The last of 2013 before I forget

This post is exactly what it says on the tin. While searching through photos, I came across a bunch from the last few months. Months where I thought I was doing my best and nothing was working, months where it felt like not a lot of my passions were getting a chance because of other things going on in my life. I was uplifted to come across them in all their heartfelt glory today. 2014 has an awesome feeling about it. It's gonna be a goodie!

Here you go....
Enjoy the year and remember, don't sweat the small stuff and enjoy all the little things-they're what surprise you after a long spell of things going wrong and make you smile from ear to ear :)

Quinces from the market in Temple Bar-never seen them before

 

 

Fumbally café brilliance

The best gluten free chocolate cake you'll ever taste

 

Squash-my favourite

Hidden road side gems

Shells café at its best

Storm brewing behind Ben Bulben, Sligo

Nasturtiums and kale from the garden

Roasted garlic squash with piri piri and toasted sesame kale-yum!

Rogue tomatoes that grew and grew

 

Courgette and nasturtium seeds from the garden!

Gorgeous, captivating calendula

Nasturtium salad-the bonus crop of the year

Fresh Dill and nasturtium pods for capers

 

 

Permaculture community garden

Cooking up a storm with Josefina!

Light in Fairview park

Listed building courtyard in the rain in Temple Bar

 

 

 

 

Cozy hot chocolate and cozy soil

Winter hue over the back garden

When I was a kid, I used to squat in the back garden, dig up soil and eat it. There is photographic evidence to prove it. Even in a suburban housing estate garden in a pretty dress, I was mucking up in the garden, getting delicious soil under my nails, smelling the chalky earthiness of the soil and delighting in the flowers and colours all around me.

That photo I'm talking about was taken when I was about two years old. Nearing twenty eight, I spent the day in the cold, in jeans and a pink hoodie , mucking about in the soil again. Icy cold hands, clay dipped nails and very probably smudges of winter soil across my face as I tried to keep my hair out of my eyes.

When I was a little girl, it was all about digging up the soil, making room, digging holes, moving muck from one tidy pile to another tidy pile, wheelbarrows and shovels. Things have changed. I have a lot more respect for the earth this time round. Ever since I was introduced to the no-dig idea and that worms are our friends, my outlook on soil, growing and weeding has been completely transformed.

No-dig is as straightforward as it sounds. The best of the soil is in the top layer. The better the soil, the better your veggies, fruits and herbs so it makes complete sense (to this adult version of the little girl) to look after it. Simply put, start following these steps and your garden will transform.
- Don't dig, let the worms do it for you.
- Worms are your friend, not foe. I'm going to write about them more on the blog but take some in
   your hand and realise they're not gross, they are the best little garden workers in the world
- Give your soil a rest-crop rotation and blankets in winter (more about this now)

Very happy, mulched raised beds

It's the strangest thing when you are used to maintaining a manicured lawn or seeing bare earth fields/raised beds in winter but covering over your soil in the winter months or when they are not being used as much in between crops is the best way to keep great soil. It literally, locks the nutrients into the soil and makes a cozy little space for your worms to do their hard work, breaking down the soil.

Sage, still growing

I spent two hours hoeing the weeds that had accumulated (due to neglect on my end) and collecting leaves that had gathered around the garden and outside the front of the house and simply layering it over the soil.

The leaves, dampened with the rain and with the help of the worms, turn into nutrient, carbon rich superfood or the top layer of your soil, making it easier to work with in spring and highly nutritious for your plants.

Best part? When Spring comes-NO WEEDING! The blanket of leaves acts as a barrier, stopping weeds from growing. It also protects the soil and roots from frost. An hour and a half of your life makes your whole year of planting and growing easier.

My little helper, even in winter

Now for the food.
What could be better after being out in the cold than hot chocolate?
I'm not talking about the sugar fuelled brown much you get in the supermarket. I'm talking delicious thick, cinnamon infused dark chocolate.

