Category Archives: Review

Veganuary. What I’ve learned so far…

I’m more than half way through Veganuary now and so far so good. Here some of my surprising observations, other than it being an easy way to wean yourself off cake and beer after Christmas..

Sprout breakfast
Sprout breakfast
Breakfast on the run
Breakfast on the run
3FE Brunch
3FE Brunch

It’s not the meat that’s the hard bit – it’s the dairy.

Meat and fish are surprisingly easy to cut out. That’s the straightforward bit. But the dairy, oh the dairy! Normally not eating meat I’d throw in a bit of cheese. Feta would solve a lot of problems. Or eggs. But these options are obviously gone. Then there’s also the not so obvious. The most bizarre things have milk in them – like dry roasted peanuts?! There is a lot of labelling reading and googling while shopping. But probably what I miss the absolute most is my daily flat white. Almond, soy, rice milk – they don’t cut it. They’re not meant to be served heated. Not to mention that fact that they are mostly water. A flat white is what I long for not bacon or steak like I originally thought it would be…

You really have to think before you drink

I knew Veganuary would mean laying off my favourite whiskey sours (made frothy with a little egg white). But I hadn’t factored in that most wine and beer are not vegan. These alcohols are filtered through fining agents to remove protein, yeast, cloudiness etc can involve anything from casein (milk protein) to chitin (fiber from crustacean shells), egg albumen (derived from egg whites), fish oil, gelatin and isinglass can be used. Thankfully there are lots of newer winemakers that are vegan-friendly using plant casein, limestone or silica gel for this process. You just have to do more label reading. If it’s vegan friendly it will say it. O’Briens have a really good selection and I picked up a few bottles in Dunnes Stores. I also called ahead at Forest Avenue the other night and they had two really good wines to choose from. Oh and Guinness is fully vegan as of last year so that’s keeping me fairly happy.  

At Forest Avenue
Guinness at O’Briens
Vegan friendly from Dunnes Stores

You have to be organised

It does take some planning to eat well and enjoyably as a vegan. We were filming just outside of the city the first week, in an beautiful location where the was food delightfully homely but everything had meat or dairy. I ended up eating a wrap with just cucumber, peppers and lettuce, toasted. No sauce, oil, nothing. The lady who made it said ‘Don’t choke on it now, I’d hate that to be my last meal’ as she looked at my ravenous face…

I learnt my lesson – call ahead! Most places are happy to accommodate with a bit of notice. Last week was much better. I had an incredible experience at Forest Avenue where they not only had a vegan tasting menu available the chef also sent us out a few extra tastes and mine were all vegan. Not once did I feel awkward. And the food was amazing. 

You will eat better

There’s no way around the fact that you’re going to eat a lot more plants. And more lentils, beans, nuts, seeds – all those things you usually buy and then forget about and you end up spilling all over the cupboard (maybe that’s just me). By default you won’t eat as much baked goods, mostly full of dairy and eggs. I’ve had a weird amount of birthdays so far in January and not had ANY cake. The most painful being TWO pavlovas in my house in one week. (Thanks Halina). And as I said there is a lot of label reading so you’re going to think more about what’s actually in everything you are eating. You start to make different choices. 

Veganism is not as funny as it seems

I’ve been having serious guilts about how mean I may have been to vegans and vegetarians. Admittedly some the jokes are still funny (the one about the vegan on a plane, no?). It think it’s still funny because you actually have to say ‘I’m a vegan’ a lot when you are eating vegan. And then explain/ apologise about not eating animal products in so many situations – coffee shops, bars, restaurants, tea break at work, birthday parties. And then people make really unfunny jokes. That’s not great. I will definitely be more selective with my vegan humour going forward…

These things will really help

My vegan discoveries & saviours. Admittedly my list is probably very Dublin focused but might be some good ideas!

Happy Pear sundried tomato pesto – on toast, pasta, sweet potato, pretty much anything

Coyo yoghurt – super tasty on breakfast & desserts

Cocu boxes – you can substitute any meat for tofu. Easy vegan on the go.

Natasha’s and Nobo – the best vegan treats

Keen vanilla almond butter – when nothing but sweet will do

Instagram – I’ve had so many supportive messages & following #veganuary hashtag is great for ideas and advice

Happy Veganuary!

