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Are You Covered?

05/08/2011 by Kim McGuire

Last month I took the whole family to see our dermatologist, Dr. Brigid O’Connell, who works out of Bon Secours Hospital and her private clinic in Fitzwilliam Square. Dr. O’Connell is a no-nonsense, straight-shooting woman with absolutely beautiful skin. We trust her implicitly.

After looking each one of us over from head-to-toe (literally), the good doctor’s advice was simple: wash with Cetaphil or Rowa’s Silcock Base (when our skin is feeling dry) and wear sunscreen every day. I repeat the later because it’s particularly important…“wear sunscreen every day”.

Ireland has one of the highest skin cancer rates in Europe.  In fact, according to the Irish Cancer Society it is the most common cancer in young people (aged 15-44) and there are over 8,000 new cases diagnosed every year. That’s a lot of unnecessary  worrying and suffering.

Protecting skin is simple. Wear sunscreen with SPF 15 for daily use and SPF 30 or more for times when you’ll be outside for prolonged periods (think beach, golf, tennis, gardening, and hiking).  Protection from UVA rays, which cause wrinkling and sagging, and UVB rays, which cause burning, is important too so make sure your sunscreen bottle offers both.  To stay sun-safe, always apply 30 minutes before going out and reapply every 2 hours or more often if swimming.

Thankfully our visit with Dr. O’Connell went well. If you haven’t seen a dermatologist lately, don’t wait.  Skin cancer is both preventable and, when caught early, curable.

Our family Favourites:
Bull Frog SPF50, Coppertone’s Water Babies SPF 45, Hamilton SPF 50 and Quadblock SPF 70, La Roche-Posay Anthelios SPF 30 and SPF 60, and SkinCeuticals Ultimate UV Defense SPF 30.  Most are available at Dr. O’Connell’s office, at your local chemist or online.

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Spaghetti, S’Mores Sleepover

02/08/2011 by Kim McGuire

Last Tuesday evening was just another night for most people but in our home it was “Spaghetti, S’mores, Sleepover” night. For hours I listened to five girls sing pop songs, laugh, share secrets, play dolls, jump on the trampoline, dine al fresco on the back patio and roast marshmallows (more like burn them to an eternal crisp) outdoors before they passed out with exhaustion in their respective beds. It was lovely, really.

Watching my youngest daughter and her “B.F.E.” (best friend ever) was probably the most fun. While they sat at our little red café table on the side patio, I watched them . At first they were talking and then laughing. Next, one of them snorted and the two of them started laughing so hard they nearly fell off their chairs. I thought to myself “I gotta get me some of that”.

And by “that” I mean “joy”. Life has gotten too damned serious lately. The simple pleasures of fresh air, music, laughter, pasta, a roaring fire and a good night’s sleep are being overshadowed by all the “debt”, “bailouts”, “foreclosures” and “loss” swirling around us. We need to reclaim our joy…remember how to throw our heads back and snort and laugh with abandon. “Spaghetti, S’mores, Sleepover” night may have been organized for the benefit of my daughters but, in the end, I had fun too.  Where do you find your happiness?

Spaghetti Sauce

(Serves 6)

4 tablespoon good olive oil

1 onion, chopped finely (1/2 cup)

garlic, minced, to taste (1 tablespoon)

1 kg of tinned tomato pieces in their liquid

handful of fresh basil

salt and pepper to taste

sugar to taste

Directions

1.Put all the ingredients into a big pot.

2.Simmer uncovered for about half an hour to an hour until it is reduced and concentrated by about one-third.

S’Mores

(Serves 5)

15 Marshmallows

One Packet of Rich’s Tea biscuit or Graham Crackers

Chocolate bars cut broken into small squares

Directions

1.Roast a marshmallow on a long stick over hot coals or a fire.

2. Place a chocolate square on top of one Rich’s Tea biscuit.

3. Next put the roasted marshmallow on top of the chocolate square.

4. Cover with a second Rich’s Tea biscuit and gently press the two biscuits together.

5. Wait a minute for the marshmallow to melt the chocolate and then eat.

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Brown Soda Bread Recipe #1

26/07/2011 by Kim McGuire

Bread baking has long been part of Ireland’s culinary heritage.  The earliest breads were little more than thin oatcakes baked over the fire on an iron plate or placed directly on embers. In the mid-1800’s bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) was introduced and the birth of soda bread, as it is known in Ireland today, was born.

My first introduction to Brown Soda Bread was at the kitchen table of my mother-in-law.  Every week she made a loaf from scratch.  She worked quickly and efficiently, as only a woman who raised twelve children can do, and when the bread came out of the oven the smell was just delicious!

