to Killarney National Park, where you can boat along the lakes and hike the McGillycuddy’s Reeks, or take a jaunting car through the Gap of Dunloe.

East along the coast from Kenmare is Baltimore, where the town’s castle is worth a tour, to hear the story of Barbary pirates who raided the village in 1631. If you take the local ferry out to Sherkin Island , you can tour the ruins of a Franciscan abbey, walk the island or visit one of the two pubs.

In Bantry Bay, in the sheltered harbour of Glengarriff, you’ll find Garinish Island which is home to a subtropical garden property.  The gardens were designed by Harold Peto and are lushly beautiful in every season.  When I visited in Spring, the rhodos and azaleas were in full bloom.

A few miles from the coast, in the country near Skibbereen, is Liss Ard, another hotel gem with famous gardens. This estate, a remarkable mash-up of classic country house design and contemporary aesthetics, is known for its extensive gardens that occupy 150 acres around the hotel. The centrepiece of the gardens is James Turrell’s Sky Garden Crater, a green experience that is both memorable and almost surreal. If you descend the crater and lie on your back on the stone plinth in the centre, your view of the sky and the grassy bowl of the crater’s sides is otherworldly, especially at dawn or dusk.

I stopped in Kinsale to visit the wine museum in Desmond Castle and to sample the seafood and then headed for Shannagarry and Ballymaloe House.

This lovely property near the end of my drive is a quiet retreat, a country manor that feels like home - or how home would feel if mommy were Lady Ballymaloe. 

Each room in the hotel is different and unpretentiously comfortable.  I’m in the Flower Room, with a view of the walled garden. The big draw at Ballymaloe is the dining room, reknown for its cuisine and for its dedication to local products and producers.  The hotel is run by Allen family.  Just down the road is the Ballymaloe Cookery School, run by more Allens, cookbook author and chef Darina and her daughter Rachel. You can take cooking classes, walk in the extensive grounds, enjoy peaceful hikes to the coastal cliffs or plan a visit to the Jameson Distillery for a whisky tasting.

For a change of pace, spend a day or two in Cork, a bustling and prosperous city with its well known English Farmers Market.  The Hayfield Manor Hotel is a serene pocket of gardens and sophistication in the middle of the city, situated next to the university where guests are welcome to walk through the quadrangle and enjoy the campus. 

Blarney Castle and the Titanic Museum are nearby.

And with a bit of Irish luck, you will come back again.

If You Go

While you could depend on Irish luck to help you find your way, the Irish Tourist Board has excellent maps and driving routes, complete with not-to-be-missed highlights, dining suggestions and available accommodation choices. Visit www.ireland.com for more information.

www.dromoland.ie

www.moorings.ie

www.parkkenmare.com

www.lissardestate.com

www.ballymaloe.com

www.hayfieldmanor.ie

www.ballyfin.com

Doing The Mexican Salsa: Authentic Mexican Cuisine

The journey out to Bucerias was torture - a tedious and uncomfortable bus ride, a possibly dangerous ride with a local, and a long walk caused by incorrectly reading our map.
But it was all good once we arrived at My Mexican Kitchen.

This small and intimate cooking school is run by two gregarious and knowledgeable young men, Travis and Edgar, who pride themselves on teaching local  cuisine as the Mexican mothers and grandmothers would -. basic, local and fresh.  We began by making a large jug of agua fresca from fresh pineapple.  This refreshing drink is served everywhere in Mexico, and can be made from one single fruits, a mixture of fruits, or a combinati0on of fruits and vegetables, like mango and celery, for example.

I thought I knew salsa - but no, I only knew the ubiquitous and delicious pico de gallo that is found on every restaurant table in Mexico.
Travis showed us the basic ingredients - tomatoes, onions, peppers and garlic - and then explained that by switching the type of vegetable, or by changing the prep method, you could create  many different variations of salsa.

