We welcomed a new addition to our family last Friday when my sister-in-law gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. He’s absolutely gorgeous and they are thrilled…as is his big baby sister! I decided to make up a few things for her to keep in the fridge/freezer so she would have less cooking to worry about for the next few weeks. Pies, lasagnes and bakes usually work out well because they can be frozen and reheated if necessary.

Raising free range chickens means that we eat a whole lot of chicken around here and this Rosemary  & Leek Chicken Pot Pie is super simple, yet packed with flavour….a perfect reason to make a few at a time to share or to have on hand.

Hope you like it as much as we do!

Slan Abhaile,

Imen

Photo & Styling by Imen McDonnell. Assisted by Sonia Mulford Chaverri

Tags: Chicken, food, foodies, Imen McDonnell, ireland, Leek, Married an Irish Farmer, Pie, Rosemary

Easter is one of Ireland’s most notable holidays. There are so many special Irish traditions which have been celebrated at this time of year throughout  history. Herring funerals, cake dances and the Cludog (in essence, the roasting of eggs on a farm) are all very old rituals that are not as widely in practice today, but are, nevertheless, nostalgic. Another practice that came as a bit of a surprise to learn was the observation of a ban on alcohol on Good Friday. Let’s just say, Easter is serious business around here.

In our Irish-American blended home, we enjoy a mix of traditions.  Richard loves  the big chocolate eggs and we prepare gorgeous leg of local Irish spring lamb for Easter dinner which is a popular Irish Easter feast.

Growing up stateside, we had the illustrious Easter Bunny whom, if we were good , our parents allowed to creep into our home in the dark of night to drop in a basket filled with Peeps, a fabulous chocolate bunny, tiny chocolate eggs and loads of other goodies.  We would wake up in the morning to find a little note under the pillow, which was inscribed with a clue as to where to look for our eagerly awaited Easter Basket.  One clue would lead to another, and another, and yet another, until we joyously discovered our Easter basket treasures!

Another lovely Easter tradition in our home was dyeing eggs with little kits that were purchased at the local dime store. They included little round colourful tablets of dye (that someone inevitably always thought looked delicious), a wire egg holder for dipping and perhaps a crayon. You mixed the dye with vinegar, dipped the eggs and voila! Beautifully hued hard-boiled eggs.

In the past, I’ve kept a stock of the PAAS colouring kits and have hosted Easter egg colouring parties here on the farm for my friends and their small children. The kids coloured their own tiny basket of eggs and then got to go out and milk feed the baby calves, always a treat!

This year, our shipment from American grandma did not arrive on time so we had to be more creative. At the last minute, Ivan Varian informed me that you could use Gorse flowers to create a yellow dye. Gorse or Furze is a yellow flowering bush that grows wildly in Irish countryside hedgerows. You steep the gorse in boiling water for an hour and you will obtain a yellow hue in which to die your eggs. We also used this lovely article from Williams-Sonoma, and decided to try red cabbage {robin’s egg blue} and beetroot {salmon pink} for natural dyes as well. {Warning: when cutting Gorse, wear gloves as the stems are full of hearty thorns-Sonia cut her finger trying to harvest the Gorse from our hedge!}

A Very Happy Easter To You All!

Slan Abhaile,

Imen

Photos and styling by Imen McDonnell. Assisted by Sonia Mulford Chaverri.

Tags: chocolate, Chocolate by Trish, Easter, eggs, Good Friday, I Married An Irish Farmer, Imen McDonnell, ireland, lamb, PAAS, Peeps, Trish Deseine, WIlliams-Sonoma

My very first taste of a warm hot cross bun arrived during the springtime of my second year in Ireland. We were invited over to a friend’s home in the countryside for an afternoon garden party. It was a beautiful sunny day and her husband had baked loads of delicious goodies to share with us. I recall that we all sat perched on blankets surrounded by daffodils happily feasting upon hot cross buns, brownies and tiny slices of Simnel cake whilst sipping copious amounts of Ceylon tea under the canopy of a crayon blue sky.

It is a magnificent memory to say the least, and I was again reminded of it this year when I began seeing hot cross buns in the markets for Easter. I decided I would try my hand at making a batch and perhaps swap currants and sultanas for something a little different.

Hot cross buns are sweet, yeast-leavened, spiced buns made with currants or raisins, often with candied citrus fruits marked with a cross on the top. The cross can be made in a variety of ways including: of pastry; flour and water mixture; rice paper; icing; two intersecting cuts. They are traditionally eaten at Easter in Ireland and the UK.

These yummy yeasty buns are generally not as well known in America, so I was delighted when I stumbled upon a Martha Stewart  recipe for hot cross buns. I substituted sour cherries, toasted almonds and a touch of cardamom to her instructions. The end result is still spicy and sweet and just as special…if not a little unique.

After all the ingredients are mixed together,

the dough is kneaded on a floured surface

to ensure cherries + almonds are distributed evenly

Using a pastry sleeve to pipe on the icing crosses is easy and makes less of a mess

I came across this sweet little tidbit while doing my research on these lovely treats: Sharing a hot cross bun with another is supposed to ensure friendship throughout the coming year, particularly if “half for you and half for me, between us two shall goodwill be” is recited at the time.

