Yesterday was the end of Week Eleven, how crazy is that? I had a good morning in the kitchen, baked my naan, made lemon soufflés, prepared a squid, cooked the squid with parsley, garlic and chilli oil (delish!), and made cappuccino ice cream. I managed to get quite a lot accomplished last night… Had a glass of wine in the sunshine after demo, packed two out of what will probably end up being four suitcases, tidied my room, went through a few bits and pieces, did my filing for the week, and then headed out to The Blackbird for a drink or two. Was home and in bed fairly early, which was a good thing! I woke up to sunshine streaming into my room this morning, got my butt out of bed and had such a wonderful day in the sun. A few of us headed over to The Antique & Vintage Show at The Big Shed (at Ballymaloe House), toured around there for a bit, and then sat in the sunshine with a pint (or two!). Kelly, Sophie, and I headed down to Shanagarry strand after that, with a bottle of wine, kicked off our shoes, wandered along the beach with our jam jars of wine, put our toes in the water and soaked up a bit more sun. It really was the perfect day. Tonight we went over to The Blackbird, I behaved and only had a pint and a half, now I’m tucked into bed and looking forward to tomorrow. Might head back to the Antique & Vintage Show, the beach, do a bit of studying, and then at 6:30 I am doing work experience in the kitchen at Ballymaloe for the evening.

 

“To get crackling you need rind… That’s what crackling is… Rind.” – Rachel explaining pork belly