Ireland

Last month, Karl and I traveled to Ireland. It would be an understatement to say we weren't totally smitten with the place. I'm not sure if I've gotten used to the European ways but I was totally taken back by how friendly, open, and talkative the Irish were. I don't usually expect much hospitality when you are traveling within language barriers and visiting countries that are over-toured (and as you can see learning Dutch has given my English vocab a beating). But, being in Ireland was basically like being in the US. For me this meant splitting meals were not a problem, having water served to you during a meal was a no-brainer, and beers were poured in pints (although, honestly, one does not leave the country of beer to visit another not-so-great country of beer – there I said it, Belgian beers are among my favorites).

There is so much written about Ireland that I'll leave you to the pics. We were in Dublin for 4 days, then hit the road, and would recommend seeing Dublin within a day or two. We loved exploring and driving around the country much more. Driving on the opposite side of the road is not difficult, just be cautious and take a lot of breaks, and if you are traveling with others, they can help be an extra set of eyes and common sense). If you drive a manual and are unsure of how it will be, trust me, it is not difficult (and it is much cheaper than renting an automatic, silly Americans!) It takes about 10 minutes to get used to, and then you figure it out, and can feel content that you saved a bunch of money on your car rental. 

Lots of locals will give their opinions and tips, but overall the most helpful were to see Dingle and the southwest. Most accommodations for budget travelers are readily available - B&B's are easy to find, and most towns are set up with wifi, but I don't think booking rooms would be difficult if you just drove up.

The smaller towns are quaint, welcoming, and all have a range of nice pubs and restaurants. There is usually some historical things to see so I'm sure any of the ones you stop in by accident will be the ones you end up remembering the most.

Cork:

We passed through Cork entirely and stayed in Blarney, I think it would be a nice town, but there is so much more beautiful things to see that you'll want to rush right past. We did do a recommended coastal drive (I got this book from the library and brought it with us) which eventually brought us into County Kerry. Old Head and Kinsale was really nice. We drove until we grew tired of the stunning view after stunning view, and then headed towards County Kerry.

County Kerry/Ring of Kerry:

Gorgeous loop around the Kerry peninsula with lots of nice towns scattered in between. You can't go wrong here, especially if the weather is clear and you get nice views, but even with the fog it's pretty gorgeous. We drove the northwest part of the ring and went over to Valentia Island right at sunset. We stayed at an "inn" with a pub on the lower floor. It was a good idea in practice until 11:30 pm. 

Dingle Area:

Spend some time in Dingle and drive, or bike if you're brave, around the peninsula. It has breathtaking views. Dingle is a large vacation spot (so we were told by many Irish) for the Irish so it has a lot of things going on. We went from Dingle and drove a small tip of the peninsula (Dingle, to Ventry (very nice), Slea Head, Ballyferriter, up towards Brandon Creek, and then came down to Dingle again and headed up through Connor Pass. That pass is the highest point and it gives you really wonderful views if you do the short hike up the hill. It's really worth it. And you can see all the sheep - in case you miss lots of sheep while you are driving around. 

County Clare:

From Dingle our next stop was County Clare and the Cliffs of Moher (along the Clare coast) the drive is a bit boring once you leave Dingle, but you cover it quickly enough. If you use GPS it'll direct you to take a ferry to Kilrush (thus avoiding taking you into Limerick which will add lots of miles). From their we'd recommend stopping at Cliffs of Moher (we did the cliff hike past the views towards Hag's Head, about 3 hours roundtrip) and stop in Doolin for some dinner or lunch. We finished the drive north towards Black Head and then onto Galway. The end was a bit rushed since we needed to get back.

After Europe, we found the Irish to be so pleasant and talkative. No charges for splitting meals, asking for tap water, or for using the bathroom. It practically felt American. I must add, that upon our returning to Belgium, our customs agent assured us we were returning to a country with much better beer.

