Quintessential Ireland

Today I built up soil beds for potatoes, baked scones, had tea with a friendly neighbor, and passed fields of sheep. Yes, I am in Ireland! The fields really are vibrant shades of green dotted with cows, horses, and multi-colored sheep (the owners spray paint the wool for identification or some reason); the mountains touch the rocky sea shore with ocean shades ranging from Caribbean like turquoises to rich, dark blues; the people love to share stories, of which the dialect always includes a wide range of swear words for added emphasis; and the men really do wear cable knit sweaters, flat caps a.k.a. scully caps, and wellies. The area that I am in is a vast area of unspoilt land and has a quiet and gentle beauty. A place where one can truly undergo a peaceful restitution.

Well, not so peaceful for me while I am working. Yesterday and today I have spent a lot of time in the kitchen testing and developing recipes since the cafe officially opens this Saturday. I have created some winners and some major losers. Lentil and spinach (fresh from the garden) soup, creamy potato and leek soup, and a spicy Thai butternut squash soup are what we have been eating the past few days. Luckily all turned out pretty darn delicious! After two tries I finally developed a successful cheddar and garden spinach scone recipe. Thank goodness the American girl baked a good scone otherwise I may have been stoned! Among the other baking successes were a sweet fruit scone, peanut butter cookies, and raspberry oat squares. I tried popovers for the first time ever, read the recipe wrong, and instead created divinely rich, buttery pop-unders. Put waaaaaay too much butter in them so they flopped, but then again, too much butter made them taste frickin awesome!

Other than my baking adventures and potato bed soil building, I have just been enjoying the beauty of the area. The owner's dogs took me for a nice, but speedy walk today down by the sea and back. Feasted on the visual artistry of mother nature's spring daffodils, hyacinth, and narcissus; and enjoyed the sounds of myriad birds chirping away on a crisp, sunny, blue sky spring day in Ireland. So I must say that the past couple of days were, as they say around here... lovely!