Oh me, oh my, it's Pumpkin Pie!

I love Autumn! I do. Although born in the dead of Irish winter, I think I was supposed to be an Autumn babe. I got married in the lovely Canadian Autumn and this season will always be my favourite, albeit wet here in my lovely Ireland .

When entertaining (something we rarely do now that I am back at school) I have always paid particular attention to my table. Ensuring that it is dressed and ready for the feasting burden we are about to bestow upon it, is almost as important as the feast itself. Last night the question arose as to what we would be doing for Thanksgiving (not celebrated in Ireland of course) and I started obsessing over one of my favourite desserts - Pumpkin Pie.

Yes - we have ample fresh Pumpkin laying around the house since the feast of Halloween last week, but you and I both know that no matter how hard you try, our how talented your husband is in the kitchen, it does not taste as good as the silky stuff out a can. My search began and came to a crashing halt as I realised that there is not a can of pumpkin to be found in Ireland.

I know, sounds a little dramatic even for me, but the sense of panic and urgent need for this spicy scent and sweetness of this sticky sublime pie has taken over my brain and I cannot live without at least ONE bite! Is ANYONE listening to me????

Yes, thank God. My good friend Natalie at my favourite local foodie shop is on the ball.

"Well", says she, "there usually is a can of that stuff knocking about the lowest shelf around this time of the year, but I don't see it here today. A few yanks come looking for it around the end of November last year, so we got a bit delivered to threw on a shelf and then we were left trying to shift it for the rest of the year. Last year, I ordered in twelve cans of it, and seeing as only seven of them moved, we reduced the order to less than half this year. Those are already spoken for, so should I put your name on one of the cans for next year then dear?"

(the above is a sad but true story)

OK - fit to be tied and wanting someone to kill me now, as I will not be getting what I want for at least another few weeks (and let's face it, I am not really all that patient!) I worked on the best frowny face I could muster and (after peeling those leftover pumpkins) my handsome Chef once again delivered!

Whatcha need:

1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree - canned.

(use the fresh stuff if like me you feel the need for martyrdom)
3/4 cup sugar in the raw
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup evaporated milk, undiluted
2 tablespoons water
A whole pod of vanilla bean scraped out (trust me)
1 unbaked 9 inch pastry shell. (Yes, he uses the frozen one and it is perfect).

HowYaMakeIt

In a great big bowl - pumpkin, sugar, salt, spices, and flour and mix well. Add eggs; keep mixing. Add evaporated milk, water, and vanilla; and you guessed mix some more. Pour into pastry-lined pie pan. Bake at 220° Celsius for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 180° and bake about 35 minutes longer, or until center is set.

Yum, yum, yumba!

That is all the WiseWords I have for today's rainy day!

WiseMóna

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Hugo Kelly

Entering into the second week of our visiting writers series we had an inspirational visit from the lovely and talented Mr. Hugo Kelly.

A fiction writer and an active member of the very successful Galway writers' group Talking Stick. Hugo has won over twenty awards for his short fiction works in Ireland and in Great Britain including most recently the Brian Moore Award.

Hugo works full time at the James Hardiman Library at NUIG and has been writing since his youth. After his stint in University he took a year out at the age of 23 to write his first novel and admitted it was not his best work. There was a similar vibe to talk he gave - because he (again, like our writer last week Nuala Ní Chonchúir) brought the realities of being a writer in Ireland today up close and personal.

Mr. Kelly took us through the early years of his writing career sharing with us tips of the trade and what he did to keep busy and get his name out there. He was not interested in being a martyr , and has never felt the need to suffer for his art. He feels very fortunate to have found a job he really likes (Information Librarian) at NUIG. He gets to earn a decent wage and still pursue his passion.

Hugo read one of his pieces from a chapbook of his titled Night. Day Follows. The story began with a young man trying to hang himself in the kitchen and the ghosts of his parents arrive and a conversation ensues. It was a great piece. There is some talent required in writing about something disturbing like a man trying to hang himself and making it so ordinary as the ghosts of his parents carried on reading the newspaper and telling him not to use a roller to paint his ceilings as it wastes good paint. Yes - enjoyed by the whole class!

Looking forward to next week!

That is all the WiseWords I have for today,

WiseMóna

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Nuala Ní Chonchúir

With barely a day off from school over Halloween, I entered into the second half of the semester to discover another cool and exciting part of my creative writing course. For the remainder of this semester I will get to meet several very talented Irish writers. Yeah!

Seeing as I am not allowed to write any kind of a personal review of the visiting writer for my school report - it has to be 'report on the content, respond to the visits etc.' I am using my WiseBlog so that you can get the WiseREADreview on who they are, what they write and whether or not you should all be breaking down the doors to your local rag shop to buy their stuff.

Let's start with the lovely and talented Nuala Ní Chonchúir. Born (1970) and raised in Dublin and well educated (BA in Irish, Trinity College; MA in Translation Studies, Dublin City University), Nuala is a full time writer and poet now residing in the lovely town of Ballinasloe, County Galway (only a few minutes out the road from me).

It was fantastic to sit and listen to her story. A mother of three (one being a brand new one) she did not sugar coat the life of a writer in Ireland. She gave a realistic impression of what her life is like as a full time writer in Ireland with everything from salary earned to still waiting to get paid a year later for an appearance stateside! I got the vibe afterwards that some of my younger classmates felt a little disillusioned by her visit. They are still so young and believe that they are the next J.K. Rowling. They have visions of enormous book advances filling their bank accounts upon writing the first chapter of their novellas! Gawd - life has embittered me, hasn't it!

Nuala spoke of the difficulties of being your own PR person. Having to constantly be selling your self and asking someone to 'give her a gig'. I suppose I can equate this to owning your own business and constantly striving to keep customers coming in the door!

Nuala has already published two collections of short fiction and also two poetry collections. Her most recent book is a short story collection Nude. www.nualanichonchuir.com

There were several points I made note of during my time with her. The ones that stand out in my mind and certainly something for any young aspiring writer to adhere to can be pinpointed right here:

• If you want to write short fiction/poetry etc.- start reading short fiction/poetry etc.
• Claim your space and make time to write (with three young children under foot - she is sooooooooooo my hero right now!)
• BE VISIBLE! Read the literary rags. See what they print, then start submitting your work. Enter competitions. This builds up your 'writing CV'.
• Your 'Writers Name' - is it the right name for you? Do you need to change it? OK - here I am lucky! When I married I changed my name so Móna Wise it is!
• Think carefully about titles.
• Show - don't Tell. You are going to see a lot of this, because this is the phrase used most frequently by all our teachers to date.
• Last and by no means least - WRITE. Write in the morning, write in the afternoon, write at night. Carry a notebook with you everywhere you go.

We did not get to read a sample of her work during class so I cannot comment on what I think about her style etc. but I will be checking out her new book as soon as we get it at school.

This was the first of our 'visiting writers' to NUIG. Stay tuned for the next one!

That is all the WiseWords I have for today,

WiseMóna