Switch the Roma tomatoes  for tomatillos or change the jalapena  peppers for habaneros and the salsa has a new character.  You can use freshly chopped tomatoes, or you can boil the tomatoes and peppers, or roast them.  Voila, a new salsa.
Some cooks add lime juice to their salsa while others add a bit of vinegar.  It is a versatile sauce that can be made to your own personal style.
Together we made agua fresca, chilaquiles  rojo, homemade corn tortillas, quesadillas with potatoes and mushrooms, and Sopes.
We ended with Mexican coffee, pungent with cinnamon and dark piloncillo sugar.

We ate well, learned much about Mexican cuisine and ingredients, and enjoyed good company.
This was a very pleasant way to spend an evening, and I would recommend a night at My Mexican Kitchen to anyone who loves good food and enjoys the communal closeness of a shared table.
My idea of a great vacation experience.

My Mexican Kitchen

Bucerias Art Walk Plaza

#62 Lazaro Cardenas Street, Bucerias

Nayarit, MEXICO 63732

Phone Numbers:

From the US or Canada  011-52-1-322-159-0069

In Mexico, from a land line  045-322-159-0069

In Mexico, from a cell phone  322-159-0069

Email: mymexicankitchen@yahoo.com

 

Local Author Celebrates Local Flavours

 

 

Pssst!  Want to know who is growing fresh garlic?  Gourd zucchini? Micro-greens? Heritage tomatoes? ...

Ask this lady.  She'll likely know. 

She's Lynn Ogryzlo.  Here you see her teaching a class on preserves, and, while she does do many cooking classes, her real passion is for writing cookbooks.  Not just your run of the mill cookbooks, but books that are tied so closely to the land they are inspired by that you can almost smell the fresh veggies.

Her first cookbook, Niagara Cooks - From Farm To Table, won the award for best local cookbook in the world.  It is an inspiring chronicle of the people and the farms and producers in Niagara who are growing and making wonderful things for our table.  It's a treasure trove of information on where to get the best produce and the hard-to-find ingredients and who to get them from.  In addition to that information, she supplies easy to make recipes for the ingredients, with the final products lovingly photographed by her husband, John.  Each recipe has a backstory, making it the kind of cookbook that I love, not just a collection of impersonal recipes, but an inspiring read as well as an instructional one.

 
Her follow-up book, Niagara Cooks - A Seasonal Attitude - chronicles the bounty of Niagara through all four seasons, again compiling the stories of the growers and producers who inspired her.

In her next book, she expands her territory and explores the culinary richness of the entire province, in The Ontario Table, again beautifully illustrated with John's photos.

All three are gorgeous books, and they are particular favourites of mine because of the philosophy that is their context - that we should get to know our local farmers, that we should use and celebrate the wonderful things that grow in our back yards, and that we should, in a simple and joyous way, appreciate theexcellent variety of our (metaphorical and literal) table.






You can find Lynn's book at many outlets in Niagara or order them from her website here.

Iconic Dining - Twenty Places to Dine Before You Diet: Part Two

Searching for the best tables in the world? (This one is in Puebla, Mexico) Read On!

Touring The World, One Meal at a Time

Here's the next five iconic dining experiences that should be on every traveling gourmand's list. Let me know if you have dined at any of these, and leave a comment if you would like to nominate a foodie destination for the list.



6.Castle Mallow, Ireland - Dine in your own castle, with staff. Order what you want, but be sure to include fresh soda bread, freshly caught salmon from the Blackwater River that runs past the estate.
A warm inviting home with an engaging staff of family retainers, this fine castle was the 16th-century seat of the Lord President of Munster and the home of this family for four centuries. You may stroll through the eight-hectare (20 acre) deer park, where over 100 white deer roam freely (a christening gift from Queen Elizabeth I to her god-daughter). The 'new' castle, occupied since 1689, overlooks the stately 'old' castle ruins, a national historic monument.


Before dinner enjoy a game of snooker in the billiard room or a quiet drink in the drawing room. The castle can be rented, complete with staff, at www.elegant.ie



7. Eigensinn Farm, Ontario, Canada -Michael Stadtlander's amazing dinner which is a four hour walking dinner with each course taking place at a different station, where he and his wife Noboyu have designed an art installation that matches the food course.

