Take a break from the cooking and prep smart by making the most of beans

Valerie O’Connor on how to make the most of beans whether it’s with beer or burgers — even if the weather doesn’t play its part

ummer is when we love to take a break from the cooking. That’s probably the main motivator for most people to go on holidays abroad, so that they can leave the endless cycle of dishes, shopping, cooking, washing up and the repeat cycle of looking after yourself and others.

Summers in Ireland are sneaky and unpredictable affairs punctuated by blasts of heat waves that turns everybody into sunburned ice-cream inhaling maniacs. Usually the very next day when you wake up after a thunder storm, the sky will have reverted to a reassuring shade of Farrow and Ball grey, with howling winds and rain that have you reaching for wooly socks to wear in bed. It’s no wonder we scramble to sit on a plane and live in one room in a foreign country for a week or longer.