It's a funny thing starting a blog. You feel like the 13 year old version of yourself throwing your diary open to the whole school with the inevitable cringetastic terror and possible beatings that may result. For many years I was resistant to blogs, but it's like that bottle of Barolo in the wine rack, eventually you cave.
Following our book "Basketcase; What's happening to Irish Food?" I feel it's important to continue the debate and bring together many strands about Irish food and the countryside that currently don't exist in the same place. The blog will also provide links to my food and farming journalism. There will be food of all colours and all quality featured here, from Supermacs to Guilbauds to Tesco's tikka masala. We'll also have information on Kevin Thorntons hair, a fungus that looks like Britney Spears and a non-leathal method of stopping pheasants waking you up at four in the morning. We'll also laugh at efforts at growing your own, and the do's and don'ts of feeding small children (no Grey Goose Vodka).
I hope the site will function as a place to keep up with what's new and good in Ireland; the upcoming stars whether it be new cheeses, new restaurants, shops, markets, farm shops, cakes, courgettes and cafes.... where you can find them and where the best deals are. I hope that those who read the blog will contribute on what they're loving or hating putting into their gob, and where they're finding great quality and value. Basketcase loves the countryside. We need more countryside issues on the web! After all food grows out of the ground, or is born from an egg in a vast chicken unit. We need to be real about food, how important it is to this country and how good we are at producing it. Rural Ireland seems to be shrinking in importance, but if we continue to produce quality food, and futhermore, actully buy the stuff, we can keep rural Ireland vibrant and very much alive.
Farming may be a dirty word, but so are lots of other fun words. So if you keep your own pigs, potter about with herbs, love your pets, fall off horses or dip your Manolos into mud occasionally, this is the place for you. Hope you enjoy it. Blogging is strange, embarrassing, narcissistic and why is there no spell check? At least my labrador might condescend to read this. She is a useless guard dog but fabulous on her laptop. Till next time x
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