To Miso: Mince Pies from Blazing Salads
Nothing evokes the taste of the season quite like a mouthful of crisp mince pie bursting at the seams with juicy fruits and spices. For a yuletide treat with no added sugar it’s hard to beat the mince pies at Blazing Salads. Based on an old family recipe, their signature slow-cooked seasonal fruit mix is enriched with unpasteurised mugi barley miso overlain with mixed spice, cinnamon and nutmeg. Each pie is set on a base of organic wholemeal spelt flour and finished with an almond topping. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans, treat yourself to a wholefood sample at 42 Drury Street Dublin 2.
To Dine: One Table at the Pepperpot
We love the sound of One Table, the Pepper Pot Café’s innovative new series of themed food events set around a beautifully dressed, candle-lit table in the elegant surroundings of the 18th century Powerscourt Townhouse. The first installment unfolds on Wednesday 9th December with Julbord, a one-table, six-course Swedish Christmas feast showcasing traditional Scandinavian cooking methods. January’s event coincides with Nollaig na mBan (Women’s Christmas) and features an Edwardian one-table inspired by Joyce’s famous short story ‘The Dead’. Tickets for both events are available directly from the Pepperpot Café. For more see www.thepepperpot.ie
To Savour: New flavours from Lismore
Lovers of homemade biscuits are in for a real treat this Christmas courtesy of those crafty artisans at the Lismore Food Company. Inspired by the rich waters off the Irish coast they’ve cooked up a tasty brace of new flavours featuring caraway with Irish seaweed and an Irish digestive biscuit with Wild Atlantic sea salt. The biscuits come enveloped in colourful, eye-catching tubes and make an ideal stocking filler for those who fancy something a little more savoury over the festive season. See the full list of stockists at www.thelismorefoodcompany.com
And Union
And Union is a new craft bier [sic] range that is hitting Irish shelves in the next month. With a slogan of ‘Analog bier for a digital world’, And Union brew what they call modernist Bavarian craft bier. Since 2007, And Union have worked with a variety of brewmasters from small, regional, family-run Bavarian breweries, focusing on small-scale production and the simplest and most time-tested brewing methods, the And Union range features Steph Weiss (a Bavarian wheat bear), Neu Blk (an unfiltered dark lager), Unflt Lager (an unfiltered Helles lager) and Brr Grr (an unfiltered English pale ale) and comes wrapped in deliciously stripped-back packaging. Find out more at en.andunion.de
To Gift: Riot Rye Bakehouse & Bread School Vouchers
Looking for a last minute present for the foodie in your life? How about gifting a voucher for a bread baking course at Riot Rye Bakehouse and Bread School? Run by artisan breadmaker Joe Fitzmaurice and his wife Julie Lockett, the wood fired bakery is located in the heart of Cloughjordan Eco Village, offering an array of real bread and sourdough baking courses designed to cater for learners of all levels. Riot Rye’s special Christmas offer includes 10% off all baking course vouchers and courses booked from now until midday on Christmas Eve. For the full list of courses available visit www.riotrye.ie
Words: Martina Murray, Ian Lamont
