Grandmothers DaySlow Food Grandmothers Day
April 21st 2012
Slow Food Grandmother’s Day
at
Sandbrook House, County Carlow
The Slow Food Grandmother’s Day event at Sandbrook House on Sunday April 22nd was a wonderful celebration with an enthusiastic attendance despite the changeable weather. The event began on Saturday night with a Slow Food Country House dinner at Sandbrook. Resident chef Vera Brennan and her team cooked a delicious menu of local food.
A Watercress Salad of Triskel Goat Cheese with Honey and Watercress Pesto
Wild Garlic Soup with homemade breads
Local Lamb cooked in Hay with Rosemary and Maldon salted potatoes, wilted spinach and purple sprouting broccoli
Rhubarb and rose hip fool with pistachio nut shortbread biscuits
Local farmhouse cheese Coolattin Cheedar, Tiskle Goat Cheese, Kilree Goat Cheese, Carlow Edam, Boyne Valley Blue, Wicklow Baun and Arklow Brie, with homemade chutney and biscuits.
On Sunday all generations poured into Sandbrook to enjoy a convivial day of workshops, lectures, foraging walks, cookery and craft demonstrations, children’s workshops and a Farmers Market.
Mary Nally brought her inspirational Third Age organisation with a variety of household and dairy artifacts. The ICA were there as were the country markets from Askea and Graigcullen.
Willow Weaver, Cathy Hayden from Tramore demonstrated how to weave baskets and make St Brigid’s Crosses. Mary Flynn from Carrick on Suir made butter and passed on the skill of making soda bread in a bastible.
Vera Brennan’s mother Gretta Brennan also made a wonderful griddle bread over the fire.
Theresa Storey and Sarah Fleming from Slow Food Tipperary co-led two foraging walks while Clemmie and Freya Bielenberg gave continuous lessons on how to make home made lemonade.
Chef Niall Murphy Resident Chef at The Cookery School in Donnybrook demonstrated the skill of fish curing with several types of glavlax . Gerald Esposito from Capri Bay in Youghal showed us how to make home made pasta.
Kilkenny Grandmother, Florence Bowe shared the secret of her crumpets and showed us how to crystallize flowers using local primroses and violets.
Local cheesemaker Thomas Burgess gave a cheese making demonstration. He used raw milk from his own dairy at Knockeen House to make the Coolattin cheddar.
There were several beekeepers including John Blanche and Gerard Williams generously sharing their knowledge. Chocolate making from The Chocolate Garden and Apis Chocolates was another huge attraction as was Darina’s cookery demonstration and lecture on How to keep chickens in your garden and Michael Kelly’s of GIY session on growing your own vegetables, herbs and fruit.
The Naas Youth Orchestra played beautiful music on the veranda.
Children had a brilliant day. Apart from the petting zoo, bouncy castle, face painting, art competitions, paper butterfly and flower making there was a hands on sausage making session with Ed Hicks which they loved.
Charlie Allen was there with fruit trees, bushes and rhubarb stools for people to take home and plant with their families and much much more....
These events take a huge effort to organise, special thanks to Christopher Bielenberg for providing the venue free of charge for the event and to Clemmie and Freya Bielenberg, Vera and her team, Siobhan, Sharon and Rachel and to all those who volunteered and gave their services free to celebrate Grandmother’s Day and to pass on Forgotten Skills.
The proceeds from the day go to Slow Food Ireland.
Darina Allen
14/05/2012
