At my bench for 7:50 a.m. this morning as I wanted to try get a soda bread made first thing ... I'll try but that up on the cookbook blog over the next day or so.

This morning I had a fairly hectic morning with a lot to do ... but I had a new teacher ... Mrs Rachel Allen herself ... I wasn't expecting that but it was a good morning ... some great laughs and some good pointers ... I really enjoyed it. 😘

My cooking went well over all ... my pate de campagne - won't be ready until Thursday (it is currently sitting under a load of weights pressing it! - but it looked and smelt good!) My onion jam was very tasty and that will be a staple in my larder going forward ... my salted caramel sauce was good but I left it on the heat for about 30 seconds too long and it had a butterscotchy taste on the end of it ... not a bad complaint some might say ... but not what I was looking for ... and I did make some mighty fine crepes !!! 🤫

No cooking now until Thursday ...

So todays demo was with Rory O'Connell but ... unfortunately due to extenuating circumstances I wasn't there ... for those interested in what was on the list ...

Carpaccio of Zucchini with Slivers of Parmesan;
Rory’s Chilled Beetroot Soup;
Beetroot Soup with Chive Cream
Poached Organic Irish Salmon,Hollandaise Sauce and Chervil
Poached Mackerel
Bretonne Sauce
Buttered Cucumber with Snipped Fennell;
Garden Peas with Mint
Broad Beans with Summer Savoury;
Sugar Snap Peas
Pommes Mousseline
Rhubarb Tart;
Green Gooseberry and Elderflower Tart with Elderflower Cream
Brambly Apple Tart;
Plum Tart
Vanilla Bean Ice-Cream;
Cinnamon Ice-Cream;
Homemade Custard or Crème Anglaise
Petit Fours
Glazed Fruits – cherries; strawberries; physalis; tangerines....
Apple Jelly and variations;
Apple and Sweet Geranium;
Apple and Mint;
Apple and Clove;
Apple and Chilli Jelly
Twice Baked Soufflé
New Potato, Broad Bean, Feta and Toasted Hazelnut

The magical reason I wasn't there was I decided to go to a pharmacy to get something for nine lovely flaming red insect bites on my right leg ... they made a right meal of me! Anyway the pharmacy couldn’t do anything for me without the doctor seeing them and prescribing an antibiotic! Nice! So ... a doctors appointment in the morning apparently!

When I returned from Midleton I still managed to get to the Fermentation workshop with Penny Allen ... This was extra curricular but was one of the best things I have done since I have arrived at Ballymaloe ... I find fermentation fascinating and fully intend to drive a certain person crazy with dozens of kilner jars filled with things bubbling and fizzing!

Today we saw how to make 1st and 2nd fermentations of water kefir and kombucha ... for those of you who don't know these two elixirs ... google them ... or drop by my place in 3 months and I'll give you a taste ... for those of you considering doing Ballymaloe ... make sure you sign up for this workshop. We also made our own Sauerkraut ... or a version of it ... I decided to make an Indian version with all sorts of spices and chilli ... it's already turning bright yellow !!! 10 days we shall know!

Later that evening we had a meeting about our pop up restaurant coming soon ... things are taking shape nicely ... so for those of you who still want tickets ... hurry up ... you're in for a treat!

Tomorrow is a non cooking day ... with wine lecture and afternoon demo on ... tea and afternoon tea 😉

Day Thirty Seven - You say kombucha ... ??