Food in Provence (and elsewhere)

I added some more homework to my load overnight. I’ve found it annoying that when I want to add a recipe to my order of work I have to look through an increasing number of pages to find it. So I decided to create an index; let’s see how useful it will be. That and a last household chore (ironing now the washing is dry) took most of the morning.

The sky had stayed clear, though, even if the weather was a little windy and chilly, so I rustled up some sandwiches, loaded the bike on the the rack and headed to Mogeely and the Greenway to Youghal. Youghal has, according to The Lonely Planet, “a rich history that may not be immediately apparent.” It’s certainly not immediately apparent on cycling through, but walking around you notice the guided walk and the historical markers so the town clearly thinks it has some history worth highlighting.

Youghal was, The Lonely Planet continues “a hotbed of rebellion against the English in the 16th Century when Sir Walter Raleigh was mayor here in 1588-89. Oliver Cromwell wintered here in 1649 as he tried to quell the insurgency among the pesky Irish.”

After my picnic overlooking the harbour near the Tourist Information Office I follow the Lonely Planet walking tour, reaching first the Clock Tower “built in 1777 [it] served as a town gate, clock tower and jail. Several prisoners taken in the 1798 Rising were hanged from its windows.”

There’s a less gruesome 1706 “Red House” of Dutch design further along the main street before the walk turns towards St Mary’s Collegiate Church. Hiding there is Myrtle Grove, the former house of Sir Walter Raleigh. It’s not open to the public and, sadly, someone driving out of the very solid gates shut them pretty quickly when I tried to sneak a peek inside. But here’s a view of the upper part from the churchyard.

The churchyard is up against the city walls from which you have a view out towards the River Blackwater.

Finally, there’s some more modern history. The opening scenes of Moby Dick were filmed here so there’s a statue of Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab by the Tourist Office.

Back at the farm, it’s time to decant another batch of water kefir. I’ve decided to flavour this one with rocket. If figure that as Maria uses nettles to flavour hers rocket isn’t as left field as tea… (I’ve not yet tasted Friday’s tea batch. Perhaps tomorrow.)

Then it’s time to cook dinner. Prawn bisque to start with. Made with left over shells from earlier in the week. The prawns here, though, are the Dublin Bay variety, so it’s really a langoustine bisque. Not bad, though.

And here’s the butterflied red mullet, raw and then with tapenade and fried cherry tomatoes.