Saturday’s, don’t you just love them?. Well I do. A morning spent lounging over a weekend breakfast, (poached eggs on a toasted slice of banana bread), transfers itself into a run to the shops and spree of retail therapy in a bustling city alive with the purchases necessary for a return to school.

Nonetheless, this is Limerick and we’re amongst it. If you dodge the temptations of the cafes and style bars that adorn the city, it’s going to be a late lunch when you get home and today was one of those very days. All this and a supermarket trip was still on the cards for some bare essentials.

A simple thing dinner. The end of the day and the meal you fill your bellies with. For me, and mine, it’s more. Well, I’m sure I am not alone when I say that, as it is certainly not a case of me reinventing the wheel. I look at the time spent in the kitchen and around the table eating as a reward for your day’s graft. Be they family or friends, be it meat or fish, there are many ingredients that make up dinner and that’s what it is all about. The WWW is full of blogs and we all have our piece to say and share and the more the merrier. I’ve just joined in and I thought I had my finger on the pulse. Nonetheless, here’s my tu’pence worth.

THIS week is all about snack food or those nibbles that you just want at relative ease without having to tackle into the onslaught of a full kitchen battle.
Everyone likes to snack or nibble on the go – some call it grazing, something of which I am quite guilty of myself, but what it can be is healthy and good for you. Choosing good quality produce from the off is key. For the goat cheese below, I like to use St Tola goat cheese and choosing good quality organic, or at least free range chicken, is always a must do for any of the chicken options. There’s a few options on the salad dressing too. Anyway, enjoy and maybe post a few of these in the drawer in your kitchen so you can call back to them from time to time.

Enjoy

Read on for Goat Cheese crostinis, French toast, Italian olive focaccia, Crab Cakes, Seasme Chicken and a choice of dressings to accompany many dishes including salads etc.

The great taste awards 2008 results are in and Limerick has two of the best

I had this story over the last number of weeks but felt that it was well worth a mention on the blog as these two producers typify all that is good about Limerick Artisan producers.

You must admit that we just have to love them!
For many, years, the Italians have been doing things with a certain degree of style, panache and love – in Italy I suppose you would call it ‘amore’. But what ever way you assess it, the Italians have that something that makes things just a little better.
For car lovers or haters, you need only look to the galloping stallion and see that for years Ferrari shine brightest amongst many. Even the Alfa Romeo cars with all their faults and technical malfunctions still have the lifeblood of Italian passion coursing through them.
For coffee purists, a sip from the cup of an espresso is what garners memories of rolling green Italian hills dotted with vineyards and olive groves, or a bustling side street in any cosmopolitan city of fashion, style and grace. Just talking and thinking about it would salivate the taste buds.
So why don’t we all move to Italy? For anyone that has travelled to Italy, be it on a frequent basis or even just the once, you might agree that it probably is nicer to go there and visit because on your return home, you get to ponder more for Italy, the Azzurri and all things Italian as you anticipate another trip. The beauty is to sample, not gorge. Thankfully, to keep you going through those long arduous months in between, we have some places here that allow you taste the coffee, smell the basil, sip the wine and be in Italy, albeit in your own kitchen, and when you can do that, where else would you want to be.
Looking around our very own cosmopolitan city, you will find the little Artisan stores that help us through our time of crisis. Nothing new there as the stores have been trading with the food lovers of Limerick for a number of years now. But on each and every visit, it’s like stepping back to the small enoteca’s on the shores of Lake Garda. Those enoteca’s (a wine tasting shop or bar that also serves food) are typical to Italy and the way of life.
They harvest the best of fresh produce from the area and under one small, quaint and delightful roof, offer you the treats and delights from the land and sea in an atmosphere that bursts with charm and character.

It’s been some time in the making but I have finally made the bold step to enter the cyber world. Every week, in the Limerick Post Newspaper, I share food news, tips, recipes as well as the odd drop from the vine. Now I will include those bits as well as a few others in this blog and you can check it out for yourselves. Comments and questions are always welcome should you so wish.

Anyway, enjoy what I have offered and hope you get a little inspiration from what you see and read.

Andrew