Flying the flag for Irish Food #COYBIG

I’ve had to whisper this the last few weeks but (shhhhh) I’m not a rugby fan. I’ve felt distinctly unpatriotic avoiding the games with excuse after excuse. So, in a way to make up for it, I want to draw attention to some other boys in green, well sort of…chefs that are flying the flag for Irish food. They are taking our favourite hearty Irish foods and making them into world class dishes. Two of the best meals I’ve had recently and perfect examples of this and randomly have been Irish meals in London…

Mark Moriarty cooking at Selfridges, LondonMark dinner 2

Rising young star, Mark Moriarty, recently beat global competition to win the hugely prestigious San Pelligrino Young Chef of the Year competition in Italy, representing Ireland and Britain. With experience in The Ledbury and Restaurant Tom Aikens in London and Dublin’s Thornton’s and The Greenhouse he has had some stellar training and it shows in his cooking. I was lucky enough to sample his recent pop-up dinner in Selfridges in London where I was blown away by his take on traditional Irish dishes…

Mark Moriarty Dinner

Not only did this whole meal taste insanely good Mark also popped out in between each course to talk about the food. The Irish-ness was in the stories as well as the ingredients. The canapé served in a scallop shell inspired by ashtrays you’ll find in pubs all over coastline, the crispy potato skins of his youth, comparing cooking his now signature ‘Lamb in Hay’ to Blur always having to play Country House (It was just after Electric Picnic). His take on bacon and cabbage was somehow a million miles away from the dish we grew up with but also tasted exactly as it should. It was nostalgia at it’s tastiest and incredibly executed.

Mark will be cooking his first dinner in Dublin since winning Young Chef of The Year as part of Taste City Fusion on Friday 23rd October. It’s a Medieval menu he told me was part inspired by Heston Blumenthal’s medieval menu at Dinner. Along with his DIT mentor & head of culinary arts Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire he delved into Irish medieval food history along to devise what I’m sure will be a stunning four course feast. 

Richard Corrigan at Bentley’s, Londonrcgarden1

Meath native Richard has been flying the flag for Irish food for longer than most having won a Michelin star at his original London restaurant, Lindsay House back in 1997. I remember eating there back in 2004 and ordering his star dish crubeens and thinking this is pretty cool. An Irish chef cooking this dish right in the heart of Soho. He went on to be a winning chef Great British Menu three times and consequently was thrust into the limelight as an Irish food ambassador. And boy is he good at it.  From the seaweed butter at the beginning right through to the petit fours I had a list of questions to ask the chef about various tastes and ingredients that blew me away. And you know what the common theme was? Irish ingredients! Here’s a recap of what I had….

Richard Corrigan Lunch

The mussels were the best I’ve ever eaten, big, juicy, tasty. And what really stood out was the broccoli – yep. You could smell the broccoli over the steak, sauces, over anything else. And Richard proudly told me that’s because he grew it himself in Cavan. He’s taken over the beautiful Virginia Park Lodge and has been bountifully growing his own fantastic produce for his restaurants. 

I also want to give a shout out for the chefs that are coming home and doing great things in Dublin. I’m thrilled to see that Paul McVeigh has put away his passport (he was travelling the world cooking with golfer Rory McIllroy) and has now opened super cool steak restaurant on Dawson Street Featherblade and I’m waiting with baited breath to see what ex- London chef (Harwood Arms) Barry Fitzgerald will serve up when he opens his new spot Bastible in the next few weeks in Dublin. #COYBIG

My lunch in Bentley’s was thanks to a trip with Cityjet on their inaugural Cork to London flight. 

A long weekend in Lyon

A recent visit to Lyon reminded me of a well used rom-com cliche. The one where the lead character thinks they are in love with the hot/ popular/ perfect guy or gal but it’s really the over-looked, less flashy or friend character that’s really the ‘one’ (think Clueless, Bridget Jones, The Duff). I was convinced Paris was France’s best city. After all it’s got all the fame, the glamour, the fashion, the reputation. And Lyon? Well I didn’t know much about it other than it was very old and rumours it was ‘the gastronomic capital of France’ but surely this was just a marketing ploy dreamed up by their tourist board. Could it measure up to a city like Paris?

Lyon profilerWell Oui! is the answer. Lyon is most definitely not to be overlooked for it’s flashy sister. Here are my highlights…

Dinners

Oft cited as the gastronomic capital of France and even the world dinner in Lyon does not disappoint. It’s packed full of ‘bouchons’, brasserie style restaurants serving traditional Lyonnais cuisine and Beaujolais wine. There is a wonderful accessibility and affordability to eating out. None of the fear you might have in Paris about eye watering bills or the risk of being served mediocre ‘tourist’ food. Even the most obvious of tourist places seemed to be serving up decent enough fare. We were lucky to have our choices carefully curated by our travel companion Matt Vines. The brief each day was simple. Within walking distance of our apartment, fairly affordable (so we could be more generous with our wine flow) and some what ‘French’. He did good. Here’s some of what we ate:

dinners Lyon

Brasserie Leon de Lyon

Literally a stones throw from where we were staying was Brasserie Leon de Lyon where renowned Lyonnais chef Jean-Paul Lacombe has turned his Michelin-starred gastronomic restaurant into a relaxed brasserie – same 1900’s decor, same impeccable service but more affordable prices. A brilliant intro to the Lyon dining scene, we ate tartar, terrines, cold meat plates, tartine. It This was the first & best steak tartar of the trip – beautifully minced Charlois beef, seasoned like the perfect hamburger would be. I can still taste it. Wonderful decor (the wine cellar/ toilets are not to be missed) and fantastic outdoor seating.

