River walk

 

五月中暴熱幾天後，回復初春的濕冷，強風陣雨，十來度的，日日烏雲，太陽又再次無影無蹤。

見到有個尚未下雨的早上，即刻到Castleconnell 河畔走走，真的需要轉個環境郁動下。先沿著澎湃河道走一段，過橋，穿過農地，來到上游以前的大宅園，可在高處往下看河道。

 

園內種有很多Yew紫杉樹，多年風吹雨打欠照顧，東歪西倒兼扭曲，而仍然生存長枝葉，充滿複雜的線條。

 

回程見到一方藍天，似個瑩光幕，藍天白雲青草地，只是那麼幾分鐘，已經好感動。

Spit roast lamb shoulder

Dull drizzling weather, still have to find something different to do. Decided to spit roast lamb shoulder on wood charcoal outdoor. 

First marinate with salt, pepper, spices, olive oil and lots of fresh rosemary. I used a pointy pen knife to cut into the meat at regular spacings, then push in rosemary soaked in the seasonings, looks great. 

The slow gentle cooking took 1.5 hours for a pink result, marinate got inside the meat, very effective way to season thick cut of meat. 

Second sprouts of Kailan

The only benefit of having cold weather is that the new sprouts from the leaves nodes of Kailan after the first cuts are growing well, reasonably good size, offering a continuous supply of leafy greens. 

Beetroot in 4 ways

Harvested a good size beetroot from the greenhouse, sowed in mid March. The leaves are big and petioles fat, decided to use them separately. 

Half of the beetroot baked with bell pepper and herbs 

The other half used to make beet kvass drink, by cutting into cubes and ferment in 2% brine It took 4 days for the fermentation to bubble away. Nice umami salty sour flavour.

The leaves are used in soup.

Petiole cut into cubes and salted at 2% for 2 days to soften and ferment, then used in soup.

One pot cooked lamb saddle and veg

Feeling lazy, used the air fryer to cook veg and meat at the same time. 

Season veg with salt, olive oil and garlic paste, place at bottom of air fryer. On the rack, place salt, black pepper and spices marinated lamb saddle with rosemary cuttings below. Cook for 25 minutes (turnover meat after 15 minutes) and rest for another 5 minutes inside air fryer. 

Rosemary charred steak

Saw a brief dry evening, went down to the lake to have bbq, simply a pieces of ribeye with lots of rosemary, served with home salads. 

Flower and herb fermentation

elderflower vinegar

elderflower

elderflower

chive flower

chive flower

elderflower lemon

chive flower vinegar

honey fermented elderflower lemon ginger

chive flower vinegar

honey fermented rosemary lemon ginger

2026年5月30日 賞花惜花

細香葱花色彩紋理都精巧，似朶朶絲花，最方便用來裝飾餸菜、pizza，好看且有蒜香味。花期短，用不完今回學習浸醋，把味道色彩留下。

Elderflower 飲品是多年前英國朋友的介紹，那幽幽青香十分配合夏日天氣。自己試做才知道，一定要下足夠檸檬汁，那香氣才能散發出來，喝時不酸，好奇妙。

花多，又剪下好些浸在醋中，反正夏季常做沙律、漬物，將會有不同花香的醋可用。

自四月中野玫瑰不停開花，香氣撲鼻，花朶只盛開兩天，一向在黃昏，蜜蜂採蜜後收成花瓣，剪走花托不令其長果子，就會繼續長出花蕾，直至夏末。花瓣泡滾水，顏色和香氣都脫落，喝下有益身心。有多的風乾收藏，將來泡茶和送禮都好用。

Elderflower is blooming well, time to do my yearly honey fermented elderflower tonic, this time I added sliced non bitter lemon and ginger in the fermentation, all in one. 

Also learned to marinate elderflower in raw vinegar, well, while there is a lot of flowers around, and I use vinegar in salad and pickling, no harm in having more flavours. 

Chive flower is so pretty, delicate purple with that fine line in the middle of the petal, looks like a silk flower. I like to use them to decorate a dish and also on pizza, for the presentation and a mild onion flavour. As there are more than I can use, I infuse some in vinegar to use later. 

Rosemary is growing so well and there is more than I can cook. Already using a lot every time there is a bbq, but still can’t catch up with it’s growth. Saw this recipe of healthy tonic of rosemary, ginger and lemon syrup, instead of using sugar syrup to infuse, I use raw honey, that I have a lot too, to make a fermented version. 

In raw vinegar and in raw honey, all bottles bubbling away, satisfying my plan to have more fermented food/drink available for daily use. 

Howth seafood

Bought seafood at Howth, compared with ordering online every week, the variety here is good and fish are fresher, bright red gills. 

Among Carlingford oyster, surf clam, squid and mackerel, only the squid is disappointing. Carlingford oyster is as sweet as usual, surf clam is wonderful being very meaty, mackerel is fine but not yet oily. Squid is the tough variety, better for stewing than for bbq. 

Dublin staycation

Stayed in Dublin for a night, for a change of scene, to check out some sights in the capital and see an exhibition in Dublin Castle called Census 1926. The exhibition is interesting as it disclosed the census done 100 years ago, the first one after independence. 

 

2026年5月27日 1926 人口普查

最近看了「1926 年人口普查」展覽，是愛爾蘭獨立五年後，第一個人口普查，一百年後，資料全部公開，讓人民查看。

展出了好些統計，和很多那年代的照片，多張全家福照片，不少有一名兒子是神父，一名女兒是修女，那是合乎當時社會/教會的期望，是否兒女的真心選擇，不得而知。

其中一個統計，特別觸目，是在當時約三百萬人口中，多少能說英語、愛爾蘭語，原來有99%人民能說英語，18%能說愛爾蘭語，和少於1%只能說愛爾蘭語。而到了現在，五百幾萬人口中，能流利地說愛爾蘭語的約2%。

當真意外，愛爾蘭被英國統治百多年後，竟然這麽成功地改變當地人民的語言選擇，是在其他殖民地方沒有的現象也！ 

The other important reason is to eat at Michelin restaurants, a lot there but very few near where I live. 

Tried D’Oulier Street in Dublin center, a 13 courses tasting dinner, tasty dishes, some dishes have really used too many ingredients, good attempt and a nice experience. 

The next morning spend the time at Howth, a peninsula north east of Dublin famous for seafood. It was bitterly cold wind, but the sea scenery is pleasant when the sun finally shine through. 

I was expecting a big market hall, but actually just a number of fish shops and restaurants. Bought some fresh looking mackerel, squid and surf clam. 

Ate at Mamo, run by a French trained Irish chef. I have to say this is one of two best cooked fish I have ever eaten in Ireland in the last 6 year. Just cooked, juicy meat, crispy skin, tasty sauce.