making quince jelly - marmelo/membrillo

My granny back in Galicia used to make tonnes of marmelo (membrillo in Spanish and quince jelly/paste in English) when I was a kid. I was always amazed at this weird-looking fruit that we weren't allowed to eat raw, that resembled a cross between a deformed apple and a lemon.

Marmelo was one of those childhood staples, usually given to you in your sandwich with some cheese. At some stage, there was some shop-bought ones in the 80s that were a funky '3-flavour/colour' magnet to all the kids in my neighbourhood. Home-made marmelo was so not-cool...

It is a very Autumny treat as well and some people used to keep them in their closet to keep their clothes perfumed (some people do that with apples too).

So, after a visit to the Gorey Farmers Market yesterday, I decided to buy a few quinces from the Organic shop and today I'm making some marmelo. Here's the process (flexible!):

-1kg of quinces
-500grms sugar
-water

First I wash the quinces, chop them in quarters and get rid of the cores.
Boil them in water (or steam them) until they are very soft.
Pass them through the sieve.
Cook the paste with the sugar
you'll have to keep stirring with the wooden spoon until it feels like it has become a bit solid.
Pour onto a deep tray. Let it set for a few days (covered) and then keep cool (fridge is good) in a container with a lid.

Slice to eat - excellent with cheese.

Seaweed harvesting

It has been a beautiful Autumn day in Co. Wexford today. Mr M and I went for a stroll on the beach near Cahore Point, as many other times. This time we were on a mission though: getting some seaweed (that we could use as manuer) for our vegetable patch. This is the second time we go 'seaweed harvesting' this year, the first one was back in the early spring, and it is quite fun. Although I end up spending most of the time taking pictures than actually getting the bloody things into the bags... maybe I'm just easily amused ;-)

I have been suffering from gardening 'overdrive' in the past few days, maybe because I just joined Grow It Yourself the other week. So this is the first year we are actually going to plant some winter vegetables - it will be interesting to see what happens. Nothing too risky though, so far we've just bought (on the way back from our seaweed mission) purple broccoli, all year round cauliflower, winter lettuce and some garlic and onion bulbs.

As for the seaweed, we've laid it out on the backyard and watered it to get rid of the salt (I read that on a Canadian site earlier this year). Mr M thinks we should chop the long ones but I'm just far too lazy for that. As soon as all the veggies are out, the seaweed goes in... to make it nice and tasty for the winter veg...

The seaweed trip got me thinking about that Welsh bread made with seaweed and some type of bread also made in Co. Galway. The problem is how do I recognise the right type of seaweed??

the truth about salmon

Here's an interesting article from today's Irish Independent on the ethical issues linked to producing (and consuming salmon). It's a tricky one, specially for salmon-loving Irish consumers. With most salmon being produced in carbon intensive farms and fed on fish pellets, is there an ethical way of eating salmon? or should we ditch it altogether? well, that is the question...

http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/smart-consumer/smart-consumer-the-unpalatable-truth-about-the-salmon-on-your-plate-2349411.html

Make your own Fromage Frais

Since I was a child I love fromage frais or curd cheese (requeson in Galego), which is quite popular as a dessert in France and other countries in the continent but not that widely accepted as a sweet treat in Ireland.

Since our friend Gillian is staying with us for a few weeks and her family has a dairy farm in Co. Waterford, she brings some unpasteurised milk every week with her. Most of the weeks we don't manage to drink it all so I decided to give fromage frais a shot for two reasons: there is not much you can do with milk that's starting to go off! and it has been years since I last ate proper homemade curd cheese.

If you don't have unpasteurised milk, I hear it's possible to make as well, by getting some gelling agents at the chemist - but I have never tried.

Anyway, making curd cheese from unpasteurised milk is just so easy. First you let the milk sit in a bowl out of the fridge so it curdles. Leaving it overnight should do, specially in the summer months. In the morning, the milk will be completely set and will look like gelatine.

Traditionally, the next step consists in hanging the curdled milk in a cloth in a cool corner and let the whey drip. For a quick fix, I just put a cloth on a colander and let it drip on to a big bowl or even the sink. After a few hours, the whey will be all in the bowl and the cheese will be ready to eat. Spoon it out of the cloth on to a small bowl. I like eating it just as it is, with some sugar or honey but if you are a bit squeamish, mix in with a bit of milk and blend for a smooth result. Yummy! Mr M and Gillian don't seem so impressed so I'm eating it all on my own.

Feeding the Seals in Howth Harbour

There is such a thing as a free lunch, at least for the seals that hang out by Howth's pier. If you thought you were the only one heading to Howth for a good seafood meal, you were very wrong. The seals get the best deal around though. Here's a video of a recent Sunday trip to Howth with friends Iria and Clara.

that's why they are called runner beans...

the fast and furious growing pace of the runner beans.

Chez Vejlupeck

Wedding number 2 this year took us to the Swiss shores of Lake Geneva (or Leman) to beautiful Nyon castle and the alpine village of Rougemont, in Vaud.

We arrived in Rougemont escaping the scorching heat of Geneva and the mountains were indeed that couple of degrees cooler -just enough to make it bearably warm. The bride had very kindly booked us a room at the home of Pierre Vejlupeck, a chatty Czech-Swiss old-school hippy that could be anything from 40 to 55 years of age, and according to his neighbour, a bit of a charmer with the ladies.

Vejlupeck's is not your average chalet with alpine paraphernalia. Judging by the style and decor of the house, Vejlupeck has instead a bit of an obsession with Tibetan flags, Buddha statues, tea-light holders and Indian mementos. It certainly feels more like a yoga-retreat than a guesthouse in the middle of one of the higher-end ski regions of the Swiss Alps.

Tucked in on a sunny slope just outside the village, Vejlupeck grows his vegetables and hosts guests of all sorts but definitely not your ski-season types. The house is charming, warm and welcoming in a laid back homey kind of way -despite some strict no-shoes-in-the-house rules and other petty things.

Vejlupeck tells us a group of hare krishnas come to stay with him every year, and it's easy to see why. The sheer beauty and quietness of the mountain in the summer, only disturbed by the sound of the cow bells, is so idyllic, so relaxing, it'll tempt even city creatures to ditch their mobile and any other reminders of the outside world. Although I wonder what the hare krishnas make of Vejlupeck's curiosity and constant chatting.

A carpenter by trade, Vejlupeck is part-philosopher, part-spiritual guru: he stresses the importance of manual labour for spiritual and mental well-being; and easily moves on to the posibility of reincarnation, current affairs and the state of the world -all this at the breakfast table after our late night at the wedding reception - and in French!

While we were hoping to catch the train back to Geneva around 11, it had to be delayed, as the animated conversation moved to his rebel younger years in 1970s in Switzerland - if there is such a thing.

As we walked down to the village in the summer sun, I wished we could stay. Mainly for the luxury of listening to the cow bells when waking up in the morning...