Brasserie Georges de Lyon

On night two we ventured a little further to Brasserie Georges de Lyon the oldest brasserie in the city and one of the largest in Europe. The menu here is really traditional, we tried Burgundy snails, more tartar, Provençal fish. Not spectacular but still all very good. Perhaps the highlight here is theatre of the place, from the sheer size of the room and the history to our waiter mixing the tartar at the table and each time a birthday dessert was brought out (maybe 7 times while we were there) the gruff waiters dim the lights and play ‘Happy Birthday’ on a old school crank organ as the whole place joins in.

Le Nord

Lyon is home to famed chef Paul Bocuse and his Michelin three starred restaurant l’Auberge du Pont de Collonges. We didn’t make it there on this occasion (next trip for sure) but did enjoy an excellent dinner at one of Bocuses’ brasseries Le Nord. The elegant room and crisp white linen set the tone for what my favourite meal in Lyon. The menu was (and I hate to use this word) but it was mouth watering with even our waiter unable to pick his favourites because it was all so good. We ate sardines, veal escalope, Boudin Noir, their famous chicken casserole and a lot of the table were swayed by the macaroni cheese which despite being brought to the table piping hot, disappeared in record time. For dessert, devastated that the cherry clafoutis was sold out, we ordered a classic chocolate fondant which had barely landed on the table before another was promptly ordered. Effortless service and some of the best wine we tried. A must visit.

Shopping, Old Town & Sightseeing

March Saint Antoine

Closest to us and I believe one of the best markets in the city, was the Marché St.-Antoine on Quai Saint-Antoine. It stretches across two quay’s full of fresh local produce, all the ripe cheese, bread, pates, meats you would imagine in a typical French market, pungent smells, briny oysters, roast chickens and fantastic fruit & vegetables. Open from early morning 4 or 5 am, the chefs of the city shop here, so you know it’s going to be good. We loaded up here one morning and then headed to the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, to enjoy a well deserved feast – there’s some 600 steps on the way up but well worth it to drink in the spectacular views of Lyon and surrounds, as far the snow capped Alps in the distance.

Do make sure to bring walking shoes. Simply strolling around the city is some of the best sightseeing I’ve done. Full of fascinating historical and architectural landmarks and a UNESCO World Heritage Site you won’t be short of Instagram moments, my favourite being the ‘traboules’. These are hidden behind open and closed doorways all over the old city, a mix of medieval and renaissance passageways towers and courtyards that are well preserved and kept open to the public. Watch out for gold plaques as you walk around or even just open doorways. Make sure you find 54 Rue Saint Jean and follow it through to Rue de Bouef where you’ll find a quieter and so somehow more authentic part of the old city.

Lyon

Coffee

Usually my first bit of research when planning a trip is securing a good coffee spot. Luckily Cafe en Boit (The Box Cafe) serving locally roasted Mokxa coffee was just up the road from our apartment on the slopes of the Croix Rousse right in the creative district. Nab a stool outside for some nonchalant people watching and order from their extensive speciality coffee menu – V60 filter, cold brew, Aeropress & espresso. They also do some snacks and superb pastries from Konditori

Wine & Bars

You’ll be hard pushed to drink bad wine here but it’s handy to know the essentials when ordering. Lyon has some of the best wine growing regions in the world on it’s door step – Burgundy, Beajoulis & Rhone Valley, so it makes sense to stick to local bottles. The wine shops here are a wealth of information too and in many of them you can taste in store. I’d recommend doing this your first afternoon and get to know your terroirs. We had very informative and tasty afternoon at Le Jeu de Quilles and I also came across Antic Wines which had a fun tasting in full swing when I popped my head in. Remember when you’re eating out that the 30-40 euro bottles of wine would probably cost you double that at home so don’t be afraid to climb up the list a little. You’re making a saving after all…

Try to ignore the tourist traps scattered in the busy squares and seek out the less obvious Lyon bars. We whiled away a very pleasant night at La Cave Des Voyageurs on the edge of the Old Town. We did have to remind ourselves that French service is different than what we are used to and you do need to relax into it. Ask for recommendations from the seemingly curt sommeliers and they soon warm up and treat you like one of their own.

For apertivo seek out Broc’Bar a small neighbourhood spot that drew us in from first glance because of the most welcoming shaded terrace beneath a majestic mulberry tree. Open from morning (although it’s seems breakfast is just espsresso & cigarettes) right through the day this place is consistently busy with louche European types draped in their bright red & yellow chairs sipping on espresso and Aperol spritz, gesticulating and smoking over over passionate conversations. So French.