My sister and her boyfriend came over to say hello and were looking a bit fed up with the stormy weather we've had lately so I made this beauty:

 

Ingredients:
1 cup of milk (regular/almond/rice) per person
1 large bar dark 70% + chocolate (100 grams or 150 grams if you're looking for your chocolate fix)
1 cinnamon stick
2 tbsp. honey (or other sweetener such as acacia)

Optional marshmallows (they went for these straight away "because if you can't do it at Christmas when can you?")

Method:
Measure 1 cup of milk per person (I made 3 portions) and pour into saucepan with cinnamon stick
Grate the bar of chocolate into the milk and stir with whisk
Bring to a simmer and when  milk is heated through, add honey
Allow to bubble slightly so the milk froths
Put your marshmallows into hand warming mugs and pour hot chocolate over
Sip/Gulp/Devour your hot chocolate but make sure to enjoy every drop, right down to your toes.

Have a look out the window and look at your handy work.

 

Just in case you thought nothing grows in winter... :)

 

Raglan Time

This post is a celebration because it has been a long time coming. Over three years ago, I left a beautiful little town in New Zealand reluctantly, vowing to return. It wasn't all roses over there but I felt at home and I really started to feel like myself, without having to prove it in the first place.

Raglan is a town of creatives, dreamers, doers, practical engineers and manual labourers. What set it apart for me is the connection everyone has to the town, to the place and to the sea. Anyone who knows me is aware of this tiny town on the other side of the world because I have consistently brought it up as I place I want to return to, a place I value, respect, cherish.

In May this year, after scrambling with no job, I moved back to the big smoke to make money and clear the debt once and for all. I am happy to say I did it!! With loving help and long hours at work but I did it. I surprised myself in the process with the realisation that I actually really like my job (as a teacher of English as a foreign language). As winter set in and the garden at home was further out of my reach, I removed myself from gardening, the motivation to look at my permaculture diploma or anything outdoors, sea or garden related.

Big mistake. The last few months have taught me that these are no longer mere interests in my life but essential components. I am a better human being, a happier person when these are actively present in my life everyday. I want to share the food, the growing, the learning, the fresh air and the pull of the waves with everyone but in particular, with city folk. I always thought I would live in the country and I think in time, I will. For now, it seems to vitally important to REconnect city folk with the natural world around them. It isn't enough to sit in a park in your suit on your lunch break.

The connection between food, farm and community is lost and I'm realising that for the next few years, that is my role. I also realised that I have allowed myself to become disconnected in the process. Now I feel a stranger to myself in many ways.

Where is this all going, you ask? Raglan solidified all the little ideas I had growing in my mind about food, sun, surf, community, environment and growing. So I am returning for two glorious months to reconnect with the starting ground and come back refreshed and inspired to make this part of my life truly part of who I am.
I am going to visit the permaculture farms, the local organic salad farm, the herbal dispensary, local family farms, the enviro centre, the eco hostel and talk with wonderful friends again. I am going to reconnect and fill this blog with photos of food, people, surf and sunsets.

This has all been floating in my mind for months but badly damaging my ankle last week solidified the whole concept for me.
My food blog post for today is to live in the moment, not in a hippy dippy way but in a meaningful way. Not only does it benefit you in the long-term but I think it makes you realise if you are really content where you are. If not, take my advice, change it.

Change can be something simple so on a foodie note, take some time for yourself and have a cup of tea. Enjoy those 10 minutes. Relax.

Boil some water
Take the time to pick your favourite mug or tea cup.
Even fancier, get a tea cup and a saucer
Find a quiet spot on your couch, on your bed, in a cosy chair or better yet, in the garden/balcony

If you can, get some herbs from the garden and stay clear of the tea bag
-chamomile, basil, mint, thyme, borage, lavender, whatever you like
Smell the herbs, pick the ones you want, gently, enjoy the colours in the teapot as you collect them

Enjoy walking around and picking something beautiful to fill your teapot.
Cover with hot water and infuse for at least 5 minutes
Play some music, read a book or simply sit in the silence.

Enjoy every moment of that cup of tea.

This post is dedicated to Eileen, my little herbalist fairy and Dee, my smiley lover of back gardens

If you're in Dublin, I can't recommend this magic tea place: Wall And Keogh