Win two tickets to see FOOD, Inc. at the QFT
Posted: 25 February '10 by Kelly
The Queens Film Theatre Belfast
We have two pairs of tickets to give-away to see “FOOD, Inc.” on Saturday 27th of February at the Queen’s Film Theatre, Belfast.
To find out how to enter just visit the Members’ Section.
A big “thank you” to everyone at the QFT for their generosity.
Good luck!
Other information
You can find out more about FOOD, Inc. here.
Tags: Promotions
Categories: Competitions : Promotions
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Tea Brack
Posted: 25 February '10 by Ciara
Irish Tea Brack
I got this recipe for Tea Brack from a work colleague and tried it out at the weekend. I absolutely loved it, although i had to give half of it away to my mother-in-law, being the only one in my household to like this sort of cake! Otherwise i would have eaten all of it myself…
Irish tea brack is a rich, moist cake which is perfect for a breakfast or an afternoon snack. “Brack” comes from the Irish word “brac”, which means speckled.
You can see more photos hereImage 1
Makes 2 generous tea bracks
Ingredients
- 450g Dark brown Sugar
- 2.5 cups of tea (make it in tea pot first)
- half cup of whiskey
- 375g raisins
- 525g sultanas
- 3 eggs
- 450g plain flour (no need to sieve)
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 teaspoons mixed spice
- honey for glazing
You’ll also need a little butter and some baking paper to line your baking tins.
Method
- Dissolve the sugar in the hot tea, mix in the whiskey and soak the fruit overnight in this.
- Next day, preheat the oven to 17o, gas mark 3 and line the loaf tins.
- Mix the eggs, flour (no need to sieve), baking powder and mixed spice with the fruit mixture, (i just use a fork) and pour into the prepared tins.
- Bake for 1 hour.
- Remove from oven, place on wire rack and immediately brush with honey to glaze (I used a pastry brush).
- Serve with tea and butter.
Enjoy!
Other information
Please note that these bracks will keep for up to 2 weeks because the whiskey preserves them, although they wouldn’t last that long in our house.
Please also note that instead of the 1/2 cup of whiskey you can just add another 1/2 cup of tea.
Tags: recipe
Categories: Biscuits and Cakes : Featured Post : Irish Food : Recipes
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Food Inc. showing at the QFT
Posted: 24 February '10 by Niall
FOOD, Inc. showing at the QFT
How much do we really know about the food we buy at our local supermarkets and serve to our families?
The provenance of our food is something that both Kelly and I feel strongly about – watching Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Hugh’s Chicken Run and Jamie Oliver’s Jamie Saves Our Bacon really brought the message home: we need to care more about the food that we buy.
In Food, Inc., film-maker Robert Kenner looks at America’s food industry and reveals a highly mechanized process that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of government agencies, where the U.S. food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and the environment. The supermarket shelves are now packed with bigger-breasted chickens, fruit and vegetables that are available all-year-round, and tomatoes that won’t go bad – but with that America has also seen new strains of E. coli emerge, obesity becoming widespread through their population, particularly among children, and diabetes among adults increasing to epidemic proportions.
It couldn’t happen here… could it?
Dates
You can see Food, Inc. at the QFT on the following dates:
- Friday 26 February – 18:45
- Saturday 27 February – 18:45
- Sunday 28 February – 18:00
- Monday 1 March – 18:45
- Tuesday 2 March – 18:45
- Wednesday 3 March – 18:45
- Thursday 4 March – 18:45
Other information
You can find out more about FOOD, Inc. at the official website.
Queens University Film Theatre
20 University Square
Belfast
BT7 1PA
T: 028 9097 1097
W: www.queensfilmtheatre.com
You can also find the Queen’s Film Theatre of Google Maps.
Tags: film, healthy eating, organic food
Categories: Food in the Flicks
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Carluccio’s now delivering to Northern Ireland!
Posted: 22 February '10 by Niall
Carluccio's delivering to Northern Ireland
When Kelly and I visit London our itinerary always includes at least one meal (and a bottle of wine or two) at a Carluccio’s restaurant. Aside from the delicious, authentic Italian food, the friendly staff, and the pocket-saving prices, the in-store deli is a treasure-trove of mouth-watering treats: from truffle butter to dried porcini, imported Italian liqueurs and wines to specialty chocolates.