Both nourishing and comforting, Irish Soda Bread is perfect in the morning for breakfast, as part of a sandwich at lunchtime or served with a hearty homemade soup or a green salad fresh from the garden in the evening.

Brown Soda Bread

Makes One Loaf

225g self raising flour

225g extra coarse wholemeal

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon salt

about 450ml buttermilk

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 180C. Put a little vegetable oil into a bread tin and put the tin into the oven to warm.  When the oil is warm, use a pastry brush to get it all over the inside of the tin.  Set aside.

2.  Sieve the two flours, the soda and salt in a large bowl.

3.  Make a well in the centre and pour in most of the buttermilk.

4.  Using a wooden spoon or your hand, stir the liquid into the flour.  The dough should be soft but not sticky.  If needed, add more buttermilk to get the right consistency.

5.  Put the mixture into the bread tin and bake for one hour in the center of the oven.  Ease the loaf from the tin and tap the bottom.  If it sounds hollow when tapped it is cooked.  If not, put it back into the oven for another 5-10 minutes.  There’s no need to put the loaf into the bread tin for this, just place it right on the rack in the oven.

6.  When baked completely, cool on a wire rack.

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Irish American Kitchen Conversion Charts

21/07/2011 by Kim McGuire

I love being in our kitchen.  It’s the command central of our home.  It’s where we entertain (despite the fact we have a beautiful dining room). When friends call-in, it’s the kitchen we instinctively head to for a cuppa and a chat. From our kitchen we can see a good bit of our back garden and the organic kitchen garden and the rose garden.  I can see our drying line out the window over the sink.  On warm days it’s comforting to see freshly laundered clothes gently blowing in the breeze.  Yes, our kitchen is a good place.

If there’s one thing that frustrates me about our kitchen, however, it’s having to do conversions.  By that I mean having to “convert” or” go back and forth” between American and Irish measurements and ingredients.  Depending on whether it’s an American recipe or an Irish one, I find myself sometimes having to whip out a book (or two) until I can find out how to convert or substitute one thing to or for another.  Take, for example, butter.  The American phrase “one stick” just doesn’t work in an Irish kitchen because “one stick” of Irish butter is larger than an American one.  Another example is “caster sugar“.  If you’re an American-in-the-kitchen, “caster sugar” means nothing (b.t.w., it’s “granulated sugar”).

After years of frustration, I finally created my own Conversion Chart which I am happy to share with you.  In our home it is taped to the inside of one of the kitchen cupboards for quick reference.  Hopefully you’ll find it helpful too.

Irish to American Conversions  

1 teaspoon = 1 teaspoon

1 tablespoon = 1 tablespoon

100g/4oz/8 tablespoons butter = 1 U.S. stick butter

15g butter = 1 tablespoon butter

225 ml/8oz = 1 cup liquid measure

1/2 pint = 1 cup liquid measure

110ml/4oz = 1/2 cup liquid measure

1 pint = 2 cups liquid measure

56ml/2oz = 1/4 cup liquid measure or 4 tablespoons

198g/7oz white sugar = 1 U.S. cup

198g/7oz brown sugar = 1 U.S. cup packed

124g/4.4oz all-purpose/plain flour = 1 U.S. cup

Oven Temperature Conversions

¼ gas mark = 110°c = 225°f

½ gas mark = 130°c = 250°f

1 gas mark = 140°c = 275°f

2 gas mark = 150°c = 300°f

3 gas mark = 170°c = 325°f

4 gas mark = 180°c = 350°f

5 gas mark = 190°c = 375°f

6 gas mark = 200°c = 400°f

7 gas mark = 220°c = 425°f

8 gas mark = 230°c = 450°f

9 gas mark = 240°c = 475°f

10 gas mark = 250°c = 500°f

Irish to American Substitutions

aubergine = eggplant

beetroot = beet

bicarbonate of soda = baking soda

coriander = cilantro

cornflour = cornstarch

courgette = zucchini

cling film = Saran wrap (plastic wrap)

caster sugar = granulated sugar, confectioners sugar

demerara sugar = light brown sugar

double cream = heavy cream

icing sugar = powdered sugar

mangetout = snow pea

muscovado sugar = dark brown sugar

plain flour = all-purpose flour

rocket = arugula

single cream = light cream

spring onions = scallions

strong white flour = unbleached flour

treacle = molasses

wholemeal flour = wholewheat flour

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In An Irish Home Exists!

20/07/2011 by Kim McGuire

It’s official…In An Irish Home exists.  Yippee!! I’m probably not supposed to “seem” this excited but the truth of it is I am completely and honestly “tickled pink”.  A very thoughtful friend said she found In An Irish Home yesterday around 3.00pm.  She tried to leave a comment (God bless her – my first comment!) but, alas, it did not appear.  She will try again tonight and you can be sure I’ll be checking tomorrow morning to see if she was successful.  Checking and writing your own blog is addictive…once you get the darned thing going.

