My Wild Atlantic Kitchen: Recipes and Recollections by Maura O'Connell Foley

My Wild Atlantic Kitchen: Recipes and Recollections 

A Snapshot of Maura O’Connell Foley’s Life and Culinary Career

My Wild Atlantic Kitchen: Recipes and Recollections is a compilation of Maura O’Connell Foley’s favourite recipes created throughout her career in Kenmare spanning over six decades. The dishes contained in the book follow Maura’s ethos of keeping food simple, cooking with care and using the best available local produce. 

Several years in the making, this book is a comprehensive collection capturing over 250 recipes of the food Maura has loved to cook throughout her life and successful career as a cook and restaurateur. My Wild Atlantic Kitchen features stand-out dishes from the first tea shop she and her mother Agnes opened in 1961, The Purple Heather Restaurant and Piano Bar, The Lime Tree Restaurant, Packie’s Food and Wine and also from Shelburne Lodge Guesthouse which she continues to run today with her husband Tom.

Maura said, “Over the years, I was approached on many occasions to write a book, but I just didn’t make the time. I finally put pen to paper, and I can tell you it has been a tremendous effort! The recipes are a diverse collection of the food I have loved to cook at various times in my life”.

Maura’s recipes are seasonal, classic and carefully organised into eight chapters in the book: Breakfast, Starters, Fish, Meat, Vegetables, Desserts & Baking, Sauces, Stocks & Staples, as well as a dedicated section on Dinner Parties. Examples include Drop Scone Pancakes with Dry Cured Bacon and Apple Syrup, Confit of Duck Leg with Pear and Ginger Salad, Twice Baked Hazelnut Goat’s Cheese Soufflé, Seafood Sausage with Beurre Blanc, Smoked Cod Cakes, Beef and Guinness Casserole, Dover Sole Stuffed with Atlantic Prawns and Brandy Cream Sauce, Chocolate Pots, Irish Barmbrack & Butter Pudding, and Spicy Apple and Rum Pudding.    

Working in close collaboration with Kenmare based graphic designer Éamonn O’Sullivan of Anchor Studio, the project was very much a labour of love, with Maura and her family undertaking the task of lovingly creating a beautiful book that would be a testament to her years of hard work and dedication to her craft. Not only a cookbook, My Wild Atlantic Kitchen features Maura’s culinary recollections and stories woven throughout, accompanied by over 100 images of her recipes captured by Lynda Kenny and Maria Bell. In keeping with her love of art and the Irish landscape, the book includes photography by nationally renowned landscape photographer Norman McCloskey, illustrations by artist Christine Bowen and paintings from internationally acclaimed Irish artist Pauline Bewick. 

The foreword is written by Irish Michelin starred chef Derry Clarke of L'Ecrivain Restaurant in Dublin. He says “This book is the culmination of 60 years of passion, hard work and imagination and is a summary of Maura’s life working in busy kitchens. These recipes are timeless, classic and detailed. This is a book I feel every cook should have in their kitchen as there are so many brilliant and varied recipes. This is a book recording Maura’s legacy through the many years she has been at the forefront of Irish cooking. As a fellow chef, I am proud to know her and respect her for all her achievements.”

My Wild Atlantic Kitchen: Recipes and Recollections (RRP €35) is available from the 26th of March on Amazon or directly from www.mywildatlantickitchen.com and selected  independent bookstores, hotels and stores nationwide.

Keep up to date with the latest news by following My Wild Atlantic Kitchen on Instagram @MyWildAtlanticKitchen.

Maura is a formidable woman with a strong family history of women in the food business. Her grandmother was a cook in Boston in the late 1800’s. She returned to Kenmare in the 1930’s and built and owned her own grocery store.  

Since the early 1960’s Maura has been a chef owner of several successful businesses in Kenmare. Born in London during the war in 1942, she returned to Kenmare and opened a cake shop at the age of 19 with her mother, Agnes, who had worked as a professional baker in Fraser’s Tea Shop in Haverstock Hill, London. 

