Oysters and Phony Baloney
on Nov 13, 2009 in oysters Oyster Culture I’ve shocked myself and passed my one year of blogging, and I confess the actual start date is a bit muddled by a few false starts before I fully committed in November of last year.  I am shocked, because if you told last year,...

Irish Pubs – Get Your Craic Here
on Nov 8, 2009 in Ireland United Kingdom culture libations traditions craic pubs United States Temple Bar When I lived in London, pubs were my “go to” spots, primarily because I barely knew a soul.  I found I could go to most any pub, grab a pint and a meal without feeling the least bit awkward.  In the pub, I never felt obligate...

When is bread more than bread?
on Nov 1, 2009 in Italy Mexico Portugal United Kingdom United States celebrations country culture religion traditions bread food France Germany Sweden Thailand bread at Temple Bar Market A topic  smoldering in the back of my mind for some months as I’ve seen variations on this theme for months because of numerous holidays. When is bread more than bread?  Or perhaps a bit more generally, when do bake...

Special Ingredients: Curry Leaves
on Oct 30, 2009 in Special Ingredients spices curry This post continues the Curry series I started with: Britain’s National Dish is… and Curry, A World Traveler I am continuing my exploration of these them and future posts will cover curry beyond, India and Britain.  Like Salad Oliveh th...

Champagne bubbles in Mendocino County
on Oct 20, 2009 in california celebrations libations wine Calfornia Mendocino Vichy redwoods in Medicino My husband and I celebrated our anniversary last week with a weekend getaway to Mendocino County.  My husband planned the event, keeping me in the dark until we were about 15 minutes from our destination.  Until that moment, he...

Sweet Memories, Good Times, and Something to Share (Ireland)
on Oct 15, 2009 in Ireland family travel friendship A few of my fellow bloggers have recognized my blog and I want to say a belated “thank you” to Sophie at Sophies Foodiefiles (an incredibly talented chef who hails from Belgium, and from whom I continually get inspired). Gera from SweetsF...

Boo! Its Trick or Treat Time
on Oct 9, 2009 in Ireland United States candy country culture Halloween Mexico pumpkin Spain United Kingdom its time to dress up! Halloween is fast approaching.  I know because I just spent a few days with my niece and I got the details on this much anticipated holiday from her costume (a garden fairy) to the fact that old people do not wear costumes (she...

Giving Thanks with Mooncakes
on Oct 3, 2009 in China celebrations food history celebration mooncakes Zhu Yuanzhang (image from history.cultural-china.com) Imagine you are Zhu Yuanzhang living in the 14th century, and are of the Han tribe of China.  You are tired of  living under an oppressive Mongolian overload of the Yuan Dynasty, and desperate t...

Arthur’s Day: 250 Years of Guinness
on Oct 1, 2009 in Ireland libations travel beer Dublin Guinness porter Ennis pub I never appreciated the strong connection that the Irish had with Guinness, until my recent trip to Ireland, and saw the anticipation leading up to Arthur’s Day on September 24, 2009 – a celebration of 250 years of Guinness.  I...

Arthur’s Day: 250 Years of Guinness
on Oct 1, 2009 in Ireland libations travel beer Dublin Guinness porter Ennis pub I never appreciated the strong connection that the Irish had with Guinness, until my recent trip to Ireland, and saw the anticipation leading up to Arthur’s Day on September 24, 2009 – a celebration of 250 years of Guinness.  I...