Accommodation

We used Airbnb – I’ve become a bit of an addict, not just because it’s such good value but also because you end up in places like this apartment it was exactly what you would dream a French city apartment might be. Ceiling to floor windows, light filled, wooden floors, chic decor and even a piano. it was right by Place des Terreaux, a square dating back to 1206, surrounded by fountains & museums and perfectly central for exploring the city. There are plenty of charming listings on the site for Lyon.

Lyon apartment

The Rest

There are many more unmissable places. Make sure you take a read of all Eat Like A Girls Lyon posts as well as taking a look at these pieces

Lucky Peach guide to Lyon by Brette Warhshaw 

Michel Roux Jrs Lyon 

The Guardian Top 10 Restaurants in Lyon

Lyon – The Irish Times 

Eveleigh (SUPER) Market & easy suppers

It's fun to shop!

Remember when the supermarket was fun??? When there were free tastings on every aisle and pushing the trolley provided an inordinate thrill?  Alas those days seem long gone, 20 years later and paying for my own groceries, the supermarket is where I head for boring basics, BOGOFs and cheap booze.  So where to look these days for foodie shopping thrills? Why the ubiquitous farmers market of course!

Now I know this idea is nothing new – I’ve been swinging my eco bag full of sourdough, Comte and venison sausages as long as the next person.  But, the goodthing about the ridiculous price of groceries in Sydney is that it means shopping at the local farmers market is much of a muchness price wise so you may as well grab your hand woven Moroccan basket (Oh and maybe a dog and a pair of Wayfarers), bypass Coles and Woollies and head down to your local market. You will not be disappointed, and I can guarantee the coffee be better.

To market, to market - photo from Eveleigh Markets

Last Saturday I left behind the supermarket shiny floors and noisy plastic bags and headed what I’m told is one of Sydney’s best – Eveleigh Farmers Market, where you can pick up local fruit, vegetables and meat galore straight from the farmer, a cheese tray of delicious Australian fromage for $10 and my favourite bargain a tray of  organic eggs for $5.

Here’s a few quick notes/ recipes from the bounty – a lovely roast organic chook, amazing roast beetroot and a quick 30 minute recipe for lamb leg that is fast becoming a mid week staple…

Poultry emotion....

EASY ROAST CHICKEN

You will need –

A lovely bird – mine was from Thirlmere Poultry at Eveleigh

Butter or oil

Salt & pepper

And if you have them – Lemon, garlic, thyme and a handful of veg (carrots/ celery/ onion)

And now for the easy part…

Turn your oven on to 220c. Chop up some veg and pop it in a baking tray to make a trellis to sit your chicken on. (Then the juices with gather here if you want to make a gravy and the veg with taste amazing)

Remove the giblets from the chicken if they are in there and run your chicken under cold water to wash and then pat dry with a towel.

Smother your bird in butter or olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.Fill the cavity with a lemon chopped in half, a head of garlic chopped and a bunch of thyme or any hard herbs you may have.

Cross the legs and tie them closed if you have string, I’d run out the day I did this so my bird was a little loose…still delicious though!

Birds eye view

Put the chook in the oven at 220c for 10 mins then turn it down to 180 and cook for about an hour and 20 mins depending on the size. I usually do 10 minutes on high and then reduce to 180c and cook for another 20 minutes for every 500g of bird. You can check it’s cooked by sticking a knife into the crease by the leg, if the juices run clear it’s cooked.

Remove from the oven, cover with foil and leave to rest for at least 20-30 minutes. It will stay hot. Then carve up and enjoy…

ROAST BEETROOT

Let the beet rock

So easy – cover the beetroot with cold water and boil until soft enough for a knife to go through (usually about 25 – 30 minutes). Drain and leave for a few minutes then peel them easily by donning a thick pair of Marigolds and rubbing them – the skin will slide off. Cut up into quarters, sprinkle over some oil, salt and pepper and put in the oven at 180 – 200c and roast for about 30 – 40 mins.

Also if the leaves on your bunch are nice don’t throw them – you can eat them like you would chard. I blanch mine and put them in beetroot risotto before serving.

Just beet-iful

FAST MARINATED BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB

(thank ewe to Matt Vines for this easy number)

Un-baah-lievabley easy and tasty

Even easier – Turn your oven onto 180c. Just rub the lamb with whatever you have in your cupboard – mustard, garlic, oil and salt and pepper are ideal. A few sprigs of rosemary will be exceptional. Leave it for as many minutes as you can and then pan fry it in a big pan to seal and pop it in the oven for 20 minutes if you like it very pink and anything up to 40 minutes should be good for a more medium audience.

Anyone else got great market recommendations or recipes?

Eveleigh Market is held every Saturday ‘rain, hail or shine’ as it is located under the heritage listed Blacksmiths Workshop.