A Thought

As happy as a cat with a fly...

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (ok plastic)

Roisín is learning how to wind me up very fast ! Every time she ran around - she knocked the cold condesation down onto me argghh

No sliding here - claws are great for mountain climbers ! Imagine what they do to my tunnel :(

Dex watched and said nothing....

And then - Oh such sweet revenge - She couldn't get down ! I had to lift up a bucket for her to climb into and bring her down...

First Spring Colour in the Garden

These are a few strawberries and radishes that I grow in the tunnel - means I get to eat them earlier !

You can see a small row of early carrots too hidden in between if you look carefully...

Later on this bed will be full of cucumbers, basil, coriander and tomatoes mmmmmmm

These are 8 Patty Pan (scallop) yellow squash plants - this photo was taken about a week ago or more - now they are bigger and potted up into larger pots. When the frosts are gone I will plant a few outside and a few in the tunnel (I cover all bases).

Salmon & Spinach Pasta Bake

I was hungry for something really tasty and made this from bits and pieces I had in the kitchen and freezer. It was a week where needs must and I couldn't go out and buy extra ingredients...

I used organic salmon from my freezer, which I buy from the fishmonger in Kilcolgan called Kelly's (Michael Kelly). They are a local family who have fished for generations. They're next to Mother Hubbard's and have parking right outside ! Telephone (091) 796120. http://www.kellyoysters.com . Email:  kellyoysters@eircom.net

I just threw everything in really, and so these quantities are what I suspect I used. Feel free to adjust them to your own taste.

1 large Salmon darn (steamed until cooked and the flesh stripped from the skin)

4 good handfuls of baby Spinach leaves (normal spinach would be fine, maybe chop it up a bit)

A few mushrooms, chopped up

Half an Onion, chopped small

1 teaspoon ready made English Mustard

4 cups Pasta (use the spiral ones)

3 tablespoons Plain flour

About 4 cups Milk

3 ozs Butter (salted)

Sea Salt

Freshly ground Black Pepper

Cheedar Cheese (grated)

1.   Cooked the pasta and drain it well. Put to one side.

2.   If you haven't already, steam the salmon until nicely cooked. Then remove the flesh from the skin and flake it.

3.  Make a roux.  Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan.

4.  Mix in the flour until well blended, then heat gently for a couple of minutes.

5.  Take the pan off the heat and add the milk a small bit at a time, whisking each time until it is smooth.

6.   When all the milk is added, return the pan to the heat and slowly bring the mix to the boil, whisking almost constantly to stop lumps forming.

7.  Add salt and pepper to the white sauce to taste.

8.  In a frying pan fry the onions and mushrooms (chopped small) until they are nicely cooked and soft.

9.  Add in the salmon, English mustard and spinach. Fry for another 2 minutes.

10.   In a large bowl mix the white sauce, the salmon and onion mix and the pasta all together. Adding salt and pepper to taste.

11.   Put the whole lot into an overproof dish. Grate the cheese all over the top. Grind a little pepper over the top too.

12.  Bake in an oven at 175C for 30 minutes, or until the cheese has changed colour but not burnt !

Shopping Trip to the Kerry Mountains

This was the first real close up sight of Kerry's MacGillycuddy Reeks as we headed south towards Killarney.

They are called Na Cruacha Dubha in Irish, meaning The Black Stacks. However, today they were far from black. In fact they were all white and looked magnificent.

We had driven down as my mate John was buying a new toy. Once he had paid for it, he suggested I get behind the wheel (mad mad man) and I drove straight up into the mountains, out of Killarney.

Believe it or not, John had never been to Kerry before. So I got to be tour guide as I had previously lived down on the south west coast for a few years and am very familiar with the area.

We stopped for a coffee (I had hot chocolate as it was a tad chilly) at Lady's View. The above photo is the view from in front of the cafe and shop (the only thing up there apart from plants and rocks). It looks down over the lakes towards Killarney.

The whole place is just stunning...

Hmmm who said leprechauns weren't real ?

Last but not least - this stunning beauty was the reason for our trip.

It's a 2002 Land Rover Freelander 2 litre TDi...

And I want one !!!!!

I opened the savings account this morning :o)

My First Radishes of 2010

Well here they are at last - Today I pulled my first radishes of 2010, in fact my first summer salad veg of the season !

These were grown in well manured soil in the polytunnel, in between new rows of Cambridge strawberries (I'm after an early delicious crop).

The donkeys love the radish tops, so they are yet another part of the recycling process - they eat the radish tops, they create manure, it rots and dries, and then I use it a year or 2 later on the garden and raised beds...

Below is today's organic lunch (or was as I have eaten it all about 2 hours ago). I'm afraid only the radishes were from my garden.