I almost killed my husband.............

It's true. I did. See the problem is, I am stressed right now. I am wrapping up my first year at University and have the pounding pressure of summer exams (18 days from now) on my mind. Having spent the last (almost) fifteen years of my life with this man I should 'know how he is' says he and none of this should 'rattle my cage'. Stress has put me over the edge................

The Chef has waaaaaay more positive attributes than negative ones, and I am not going to bore y'all with the good side of my longtime partner-in-crime. Something that he downright sucks at is paperwork and planning. (this works well in our relationship, because for the most part,  I am fairly organised).

We live by the 'College Calendar' these days, so after Christmas I gave him the dates for Easter so he could request his time off during our time off and we could enjoy a few days of doing nothing around the house together. This may sound like SAD.com to a lot of you, but sometimes doing nothing around here ends up with us doing an awful lot because I over plan to nothing part and The Chef gets antsy with that! 

Over the last few weeks I have been lining up a few things for the 'honey do' list and even mentioned how nice it would be if he took 'Holy Thursday/Good Friday' off so we could have a little bit more time to get stuff done. My ever accommodating hubby told me that he had taken the extra few days off and that made my week. UNTIL Monday that is. When he (the heathen) informed me that his days off did not begin until NEXT WEEK and his week of holidays was April 12th (the day we all go back to school).

Technically, I am not sure what happens when you murder a husband in Ireland. I've never tried it, but probably some jail time. I bit my tongue, and ranted like a lunatic for a good twenty four hours until the sheepish chef came home with a crisp n'chilled bottle of white burgundy and a yummy dinner for two waiting for me (with the kids overnighting at Granny's). Aside from the fact I had already started to hate myself for my ranting and raving things only got worse when he told me he got his holiday dates straightened out too. 

So, I could not kill him. Why did I have to be reminded how lucky I am to have this man in my life. Why did I behave like a freaking lunatic, when I know that paperwork and planning is his downfall. Why?? Well, I guess because that's life folks. No one is perfect. I know this, I am no where near perfect, neither is my other half - but he is all mine. And even though I wanted to kill him, I could not afford to hire another chef now, could I!

Those are all the WiseWords I have for today (as I procrastinate even further)

WiseMóna

A Gourmet Lovers Guide to Galway and the surround!

Joes Café

The Dell Centre

Lahinch, Co. Clare

(less than 75km from Galway City)

Tel - 353 65 7086113

Email - info@joespizza.ie

Between a rock and a hard place is where you will find one of my favourite cafés in Ireland. Tucked away in the centre of Lahinch town, Joes Café serves up some pretty amazing grub at recessionary rates! Over the past two years I have stopped into this coffee lovers paradise more than ten times and each time (being a sceptic) I expect it to be ‘not as good’ as the last visit, because that is usually what happens to all the good restaurants and cafés.

Virgins to the business, new restaurant owners dream big and bright, throw their love and money into getting their ‘dream’ up and running, then realise (after they have lured loyal followers) that it is impossible to make money in the industry unless you sell out, serve slop on a plate, hire untrained employees, pay them minimum wage and have them run the operation.

The owner, Joe McCarthy, is obviously stark raving mad because he has dug his heels in and it seems like he is in for the long haul. On a recent visit as I was strolling around Lahinch town (mid –winter, so it might have been more like a brusque walk), I asked several of the psycho winter-surfer dudes what they thought of Joes Café and the response was unanimous. Unequivocally the best spot for decent coffee in Lahinch (serving one of my favourite grinds Lavazza) and best vegetarian menu too!

A splash of California sunshine spills all over the walls, windows and tables inside Joes Café and the minute you enter this cosy nook, you are welcomed by appetizing smells and a very friendly staff. The menu is not your typical Irish menu and has items like Moroccan Stew (vegerarian), enormous field green salads topped with a piece of fresh fish (Joe being the fisherman), the blue-germ banana pancakes with baileys whipped cream, and the big-boy beef burger for the big boys! All these might tickle those taste buds, but I am fairly certain that the majority of patrons are there because of one item. The Pizza! Making his dough from scratch, and having invested heavily in his pizza oven, those thin crusted pizza pies topped in any which way you please are more appealing to the eye and senses than anything else for miles around, miles I tell you.

