"I like a cook who smiles out loud when he tastes his own work. Let God worry about your modesty; I want to see your enthusiasm." — Robert Farrar Capon

locally caught that day.

i'm quite handy with a hammer.

sheep culling check. we were supposed to see the cows being milked. we were supposed to see some bee hives in action - suits and all. we were supposed to chat with a guy who has an oyster farm. we were supposed to go out on the boat around horn head to catch some lobster and crab. 

it's good to know the locals in a small town where everyone knows everyone. 

however, we didn't do any of the above. luckily though, the fisherman had gone out that morning before the rain and had caught some lobster and crab which he cooked and shared. so, we had a feast. check.

 dilled courgette soup. just caught atlantic sea lobster and crab. melted kerry gold butter with tonsa herbs for dipping. buttload of organic garden vegetable salad. fluffy-floury irish potatoes from the farmer's market with capers and lil' red wine vinegar. 

Fairway's Garden.

after seeing the Campbell's beautiful and abundant garden which proved to me that many vegetables and herbs could be grown and eaten locally in this rainy island - not just sheep and cows grazing on the lush green fields and after experiencing home grown carrots to be much more rewarding than a 1 euro bagful - i was inspired to see what we could grow in our own garden. a quick stop to the local florist in Creeslough, i rummaged around the pots and plants and couldn't help but smile at all the possibilities. luckily for the wallet, it's the end of the summer aka the end of the season so many of the pots were on sale. if my hands could've have carried more i would have, but i managed to pick up thyme, mint, rosemary and a gooseberry tree - much to my delight. i couldn't wait to get home to plant them! i needed, though, something that could be grown and pretty much looked after on it's own since we're only here maaayyybee twice a year, mum sometimes more. i would love to find some leveled land where i could actually cultivate a garden - would definitely require me to spend more time here (shucks) and maybe start up that B&B where i could cook with ingredients grown in the back yard. well, wishful thinking. maybe we will be back again in time to see the fruit of the gooseberry bush. maybe my 4 plants will survive until i'm back again. maybe i'll cook with them before they even get a chance to flourish...

rosemary, mint, and thyme.

my gooseberry tree!

they have a nice view.

and some company while i'm away.

and some encouraging flowery neighbours.

“A lot of people are wanting to see something done the old way,” Jere said. “They’re tired of plastic and modern things and modern food. People just want to taste what an old vegetable used to taste like when people developed them for flavor versus shipping.”

mum just sent me this nytimes mag article about a couple with a seed company of all sorts of wordly varieties who are trying to bring disappearing vegetables back to the table and encouraging people to eat non-modified foods. i'll see what idigmygarden.com has to offer for Fairway!