In 1963 Maura and Agnes expanded the business and opened  a restaurant, with Maura following her true passion of cooking in the kitchen mainly with fresh local fish including sole, cod, Atlantic prawns and lobster. She is largely self-taught, having completed a short course at Le Cordon Bleu in London in the 1960’s and undertaking stages with great chefs including Sonia Stevenson, the first woman to earn a Michelin star in the UK. 

As well as her culinary skills, she has great artistic flair, a keen eye for interiors and is a strong supporter of Irish art and crafts.  In the early 1980’s she renovated an old school house in Kenmare, where she had once been a student herself, and opened The Limetree restaurant with her husband Tom. During her tenure at The Limetree, she received great acclaim both nationally and internationally and earned a Michelin Red M. Later, in the early 90’s, she converted her uncle Packie’s grocery store to a more informal restaurant, simply called Packie’s Food and Wine. In 1990 she purchased a large run-down Georgian house and after five years of meticulous renovations Shelburne Lodge opened to guests in 1996. Maura and her husband Tom, continue to run Shelburne Lodge today.

Wilson on Wine 2020. Your friendly easy-to-read guide

Wilson on Wine 2020

Your friendly easy-to-read guide

In six short years, Wilson On Wine has become the goto book for wine-lovers keen to prepare themselves for what can often be the confusion of a visit to the wine shop. Shelves and shelves of attractive, and sometime unattractive labels, so a little time reading the current just released edition will help you make a shopping shortlist.

The well-laid out book, with over 350 pages, starts with an editorial, a few paragraphs on Natural Wine, advice on Food and Wine, and a description of wine styles. And then you’re into the wines, 163 in total, ranging over all the styles and in price from under a tenner to over two hundred euro (for the Krug Grandé Cuvée Brut).

So how do you work your way through all the info. Actually, it is not too difficult, thanks to the use of comprehensive indices. You’d be surprised how many reference books come up short on this kind of aid. The first index is by Style, Country, Price. Move towards the rear then for the Index by Wine (name), followed by the all important Index of Stockists.

Colour coding is another excellent aid for the reader. The wines are colour coded under headings such as Sparkling Wine, Crisp Refreshing White, Fresh and Fruity White, Rich and Rounded White, Light and Elegant Red, Rich and Full Bodied Red, Natural Wine, Fine Wine and Fortified Wine.

John was in great form at the recent O’Brien’s Winter Wine Festival in Cork’s Clayton and we had a chat as he signed my copy (reduced from 12.99 to a tenner on the night) and took us through the four wines he was showing on the night, all available at O’Brien’s. You do probably know that John is one of Ireland’s leading wine writers and wine correspondent for the Irish Times.

Cantina Orsogna’s Vola Volé Trebbiano D’Abruzzo (DOP) 2017 was first up. I very much enjoyed this dry refreshing organic white a few weeks back.Very light straw colour, clean and bright. Aromas are of light intensity, more floral than fruity. Lightly apple flavoured (more citrusy if it warms up a bit in the glass) with a noticeable acidity, it is light and crisp and easy to drink. Light seafood dishes are a suggested match. Perhaps with a Goatsbridge trout salad.

This cooperative specialises in crafting organic and sustainable wines from local grape varieties. The Vola Volé range of wines are dedicated to the protection of bees (featured on the label) by protecting their habitat from pesticides and herbicides and is certified by Biodiversity Friend.

Next we moved to the Loire to sample the Les Secrets de Sophie, a 2018 Sauvignon blanc from the Touraine. This comes under the Crisp Refreshing White style and is light with a snappy dry finish. John  suggests trying it with a goat’s cheese salad, tomato salad, or Greek salad. “Sauvignon loves salads.”