Hello Guinness! And Dublin

Temple Bar

The Porterhouse Brewing

Iveagh Gardens

Jameson Distillery, make sure you raise your hand when they ask for volunteers,

On the road:

Old Head, Kinsale

Towards Ventry, County Kerry

Conner Pass, County Kerry

Cliffs of Moher, County Kerry

Locke's Distillery, Kilbeggan

Garden Fridays: May 20-22

Back in late March I started seedlings indoors hoping that at least half of them would survive. They grew so well that I had to split them into multiple new pots, and now have many more plants than pots. I’m almost done finding space for all of them, but here’s how things grew:

Seedling starts:
Red patio bell peppers: 3 pots
Slim jim eggplants: 4 pots
Ida gold tomatoes:  3 pots
Siberian tomatoes:  3 pots
Genovese basil: 1 half of small window box
Coriander: 1 half of small window box

What I ended up with:

(most original pots had 2 seeds per pot)

Red patio bell peppers: 3 plants
Slim jim eggplants: 3 plants
Ida gold tomatoes: 5 plants
Siberian tomatoes: 6 plants
Genovese basil: hardy plant on windowsill
Coriander/cilantro: seeded and bolted.
Cucumbers: 6 pots, 6 plants (after splitting seedlings)

After an unseasonably warm spring (no complaints here) I decided to harden off the seedlings a week or two ahead of schedule which means they ended up getting planted 2 weeks ahead of schedule (original garden set out date was first week of June). I’m looking forward to many good garden eats this summer, but need to figure out a sustainable way to get rid of bugs. They are eating everything! Damn slugs! I’m opposed to pesticides for a number of reasons - but I can truly grasp the damage bugs and pests can do. I’m trying to do some companion planting and am rethinking red chili spray. Let me know if you have any good suggestions. Lady bugs? Spiders?

The spring garden goods are giving up quickly. The lettuce is exhausted, the radishes gave up (or were eaten) the spring onions have all disappeared; the cauliflower was eaten by something which eventually killed it, but the the broccoli and red cabbage are hanging on for dear life (I found some pests, and have posted below).

Have I really been at this since January? Oh and quickly, if you’re a transplanted gardener and you move abroad, or really anywhere, don’t give up - you’ll find your way. I have managed to buy bags and bags of soil (and do not own a car), salvage pots at flea markets and convince Karl to bike them home, and found an online garden center which specializes in plants and seeds for the season/latitude/climate. The one thing I couldn’t find and eventually gave into buying was plant fertilizer. I wasn't sure if compost would be good enough (it’s manure I bought) and bought some liquid plant food. Don’t worry, I won’t give in and buy pesticides - but I’m close.

Here’s the ongoing photo-doc, enjoy:
Spring goods looking stressed out:



Some looking a bit better:



Pests in action:



Cauliflower fail:


Seedlings getting hardened off:


I should mention that these guys doubled in size over 10 days once they were set out.

The four pots below are pear melons (Solanum muricatum) from the annual Bloemenmarkt in Leuven, compact/container tomatoes, and the strawberry pot (that came from last year’s Bloemenmarkt - an annual flower and plant market held in the Ladeuzeplein the last weekend of April or first weekend of May) that has shared it’s home with swiss chard, a red cabbage plant, leftover lettuce seeds, and now, a cucumber:


I eventually gave up the idea of individually staking everything and made this very make-shift trellis out of a leftover clothes rack:


The best part is the opposite ends can be also be trellised; now I can plant some beans once I salvage more pots:


Because I’m crazy and I still have multiple seed packets and have realized my big huge sunless windows still manage to grow things that are placed upon them (even when Mr. Duds steps in the plants, or eats them), I started dill and marjoram. I was inspired by SIP containers of the Green Roof Growers blog:


No windows in this apartment get left out. Tomatoes, mint, basil, cilantro, patio red peppers (that I stuffed in a window box!), and thyme. (Franks - stop laughing at my bad use of punctuation):

Beer post: 't Gaverhopke

't Gaverhopke beers

Inside the brewery

Beers in crates 

Fermentation room

Beer samplers (with a candid shot of the head brewer); their family made the wooden holders

Yummy beers hiding a classic Belgian snack (boterham met kaas)

't Gaverhopke, located in Stasegem, West Flanders, Belgium, is a small family-owned brewery owned and operated by Bruno and Gudrun (the wife is the head brewer). To give you some context of the size, the husband-wife duo manage the brewery and cafe, which are located in the same building.