Speaking of which, a big THANK YOU goes to the WordPress.com Forums Support site.  When I was worried that somehow I’d made a hames (Irish for “making a mess”) of setting up this blog, I was happy to learn from the WordPress experts that it can take days or weeks before Google finds a new blog. (Wish WordPress had mentioned that in the “Getting Started” section of their website.)  It wasn’t vanity that made me anxious these past two weeks.  If I’d known from the beginning that when you post a blog it doesn’t instantly appear, I’d have been more patient.

A big THANK YOU also goes to Sams Teach Yourself WordPress 3 in 10 Minutes.  It’s a helpful resource for someone who hasn’t a clue what they’re doing (someone like me).  I recommend it to anyone who feels the need to push out into the world wide web and leave their thoughts in a WordPress blog.

So, now that In An Irish Home really exists, I suppose it’s time to get writing/blogging (which is it?). Thankfully there’s always something happening around here.  Drop me a comment when you have a moment.  I’d love to hear from you!

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Memories of Brown Soda Bread

19/07/2011 by Kim McGuire

One of the first visual memories I have from Ireland is of my mother-in-law making Brown Soda Bread at her kitchen table.  Her thin fingers worked the flours, salt and bicarbonate of soda together, sifting them by touch and breaking any lumps that might spoil the finished bread.  Then she’d pour in the buttermilk and mix until a loose dough was formed.  After a few minutes of kneading, it was made into circle shape, a cross was cut into the top and it went into the oven to bake.  An hour later a golden brown loaf would be relieved from the oven and left to cool on a wire rack. The smell was only gorgeous.

My mother-in-law raised twelve children on soda bread.  Stories are still told by my husband and his brothers of the times they went out to cut turf with their father and how they often had cheese sambos (Irish slang for “sandwiches”) on brown bread and a flask of tea for their lunch.  If you’ve ever spent time in the Irish countryside you know there could be no better meal…there’s just something so wholesome, so delicious about it.

Today I make brown soda bread for our family.  Experimenting with recipes, ingredients and loaf shapes is becoming an obsession of mine.  If we’re in America the recipe is always different than when we are in Ireland because the flour differs from country to country. Overall, however, I stick with the traditionalist view of using only five simple ingredients: brown and white flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and buttermilk.* We’ve yet to go out turf cutting (someday….) but when we go hill walking, cheese sambos and tea are what we take along.  In the future I hope our girls will have fond Brown Soda Bread Memories too.

* I promise to post Brown Soda Bread recipes for baking in America and Ireland later this summer!

** Brown Soda Bread recipe for those of you using “grams and ounces” here.

*** Brown Soda Bread recipe for those of you using “cups” measures here.

 

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Tis Time To Be Patient

18/07/2011 by Kim McGuire

It’s been about two weeks since I started this project and little has progressed.  I’m trying to console myself with the “I’m a busy mom, ferrying the kids around to various summer camps and friends’ houses and doing the usual jobs of cooking, cleaning, gardening, entertaining, blah, blah, blah” line but it’s not really working.  Truth is, I thought setting up a blog would be easier and more glamorous…something similar to how it was in the movie Julie & Julia (you know, sitting at a cozy table, handsome husband in the background, typing breezily and then, with the touch of a button, it’s all done).

The fact is you have to know what you’re doing and be patient.  From reading the book Teach Yourself WordPress 3 in 10 Minutes (are they joking?!) and reviewing the forums on WordPress I have learned you can’t expect to instantly show up on the world wide web just because you create an account and write your first blog.  The WordPress forum says it can take anywhere from six hours to several weeks AND you need to have more than one entry.

Have patience and write more than one entry…hhhmmm…I can do both.  Have you got the patience to stay with me?

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Hello world!

26/06/2011 by Kim McGuire

Okay, so…I’m doing this.  I’ve checked out other sites and, so far, haven’t found anything like what I’m hoping to do here.  That’s the first box ticked.  Now for the writing…let’s see…what to say…what to say.  Hold on a minute.  I’ve just taken out a second computer and looked up In An Irish Home (through Google and WordPress.com) and been told nothing exists. How’s that possible?  I’m on one computer typing away and looking at another computer only to find nothing is showing up anywhere.  This may be a wee bit more difficult than I thought.  Thankfully I bought the book Teach Yourself WordPress 3 from Easons in Dun Laoghaire the other day. On the cover it says “Teach Yourself WordPress 3 in 10 Minutes”.  Whatcha think?  Will it work?  I’m off to find out…stay tuned.

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