Let’s meet the makers of the quaint and wonderful April surprises and learn a little more!
Holden Leather, Dingle Ireland
My kids horse ride at Burnham Woods here in Dingle, and nestled within the woods is an old school that is now home to the Holden Leather goods workshop. I wanted to send to our members a surprise from Holdens, and this keyring with the Celtic stamp was a lovey token from Ireland for them. I thought of the key in the back door of the farmhouse of my mother’s family home in County Tyrone. What better way to think of Ireland everyday than with this handmade leather keyring that members can use on their own door, and perhaps remember the old farmhouses of Ireland when they do!
Nicola Smyth from Big Red Kitchen – Wheaten Bread Mix
What we love about this little cottage business is just that…it is not in the slightest bit taken by the lure of the big supermarkets who would love to stock Nicola’s products. Nicola understands what it means to be a cottage industry and she never wants to deviate from her principals. This is why it is so special that we sent to our members this bread mix. We have been baking this bread for a few years now and we just look forward to it every morning slathered in real Irish butter and delicious Irish jam.
Skellig Jam
Richie & Jackie Greene, are a husband and wife team who love in Ballinskelligs, Co. Kerry, and have a passion for making jam, the traditional Irish way: the small batch method, by hand, in open pots to enhance the flavour and they use only the finest ingredients. Richie comes from a family of chefs and has always had a love of all things cooking and food. As a child, he would watch his grandmother make jam and marmalade on the family farm in Wexford.
Our members enjoyed this little pot of jam from County Kerry on their wheaten bread and indeed used it within the recipe I provided in the April MyIrelandBox.
Samuel Lamont & Sons ~ Home textiles ~ Lurgan, County Armagh
I met Joe Lamont at Showcase Ireland craft fair at the end of January we together happily browsed through his collection of Irish textiles.
I knew that I wanted to send our members more this year, and this particular tea towel looked cute for their kitchens, and reminded me of the quality of old fashioned waffle textiles that would be seen in older times in one’s homes. Our members called for more kitchen textiles and we granted the wish! I often use my nice tea towels as tray cloths too, or I place one on the windowsill over the kitchen sink.
This waffle ‘Ireland’ tea towel, by one of my favorite Irish linen companies, is a perfect representation of Ireland and the Irish farmhouses.
Irish Cooking for Today Recipe Book by Brian McDermott
I only ever choose for our members what I love myself, and this recipe book I seem to be taking out quite a lot! It is such a handy book to have, and it’s because it holds the really true Irish recipes that we use daily here and that have been used for so long here in Ireland and would have been, and still are, the meals served up for dinner in the Irish farmhouses.
Kilbeggan Irish Oat Cookies
I love a good family business, and the Lawlor family make great food! The fact that their oats are organic really floats my boat. In 1999, Pat Lalor decided to convert the entire farm to organic status, meaning that our members could eat these delicious oat cookies as nature intended. The farm has passed down through six generations of the Lalor family beginning in 1844. Pat and the Lawlor family and team say ‘Our oat cookies are hand-made with the finest ingredients including Irish butter and our organic oats.’ Our members adore these Irish oat cookies!
My Booklet
You all know by now how much I love to write this for our members. I have stacks of books on my desk here about Ireland and what a great excuse to accumulate them for my research. I love to browse on www.duchas.ie and read to stories from the 1930’s, collected from the young and old back then, when they shared the stories and traditions and so much more that were passed down to them from their ancestors. I know that our members all love the booklet as much as I enjoy writing it.
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Our April recipe
The kid’s favourite coconut and jam loaf.
Yummy! This is a hit in my house and since our current playdates involve baking, we are trying out lots of the old recipes. We used to bake this loaf as kids and it’s pretty yummy!
I wanted to send to members a recipe that involved strawberry jam, since we included some in this April MyIrelandBox.
Barry’s tea
I love to send Barry’s tea to our members who often ask for it to be included every month, but I at least try to include a couple of times a year. We grew up with this tea from County Cork in our home, and it is found in many farmhouses all over Ireland.