Menu: waste-free Christmas baking thanks to Leafling in Cork's Ballinspittle
Leafling Mercantile, in Ballinspittle, offering a special in-shop weighing service for Christmas cakes and puddings
Though not what you might call a ‘religious sort’, far too many of The Menu's temptations directly relate to the baked produce of one Shannen Butler Keane of the very wonderful Diva Bakery and the late, lamented Diva Café, in Ballinspittle, in West Cork, who produces wondrous baked creations that would tempt even the purest of souls.
While her café may sadly have passed into history, the next chapter in Shannen’s culinary story is, if anything, even more exciting for Leafling Mercantile is a most wondrous independent food store that grows better day on day.
The shop’s extensive range is 80% plastic-free and offers bulk-buying of rices, legumes, olive oils, vinegars, spices, nuts, seeds, sugars, flours, teas and coffees as well as laundry liquids, soaps & cleaning products.
In addition, it carries a wonderful fresh range of local organic veg, organic eggs, meats from Twomey’s Butchers and Irish poultry, with Irish turkeys available to order online for Christmas. In fact, the range of Irish products, including natural, refillable body products, is truly exceptional.
But The Menu’s principal reason for mentioning Leafling this week is the opportunity to take all the hassle out of your Christmas baking without for a moment sacrificing the quality that comes with a home-baked product. Simply fetch up with a bowl or container and have it filled with the exact amount you need of all dried ingredients required, including flours, sugar, nuts, dried fruit, glacé fruits, mixed peel and whatever else you fancy adding to your mince pies, Christmas puddings, cakes, and panettone. What’s more, you have just avoided taking home and disposing of a whole pile of packaging waste. More a cook than a baker, The Menu may even make his own pudding this year!
Another welcome return to the fray as pandemic restrictions enable some form of opening sees the return of the Ballymaloe Craft Fair at the Ballymaloe Grainstore over two consecutive weekends (November 19/20/21 & 26/27/28) to facilitate the reduction of numbers as a safety measure against Covid 19. More than 150 stalls feature all manner of wonderful crafted creations from superb Irish artisans, much of the work sustainable, live craft demonstrations, children’s activities and live music. The Menu is especially keen to check out the ever-splendid food producers for edible Christmas gifts and even sample some food offerings and a hot drop of mulled Ballymaloe Cider.
In line with Government guidelines and restrictions, official proof of vaccine status or immunity (certified case of Covid 19 in previous six months) is required for all attending. Free parking is available on site, admission €6, free entry for U12s.
The thought of having someone of the calibre of chef Kevin Thornton, the only Irish chef ever to have held Michelin two stars, turning up in your own home to cook dinner is the stuff of fantasy. But Kevin and wife Muriel — who ran front of house at their Michelin-starred restaurant — have almost three decades of hospitality experience of the highest order which they are now bringing to homes and venues around the country.
Kooks will plan and host a dinner party in a private venue of your choosing, bringing superb food and a magical, theatrical element that was always a hallmark of Kevin’s culinary delivery. Celebrity endorsements are rarely worth repeating but Michael Stipe of REM said: "The best brunch of my life was at Kevin and Muriel's table. Their love of food is miraculous. Kevin Thornton is miraculous."
And that option too is open to the public with Kooks offering to host private groups of eight people who will enjoy a bespoke five-course menu at the KOOKS Chef's Table.
There are certain food items that are ever-present in The Menu’s larder: most especially finest extra virgin olive oil, good salts, mustards, and some fresh lemons. And he finds it hard to look beyond those when dressing salads or vegetables — and any decent chef or home cook knows such things are always best prepared there and then.
Accordingly, he approached Berna’s Dressings from another angle. Eminently good products, most charmingly liveried and commendably employing only simple fresh ingredients without any additives, they certainly make a fine salad dressing for any time-pressed domestic chef. But The Menu is more inclined to use them as a quick-fire addition when cooking, particularly when grilling.
Basil and Lime dressing (Honey, Olive Oil, Sunflower Oil, White Wine Vinegar, Fresh Lemon & Lime Juice, Fresh Basil Leaves) sports bright citric and herbaceous notes and made for a very nice marinade for white fish cooked under a hot grill.
A more traditional Honey & Mustard (Honey, Olive Oil, Sunflower Oil, White Wine Vinegar, Wholegrain Mustard, Fresh Garlic, Salt) worked perfectly to beef up a homemade mayonnaise for potato salad but best of all was Chilli & Lime (Honey, Olive Oil, Sunflower Oil, White Wine Vinegar, Fresh Lemon & Lime Juice, Fresh Red Chillies). A splash of same into some stir-fried veg after cooking adds an elegant lift and The Menu also used it as a marinade for thin strips of raw beef, then stir-fried in the wok and finished with another drizzling of the Chilli & Lime for good measure.
