Hello from Cork, Ireland! Will and I flew over in the middle of this week, so my cooking schedule is a bit off. We are staying with Will’s grandmother though, so there is a kitchen to make use of all the awesome ingredients to be bought at the English Market. The rest of the time will be spent sampling pints of stout, chips, and various fish.

Chicken and dumplings.  This is a great spring stew, that is still warming for brisk days but not heavy. I made this with a full chicken that I broke down (backbone removed, and frozen for stock later). The skin that was removed before the chicken braised I crisped up in a cast iron for everyone to snack on.

Joanne Chang’s hot and sour soup. Of course hot and sour, but also ridiculously quick to put together, hearty, and an amazing combination of textures with easy to find ingredients. I would have to be seriously convinced to try another hot and sour soup recipe.

Coconut chocolate chip cookies. I may eat a garden hose if it had coconut and chocolate on it. These cookies are made with coconut oil instead of butter as well as toasted, shredded coconut, so the flavor really comes through. I added in some cacao nibs, and I think next time I would use a bit less chocolate and more nibs. These were a snack while packing, and then dessert for the flight.

Wheat wraps with miso hummus, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted tofu, kimchi, sprouts, and lettuce. Vegan wraps are my ideal travel food because you don’t have to worry about refrigeration and I always want to pack in as many vegetables as possible before I’m tempted by so many less virtuous foods. Plus, making something saves you from spending money on something inevitably mediocre at the airport.

Irish breakfast. Speaking of less virtuous foods….toast, eggs, mushrooms, tomato, bacon, and black pudding (blood sausage). You could order one out, but if you have a kitchen for about 15 Euro you can buy all the ingredients for a full Irish for a full week.

Leeks with mustard bacon vinaigrette. This is a fancy, indulgent salad I would eat every day if I could. I made it with duck eggs for extra fanciness, and Irish bacon.

Pasta with arugula and lemon cream sauce.  This pasta made the leek salad into more of a meal. I used arugula instead of the Brussels, that I jut tossed in to wilt with the pasta and sauce.