HANDY MEALS AT THE MARKET

HANDY MEALS AT THE MARKET 

Go into a supermarket nowadays and you’ll see signs all over the place for meal deals. You won't see such signs at your local farmers market but with a little “digging” you certainly can come up with a convenient meal.

Mahon Point is the farmers market that I am most familiar with and here is a recent example.

Starter: Chicken & Brandy paté from Barry Tyner

Mains: Lamb Tagine from Flynn’s Kitchen.

Dessert: Panacotta from Glenilen.

Lots of variations are possible: olives from the Real Olive Co., salmon paté from the Old Millbank and maybe crab cakes and soups from Flynn’s for starters; various types of Indian dishes from Green Saffron and also Flynn’s do a few more for mains; cheeses from Gubbeen and Marks, cakes and pastries from Bite Size and others, fruits and more for your dessert.

I probably left out quite a few (sorry!) but you can see my point. You can quickly make up a really high class convenient three course meal.

Was at the market this morning and Ballintubber Farm, where we bought our vegetables today, had loads of pumpkins on sale (photo). Stalls were busier than usual – Ian O’Flynn thought it might be because the schools were off due to the election – and we picked up some fish from O’Driscoll’s, various bits and pieces of pig from Woodside, apple juice from Ballyhoura, a favourite yeast loaf from the Natural Foods (photo), and more to set things up nicely for the jazz weekend.

Only regret was that I had to leave before the Beer and Cheese event got underway at noon!