John was smiling as he poured our samples of the Domaine Coudoulis Dédicace Lirac 2017. Lirac is one of nine villages in the Southern Rhone that has its own name as the AOC name. The others are Rasteau, Vinsobres, Gigondas, Beaumes de Venise, Vacqueyras, Tavel, Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Cairanne (most recent 2018) and all nine  are regarded as crus.

September's harvest from Coudoulis Facebook page 

Why was he smiling as sipped this one? Well it is something of an iron fist in a velvet glove, packing an abv punch of 15%. But it is an excellent smooth mouth-filling Rhone from an appellation just across the river from Chateauneuf du Pape.

We stayed in the same style for the final tasting: Lunaria Ruminat Primitivo 2018, a big jammy organic red from Sicily. John describes it as a full-on Primitivo, “powerful yet soft, it delivers a mouthful of fruit”. Just like Zinfandel, its New World counterpart.

So there you are. If you’d like a bit of friendly easy-to-read guidance before you hit the wine store this Christmas, or indeed at any time, do pick up a copy of Wilson On Wine.

Master the art of great soup from six simple broths. Broth to Bowl by Drew Smith.

Master the art of great soup from six simple broths.

Broth to Bowl by Drew Smith.

“You might find your definition of the word soup somewhat stretched in these pages but that is the way of my kitchen.” 

So says author Drew Smith in the introduction to his new book, Broth to Bowl. The word soup is “stretched” here, in many delightful ways as he shows us how to master the art of great soup from six simple broths. 

And, by the way, Drew is adamant: “a stock cube will not do”. “For soup to be nutritionally optimal and full of flavour, you must begin with a solid foundation – a good broth.”

“Soup is the heart and soul of the kitchen. Menus invite you to think that a soup is a single event, which it is if you are running a restaurant. But at home, probably the last thing you want is 75 bowls of cauliflower cheese soup. 

What we want is evolution, so one recipe leads logically into the next and so on. Less work. One job = three or four or more, completely different meals, a vegetable tea becomes a chunky vegetable broth becomes a creamy soup. The same liquid can find its way into ragouts, stews, casseroles and all manner of sauces.” 

Ingredients I gathered for vegetable tea and vegetable broth

If you are on a budget, this book is for you. “It may seem at first glance that we are using humble, cheap everyday ingredients, but for the most part these are what our bodies need and crave. We have become very wasteful as a society. We like our meat to be neat little red fillets. 

But much, if not most, of the nutritional benefits of eating meat at all are to be found in and around the bones, the marrow, the collagen-rich elements like cheek and trotter. We buy breast of chicken and ignore the rest of the bird, despite knowing through history that a soup made from the carcass has always been given as a restorative. So too was beef tea.”

Vegetable tea, the basis..

Let us go through the section headings. We’ll start with Vegetable Tea. It is the first recipe you’ll see and that is the start, and also the basis, for many more, including Potassium Broth (“If you had to live on one simple recipe, then this might be a good choice”), Kale Vichyssoise, Laksa and Gazpacho (for when the temperature rises above 25 degrees!).

... for the broth

Now we move on to Chicken (Drew is not a fan of buying poultry in pieces) and other birds. Start here with chicken broth, roast or poached. Then hop around the world with Quick Tom Yum, Cockaleekie, and the French St Hubert’s Soup (pheasant with lentils).

The red meats are next, beginning with the Basic Beef Bone Broth and that can be the basis for so much more. There's a Proper Borscht, a Rich Man’s Pho, a French Potée (a soup, broth and stew all in one), and the legendary Italian bollito misto.

There is a shortish, but no less interesting, chapter under Fish, including Fish Chowder, Jane Grigson’s Lobster Bisque, Dalston Bouillabaisse, and a magnificent Oyster Soup!

And we stay with the sea as we turn the focus to Kombu. How about a Japanese Bonito Broth? Monkfish in dashi with ginger? A Tonkotsu Ramen? 