Of course there are a gazillion other menu items that will tempt you. If you sit and wait for a while, studying what everyone else is getting you will surely regret it, because everything arrives out to the tables promptly, piping hot (or temperature appropriate) and with a smile.

With nothing on the menu topping thirteen euros, conceivably one could graze there all day long, tapping away on ones laptop, taking a break to oogle a few surfers or pinch the cheeks of a fat baby next to you. Once ready to leave the comfort of Joes Café (and already plotting your next visit) the best thing to do is reflect on what brought you to Lahinch in the first place.

A stroll along the seashore of Lahinch sweeps me away

Skies of liquid colour, mountains heave and sway.

A short drive from my hometown, of Galway by the sea

Lahinch in lovely Ireland, is my favourite place to be.

It is local, it is not too far from Galway

And it sure as heck feels like home to me!



That is all the WiseWords I have for today,

WiseMóna

Wise Irish Poetry

Before the onslaught of school starts tomorrow (for me anyway), I wanted to doodle a little ditty for my Mum. She is a lover of all things 'Nature'. She also assumes the primary care of our wee crumb catchers whilst we work and study. As we will return to 'the normal daily grind' tomorrow, so will she and God knows, she has the harder job!

So Granny, Mum, Catherine (and any other personality name you go by) This ones for you!

Window Watching Wonder

Tree tops smothered with icy fog,
birds are scrounging like a hungry dog.
Splashy skies of radiant hues,
pinks and yellows, mauve's and blues.




Freezing breaths of ice cold air,
this weather in Ireland is oh, so rare.
Snows white blanket on the ground,
for bundled babies a treasure found.




Blood red cheeks and fingers froze,
sparkly laughs and runny nose.
Crystals hang from rooftops edge,
so to nature’s beauty we make our pledge.




Protect our earth, our air and sea
so the little ones can squeal with glee.
With their happy cries of musical tone
we only hear 'There is no place like home'...




That is all the WiseWords I have for today,


WiseMóna
 

Wise Movie Review - Avatar

It is not very often that I am stuck for WiseWords to share with y'all - OK, I am never really stuck for words. Being Irish I was blessed with the 'the gift of the gab' as they say around here and that is my cross to bear. After watching the brand new movie AVATAR (that I was dying to see) I was left kind of speechless and even a little breathless.

Opening day in the US raked in a cool $73 million but trust me when I tell you folks for James Cameron that is not even the teeny tiny tip of the iceberg - yeah, pun intended. Cameron could afford a twelve year hiatus after 'Titanic' due to the fact that it raked in $1,835,300,000 (that is more than one billion) at the box office and it is still the worlds biggest movie earner.

So what does a brilliant director and writer do for twelve years whilst on his little mini-break? He invents and creates life on another planet named Pandora. He breeds a tribe of long lean lithe brilliant blue bodied natives and names them the Na'vi clan.

Cameron develops two worlds for us to live in for almost three (of the fastest) hours. He keeps it real in the real world we live in, where the army and the government are plundering greedy MEN (sorry guys) trying to rape the land for its very plentiful and expensive natural resources.

At the beginning of the movie there is a Wizard of Oz quote from Col. Quaritch "You are not in Kansas anymore. This is Pandora, Ladies and Gentlemen. If there is such a place called Hell, you may want to plan a trip there for some R & R after your tour here on Pandora".

This got me a little tense and annoyed because I got the impression that this was going to be heavily laden with a ravaging war and not the love story I was hoping for. Brilliantly Cameron gives us both!