Goodwill and Slan Abhaile,

Imen

Photos and Styling by Imen McDonnell. Assisted by Sonia Mulford Chaverri.

Tags: Easter, food, foodie, hot cross buns, Imen McDonnell, married an irish farmer. ireland, Martha Stewart, simnel cake

Last week I nipped into the local charity shop to see if I might find any new styling props or possible furnishings for our thatched farmhouse project. The first thing that caught my eye were three very old chairs with the most beautiful green woven seats. Little did I know, before me stood a trio very old (possibly 100+ years) Irish súgán chairs. While I’ve come across updated versions of this style of chair in America, I was not aware that these gorgeous wooden chairs with seats made from woven twine stretched over the frame had originated in Ireland.

Súgán chairs are crafted without nails and their strength relies solely on the framework design and the mortise & tenon wood joints that hold it together. The final part in the construction of a Sugan chair is an element known as the “weave” which you sit upon. Long ago, the material used in the process was hemp, today it has been replaced by twine.  Apparently, in our area the style of weave used was locally known as the ”Smearla Weave” which is believed to date back over 120 years. More importantly, this type of weave was meant to provide comfort and strength to the whole frame of these Irish chairs.

Notice the beautifully faded green twine

Pulled and woven over the seat of each chair

Such an admirable + time-honoured design

I couldn’t help but wonder……what would these sage Súgán chairs tell us if they could talk?

Slan Abhaile,

Imen

Photos by Imen McDonnell

Tags: design, farmer, food, foodie, history, Imen McDonnell, ireland, Irish, Married an Irish Farmer, Súgán chairs

My name is Imen McDonnell and I am powerless over pizza.

Okay, maybe I’m not quite a pizza-holic, but pizza has always played a big role in my life.  My fondness for this Italian delicacy probably stemmed from my father’s adoration of the same…we’d often find ourselves sharing a pepperoni and cheese from our local, Port Sandy Bay {whom, I might add, also served the Infamous “Snowcoaster” pizza which was prepared on a shiny round snow sled} and it was such a treat. If I was ever home from school with a cold, my dad insisted that I eat pizza and it was remarkably healing.

As years went on, I would always find myself on a mission to experience pizza wherever I traveled or lived. In Los Angeles, Joe’s Pizza was a favorite; in New York I favoured Ray’s…I’ve had a brilliant pizza at BIKO in Mexico City and of course, in Italy…her birthplace, where pizzerias can be found around nearly every corner, but for me, most memorable at the  10 Corso Como cafe in Milan any choice of little pizza cafés dotting the streets of Rome or along a tiny windy road in Positano.  {I’ve yet to experience a Napoli pizza, my father’s favorite, which has been on my list since as long as I can remember}

When I lived in Minneapolis, brick-oven pizza was king and I had places like Punch and Biga on heavy rotation as I was a single professional who often worked late, couldn’t find time to cook at home in the evenings and longed for something healthy that went well with a glass of red after a long day. In fact, if I fancied, I could even have my pizza delivered to me by a superhero which was always divine.

Since moving to Ireland, I have had great luck with La Cucina, a sweet Italian eatery located in Limerick City near the offices of a production studio I worked at for a time. We would often pick up delicious pizzas or pasta for the crew from Lorraine, a friendly Irish girl who married an Italian and created a lovely restaurant together.

When we went to Inishfood in Donegal last month, we experienced Darren Bradley’s amazing brick-oven pizza at his home near the beach on the gorgeous Inishowen peninsula one evening….which reminded me a bit of going to the bucolic Pizza Farm, only with Irish microbrews accompanying our slices at twilight.

It goes without saying that after we moved into our country home, I would have to learn how to make my own pizza if we wanted to eat it on a regular basis. I started searching for pizza dough recipes and after going through at least 5-6 that seemed to have great potential; I stumbled upon this one from, of all places, Modern Country Cooking and I have never looked back.

If you love a super thin crispy crust, this is for you. I make up the batch and freeze or refrigerate half of it. We love getting creative and mixing it up, making everything from Moroccan to Thai pizzas and when there are odds and ends in the crisper after a week of meals, Sunday morning breakfast pizza is the ultimate.

Inspired by Darren’s potato version from Inishfood, I decided to add some of my favorite local ingredients, Crowe’s Farm streaky rashers and Ardsullagh Goat’s Cheese along with truffle oil, minced garlic and fresh rosemary which grows right in front of our house. This particular pizza does not call for a tomato base, but  the crust is just as delicious with passata and the toppings of your choice.

Hope you like it as much as we do!

Slan Abhaile,

Imen

Photos and Styling by Imen McDonnell. Assisted by Sonia Mulford Chaverri

Tags: 10 Corso Como, Ardsullagh, Biga, BIKO, Crowes Farm, Dungarvan Brew Co, Imen McDonnell, Inishfood, ireland, Irish, Joe's Pizza, La Cucina, MArried and Irish Farmer, Modern Country Cooking, pizza, Pizza Farm, Punch Pizza, Ray's