My chunky vegetable broth

It is much the same pattern all the way through. Start simply and build from there. So, in the end, it may be more to accurate to say that soup (the food that is), is expanded, enhanced, deepened, in this well laid out, well illustrated, book, while happily admitting that soup (the word) is well and truly stretched.

* In addition to the recipes, there is advice on buying your produce and on the equipment you’ll need. And a list of various garnishes too.

• Drew Smith is the author of Oyster: A Gastronomic History with Recipes and translator of La Mère Brazier. The former editor of The Good Food Guide, he has been a restaurant writer for the Guardian and has won the Glenfiddich award three times.

* Broth to Bowl: Mastering the Art of Great Soup from Six Simple Broths by Drew Smith - Modern Books, published October 2017, Hardback, 4 colour with photographs, 160 pages, RRP: £20.

Vegetable Tea

This is a sequence. It starts out as a light tea, becomes a soup and then transforms itself

again and again. You can drink this first-stage broth as an alternative to tea and coffee.

Once you get the hang of it, vary the spices, vegetables and herbs with the seasons.

Put 4 litres of water on to boil in a deep pot or saucepan while you deal with the vegetables. Peel and trim the carrots and cut into thirds. Peel and quarter the onions. Dice the leek. Quarter the potatoes – you can leave the skin on. As the water comes to the boil, drop the vegetables in and add the spices. Trim the top leaves off the parsley, save for arnish, and throw the stalks in the mix. Cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Strain and discard the vegetables, keeping only the liquid. Warm through, garnish with a few leaves of parsley and add a slurp of olive oil if you like. Serve in a mug or glass or take a thermos to work.

COOK’S TIP: There’s nothing wrong with the leftover vegetables. You can have them for dinner, dressed with a little meat broth. Or take out the potato and carrot, dice and mix with mayonnaise for a cold salad.

Ingredients:

3 CARROTS

2 ONIONS

1 LEEK

2 POTATOES

6 BLACK PEPPERCORNS

1 BAY LEAF

Bunch of fresh PARSLEY

SEA SALT to taste

OLIVE OIL to serve (optional)

MAKES 4 LITRES

The Mare’s Fart and Dirty Dick. All found in Herbarium

The Mare’s Fart and Dirty Dick

All found in Herbarium

Shortly before Christmas I bought the newly published Herbarium by Caz Hildebrand. It covers 100 herbs with text and illustration. The Mare’s Fart and Dirty Dick are among the details

Most of us will know that Pissabed is a common, very common, name for the Dandelion. But it is also called Naked Ladies, Twitch ballock, Hounds-piss, pen-arse, Bum towel and, yes, Mare's Fart.  Its proper name, and this is given for every herb in the book, is Taraxacum species.

And Dirty Dick is one of the names for Fat Hen, also called Lamb’s Quarters, and White Goose. In Latin it is Chenopodium Album and was “the food supplement of primitive peoples”.

Herbs are used in cuisine but also for their curative properties. Got the hiccups? Then get yourself some honeysuckle. A headache? The Meadowsweet is what you need as it contains the key ingredient for aspirin.

And then there’s Alecost, originally very popular in the 16th century and used for flavouring ales and spiced wines. Herb celery is grown for its leaves and speaking of leaves. Ramsoms (Wild Garlic) is a favourite food of brown bears (be careful when foraging!).

It is a fascinating subject, with the odd myth or two. Take Tarragon, for example. If you use it, do so sparingly. Had Catherine of Aragon been less reckless in its use, her marriage to Henry VIII have had endured. At least, that’s the poet Ogden Nash’s version, though perhaps he just needed a word to rhyme with Tarragon! After all, he said “too much Chablis can make you whablis"!

It’s not all fun in Herbarium. Some serious bits. Takes Monkshood for example. This is extremely poisonous, the toxins once used to kill wolves.

And then there’s the Wasabi alarm! It may not wake the dead but, in 2011, a group of chemists won an Ig Nobel Prize for inventing a “wasabi alarm” to wake deaf people, using the herb’s powerful scent!

