BALLYMALOE DAY 1

Please note that if any food choices have a * after it, that means I'll be posting the recipe. Everything is made here, with organic ingredients only.

If there is a dish mentioned in the course of the next two weeks, that isn't marked, and you would like a copy, please post a comment.

I arrived this morning at 8am sharp ready for work. Eatting breakfast was my first duty of the day. A very nice send off I would say.

The menu was beautiful and deliciously healthy. FRESH squeezed orange juice, fresh fruit, yogurt made from the jersey cows that reside here, granola* with NO sugar, gluten-free muelsi*, a muelsi mixed with fresh raspberries and yogurt, seeded-brown bread*, scones*with cream or butter and homemade jams. Fairtrade coffee and tea with fresh cream or milk.

My first job was to make scones. First of all I had never made scones before and second, I thought I was going to be cutting vegeatbles, washing dishes and serving. I was delighted that I had the opportunity to make something. The recipe was: Mummy's Sweet-Milk Scones*. I followed the recipe and began baking them as directed. As I had just put the first batch in the oven, Darina Allen walked in. Darina is the owner of Ballymaloe and the Alice Waters of Ireland. Just as Alice Waters started the Slow Food Movement in America, Darina started the Slow Food Movement here in Irealnd. She's a very sweet lady and extremely focused on her cooking agenda. She greeted me and we chatted for awhile and then she noticed how I was rolling the scones. Wrong! Luckily, she instructed me how to roll a scone properly and why. I'll post that along w/the recipe.

After my scones I moved to another kitchen. There's many different kitchens here. My next job was making a salad for lunch. I kid you not, I assembled a salad with about two dozen different greens and herbs plus some edible flowers combined. I'll post the list of the mix soon. I had never seen such a colorful and fragrant salad before. I was then asked to make my own salad dressing* which got the stamp of approval by Ms. Darina herself. That was really cool. She asked me my recipe and then turned to Trina (a cook here) and asked her to show Madeliene (that would be me, but that's my mother's name who was her friend) the edible flower garden. It warmed my heart and gave us both a chuckle after I told Trina who Madeliene was.

The lunch menu was epic, for a vegetarian that is:

Salad

Grilled Eggplant with pine nuts and arugula

Heirloom Tomatoes with French Dressing* (my mother made this often)

Red Quinos with Cucumber and Mint

Pasta with Eggplant Sauce

Beet Soup

Carrot Cumin Soup

Summer Squash with Basil

Three different breads: Irish Soda, Brown Bread and Seeded Bread

Vanilla Ice Cream with Fresh Berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, boysenberries, red currants)

Coffee and tea

My day ended around 4pm. There are 35 students this week at the school including the children. This is a major operation and the energy in the kitchen has a mighty pulse to say the least.

Stay tuned for Day 2.