Food for thought

WITH care, love and attention comes the plaudits of your peers and none more deserving than the artisan producers of the Mid West region.
Pónaire Coffee, based in Annacotty with its roastery filled with heady aromas of a quality bean, found themselves top of the class when their coffees won Gold in the 2010 Great Taste Awards.
The Indian Blend (for filter/cafetiere) received 3 Gold Stars – the maximum awarded and master roaster and one half of the Ponaire duo, Jennifer Ryan said, “Our Connoisseur Espresso Blend won a Gold for the second year in a row. We roast and blend all our own coffees and are thrilled that the independent panels of judges found our coffees to be of such high standard to bestow upon them such high awards”.
The Great Taste Awards is the acknowledged benchmark for speciality food and drink. It has been described as the ‘Oscars’ of the food world and the ‘Epicurean equivalent to the Booker Prize.’
Jennifer adds that “Coffees can be purchased at our roastery in Annacotty Business Park, Limerick or at our new Roastery Coffee Bar in the Limerick Milk Market, or online at www.ponaire.ie.”

Lindy Wildsmith offers – “A compendium of recipes, techniques and traditions for curing meat, fish and vegetables at home”

Originally, curing was a necessity – the only way food could be preserved before the advent of refrigeration. Now, it’s a luxurious way to enjoy unique, intense flavours in foods ranging from meat and fish to, fruit and vegetables.
Seven sections – each dedicated to a different method of curing – demystify this ancient technique and show how every cook can create delicious cured food in their own kitchen.
A truly global celebration of deliciously preserved dishes, recipes range from New York Deli pastrami and Native American venison jerky to the Japanese pickled and marinated fish, Sashimi and Shimi Saba. From Europe come smoked salmon and salt beef, German Liverwurst Sausage, salt cod dishes of both the Mediterranean and Scandinavia, and Italian classic antipasti in the form of Venetian Carpaccio and ruby red Carne Salada.