To set up a brewery visit, I had called the brewery and had spoken with Bruno. On our visit we were welcomed by both of them, and Bruno gave us the tour of their facilities. Once the tour was over, we took a seat in the cafe and ordered up 2 samplers so we could taste all of their yummy beers. Gudrun got her technical beer training in Gent, but told us that she enjoys the brewing process much more than the science. Although the Flemish dialect differs, ik was met ze aan het praten (I was able to talk to them). The cafe has food and snacks, and a nice terrace for when the sun comes out.

These guys were awesome. I'd highly recommend a visit because it's personal and friendly, and you can hang out in the cafe and watch the locals filter in. 't Gaverhopke struck me as a community brewery. During the late afternoon, the cafe began to fill with locals, and each group that would enter would be immediately recognized by either Bruno or Gudrun.

Since I didn't take extensive notes on their beers while there, I will say that I enjoyed their Paasbier (beer brewed for spring right around Easter, or Easter beer) and their Koerseklakske (a light bodied beer based off the blond and consumed in copious amounts during the bike races in the spring). They are marketing their beers more heavily outside of Belgium. You can't find 't Gaverhopke beers in any Belgian cafes (at least none in Leuven). You can purchase them in beer stores (like the ABS in Winksele), but you'll probably have more luck finding it in the US as it's being imported there.

It is best to drive to the brewery as public transit will take too long. Trains from Brussels to Kortrijk (Stasegem is nearby) run frequently, but take at least 2 hours. If you rent a car, you can easily get to Poperinge and Ieper, then do some brew touring there (St. Sixtus Abby, Struisse, and if you call ahead you could also visit St. Bernardus). West Flanders is excellent biking country. You can rent bikes and everything is flat. Just pick up a biking guide because the routes all correspond to numbers of a biking trail system called the fietsknooppunten. Which is the best thing ever (if you love biking aimlessly). Then bike, drink some beers, and stop in and get some true Belgian fries (frites met curry saus is my favorite). It's easy to see why we love it here. 

't Gaverhopke Steenbrugstraat 187, 8530 Stasegem, Belgium

+32 (0497) 76 04 12

Month of Meals: May 2011

I've written extensively on the benefits of meal-planning on your health, your wallet, and the ability to try new foods. I had been planning weekly meals and decided to put this together (and hopefully improve it some).

The extra prep column is meant to be for tasks that can be performed a day ahead of time (such as planning to soak and cook beans - a vital food to vegetarians, or could be used to prep veggies that can be used later in the week. In this way, soak beans in plenty of water, leave them out all day, and then cook them when you get home as you start prepping dinner. You can cook a bit batch of them and use them in meals the rest of the week. The list of meals can help you grocery shop and reduce purchasing things you already own. Include kids and other family members by getting input on what to eat. To find recipes, I use cookbooks, blogs, magazines, or try to recreate several meals that I enjoy in restaurants.

Lettuce and fresh greens based salads are easy tasty ways to include more servings of veggies without much effort. I usually add nuts, radishes, chopped tomatoes, onions, or peppers and toss with some olive oil and vinegar (e.g. a fig or raspberry vinegar). Planned meals can help you try new foods, or help you include servings of foods from food groups that may not make it on your dish every day.

If you stray from this (as often one does) just get back to it. This is a general framework that has helped me buy groceries, balance my budget, utilize the pantry, try new foods, and overall plan meals so I don't have to spend much time thinking about it during the week.

I've included links to the recipes I used; I will update with a pdf once I figure that out.  Don't hesitate to let me know how I can improve this (or what your thoughts are). and p.s: I didn't know I could publish spreadsheets through Google Docs! How cool!