I want to go into waaaaaay toooooooo much detail here to tell you what went down with the two main characters Jake Sully and Neytiri but I am really hoping that sporting your 3-D shades you will run to the Cinema nearest you TODAY and watch this movie.

A few months ago I blogged about the effects of watching Slumdog Millionaire. I found it visually electrifying. Avatar has created a world of its own when it comes to the visual graphics Cameron has offered to us on a silver platter.

It is a classic love story - with more beautiful nude blue bodies than clothed white ones. There is way to much war and bloodshed for it to be a stand alone chick flick - so you can bring the guys along.

There is so much erotic visual stimulation with the lights and the graphics you will certainly feel like you live in a shoe box and can only wonder in awe 'how' a man can conjure up these images in his head and manage to transfer them on to the screen.

(think of what life underwater looks like - and you will see how he creates a lot of the scenes).

Taking a risk this might give a few of you good reason to loose interest in this movie I will now stand on my soap box to wrap this up. "Look into her memories and see the world we have come from. There is no green there, they have killed their Mother."

This is a 'Treehuggers delight' as far as sending a powerful political message. The essence and well being of the Na'vi clan revolves around their nurturing of Mother Earth and the devastation and destruction that unfolds when the greedy men decide to rape the land is debilitating.

Go see the movie, then 'do your share' and make 2010 the year that you decide to help clean up your little part of the planet.

That is all the WiseWords I have for this rainy St. Stephen's Day in Ireland!

WiseMóna

The devils in the detail!

“The devil has put a penalty on all things we enjoy in life. Either we suffer in health or we suffer in soul or we get fat.” ... Albert Einstein

It is that time of year isn't it! Every single morsel that crosses your path stops you in your tracks for a moment knowing it is going from 'lips to hips' and then some! One of our favourite party platters sure to please is Deviled Eggs. The name 'deviled' was first recorded back in the 1700's and used to refer to dishes that were highly spiced. Although deviled eggs have been around for quite some time it seems that every household tweaks their own recipes to perfection and may even be unwilling to share!

Not the case here of course. My handsome chef is a master at recipe development and this is just one of those things he has been making for so long he really could 'do it in his sleep'.

I will not bore you with a big long explanation on how to make these but am going to offer up a few tips to make it a little easier.

Whatcha need

1 dozen eggs (hard boiled and cold)

Mayonnaise

Bacon (streaky is best)

Mango chutney/Coleman's English Mustard/Franks Hot sauce

Paprika

Chives

Howtomakeit

1. Hack the bacon into tiny pieces and cook. We cook it in the oven until it is really dry and crunchy, the drain off the fat and keep it for other great uses!

2. Crack the shell of the eggs so it feels soft and broken all around when holding in the palm of your hands. Cover all eggs in ice cold water and let soak for 10 - 15 mins. This really helps in the shelling process and the result is usually a perfect egg!

3. Slice eggs (lengthwise) in half and put all the yolks into a bowl.

4. Add mayonnaise, bacon and whatever flavour you are hankering for. Ron is partial to the mango chutney ones - taking him back to his days at Chateau Pomijie where he created this recipe. (just add as much or as little as you like with these items - taste as you go!)

5. Fill the yolk mixture back into the eggs and arrange nicely on a bed of cabbage leaves. (You can use lettuce leaves too, but cabbage will not wilt).

6. Sprinkle with a little paprika and some chopped chives for colour!






Once you start making (and eating these) they will become one of your favourites!

That is all the WiseWords I have for today,

WiseMóna

A visit with Irish Author Brian Leyden

A visit from Brian Leyden to NUI Galway last week left many of us meandering around campus afterwards scribbling poems on pieces of paper. I have written all the pertinent information you need to know about this very talented Irish Author down below but before you swan on down their to read it, let me tell you what I loved about this guy.

1. He is making a comfortable living as an Author in Ireland today (yeah!)
2. He thinks we (students) have a huge advantage because we can learn what the publishers out there are looking for and then give it to them!
3. He read a poem by WB Yeats.