Carluccio’s was founded in 1991 by chef Antonio Carluccio and has flourished ever since, with 43 locations across mainland UK. When we noticed that they had opened a branch in Dublin (March 2008) Kelly and I were over-the-moon, hoping that a Belfast location was on the cards.
While we’re waiting, however, we can now get our Carluccio’s “fix” online. Until recently they couldn’t deliver to Northern Ireland – but that has all changed! So, as a special treat for Kelly, I ordered a box of Italian delicacies..
You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2
The delivery from Carluccio’s
- Limoncello Di Sorrento 70cl – £19.50
- Vin Santo D.o.c. 37.5 Cl – £16.50
- Cantucci Al Cioccolato (Chocolate Cantucci Tuscan Biscuits) 300g – £4.95
- Burro Al Tartufo (Truffle Butter) 80g – £4.95
- Sugo Al Nero Di Seppia (Cuttlefish Ink Sauce) 140g – £2.95
- Limoncello Di Sorrento
- Limoncello is a lemon liqueur from Southern Italy, and Sorrento in particular. Served after a meal, it’s an intensely lemon-flavoured digestif that was particularly to Kelly’s liking.
- Vin Santo and Cantucci Al Cioccolato
- A Tuscan dessert wine, and similar in some ways to sherry. We followed the directions from Carluccio’s an dunked our Cantucci biscuits into the sweet, fiery drink which really enhanced the almond flavour of the biscuits. Delicious, and a nice way to finish a meal when you have guests for dinner.
- Burro Al Tartufo
- The truffle butter is the one product that we longed for when Carluccio’s didn’t deliver to Northern Ireland – we’d lament the delivery policy as we salivated over the thought of the white, creamy butter infused with the dark, earthy flavours and aromas of the truffle. We enjoyed ours on toasted crusty bread, which was delicious – but I have a feeling that the scrambled eggs with a dollop of truffle-butter melting over the top that we have planned will be amazing.
- Sugo Al Nero Di Seppia
- We haven’t tried this yet – but I have a great recipe for Spaghetti in Squid Ink Sauce. Make sure you check the blog in the near future for the recipe and photos of how I got on.
What we thought
Finding ingredients and specialist goods in Northern Ireland can be frustrating – impossible, at times – but with the change in the delivery policy at Carluccio’s a world of authentic Italian tastes are a mouse-click away.
We both loved the various products – each and every one was delicious and had us looking up the site to see what else we could order.
The delivery charge was £5.60 – it sounds a lot but, considering the weight of our parcel, I thought that it was fair enough.
You might have already picked up on the fact that we love Carluccio’s.
Other information
You can visit Carluccio’s online at: www.carluccios.com/.
After some wrangling over their rental agreement for the Dawson Street premises in Dublin, and after the reported closure of the Dublin branch, I’m pleased to report that all is well. A week after closing it’s doors an agreement was reached between the restaurant chain and the landlord, saving around 60 jobs and ensuring the future of one of our favourite restaurants in Dublin.
You can find Carluccio’s in Dublin at:
Carluccio’s
53 Dawson Street
Dublin 2
T: (01) 6333957
W: www.carluccios.com
You can also find Carluccio’s – Dublin on Google Maps.
Tags: italian food, news
Categories: England : Local Food Heroes : News : Product Reviews : United Kingdom
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Nominated for the Irish Blog Awards 2010
Posted: 20 February '10 by Niall
Irish Blog Awards
We’ve been nominated for the Irish Blog Awards 2010!
Thanks to all of you who’ve read our recipes, reviews, and rants over the past year – and thought we deserved an award for it.
The award ceremony will be held on Saturday 27th March, 2010 in Galway. We’re in the “Best Food/Drink Blog” category, which is sponsored by Bord Bia.
You can see the full list of nominees here.
We’ll report back on how we get on. In the meantime..
Thanks again!
Tags: irish blog awards, Site Message
Categories: Site Messages
