It's always a pleasure being an MC on the #SustainableLivingStage at Bord Bia Bloom, especially when you get to learn more about things like nature capital and how it can make life better for everyone

Greek yogurt for beginners in last week's Healthwise for @irishexaminer.bsky.social www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/he...

Waffles and pancakes. Easy family (br)lunch with savoury - rashers, halloumi, mozzarella - and sweet berries, compote and many jars of options to keep everyone happy. Also, tiny little hands 🥰

A still life of saucepans, plus a pair of battered colanders, the stainless steel skillet that I've had for more than 20 years and use for cooking almost every meal and two - two! - paella pans. They've been hanging in this order for the last 15 years, not that anyone else manages to put them back

Lots of fluffy buttermilk pancakes, #Irishstrawberries + caramel sauce and lemon curd from #follainirishpreserves (previously #gifted). Fuel for an afternoon's worth of cousin catch-ups, tennis matches, pogo competitions and attempts at picnics down the fields. They ignored the bread 🤷‍♀️ #feedingteens

Birds on a wire #Ireland

Last weekend I was the Drinks Theatre host at the Ballymaloe Festival of Food. Over three days, we had a starry selection of folk bringing their insights, products and fun to our stage, including Jancis Robinson, Dave Broom, Polish Wine Fest, Valencia Vermouth & Muckross Gin, to name just a few!

#journorequest - parents in Northern Ireland, what do your children call their grandparents - is it nana & granda, granny and granddad or something more unusual? DM if any thoughts. Shares appreciated.

Thanks to Aoibheann O'Brien of @foodcloud.bsky.social for talking to me in today's @irishexaminer.bsky.social about how FoodCloud works with industry partners to support community groups by distributing surplus food and providing nutrition education. www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/he...

CMAT 🥰

Scam Alert. We have been alerted by several authors who have received “invitations” to appear at WCLF. These bogus invitations ask authors to pay to appear at the festival. This is not us. We will never ask authors to pay to appear the festival

Every morning this bullfinch shouts at me as I walk past his bit of the roadside hedge #Ireland

Tuesday. #Ireland

Thanks to Ali Honour - author of Beans - for talking to me about how beans are an easy, inexpensive and nutritious way to incorporate fibre into the diet. Find the feature in today's @irishexaminer.bsky.social and here: www.irishexaminer.com/food/arid-41...

Nutrition and exercise tips to live well with Parkinson's. Thanks to Joanne Faulkner and Davy Millard for talking to me about their book, Find Your Flow in today's Irish Examiner for Parkinson's Awareness Month. Find feature here: www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/he...

Finally.

Last week, a gentleman returned this rather dilapidated copy of this famous book to us after 50 years. He had found it in his attic! Presumably this means there is a pristine copy somewhere in our libraries....

The arrival of the swallows. #Ireland #NorthCork

This morning's yoga cat. #catsofBluesky

Always love this festival 🥰

Thanks to Cherie Denham author of The Irish Kitchen, for talking to me about the joys of cabbage and its uses, from traditional to new Irish cooking. The secret is in the timing... Find the feature in today's @irishexaminer.bsky.social and online here: www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/he...

And we're live! Check out our 2026 line-up. Priority booking for Festival Friends opens 10am on 7 April. General booking for workshops at the same time and then general booking for all other events at 10am on 14 April. Hope to see you all in Bantry 10-17 July 📚❤️ www.westcorkmusic.ie/literary-fes...

Signed up. These are brilliant.

Despite all the random pieces of #Arklowpottery that I've picked up over the years, I've never seen the willow pattern design before. Vividly blue, with a beautiful gold rim, the stamps on the base suggests that this was made in the 1950s. Seventy years later, it gets a new home.

This morning's location for a live chat on @newstalkfm.bsky.social with @antonsavage.bsky.social about cooking skills - and carmelisation in the kitchen...

This was fun! Thank you fantastic contributors John Maguire, Sarina Bellissimo, Louise Bruton, Cian Sullivan and RTÉ Arena team for my first outing in the hot seat 🔥🎙️ and to @bibliocook.bsky.social my original arts show presenting buddy who I met in a student radio station @ucc.ie 30 years ago 🫶 📻

And we're off! @cristinleach.bsky.social presenting flagship arts programme Arena on @rteradio1.bsky.social tonight.

Double chocolate porter brownies for @8degreesbrewing.bsky.social brewery visitors. #bakingwithbeer

Genius.

A poem to scare small children with.

Besotted with this cover 😭💚

That time Ronnie Drew was nearly driven mad by a parrot in Dublin zoo

Thanks to Linda O'Connor & Maura Walsh from Duhallow Community Food Services for showing me around the Newmarket hub, which provides a made-from-scratch meals service to local schools, feeding 2,987 children every day. In today's @irishexaminer.bsky.social: www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/he...

Writers over the age of 18 living in Ireland, and Irish writers around the world have until Friday 15th May 2026 to submit their short story, in English or Irish at www.rte.ie/writing. Story wordcounts must fall between 1800 and 2000 words, excluding the title @rte.ie www.rte.ie/culture/2026...

A demanding Daisy Tinkles. #catsofbluesky

Friday snow on the Galtees. #Ireland

Ordered, and so looking forward to Úna-Minh's book.

Work news! Delighted to let you know that I'll be hosting the Drinks Theatre at the 2026 #BallymaloeFestivalofFood from 15-17 May, showcasing the best of wine, beer, gin and whiskey with a fabulous line up that includes Jancis Robinson, Dave Broom and many more. www.ballymaloefestivaloffood.com

There's always a tin of something oaty in the kitchen and these muesli bars are our current favourites. Crunchy, fruity, seedy and nutty, they're also cut with popcorn to avoid being too dense. Now I just need to reverse engineer them and figure out the recipe....

Saturday rainbows. #speirgorm

American chef, experimental archaeologist, and author Dr Bill Schindler, co-ordinator of an innovative UCC food enterprise course, explains to Caroline Hennessy how traditional food practices can nourish us into the future in today's @irishexaminer.bsky.social. www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/he...

The COMMENTS 😂

Heart-healthy food this Valentine’s Day ❤️ Thanks to Katie O'Sullivan for talking to me about how to eat for your cardiovascular health with colourful, fresh, and tasty foods.  Read more in the @irishexaminer.bsky.social www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/he... #valentinesday

The most perfect sunrise on #ValentinesDay #speirgorm

Sunrise. #Ireland

Spring. Daffodils from a lost woodlands, always appreciated by the few that see them. Also, so much love for this #blastabooks print of the Irish pantry. #mycottagekitchen

If you're ever looking for Paula Daly's excellent cookbooks, @thebookshopie.bsky.social is the place to go!

Catherine Fulvio: Teaching teens ‘a sense of pride’ in cooking. In today's Irish Examiner, I talk to Catherine Fulvio about her online Cooking Essentials Certificate Course and how important it is that teenagers learn how to cook. Read more: www.irishexaminer.com/food/arid-41...

Friday. #Ireland

The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.