Admittedly Yeats is of my all time favourite poets so this was a shoe in for Brian Leyden were he looking for 'class appeal'. It was not what he read, but how he read it. He had his book laid out on the table in front of him as if he needed it for reassurance. He looked around the room and his voice hypnotised us for as long as it took him to recite this piece.

Adam's Curse


We sat together at one summer's end,
That beautiful mild woman, your close friend,
And you and I, and talked of poetry.
I said, "A line will take us hours maybe;
Yet if it does not seem a moment's thought,
Our stitching and unstitching has been naught.
Better go down upon your marrow-bones
And scrub a kitchen pavement, or break stones
Like an old pauper, in all kinds of weather;
For to articulate sweet sounds together
Is to work harder than all these, and yet
Be thought an idler by the noisy set
Of bankers, schoolmasters, and clergymen
The martyrs call the world.'

And thereupon
That beautiful mild woman for whose sake
There's many a one shall find out all heartache
On finding that her voice is sweet and low
Replied, "To be born woman is to know -
Although they do not talk of it at school -
That we must labour to be beautiful.'

I said, "It's certain there is no fine thing
Since Adam's fall but needs much labouring.
There have been lovers who thought love should be
So much compounded of high courtesy
That they would sigh and quote with learned looks
precedents out of beautiful old books;
Yet now it seems an idle trade enough.'

We sat grown quiet at the name of love;
We saw the last embers of daylight die,
And in the trembling blue-green of the sky
A moon, worn as if it had been a shell
Washed by time's waters as they rose and fell
About the stars and broke in days and years.

I had a thought for no one's but your ears:
That you were beautiful, and that I strove
To love you in the old high way of love;
That it had all seemed happy, and yet we'd grown
As weary-hearted as that hollow moon.


Our teacher had to break the silence with a big 'bula bus' after Brian finished blindly reciting this gorgeous piece as us students were mesmerized. A standing ovation was in order but we were transfixed in time. Wishing, dreaming, hoping that someday, someone like Brian would stand up in a room full of people and read one of our poems - just like that!

A quick look at who Brian Leyden is:
An Irish Novelist, short story writer and teacher of Creative Writing. He also conducts writers workshops for adults. The winner of the Francis McManus Short Story Award 1988, and recipient of the Arts Council Bursary in Literature, 1993.

Short stories: Departures (Brandon, 1996), Novel Death and Penalty, (Brandon 1996).

Anthologies: The Alphabet Garden, (Brandon 1994),Irish Christmas Stories 2, (Bloomsbury, 1997), Brandon Book Of Irish Short Stories, (Brandon, 1998) Plays: Salvage, (with Wille Conlon, 1987) Experiments In Magic, (1989) Ink And Lunacy, (with Willie Conlon, 1990). Radio Documentaries: No Meadows In Manhattan, (RTE , 1991), Even The Walls Were Sweatin, (RTE, 1997)

I am searching around the archives of our local RTE (TV STATION) to see if I can get some recordings of his work to upload for y'all to have a listen........................it would be a great distraction on a rainy day!

That is all the WiseWords I have for today,

WiseMóna

Hi Honey! I'm coming home early and do I have a treat for you!

How it all works

by

Móna Wise

Scene One

Act one

Picture me standing at the kitchen sink preparing our evening meal,
dropping everything to grab my ringing mobile phone.



Myself: Hello?

Himself: Hi honey, it's me.
I am coming home early and do I have a treat for you!

Myself: Oh, great! What is it??

Himself: Well, it is unforgettable! I will be home in a few minutes.


End scene with me returning my mobile phone to the charger and
conjuring up visions of a lovely Italian Barolo or beautiful piece of foie gras or
even some baked goodies he created and was racing home to share with me.
Gotta love my romantic hubby!

I would love to continue with the rest of this story but as you can see from the above sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words!!!

