Connect with us

News

From the garden to the kitchen

Published

on

0234626_shutterstock1895116690.jpg

Whether it's dinners, salads or drinks – herbs can add flavour and colour to almost any meal.

Even if you are not a top chef, some well-chosen herbs and edible flowers can make any meal special. Nasturtiums are great in salads, both the flowers and leaves are peppery to the taste.

The seed pods can be used like capers and are delicious fried in butter with fish.

Pansies and violas are often candied but can be added to sweet and savoury dishes. Calendula, known as poor man's saffron, has long been used to add a yellow colour to food. As an addition to a salad, it is tasty and colourful.

Herbs are so versatile, with mint topping my list! Chop it up and add to natural yoghurt, some garlic, cayenne pepper and cumin and you have a delicious mint dip.

Add to couscous to give it a fresh lift. Of course, with lime, it is the basis of a mojito! Mint comes in many forms, spearmint and peppermint are the old favourites but try chocolate mint, apple mint, strawberry and pineapple mint for subtle flavours. Bear in mind that mint can take over the garden, and perhaps grow it in a pot. Divide regularly to keep young tasty growth abundant. For me, the next most used herb would be parsley.

I never seem to have enough. I prefer the flat-leaved parsley as it does not have such a rough texture, and a better flavour, in my opinion.

Used in combination with coriander use it in salsas, Moroccan cooking and Mexican dishes. Coriander and parsley in scrambled eggs are delicious! Parsley likes damp shady conditions and is in danger of going to seed in this warm weather. Coriander, likewise, likes shade, but goes to seed easily, and is best sown at regular intervals.

A real taste of summer is tarragon- I always forget about it until it finally shows itself quite a while after the winter. It is used in pickling, often with fennel or dill, and is delicious in salad dressings. Tarragon and chicken are a match sublime! Tarragon likes deep rich, moist soil, and needs to be protected from slugs when it first appears.

It also detests waterlogged soil. Tarragon, along with chervil and dill are well-known 'French ‘fines herbs', which are often used together in light egg and fish dishes. Lovage is another favourite- it is not that popular here but is used extensively in France and Holland. It tastes like a combination of parsley and celery and is a great addition to soups and Italian sauces.

Lovage grows into a large plant, about five feet tall, so give it space! Both it and fennel, are extremely hardy and are useful as shelter-giving plants.

One herb which everyone associates with summer is basil… Who doesn't love the smell of it? Caprese salad is surely a summer treat.
Many people ask me why they can't grow basil, but it is a difficult plant to keep going. If the weather was always as it has been these past few weeks we would be fine! Basil does not like rain, humidity or temperature fluctuations. When growing from seed it is prone to damping off, as well as mildew and rotting.

Unfortunately, unless you have a warm dry conservatory or glasshouse, growing basil is not really an option… though we can hope this weather lasts all summer…

Rosemary, sage and marjoram are easy herbs to grow, and a must if you enjoy Italian cuisine.

To ensure sweetness of flavour, keep cutting your herbs, even if you are not using them. Often, once the plant gets woody, it tends towards bitterness. Basal cuttings can be taken in late summer from woody plants for rooting, they are generally very successful. Herbs such as parsley, chives and fennel can easily be split in early autumn or late spring.

Advertisement

News

Con O’Leary: Killarney loses a vibrant and popular personality

Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce has led the tributes to the late Con O’Leary, an extremely popular and very successful businessman in the town, who passed away in the […]

Published

on

Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce has led the tributes to the late Con O’Leary, an extremely popular and very successful businessman in the town, who passed away in the early hours of Sunday.

Con was a vibrant and popular personality in Killarney where he operated The Laurels on Main Street, a thriving bar and restaurant, which he inherited following the passing of his father, Thado.
The business organisation said from a social perspective, The Laurels became the beating heart of the town and it was a landmark at the Market Cross in the same way as Clery’s clock was in the capital city.
Chamber said Con’s passing really marks the end of an era as he was one of a golden age of inspirational local business people who developed and built Killarney, through hard work, bravery and great commercial flair, and helped create the wonderful tourist attraction and holiday destination it is today.
“Con was very proud of Killarney and he played a very active part in progressing the town at many levels.
“He was a man that was never short of great ideas and his contribution to the business life of the town and as a director of Killarney Race Company was immense,” Chamber said.
“He was ahead of his time in many respects with the introduction by what became known as “the singing lounge” many years ago and The Laurels always led by example through its successes in the annual Killarney Looking Good competition”.
The business representative organisation noted that the O’Leary family has always been very supporting of the town and Con’s daughter, Kate, was a very dynamic Chamber President and is still a very valued member of the executive.
Chamber expressed deep sympathy to Con’s wife, Anne, children Kate, Niall, Tara and Lorna, sons-in-law, grandchildren, sisters, relatives and friends as well as the dedicated staff in The Laurels, past and present, who Con always had great time for and a great rapport with.

Continue Reading

News

All Roads Lead To Kerry For National Road Safety Conference

Kerry County Council is to host a two-day road safety conference at the INEC Killarney on May 28 and 29. The ‘Safer Roads’ road safety conference is an inter-agency event […]

Published

on

Kerry County Council is to host a two-day road safety conference at the INEC Killarney on May 28 and 29.

The ‘Safer Roads’ road safety conference is an inter-agency event focused on improving road safety, reducing traffic-related incidents, and sharing knowledge and best practices for safer road use. It encompasses various strategies and efforts across multiple domains, including road design, engineering, enforcement, forensic collision investigation, technology, education, collision trends, occupational driving, cycling and scooting, e-mobility, active & sustainable travel and on-road events.

In addition to this, AI, Virtual Reality and Driver Simulation will play a significant role at the conference, in improving safety by predicting and preventing accidents, optimizing traffic, and aiding the development of autonomous vehicles.

This ‘Safer Roads’ conference is a non-public event where road safety professionals, speakers and service providers from across Ireland, other EU countries and the UK will attend, including transportation experts, government and local authority officials, roads policing and vehicle inspection agencies, road safety advocates, educators and promoters, collision responders, cycling bodies and community safety networks.

Kerry County Council’s Road Safety Officer Declan Keogh said:
“Road safety has evolved over the years to a much broader scope, in terms of e-mobility, sustainability, technology and engineering for instance. It’s not just about the road or the vehicle anymore, but also about how technology, human behaviour, enforcement, and education intersect to reduce risks and prevent collisions. The ‘Safer Roads’ conference will involve and include every branch of the road safety tree, right across the board, and in doing so, we aim to increase road safety awareness, improve road user behaviour and decrease the collisions and carnage we see on our roads every day,”

The two-day conference also provides an opportunity for exhibitors to attend, and interested state bodies, businesses and service providers are invited to exhibit at the event to showcase their products and services and engage with delegates and officials at the conference.

Further information about the conference and how to register or exhibit can be found here. https://www.kerrycoco.ie/safer-roads-road-safety-conference/

Continue Reading

Last News

Sport