Each of the 100 herbs in the book has a page of text devoted to it, mostly a general history. Practical information is listed on the side, under four headings: Grow, Eat with, Try, Heal.

For instance (and I’m being very brief here), you are told that dandelion grows freely, Eat them with beetroot, lettuce, bacon…, Try them sautéed as you would spinach, and for Heal, a concoction of dandelion can be helpful for osteoarthritis, acne and psoriasis.

At the back of the book, there is a quick guide with headings such as Wellbeing, Beauty, Symbolism, Flavours, Cocktails (try mint with strawberry, kiwi and rum), Salads, and many more.

Herbarium is colourfully illustrated with each herb having an illustration to itself. The author says herbarium “echoes the history of herbal illustration, but with the intention of taking it forward, achieved by using a contemporary style, inspired by Modernist design, simple geometric forms and vibrant colours. I love the patterns that come through.”

I must say, I love the patterns too. But, beware, while they are gorgeous and striking, they are not necessarily true to life. You’ll definitely need an illustrated growing/foraging guide as well as this lovely and worthwhile book if you are to journey among the herbs.

Herbarium by Caz Hildebrand

Published by Thames and Hudson

RRP £16.95

Beer FAQ. All that’s left to know about beer.

Beer FAQ

All that’s left to know about beer.

Brewer Cormac hard at it in Dungarvan Brewery

Beer FAQ, by Jeff Cioletti, packs a lot into its 400 pages. It claims to be a no-nonsense guide to the world of beer, answering many burning questions about the diverse array of styles, ingredients, and international brewing and drinking and the traditions that drive the world’s most celebrated beverage.

And it certainly does that. Just be aware that this is an American publication so you’ll see the odd geographical faux pas, like placing the University of Sunderland in Scotland. Generally though the contribution of the old world, especially England, Belgium, Germany (he suggests that Munich is not the “beeriest city” in Germany, giving that accolade to Bamberg) and the old Czechoslovakia is handsomely acknowledged before the big statement (pretty well backed up) in which the origin of the latest wave of craft brewing is claimed for the USA.

Beer selection at recent festival in Cork's Franciscan Well

And since the US is our next parish, we do have an interest there as residents, relations, visitors, drinkers and importers. Many of the US beers - Sierra Nevada and Brooklyn Brewery - have long been favourites here.

In a chapter titled The Birth of Beer, Jeff says that beer, “for both the Romans and the Greeks, was the beverage of barbarians”. Long after the fall of the wine-drinking Roman Empire, beer “was considered an underclass drink”.

Later on, the monasteries took a hand and started to brew beer, “a central form of sustenance when you couldn't trust the water”.  Later, science and the industrial revolution would play major roles in spreading beer globally.

He delves into the history and the different types of hops, concentrating on a few including Cascade, Hallertau, Simcoe and Sorachi Ace. You can learn too about malt and yeast. And the various styles of beer.

Beer in the New World is covered in great detail, even recalling some old advertisements, many of them openly sexist. Remember “Mabel. Black Label” and the subservient doting wife. Some detailed insight too into the renaissance of American beer that was led by the craft revolution. In 1873, the number of US breweries reached 4,131. In 1941, it was down to just 857 and stayed around that mark until 1995. Now there are close to five thousand!

The breweries that were prominent in the rise of craft are detailed. Anchor Beer, Boston Brewing and Brooklyn are included. By the way, did you know that Brooklyn have partnered Carlsberg in two breweries, one in Sweden, one in Norway.

And Jeff poses the question: “but what exactly defines ‘craft beer’? That answer is a little complicated”. He gives it a few pages, pointing out that micro-breweries, by their very nature start out small and some then get large. Can a large brewery be a craft brewery? 