Who, I ask you - in their right mind would just saunter in home from a days work with a bloody pigs head under his arm and not expect a certain level of disgust or horror from his family???
Only Ron. And to be honest, I was the only one that felt a little 'turned off' by the whole thing because I had set my sights slightly higher I guess??

What on earth possessed my handsome Chef to even want to do something with this beast? Well, he had read (and re-read) his Art of Eating rag (issue no. 80) and it was all about American Charcuterie - The cooked. www.artofeating.com

One of his favourite pieces was on something called Brawn. It is the cooked meat from a pigs head that is seasoned and pressed into a loaf/terrine shape. Supposedly it will be one of the tastiest things we have ever eaten.

Right now he (Jack named him Bob) is in the pot with a few carrots, onions, bay leaf, garlic, green peppercorns, salt, pepper and a few cup fulls of Franks Red Hot sauce. It takes several hours of cooking, and several hours of refrigeration, then someone gets to pick all the meat of the skull (Cathyann - when are you getting back to Galway???), then, after all this waiting around - it may be ready to eat by Sunday??

Thankfully it is happy hour where I am right now!

That is all the WiseWords I have for today,

WiseMóna

The boys - hard at work on the oven!

As summer draws to an end so does the oven project (I hope!). My brother Kenny stopped over on Friday to offer assistance in removing the sand mold from the oven.

This was a delicate operation as the clay is still rather wet and has only been in place a little over two weeks, but both of the men felt that in order for the oven to fully dry - circulation of air inside the 'cave' was necessary.

Thankfully, all went well and it did not collapse on top of them. There are one or two hairline cracks (to be expected) but overall the oven is looking great.

Due to the wetter climate around here, we are keeping a heavy tarp on top of it (when it rains) as Ron has not yet decided just how he is going to finish it. He did speak with a guy earlier this week who recommended he look at a Lime/Clay putty mix, so it could end up looking like the outside of a little cottage - all whitewashed. This would give it a rainproof barrier but allow it to breathe at the same time!

The good news is that he is planning on lighting a few fires inside the 'cave' this weekend in order to prime the oven. He is still very hopeful that it will be fully functional before Kenny's wedding (September 19th) and ready to feed the masses when the rest of the family descend upon us for a few weeks!

The children are more than eager with excitement and anticipation and are certain that the first bite of perfect pizza will be 'worth the wait' ! Here's hoping!

That is all the WiseWords I have for today,

WiseMóna

A cobbing we will go!

What to do with all these weeks of holidays is something my dearest darling has been pondering for over a year now. For a while there, he was almost opposed to having so much 'time off'! Having grown up and spent most of his working career in the US, 2 -3 weeks of holidays was as much as he would have taken.

Earlier this summer he took a week off when some of our old friends/neighbours from Cincinnati came to visit and it was a real treat for them and us. During that week, he and my brother laid the foundation for Ron's Wood Fired Bread Oven.

Just this past week, he took another week off and thankfully got some co-operating weather to 'wrap up' this project. He has spent his time off working his butt off, and in a couple of weeks we will be able to taste the fruits of his labor. (It will take that long to dry/cure).

He has not worked alone! With his two trusty helpers right by his side, they have mucked in (literally) and created quite an oven! As Ron has said several times over the last few weeks this is only his 'first' oven, and once this one is seasoned and cooking, he will turn his attention to the next one which I am guessing will be at my Brother Kenneth's house - or perhaps at my brother-in-laws in France as he is quite eager not to re-invent the wheel but steal the idea!

The final phase is here now for my handsome Chef. He is currently working on a glaze (Terra Sigillata) for the exterior coat. Had we lived in a drier climate (like Florida) you would not need to protect it from the elements, but here in wet and rainy Ireland, it is best to 'roof' it.

I would not say he feels to rested after another week of holidays - but he sure is happy. We have had a lot of fun with the kids this week, and now with him going back to work I can shift to unwinding them a little and getting all three of us ready to return to school on August 31st - which feels like it is just moments away.

