Whiskey in the jar
Jamaican-born Dubliner Alistan Munroe's jerk seasoning range has been expanded to six varieties, including a new one made with Teeling whiskey. The whiskey jerk joins light, medium, bold and ghost (the strongest), as well as one made with Orpens Irish cider, with a gluten-free marinade on the way next year.
To make the latest version of the traditional Jamaican seasoning, some of the ingredients are soaked for up to six months in Teeling whiskey, and others are smoked over wood chips from bourbon casks, Munroe explains. “The Teeling whiskey gives the jerk marinade a depth of sweetness to the spices, with oaky notes from the bourbon casks.”
Monroe’s Teeling jerk (€5.50) is available at the Teeling Whiskey Distiller in Dublin 8; Drink Store, Manor Street, Dublin 7, Black Pig, Donnybrook, Dublin 4, and will be going into Dublin airport. For stockists, see munroes.net.
Raw deal at Alchemy
New York chef and author Doris Choi, who specialises in raw and plant-based foods, is joining her sister-in-law Domini Kemp for a special event at Alchemy in BT2 in Dublin on Wednesday, July 29th. The duo will be serving a raw and vegan three-course dinner that will feature coconut lime soup, spicy avocado rolls with wasabi-shoyu dip, and an intriguing raw Pad Thai with courgette noodles and cashew-ginger sauce.
For dessert, there’ll be key lime ginger tarts, and guests will be toasting their good health with Thai lemonade. To book, email hello@alchemyjuice.ie; tickets are €55.
All buttered up
Nut butters are a big thing at the moment and Bangor, Co Down, company Keen Nutrition make some excellent ones with almonds, hazelnuts, cashews and macademias (see keennutbutter.com for stockists).
But if you'd like to have a go at making your own, invest in a good, heavy duty blender, and a copy of this lovely little book, Nut Butters: 30 Nut Butter Recipes and Creative Ways To Use Them, by Mary Loudermilk (published by Sterling, New York, £9.99 from thegmcgroup.com).
You can make a basic nut butter by blending warm, roasted nuts and adding salt to taste. You can also get creative and here you’ll find recipes for clever combinations such as chocolate, hazelnut bourbon butter, bacon pistachio butter, and oatmeal cookie peanut butter. Once you’ve made your butter, there are lots of ways to use them, other than on toast. How about salted caramel hazelnut butter scones, rosemary cashew butter chicken, or spicy ginger peanut butter soup?
Pitch in for Best Shops
We all have our favourite market stalls – the vendor who puts aside a plump free-range chicken before they all sell out so Sunday lunch is saved; the olive and pickle guys who are generous with their samples and the sunny bakers who make our weekend with their cakes and chat. So it's time to reward them. Nominations are now being taken for Best Market Stall, a new category in the Irish Times Best Shops in Ireland 2015. Put in a word for your favourite at irishtimes.com/bestshops.
