Ireland

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A Bit O’Green

March 16, 2012 in Travel by traveleatlove | 6 comments

Fundraising alert! Today marks the countdown – one month until the Boston Marathon! I am at 41% of my fundraising goal for The ALLY Foundation , and I have a really great donation incentive from the amazing people at Zipcar. They’ve given me 30 passes for $50 in free driving credit for new members AND a $100 gift card toward membership/driving credit. The next 30 $25 donations I receive will automatically receive $50 in driving credit (after joining, doesn’t include membership fee), and anyone who donates in the next two weeks will be entered to win the $100 gift card.

Here’s how you can enter: http://www.crowdrise.com/RunAllyForAChange/fundraiser/MeghansBostonMarathon

Happy Friday before St. Patrick’s Day! While I can’t beat last year’s stellar photos of my youthful trips to Ireland and study abroad, (And my hair in some of those photos!), I thought that sharing a few pretty Ireland pictures would be a nice way to close out the week.

We don’t have plans 100% set for St. Patrick’s Day yet. We may take in the Ireland vs. England Six Nations rugby match at our local, The Banshee, but my father-in-law is also in town from Galway, so we also want to spend time with him.

If you’re cooking up a St. Patrick’s Day feast, here are a few favorite Ireland-inspired recipes. Note, there’s nothing called a Car Bomb! I had a mini rant on Twitter yesterday about this, but I don’t understand how it’s acceptable to name a food or drink after something that has caused so much bloodshed and in such recent history. A quick trip to Belfast would cure anyone of ever ordering a Car Bomb, I am pretty sure. Hopefully we can somehow make that name change sometime in the future. . .

End rant. Time for recipes! I won’t claim that any of these are 100% authentic (well maybe the bread), but they use some of my favorite Irish ingredients.

Whiskey and Brown Sugar Salmon – SO GOOD!

Irish Brown Bread

Guinness Ice Cream Floats

Smoke Salmon Platter – smoked salmon is the one thing I eat the most of in Ireland; their salmon is some of the best I have ever had!

What are your St. Patrick’s Day plans?

{ Clare Island, County Mayo }

{ Sheep in Clare Island, County Mayo }

{Musicians in Galway with a Tiny Dancer }

{Wild Gorse in Connemara, County Galway }

{ Wildflowers in Ireland }

{ Mannin Bay, County Galway }

{ Lough Corrib, County Galway }

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Technorati Tags: Clare Island, Galway, holidays, Ireland, recipes, Travel

Tags: Clare Island, Galway, holidays, Ireland, recipes, Travel

Whiskey A Go-Go

January 18, 2012 in Cocktails, events by traveleatlove | 12 comments

A bitterly cold Sunday night of a long weekend made for the perfect setting for a whiskey/whisky tasting at The Urban Grape in Chestnut Hill this past weekend. While most wine stores close up shop at 6:00 on Sundays, The Urban Grape sometimes closes and then reopens to host special pop up events, complete with great food and drinks and a nice bit of education on the beverage of the day. Normally I am too lazy to go out on a Sunday night, but, long weekend or not, I find it a great way to help stave off the Monday blues until Monday actually arrives.

Whisk(e)y A Go-Go featured whiskey expert Matt Chivian talking about nine different whiskeys that hailed from the US, Ireland, or Scotland. Food pairings were made by The Gallows, and they were not just great with the whiskey, but they were winter comfort food at its finest.

Here’s the lineup:

American Whiskey by Michter’s American Whiskey Co.

“Single Barrel” Straight Rye Whiskey (Kentucky) paired with Deviled Eggs w/House Smoked Fish

“Unblended” American Whiskey (Kentucky) paired with Apple and Cured Ham Mince Meat Pie

“Small Batch” Bourbon Whiskey (Kentucky) paired with Pulled Pork Sliders

Irish Whiskey bottled by Cooley Distillery

Slane Castle “Premium Blended” Whiskey (Ireland), paired with GreatHill Blue Cheese, Honey, Citrus on Brioche

Single Malt Scotch Whiskey Bottled by Gordon & MacPhail

Benromach Distillery 10 year (Speyside)

Ledaig Distillery 16 year (Isle of Mill)

Pulteny Distillery “Old Pulteny” 21 year (Highland)

Glenrothes Distillery 30 year (Speyside)

The above were paired with The Gallows’ Scotch and Barley Soup with Oxtail, while the below was a slightly sweet, slightly gingery dessert all on its own.

Dunkeld Atholl Brose Scotch Whisky Liqueur

As you can see, the tasting lineup was pretty spectacular, and it featured some really tasty, well-balanced choices. My personal favorites were the Slane Castle Whiskey, which is smooth and light, perfect for blending in cocktails as a rum substitute, the Benromach 10 year because of the earthy turf undertones that reminded me of a rainy Irish day, a hot whiskey, and a fireplace, and the Glenrothes Distillery 30 year because of it’s toasty, slightly sweet notes and lovely smoothness.

It was a great way to spend a Sunday evening with friends; I even got to catch up with blogger buddies from Beantown Eats! The Urban Grape does a fantastic job with every detail of their events, from choosing great businesses to partner with for delicious food pairings, to important details like offering a coat rack for guests. The tickets for the whiskey pop up event were $15 each which, considering how much whiskey and food was available, is pretty amazing. Their events sell out fast, so keep an eye out!

Are you a whiskey/whisky fan? If not, what other spirits do you like for wintry cocktails?

Speaking of cocktails, I am finally checking out The Hawthorne tonight. Any suggestions on what to order?

Technorati Tags: Boston, cocktails, events, Ireland, Scotland, Urban Grape, whiskey, whisky

Tags: Boston, cocktails, events, Ireland, Scotland, Urban Grape, whiskey, whisky

Colorful Ireland

January 10, 2012 in Travel by traveleatlove | 9 comments

Happy Travel Tuesday! This is the last of my Ireland posts; as always I love sharing our experiences in Ireland, I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them (and experiencing them!) .

Because of its climate, Ireland can be an absolutely miserable place. While I tend to love this part of it (except when it rains for almost 10 straight days on my vacation), dreary gray days, fog, a constant drizzle, and whipping winds can pretty quickly bring anyone down. Luckily, the Irish are good at festive building colors, signage, and other lovely little details that brighten the streets and make it easy to spot a business from far away.

{The Quays Pub}

{Claddagh ring shop – The Claddagh ring originates in a tiny Galway village of the same name.}

{Teac Tabairne – a bar or tavern}

{Griffin’s of Shop Street}

{Tigh Neachtain’s – basically O’Neachtain’s house, a fabulous bar}

{Kirwan’s Lane in the heart of medieval Galway , a city once enclosed by thick stone walls, some of which can still be seen}

{Tigh Coili – another pub, one across the street from my old apartment in Galway}

And for your listening pleasure, here’s a little glimpse into what we did most nights in Galway:

http://youtu.be/3vmA6I2ec3s

{The Spanish Arch Hotel – a fantastic place for live music}

There’s another video on my YouTube channel that is a pretty awesome depiction of how a night in Galway goes; great street performer meets rowdy, excited crowds, and a sing-along ensues. I didn’t post it directly here because one of those crowd members decided to yell a profanity at the camera, and I didn’t want to offend anyone’s fragile ears. Winking smile Otherwise, it’s just a fun video of people singing. If you have headphones or are at home, it’s an entertaining two minutes.

I have major travel fever right now and want to get started planning another trip. My wanderlust includes Napa and Sonoma (of course), Italy, Croatia, and any place where I can lay on a lounge chair where it is over 80 degrees and sunny!

Technorati Tags: Galway, Ireland, photography, Travel