Stay tuned fellow food lovers, that first loaf of bread and perfect pizza is just a few days away!

That is all the WiseWords I have for today,

WiseMóna

A smattering of pictures from the hard work accomplished today!

Up Close, and very personal....................

So here I sit with my little red laptop waiting for the phone to ring or the postman to deliver that all important letter. I started the process of applying to http://www.nuigalway.ie/ over 9 months ago (as a mature student) and after all my hard work on my portfolio, I am still waiting for a response.

It is normal for the University to let prospective students know the outcome (acceptance or rejection) 'early in July' which to me, still seems like an eternity away. There were over 3,000 applicants for the course I want to do http://www.nuigalway.ie/faculties_departments/arts/baccreativewriting.html

I feel like I do not have a shot in hell at getting accepted and keep telling myself that I will just reapply next year if I do not get in this year. The damn recession has Irish people all flocking back to school like madmen - as there are no (decent) jobs and no likely hood of a job for the next few years - in addition to that, education is still free here in Ireland, so students are not saddled with huge school loans to pay off once they graduate and get a job. Nice, I know!

It has been almost a year since we moved back to Ireland and even with this cloud of uncertainty hanging over my head, I have never been happier. The Children (as you can see) are completely unscathed by all this moving around and are wrapping up their final day at school today before getting out for a lovely long 8 weeks of summer holidays.

They have started to develop into such funny cute little kids, I think my only regret is that we do not have a few more of them. (I know, can you believe I said that Out Loud) I have had several long discussions recently with my WiseOldMum about the way our lives will be for the next 5 years if I spend it in University studying the fine art of creative writing and one of the hardest things I have yet to come to terms with is the fact that I will no longer be with my wains 24/7. (Wains is a great Irish word, mostly used in the northern counties and comes from Wee Ones).

Obviously, when we had the restaurant I left them in the evenings, and when working in Switzerland I was away from them from 9am - 5pm, but Ron and I had made a decision way before we ever had children that if we were lucky enough to have them, we would parent them ourselves and not pay someone else to do it, we cut back on other non-essential materialistic stuff in order to do so.

I do not regret this decision at all - especially seeing how they have turned out thus far, but am thinking it sure would have been a heck of a lot easier if they had been in day care - Maybe I would not ache so much (now) just thinking of being with them for an hour or 2 in the evenings.

WiseOldMum has reminded me (ever so nicely - me crying, her telling me how it is!) that 'This is it'- once they are off to school, they do not need me so much or for that matter even want me???

Clearly, my Mother still thinks she knows it all.....................................God, I hate that she is right and that she has to bludgen me with the truth. (But if course, I still love her dearly and am so happy that she is almost walking distance from my house).

Rory's School magazine came out this week with her toothless smile and her statement saying she was going to be a vet when she grows up and her favourite thing to do was play with her brother.......................at Granny's!

When I asked Jack to taste a pizza sauce I was working on yesterday (for our supper) he sipped and savoured the sauce (like I would a fine wine) looked me right in the eye and said ' it's got tomato, basil, garlic, black pepper - still needs more salt and olive oil' - I was still crying with pride when my hungry Chef arrived home for dinner.

We have had a nice amount of visitors crossing the pond to see us, (pay attention here, if you are coming - head West to Galway/Shannon) and you have no idea how much this has lifted our spirits.

The very thought of someone paying all that money and taking the time off to come spend some time with us on this rainy isle just makes us sooooooooooo happy. So, I am saying this to all our friends - book your flight and stay a while (2-3 days is NOT enough!!!)

We have the space, and assuming you can handle the racket from the wains and the puppy, the fresh organic eggs from the hens and the year round veggies my handsome chef is growing with love should entice you. (remember Eggs Benedict - oh God - even thinking about it right now makes me drool).

Wish me luck - as soon as I find out I will let y'all know!

That is all the WiseWords I have for today,

WiseMóna