Mid summer harvest and preserves

Finally climbing bean, runner bean and mange tout have grown enough to produce beans, so late this year, a nice addition to the humble self sufficient veg dishes. 

Also serving a dish of probiotic rich preserves, lacto-fermented garlic, raw cider vinegar and honey pickled plum and wild rose petals, lovely different textures, fragrance and flavours. 

Watermelons

 

 

 

在家時日日張看，只有一隻西瓜在漲大，離開三天，即刻多咗幾隻！是否我不在時，日夜有傳授花粉大 party!

Galway Hooker Race

The first time to see this event at Kinvara, a fun raising effort to maintain and encourage the use of these traditional sailing boats. They were important as cargo boats to transport goods to small towns along the long coastline and the islands. They are beautiful and glide gracefully on the water. 

Burren NP tour 3/3 Wood loop walk at Ballyvaugham

Found this loop walk in Burren NP and curious to see some greenery in this land of bare white rocks. 

Impressive beautiful route round different landscape. There are indeed pockets of lush moist green forests dotted here and there. Even pristine manicured grass fields for cows. 

Burren NP tour 2/3

Stopped at Flaggy Shore for a hike and dinner at the restaurant there. A simple restaurant serving fresh seafood and perfectly cooked and seasoned, a rarity in Ireland. 

Burren NP 1/3

 

見有幾日晴天，出車去西岸Burren 地質公園區遊玩，愛爾蘭最有名，最大型外露的石灰岩土地，經歷千萬年酸雨侵蝕，形成深入地下巨大裂紋，和片狀大石塊，真正鬼斧神工。

這區沒有河道，雨水由裂紋浸入地底，流出大海。

遍地大少石頭，以石頭做圍牆畜牧最方便，那些似隨心堆砌的石牆，紋理各異，亦百看不厭。

Blackcurrant Natto sauce

This is harvest from a later fruiting blackcurrant bush, I have already made many jars of blackcurrant jam from the previous harvest. This time I turned them into a savory sauce, for use with Natto. 
Crush blackcurrants and bring to boil, season with sugar, soy sauce, a lot of cinnamon, a lot of turmeric and 5 spices powder. Blend, with skin and seed, into a puree, lovely thick sauce with deep flavour. 

Honey fermented beetroot and lemon

After fermenting beetroot, lemon with skin and ginger in raw honey for a month, bubble subsided and it is ready to enjoy. 
I filtered out the juice as a healthy probiotic cordial for use in drinks, keeping it in the fridge. 
Picked out beetroot and ginger, which is crunchy, with a lemony fragrance, to use in salads.
Lemon peel is cut up into small pieces and dried at 75˚C, around 3 hours, as snack. 

2026年8月3日 水蜜桃成熟時

溫室內的兩株矮小peach Melred, 春天開滿艷紅花朵，夏天結乒乓球大小的果子，看著由淡青轉米白，然後出現一抹胭脂紅色，就知快熟了，只要按下略軟，就可以收成。
肉白水多味清甜，沒有黃肉挑的香氣，已經滿足。

看似理想，但年底計劃把兩株樹掘出，種在戶外，希望能夠適應。

種下五年，終於明白，在溫室種這類葉多又茂密果樹的煩惱，實在惹蟲！要不停處理、修剪，而仍然有半數果子給蟲蛀了，工夫多過種植和吃的樂趣，就放棄吧。

溫室內仍然保留無花果和酸漿果樹，葉疏不引蟲，果子味美，種得開心。

Lamb saddle with cumin seed

Great to use air fryer to get the crispy cumin seed coated result, 20 minutes the top side and 10 minutes the other side for a pink result and all fat rendered out. I put cooked potatoes below to pick up the dripping. 

Wild rose shrub

I have been pickling wild Rugosa rose petal in cider vinegar, lovely colour and perfume. I take some out to mix with raw honey to make shrub, as a handy gift to see a friend. To be mixed with water to make a beautiful pink fragrance drink.

Cucumber plum basil salad

This is my favourite way of cooking, using all seasonal produce from the garden. Pickle cucumber in salt and vinegar for half day, then mix with plum basil and oil to make a tasty and colourful salad.

Clare Glen

 

又來到這段叫 Clare Glen 的行山徑，沿着Clare river 兩岸行一圈，慢行兩個小時，剛剛好，駕車四十分鐘到達，十分方便。

愛爾蘭前人一向以地方的特色用作名字，Clare Glen 是清澈河水的山谷。

山谷狹窄，綠樹成蔭，就是整個七月未曾下雨，各處仍然濕潤晶瑩，易走小上小落的天然石頭、沙泥路，加上如畫風景，我最喜歡的那類行山徑。

Rib eye steak from Pat Barry

I do enjoy occasionally a good piece of steak, have been tasting between striploin, rib eye and Denver steak. 

Rib eye comes with a bit of fat in the middle, and there are 2 types of muscles around the eye. It is much easier to separate into the 3 different parts as the centre muscle take less time than the other two. However, the muscle on the top is more juicy and tasty, the one on the side is tougher. 

Purple and orange carrots

Colour and pattern so beautiful I just like to pick and eat them raw, to enjoy their sweetness and crunch.