The author looks to his colleague John Holl who has written an editorial in the March edition of the All about Beer magazine with the title: “Craft Beer is Dead. Long Live Craft Beer!” Holl went on to write that the simple five letter word “has caused so much ‘confusion, blind passion, and confrontation’”.

Black's of Kinsale, one of the first Irish craft brewers to can.

“Most people silently agree with me,” Holl reveals. “It’s a word that’s been fraught with all kinds of baggage. It’ll continue to change. Most brewers simply are thinking of making beer of exceptional taste and quality.” 

Cioletti claims that beer is a better match with cheese than wine. “..cheese’s fat content coats the palate and beer’s carbonation scrubs the palate clean, preparing it for the next course.” In fairness he also acknowledges that sparkling wines can do the same.

Garrett Oliver at Ballymaloe LitFest

Pizza, pasta, burgers and Barbecue have been the traditional invitation to open the beer. But go that bit further, Cioletti suggests. Try a delicate beer, a Belgian wit for instance, with sushi.

And then he moves on to fish in general, including crustaceans - “stouts are a winning match with oysters”, “spicier options with crab”. Porters and stouts are “quite comfortable” with stews. “..now, if we’re talking..beef Carbonnade, which usually has a wine base, consider something on the sour side..” If you’re on a wild game stew, “the strong flavours should harmonize with something on the wilder side: perhaps a saison with brett.”

Peter Curtin in his tiny brewery over the Roadside Tavern in Clare

There are chapters on pubs in the US and around the world (just one in Ireland, Dublin’s Against the Grain, gets a mention), on beer in films and TV (think Jaws, Cheers), on containers including cans (started in 1935!), on beer cocktails, and a nod (a small one) to Kindred Spirits eg cider, mead and spirits.

Quite a tome if not quite the encyclopaedia, packed with info and insights from leading figures over the decades, something here both for the beer beginner and the expert. 

Jack Lynch in Cork's Cotton Ball brewery, under the pub of the same name

Beer FAQ is “the ultimate primer for getting better acquainted with the world’s favorite adult beverage” and is published by Backbeat Books. Available at Amazon for £17.95.

Food and Drink Spotting

Food and Drink Spotting

Kate Lawlor's Spiced Beef, Horseradish Croquette

Get Cooking

Well done to Margaret Smith and Goodall’s on publishing A Modern Irish Cookbook in double quick time. Well illustrated and uncluttered, it is packed with recipes provided by dozens of bloggers and it neatly divided into sections: Light Bites, Brunch, Dinner, Bread and Sweet Things.

Lots of us don’t like Raw Oysters but have you ever tried them grilled. Zack has just the recipe for you: Grilled Oysters with a Bacon and Blue Cheese Crumb. Many eye catching pics in the book and one features Potato Cakes with Smoked Salmon and Hollandaise by Donna.

Lots and lots of Dinner recipes including Potato and Scallion Strudel with Local Pork and Apple Velouté by Fritz, the chef proprietor of County Down’s Strudel Bistro. From Kildare’s Kenny’s Kitchen comes a tasty looking Sausages with Lentils.

Some really promising looking bread recipes including the famous one by Avril of Rosscarbery Recipes titled: Cheddar, Stout and Black Pudding Bread.

Hard to resist the Sweet Things, especially the Plum, Cardamom and Almond Cake by JensKitchen and the Beetroot and Orange Blossom Fudge by Kate from Fenn’s Quay, known as FQChefess on Twitter.

I even got roped in – hard to say no to Margaret! You’ll find my Marinated Mushroom Salad on Page 9. The trick here is to skip the marination, entirely possible if you live in Cork. Just go to your local market and buy a jar of the delicious marinated mushrooms by Ballyhoura Mountain Mushrooms, remove the top and pour them out onto your salad. Top class and no bother at all!

But do take a look at the book. Check it out on the top right corner of the screen and, remember, that proceeds go to two charities, including Cork’s own Penny Dinners!