The barbecue is made in the shape of a red wattle pig and the roasts being grilled are from the same red wattles, served with an apple and sage sauce, baby green beans and dumplings with caramelized onions and bacon ( made from the same red wattles) .

That was course #5 in a twelve course feast. Eigenssen Farm has been named the sixth most expensive place to dine in the world by Forbes Magazine.


8. Iles de la Madeleine - The lobster festival every June is one of those dining experiences that seafood lovers should put on their must-do list. The islands produce the best lobster in the world, because of the cold water and the rocky, as apposed to sandy, sea bottom.

Most of the dining rooms are modest, and can be found in the small inns dotted around the island.

The seafood is unbeatable, but the scenery - red cliffs, blue water - is spectacular too.

9.Dine With the Nobility at Swinton Park Hall, Yorkshire - If you time it right, the resident Lord and Lady might join you.

You can watch the white deer run in the park outside the window, while tucking in to a great venison stew. Not really that disturbing.

The historic hall has a cooking school as well, and you can arrange to take classes while enjoying a stay.



10. Tea with a Princess in Beautiful Bermuda - Stay at the pretty pink Princess ( Fairmont Hamilton Princess)one of the nicest hotels anywhere, and be sure to book a room on the gold floor so you can enjoy the lovely high tea each day.

Breakfast is served on the patio in the warm Bermuda sun. Lovely.


And you can finish the day with a "Dark and Stormy", Bermuda's official cocktail
( made from dark rum, ginger beer and lime juice)


So there it is, part two of a culinary journey around the world. Be sure to leave a comment if you've been to any of these. And check in again for part three.

