Posts Tagged ‘The Nationalist’

Regardless of the weather I always find that I just enjoy lighter food in the summer months. It may be simple conditioning or it could be my body wanting to shed all that was packed into it in the cold winter. For me this time of year always calls for lighter meals and with the […]

One of the most popular dishes in our James Whelan Butchers range is the great family favourite, Mamas Meatballs.

Thanks to a combination of the recent spell of good weather, a lovely customer and a leg of lamb, I enjoyed a truly great barbecue experience. I know I’ve mentioned barbecuing quite a bit recently, but one of the hallmarks of the traditional Irish barbecue is that we tend to play it safe and cook […]

I love to hear my own kids shout “stop” if we see someone with a plastic table overflowing with strawberries and it warms my heart that their cries for fruit are still just as loud as they are when they see the golden arches. From a father’s point of view I rarely refuse the shout for strawberries but often choose to ignore the pleas for a cheeseburger. As takeaway food goes, strawberries are possibly the perfect choice and with Wimbledon approaching the annual spotlight will shine upon the age old tradition of strawberries and cream.

One of the greatest secrets to excellent food is the old and familiar adage, “keep it simple!”  If you are really clever you will also have twigged that sometimes the ingredients of any dish can do the talking for you.  A good quality, flavoursome piece of meat and the freshest vegetables you can find are […]

Given that I work with meat, I suppose it is hardly surprising that the subject of food comes up in my conversations a great deal. I’m often asked for advice about cuts, preparation and cooking and while some will just indulge and join me in a nice chat about things that taste great, the other […]

You can’t pick up a food magazine or go to a food website these days without seeing the words ‘budget’, ‘eat well, spend less’, ‘feed your family for a fiver’ or any other of the myriad ways we are constantly being encouraged to save money. Here’s the thing, and I don’t wish to be controversial, […]

I had an absolutely filthy thought recently. It was mid afternoon and I was working on some very boring paperwork in the office when suddenly, out of nowhere, a soft, slightly warm and moist fat scone slathered with real butter, juicy raspberry jam with a generous dollop of cream sauntered nonchalantly into my thoughts. I […]

I’m very fond of Easter as a holiday.  It involves none of the frenetic nature of Christmas, the gifts are easy; a chocolate egg or a chocolate egg and (usually) the weather is milder and of course days longer.   As a child I always dreaded the boredom of Good Friday when absolutely everything shut down […]

While much of what I learned in school is buried deep in the mind’s recesses, probably never to see the light of day again, I still frequently go back to a saying by one of my teachers; “Proper planning prevents poor performance”.  He would refer to it as the 5 Ps.  Leaving aside the clever […]

Driving to Dublin yesterday, I couldn’t help but notice the snow-capped mountains and their resemblance to having been heavily dusted with icing sugar, by some gargantuan sieve. The days are getting longer, there is a stretch in the evenings –  the children are collected from schools and dropped off at their various extra-curricular activities, for […]

What a week, Valentines Day and Pancake Day just three days apart!  Such celebratory alignments indicate that between March and early April we’ll be very busy with all the spring celebrations; St Patrick’s Day, Mothers Day and Easter will come quickly on the heels of each other.  The retailer in me has to look ahead […]