Don’t it always seem to go, that when you are actually doing things it’s hard to sit down and write about them…

Jetting (or rather, turbo-propping) off again

The week came with another stint across the water. This time it was much smoother with no delays, and on the way back I had enough time to book into the Martello Lounge at Dublin airport which was two minutes away from my gate. It was a much more pleasant way to spend an hour than in the general hubbub of the airport. By the time you factor in lunch, a coffee, and maybe a drink at the airport, you would be pretty much at the price of a lounge. This one was rather nice and the food was decent (chilli con carne pictured).

The weekend brought with it a new obsession. We had two paddleboard trips: one in Kilkenny, and another in Carrick-on-Suir. I have wanted to try paddleboarding for years but never got round to it. I remember the stand-up paddleboard (SUP) community dovetailed with the kayaking one when I used to dabble in whitewater kayaking, but it was only moving to the South West that got me interested. And it took visiting the South East of a completely different country to get me on one. I was a little shaky at the beginning, but after a few minutes (and a set of small rapids) I was able to stand and make it down to Kilkenny castle.

Naturally there were two paddleboards waiting at home on my return. This is the Year of the Board.

Baking

I don’t bake Irish bread often, but I felt an ancestral call around St Patrick’s day last week. I made soda bread and wheaten bread for the occasion. I stopped short of potato bread on this occasion, but I have made it recently as well. The trips to Waterford are bringing out a little more of my Irish side. One thing I’ve enjoyed but never made myself is boxty. I had some great boxty at Holohan’s pantry in Belfast when I was living there but it is rarely at the forefront of my mind. Most of my cooking is far removed from Irish staples, but I’m keen to rediscover my culinary past.

I’ll stick in mum’s recipe for soda bread/soda farls. Yes I know soda bread is ambiguous and can refer to any of the Irish quick breads, but we always associated it with white farls.

Irish Soda Farls

• 12 oz (340g) plain flour (if you have soda bread flour do not add salt or baking soda)
• 1 ½ tsps baking soda
• ¾ tsp salt
• ½ pt (285mL) buttermilk

Method

• Heat pan on stove to medium hot.
• Sift dry ingredients, mix in buttermilk with stick end of wooden spoon. Add a little extra buttermilk if needed to make a ball. You do not want it to be sticky.
• Turn out onto floured board/counter. Knead lightly and shape into round. Roll out into large circle about 1” thick. Cut into 4 farls/quadrants.
• Check pan is correct temperature by sprinkling some flour in. If it colours nicely put in farls. Cover with a tea towel that fits over pan without edges coming into contact with cooker.
• Cook 7 mins one side. Remove one farl. Place the second farl in its place to cook the other side, turn the other two then put the first one in the last space. Tap down and cook further 5 mins approx. Turn farls on end and rotate each farl so ends are coloured. Cool on wire rack wrapped in teatowel.

It’s easy. If you can’t get buttermilk, use any dairy milk or plant-based milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar and leave it for a few minutes to curdle. It works pretty well as a substitute.

Games

We have scratched the surface of Resident Evil Requiem, and the flakes of paint peeping through are terrifying. The latest addition to the Resident Evil franchise truly lives up to the name. The survival horror is dialed up to the maximum with our protagonist, Grace, stalking around a chronic care facility trying to stay out of the reach of horrifying monsters which never seem to stop. Part of the problem is that we keep trying to play it just before bed, and getting absolutely petrified in the process.

On a more chilled (ish) note, I played a little bit of Neva the other day. It’s a sidescrolling platform game that has you solving environmental puzzles while battling against sinister plant-life. The art style is beautiful, and the behaviour of your dog (Neva) is wonderfully animated. Depending on how I get on with Resident Evil, I may yet return to Neva, although it is yet to hook me.

Your Honor…

With the travelling I’ve been doing, I wanted a slightly lighter and more up to date laptop. After a bit of intense reading online, I settled for the Honor MagicBook Pro. Sound familiar? Yes, it is a MacBook clone, but it does it rather well. An Intel Core Ultra 9, with 32 GB RAM and a 4K touchscreen. It ticks all the boxes, although I am yet to test it out with any intense applications. It is thin and light, and the keyboard is delightful to type on. My Dell also had a chicklet keyboard, but this one feels crisp and more responsive. Stay tuned for a proper review.