On Food & Drink

On Food & Drink

I love Murphy’s, that I do, So…

Tim Loves the double IPA from Ohara’s. And of course Smithwick’s Red, which has forever been a favourite of his. All are made within about three hours of us here.

And I do love Dingle gin also…










Fentiman’s is an Irish company that makes a really great tonic! (though I settle for fever tree as it's readily available)

And Bewley’s a rich and beautiful cup of tea…

Ethne, here at the market in Schull makes the best marmalade I’ve ever had, from Seville Oranges, best that is next to my dad’s.

Local Irish Soda Bread at every market and grocery store, and much of it without wheat, and some without gluten...all delicious. Picture it smothered in marmalade, or for Tim, fresh raspberry jam.

Dinner varies between fresh fish off the boat (we’ve had hake, plaice, dingle bay prawns, monkfish, salmon (which is only farmed in Ireland or Scotland now as there is a moratorium on fishing Salmon in the wild in order to allow regeneration). We’ve made monkfish & chorizo risotto, locally slow smoked pulled pork, which we’ve put on a flat bread with quick pickled red onions and cilantro and a big green salad of organic mixed greens (finally and gratefully found two sources for these!). We have a coal chimney barbecue next to our little pond, and many evenings we’ve grilled local meats, and had our drink to the soundtrack of lowing cattle, bleating lambs and birdsong as the sun gets lower in the sky.












On a day of travelling along the shore of West Cork and seeing all the little fishing towns along the way, we were told to eat at “Eat”, the little cafe at Castletownshend. “Seafood chowder so good you can eat the bowl”, says he, and so it was. As were the fresh crab cakes! And as we were going to castle Townshend anyhow (Tim’s mom’s family) so Tim could connect with his ancestors of yore, it only made sense to have a taste of the castle’s victuals.




There is a market within a half hour’s drive every single day of the week. Some of these are wee tiny markets, like the one we found in Dunmanway, with but two vendors. The fish monger and the bee keeper. So we bought fish, and honey. Those came at the cost of a good chat with the fish man, and a very very long talk with the beekeeper who is selling honey for all the old pensioner beekeepers in the region, so they are able to keep producing and selling their honey.(I finally left Tim to it, and wandered off in search of a few other items we needed, only to get caught up in a chat with the woman at the bank and then the butcher...so)



Other markets have buskers and jewellers, fabric artisans and collectors of bric a brac, cheese makers and sausage makers, creperies & bakeries, and potato sellers! We can always find potatoes!

Ah, so here’s the best of the potatoes stories. While in the market in Skibbereen talking to the Organic farmer at his little stall, along came a man with a few teeth and a big grin and an open tin can full of coin. Our fella pulled some coin out of his own till and put it into the other man’s tin box of coin, they exchanged a few words, and off the other man went. A little while later while we stopped to hear some poetry recited by our man the ever imaginative left wing politico spoken word poet of Skibbereen market (once an electrician but turned his hand to poetry and now makes a living creating wedding poems, graduation speeches and so forth all in spoken word), the other fella came over (mid-stanza I should say) to have our poet also contribute to the tin box of coin. What could this mean? I had to know. As luck would have it we had met the great potato farmer, who brings his potatoes to market and all of the vendors have put in their bid for these ahead of time, so no stall for this man, just a wandering around with his tin can and his grin and Irish tongue to chat. Our poet then pulled from beneath his table laden with words, a few potatoes, which he gave to us. “Boil these up, and just eat them with the butter, salt & pepper, and you will not believe how good they are. Best potatoes you can have” he said,

And they were!








Just a taste of fish & chips, and fresh crab claws along with crab spring rolls.




Just for fun...the woman at our local, and her faithful pup!



Our nearest beach, which on a rare sunny day is heaven, and nearby a crab sandwich renowned among locals here at O'Sullivan's in Crookhaven (every town has an o'sullivan's of course!)





Tim ponders his journey so far...