Time for Port

I’m partial to a glass of Port at any time of year but know that many prefer it during the winter season and particularly at Christmas time. Some of you will have a favourite but, if not and even if you have, why not try the Taylor’s First Estate Reserve available at €11.99 from Bradley’s in North Main Street. It comes in a full bodied traditional classic style and is an excellent introduction to the Taylor’s style.

It is blended from young red wines and then mellowed for several years in oak casks and is a lovely after meal drink. Use it on its own or as a match with a salty cheese. The Taylor Port website is a very enjoyable one, with lots of information laid out in a simple clear way – see the entertaining section on Port traditions, for example.

Panama Joe

My current coffee is the most recent offering from the Robert Roberts’ Club and is a relative rarity in that it comes from Panama.

Gareth Scully says that coffees from Panama are few and far between and are highly sought after in the US and Germany. “Rancho Gotta Coffee Estate has been producing specialty coffee since 1985 and now produces solely Arabica coffee. The harvest is all done by hand. Rancho Gotta Coffee was one of the few coffees used at the 2011 World Coffee Tasters Championship in the Netherlands. I roasted this one to a medium level which is always important to make sure all the flavours in a coffee like this come through.”

“The medium roast compliments all the unique flavours, with strawberry, peach and dark chocolate notes. Among other things, are hints of blueberries as it cools. An incredible body to this coffee with a butterly feel to it too. Poetic license I know, but another great example of what specialty coffee should taste like….. Enjoy!”


Shorts
David Hohnen, who visited Ballymaloe last month,tells us about his Margaret River Porkers

Christmas offers from Amandine Confectionery 

Blair’s Inn nominated for Good Food Ireland Award!

What to Eat. This book might change me! You?

What to Eat

What to Eat (Joanna Blythman), Eason’s €20.40

What to Eat is the title of the latest eye-opening book by experienced food writer Joanna Blythman and comes highly recommended.

Darina Allen: “A badly needed encyclopaedia of facts and common sense on food and nutrition fro which I am truly grateful.”

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall: “Joanna Blythman has one of the sanest heads in the western world – and this brilliant book encapsulates her admirably clear thinking in a wonderful accessible, entertaining way.”

I’ve seen the accessible bit questioned elsewhere because, amazingly, the almost 400 page book has no overall index. True, each chapter starts with a list of items to be found there. That helps but an overall index would have been so much better.

That quibble aside, this is an enormously helpful book about “Food that’s good for your health, for your pocket and plate”.

The title is, by the way, a statement, not a question. Basically, Joanna sets out her food philosophy in the introduction which features “The 20 principles of eating, made simple” and “10 ways to save money on food without compromising your principles”.

The sensible principles include:

-       Get your food variety over the year, not in a week.

-       Understand the benefits of organic food.

-       Don’t eat foods that trash the planet.

Principles sometimes lead to an uncompromising rigidity. Not so with author Blythman: “You don’t have to get hung up on eating 100 per cent organic though. There are many high-quality, wholesome foods around that do not come with organic certification – such as grass-reared meat, game, wild fish and hand-made cheeses.”

She then moves on to what Darina rightly terms the “encyclopaedia of facts and commonsense”. Chapter headings are: Vegetables, Meat, Dairy, Fish, Fruit, Larder.

Each food gets its own few pages, Take the humble spud, for instance. There is a general discussion, also helpful hints on “how to buy real spuds, not duds” and a variety of ways on how best to use them.

Virtually every food item (I’ve used potatoes as an example below)  in the book is treated in the same manner and the very detailed info comes under various headings:

-       What to do with potatoes

-       Are potatoes good for me

-       How are potatoes grown

-       Are potatoes a green choice

-       When and where should I buy potatoes

-       Will potatoes break the bank?

Quite a lot of info in the 400 pages and all delivered in a clear style and in some detail (potatoes, for instance, get six pages to themselves).

This hard cover un-illustrated book cost me €20.40 at Eason’s. I reckon it is very good vale indeed.