Much like Mary Lennox in the tale of the Secret Garden, who is awestruck by what lies behind the door in the wall, so too was I enchanted upon entering the Jardin Majorelle in the heart of the Ochre City (Marrakech). They are a burst of colour and tranquillity and your immediate response upon entering is almost to lower your voice and speak in hushed tones. Continue reading
The sun was shining. It was a warm day. I spotted a line of firemen with water hoses and figured that’s good way to cool down. So rather than pass at a distance like the hundreds of people before me I decided to go a little closer and really cool down. Fast forward five minutes and I’m happy to report that I’m refreshed but for some reason my music is no longer playing. I check my phone. The formerly dry phone strapped to my arm is soaking wet and no longer working. In hindsight getting a little too close to a fireman’s hose is not the wisest thing to do (well while running anyway). Continue reading
La Maison had been on my list for quite a while to try. I had seen photo’s some fellow bloggers had posted of tasty looking food so wanted to try it myself. As it turned out they come up on one of those groupon sites. €30 for a voucher for €60 to spend in the restaurant on their A La Carte menu. That just screams good value to me. It was restricted to Sunday to Wednesday, which actually suited me just fine as I happened to be wandering about town on a Sunday afternoon. Continue reading
Having watched the all things chocolate episode of the Great British Bake Off I was inspired to give making chocolate pots a bash. It’s a quick simple recipe that the most novice of cook can execute perfectly.
Ingredients
So here’s what you will need to make your own.
Ingredients (serves 4):
50g of dark chocolate – chopped (I went with 72% cocoa)
50g of milk chocolate – chopped
40g of muscovado sugar
1tsp of vanilla essence
1 egg
1 punnet of raspberries
Icing sugar for dusting
Fresh mint leaves
Cream, Muscovado Sugar & Vanilla Essence
Step 1: place the cream, muscovado sugar and vanilla essence in a pan. Gently bring to the boil while stirring and then remove from the heat.
Bring To The Boil
Step 2: pour the cream, sugar and vanilla mixture over the chopped chocolate and gently stir until the chocolate combines.
Pour Over The Chocolate
Gently Stir In
Chocolate Combined
Ramekins
Step 3: slice the raspberries and line the bottom of each of the ramekins with them.
Lined Ramekins
Step 4: fill each ramekin to just under the brim with the chocolate mixture and refrigerate to allow it to set.
Ready to Chill
Step 5: garnish with raspberries, fresh mint leaves and icing sugar, and of course then sit back and enjoy your handy work.
Step 9
I went to the Irish première of The Martian and from two seats over I heard a girl ask her boyfriend “is this based on a true story?” I’m going to just assume she was blown away by the ‘realness’ of the movie rather than question her intelligence !
Director Ridley Scott has brought us such movie masterpieces as Gladiator, Alien and Blade Runner. He has also treated us to the likes of Black Hawk Down and Thelma & Louise. Based on the book of the same name by Andy Weir, Scott is back with his latest movie The Martian starring Matt Damon. He plays Mark Watney, an astronaut and botanist left behind on Mars when his team abandon the planet after a storm hits. Continue reading
Iv’e been to Harrys on the Green many times and am always impressed by the quality of their cocktails. I’ve also had a chat with one of the barman who makes them and he told me about spending 3-4 hours making ginger juice to add to cocktails. A slow time consuming process but fresh from the source and tastes so much better he told me. Continue reading
Brioche in Ranelagh describes itself as a modern Irish tasting plate restaurant and its in the hands of Chef Gavin McDonagh. His impressive CV before Brioche includes stints in L’Ecrivan and Patrick Guilbaud. The menu offers Irish produce prepared with classic French techniques. Continue reading
Bring tissues and your best friend!
We have had quite a few movies over the last few years where cancer has played the protagonist among a cast of young people. Most recently Me, Earl & The Dying Girl, along with The Fault In Our Stars, The Last Song and Now Is Good. Continue reading