Growing Wild
With Dr Catherine Keena, Teagasc Countryside Management Specialist
Robins
Look out for robins on Christmas cards and outside. Robins have no fear of being close to humans. Males and females look similar with a distinctive bright orange-red face and breast, while young birds are speckled brown. Their melodious, warbling song is one of the first to be heard in the morning. Despite its sweet appearance, it is quite an aggressive bird.
Both males and females sing to mark their territory and will fight those who come too close. They feed on snails, worms, beetles and other insects. In folklore, robins often helped people. Associated with this time of year, robins are part of our native Irish biodiversity.
My Christmas Wish by Marlene MacLean
Tree lights and ribbons and
baubles galore.
Presents and wrapping and
shopping for more.
Baking and eating and
visiting so much,
While talking and laughing
and dancing and such.
Bright nights and stars and
magic above.
May we find Peace and
Good Will in this
Season of Love
I urge everyone who has been fortunate enough to learn the simple art of bread-making to spread the joy by passing the skill to others. I’ve been making bread all my adult life and most of my childhood, yet I still get a thrill every time I take a loaf of crusty bread out of the oven. How wonderful is that?
I hope that in this New Ballymaloe Bread Book,
I’ve passed that excitement on to you.
Darina Allen from the Ballymaloe Cookery School
Santa's little helpers: Cillian, Ronan and Aoife have been hard at work getting Granda Gerry's calf all spruced up and ready for a new home as part of the going sales to disperse his dairy herd / submitted by Sean Murray, Shercock, Co Cavan.
An LED light bulb uses up to 90% less energy than a halogen light bulb and can also last well over 10 years compared to two years for a standard bulb. Replacing all light bulbs in your house could easily save you up to €100 a year depending on how many lights you have.
Siobhan Kennedy of Artzy.ie.
Maria Moynihan talks to designer Siobhán Kennedy of artzy.ie. This Irish brand creates original oil paintings as well as collections of gifts including artbags and cushions.
‘Tis the season! I love making homemade eggnog to enjoy over Christmas. You will need 1L of full fat milk and heavy cream combined (I like half and half). Heat this with cinnamon sticks, cloves, a grating of nutmeg and some star anise. Beat six egg yolks with 150g caster sugar and the seeds from one vanilla bean (throw the remaining bean in the milk and cream).
The egg mixture should be pale and ribbony. When the milk reaches boiling point, strain it through a sieve to catch the spices. Add a tiny bit to the eggs and whisk well, to temper them, then slowly add the hot milk and cream to combine. Add this mix back to the pot and cook slowly on low heat until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
I add this to glass bottles. Once cooled to room temperature, chill the eggnog and serve over the holidays with rum, whiskey, brandy or just on its own with freshly grated nutmeg.Traditionally, you whisk the remaining egg whites and add them to the eggnog before drinking. This extra step is worth it if you can manage.
Read more
Welcome to a week in the country
Find out what caught the eye of Irish Country Living team this week
Growing Wild
With Dr Catherine Keena, Teagasc Countryside Management Specialist
Robins
Look out for robins on Christmas cards and outside. Robins have no fear of being close to humans. Males and females look similar with a distinctive bright orange-red face and breast, while young birds are speckled brown. Their melodious, warbling song is one of the first to be heard in the morning. Despite its sweet appearance, it is quite an aggressive bird.
Both males and females sing to mark their territory and will fight those who come too close. They feed on snails, worms, beetles and other insects. In folklore, robins often helped people. Associated with this time of year, robins are part of our native Irish biodiversity.
My Christmas Wish by Marlene MacLean
Tree lights and ribbons and
baubles galore.
Presents and wrapping and
shopping for more.
Baking and eating and
visiting so much,
While talking and laughing
and dancing and such.
Bright nights and stars and
magic above.
May we find Peace and
Good Will in this
Season of Love
I urge everyone who has been fortunate enough to learn the simple art of bread-making to spread the joy by passing the skill to others. I’ve been making bread all my adult life and most of my childhood, yet I still get a thrill every time I take a loaf of crusty bread out of the oven. How wonderful is that?
I hope that in this New Ballymaloe Bread Book,
I’ve passed that excitement on to you.
Darina Allen from the Ballymaloe Cookery School
Santa's little helpers: Cillian, Ronan and Aoife have been hard at work getting Granda Gerry's calf all spruced up and ready for a new home as part of the going sales to disperse his dairy herd / submitted by Sean Murray, Shercock, Co Cavan.
An LED light bulb uses up to 90% less energy than a halogen light bulb and can also last well over 10 years compared to two years for a standard bulb. Replacing all light bulbs in your house could easily save you up to €100 a year depending on how many lights you have.
Siobhan Kennedy of Artzy.ie.
Maria Moynihan talks to designer Siobhán Kennedy of artzy.ie. This Irish brand creates original oil paintings as well as collections of gifts including artbags and cushions.
‘Tis the season! I love making homemade eggnog to enjoy over Christmas. You will need 1L of full fat milk and heavy cream combined (I like half and half). Heat this with cinnamon sticks, cloves, a grating of nutmeg and some star anise. Beat six egg yolks with 150g caster sugar and the seeds from one vanilla bean (throw the remaining bean in the milk and cream).
The egg mixture should be pale and ribbony. When the milk reaches boiling point, strain it through a sieve to catch the spices. Add a tiny bit to the eggs and whisk well, to temper them, then slowly add the hot milk and cream to combine. Add this mix back to the pot and cook slowly on low heat until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
I add this to glass bottles. Once cooled to room temperature, chill the eggnog and serve over the holidays with rum, whiskey, brandy or just on its own with freshly grated nutmeg.Traditionally, you whisk the remaining egg whites and add them to the eggnog before drinking. This extra step is worth it if you can manage.
Read more
Welcome to a week in the country
Find out what caught the eye of Irish Country Living team this week
This is a subscriber-only article
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