Ottawa for Foodies

Cointreau and Maple Syrup: A Bit of Paris in Our Canadian Capital

Chef Herve fixes the class, arranged attentively in front of him, with his intense blue eyes. He is explaining the intricacies of that elusive and challenging French concoction, pate a choux. This deceptively simple mixture of eggs, milk and flour will, in the right hands, result in those most glorious of patisseries – the éclair, the ‘religieuses au cafe’ or those elegant swans filled with cream that are to be found only in the best pastry shops. Choux pastry, Chef informed us, was invented by an Italian pastry chef called Opelini in 1540, but it was developed and perfected by French chefs.
Chef is explaining, while he demonstrates, that it is crucial to add the next egg yolk only after the first has been correctly incorporated. “Do not over mix. Do not under mix. You will know, if you are paying attention “– ( he stares pointedly at one sleepy student who is having trouble keeping his eyes open) “precisely when the time is right.”
In the overhead mirrors, and on the television screens at the side of the room, we watch as he drops one yolk into the flour and milk and begins to stir.
He holds up the bowl “Not yet”, and stirs again.
“Not yet.” More stirring.
“ Now! It is ready for the next yolk.” And amazingly, we can clearly see that exact moment when the texture of the mix changes from too runny to just right.
I make a note. I will need to know this for the practical class to come. I have made pate a choux before. To be more accurate, I have attempted pate a choux before, with varying degrees of success. This afternoon, however, I will be playing with the big kids in the kitchen, the candidates for the Cordon Bleu who will be out to score big marks for their éclairs and swans. I don’t want to embarrass myself.
The Lyonnais accent of Chef Herve, the fanatical devotion to the details of cuisine, the sparkling white chefs’ jackets with their bright blue logos, - all would suggest a Parisienne kitchen. This, however, is the Cordon Bleu Cooking School in Ottawa, the only fully accredited Cordon Bleu in North America, and one of only two cooking schools named to the list of the ten best on the continent.
Housed in the renovated Munross Mansion on Laurier Avenue, Le Cordon Bleu Paris Ottawa Culinary Arts Institute is teaching students from around the world to master the art of French cooking. The school, which originated in Paris in 1895, got its nme from the 1578 foundation of the Order of Knights of the Holy Spirit. The members of the order wore a medal suspended on a blue ribbon, and their spectacular feasts became legendary. The expression “Cordon Bleu” was later applied to mean an outstanding chef. Today there are 22 schools located in 12 countries. It is owned by Andre J. Cointreau, a direct descendant of the French Cointreau liqueur and Remy Marin cognac dynasties.
There is little doubt that the Ottawa Cordon Bleu is a bit of Paris transported to Canada. The minute you enter the door, the French style is front and centre. The high ceilinged rooms on the main floor are decorated in yellow and blue, with echoes of 17th century France, designed by Le Cordon Bleu’s sister company, Pierre Deux-French Country. It is an elegant and sophisticated space, particularly the small private dining rooms and the award winning restaurant run by the school, Signatures. The building for many years was the University Club, and, in the dark panelled bar, you can see the place where Pierre Trudeau spent many an evening when he was a student.
It isn’t until you enter the teaching areas that you realize that this is also a thoroughly modern state-of-the-art culinary school. The practice kitchens are immaculate stainless steel, with a fridge, stove and work for each station. On the top floor is the piece de resistance – an over the top fabulous teaching kitchen with Electrolux ovens and white tiles whose equal can be found in only one other place in the world – the kitchens of the Queen Mary 11.
I spent a full day at the Cordon Bleu – the morning in the demonstration lecture, and three hours with the students in the teaching kitchen completing the day’s cooking assignment. We were to produce six eclairs, three chocolate ones and three mocha ones, three religieuses, (a small ball of choux place on top of a larger ball, glazed and piped with pastry cream to resemble a nun’s habit), and three swans.
I’d like to tell you that my swans were a thing of beauty. I can tell you that they tasted heavenly, and that Chef Malik, in charge of marking the students in the practice kitchen, tasted one of my éclairs and deemed it to be “quite good.” Also, I was not at the bottom of the class. The sleepy-eyed boy ruined his first batch of pate a choux and never managed to produce even a deflated éclair. However the young girl next to me who looked to be no more than eighteen, and who is obviously on a fast track to her first Michelin star, was finished significantly faster than anyone else in the class, and her swans and éclairs were works of art.
I loved every minute of my day here. It was exciting and demanding, but it is not for everyone.. I know cooks who have taken every cooking class you can name who would love to take the challenge of a day in the company of such dedicated chefs. But I also know some who would be intimidated. For them, the school offers evening or weekend courses, covering things like plate presentation, hot and cold soups, or decorative garnishes. There are three day to four week courses in traditional bread baking and French Regional cooking. It is also possible to just sit in on the morning demonstration and lecture, without doing the kitchen practical. There is a class for every level of interest and expertise.
Outside the class, Ottawa seems to be claiming the culinary crown. I dined in the brand new Metropolitan, a bistro that rocked with energy and style and served an authentic steak and frites to rival any Paris bistro. Wilfreds, the dining room in the Chateau Laurier, is serving exquisite local specialties like Rack of Wild Nunavut Caribou with braised pearl barley and sun-dried blueberries. One morning I toured the Byward market with the executive chef from the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, and learned his secret sources for unpasturized cheese, the best rasberries and the dearest fingerling potatoes. He even introduced me to a woman on the market who sold a slice of fungus from which you could grow your own oyster mushrooms. How French is that?
In fact, these days in our capital, if you squint your eyes a bit, the Peace Tower could look a lot like the Eiffel Tower.

If You Go
Stay at the Fairmont Château Laurier- a wonderful and elegant hotel that is perfectly situated in the centre of everything. Book a Gold room if you can afford it - the rooms are fresh and pretty and huge, and the Gold Lounge is a real bonus. The Byward Market is close by, as are the parliament buildings. It is a not too difficult walk to the National Gallery.
Fairmont Chateau Laurier
TEL (613) 241-1414

The Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Institute
(613)-236-CHEF (2433)
Toll Free: 1-888-289-6302
www.cordonbleu.edu

Via Rail
There are several trains that will take you hassle free to the train station in Ottawa, a ten minute taxi ride from the centre of the city.