Its a long time since I did a Lost in Translation, here in October last in fact.
Caitriona and Aonghus have just come back from a holiday in Tokoyo and have furnished me with a good (and even illustrated!) one in the shape of this mouse mat.

The two eggs, one weeping are having a conversation.
The captions are happily translated into English at the bottom.

What did I dream? I do not know:the fragments like chaff.

Your guess is as good as mine,

Post Scriptum.
Cliodhna Butler (Aonghus’s sister) tells me it actually means:
“One feels angry, one feels tearful but it is best to smile”

Thanks Cliodhna!.

“One feels angry, one feels tearful but it is best to smile”

My brother-in-law Colm has these Triffids taking over his back garden.
They make my one look pretty tame.

At last after about two years of searching I have been able to find a copy of this out of print book (from Liz Seeber), the bible of French cheeses by Patrick Rance.
It was recommended to me by Giana Ferguson of Gubbeen as a sine qua non of existance in France for any cheese lover.
I have barely started nibbling on it but have already discovered one interesting fact.
De Gaulle is said to have pronounced that it was impossible to govern a country which produced 324 different cheeses.
Rance tells us that he started out with a list of 500 addresses of different cheese makers in his pocket and eventually discovered 750 before he gave up.
De Gaulle was in fact way under.
I have never understood why he decided that cheese making was a subversive activity, and anyway if it is, let us celebrate our own renaissance of local cheeses.

When I went to the plant book to make sure my spelling of Amaryllis was correct I discovered that this was, properly speaking, a Hippeastrum.

An Amaryllis by any other name should look so good…………

I don’t know if it is being in France that sharpens the wit but my two favourite personal stories of beautiful punning happened while in France, and both happened while in the company of my sister D and her husband Milo.

The first was some years ago when all four of us were in a rented house in Ceret, just under Mount Canagou.
There was a swimming pool which had under water lights by the house and we were known to take a dip after dinner to enjoy the amazing feeling of swimming under water, lit up, in all senses of the words, while the world was in darkness.
On one particular night when brother in law Milo decided not to join us and the three of us were cavorting loudly in the pool he decided to inform us that there was washing up to be done.
Inspired by the night and the water I informed him that he, being out of the pool, should be the one to do this washing up.
“The rule is” I informed the irate brother in law “Sink or Swim”

The next bon mot was delivered by Sile only last Easter and this one on the terrace of La Presbytere in Thezan. Sile declares that it was unconscious but I have my doubts.
Milo (again the luckless foil) asked Sile what she thought of Bono accepting a knighthood.
Sile’s reply was a masterful piece of deathless prose.
“Well Milo” she said “ I suppose he is entitled”

When I sold the restaurant I think I assumed that my life as a “well known Waterford chef” would fade away with the business.
I was, as a restaurateur, at least going to get mentioned in guides and reviews and that way achieve some modicum of celebrity.
I was never one to hide my light under a bushel (whatever that means- I must look it up in Brewer*) so I used to relish that the excuse of publicity for the restaurant allowed me to expose myself at will.

If I can break into anecdote my favourite review moment was about 10 years ago when I went out to the tables, as was my wont, at the end of a nights cooking.
When I went to one American couple she looked up, saw me and said:
Its true!, Its just like he said it would be!
She then produced a battered cutting from a news paper in Atlanta where
the food critic had praised “Dwyers” and ended his piece by saying “And if you are lucky Martin Dwyer himself, in his red striped apron will come and chat to you at the end of the meal”
(I used to keep a clean apron hanging in the kitchen as usually, by the end of a night I was in a fairly revolting condition-that night the gods had smiled and decreed that it should be a red striped one)
It appears that I had made her night!

However I am beginning to realise that all has not been lost with the restaurant.
Taking on the Commissioner Generalship of Euro-Toques for two years post restaurant was not the role of a retiring man and, even more so, the writing of this blog is not the sort of thing a skulker under bushels should go in for.

Last year I was interviewed on BBC Radio 5 about the blog, but as this has about 4 listeners in the Waterford area it didn’t exactly change my life
But in the next couple of weeks I will be getting a couple of pieces of more local exposure.
On Saturday May 26th (all going well) the Irish Times Food and Wine section are doing a short piece on my blog and in the beginning of June I am interviewed by the totally charming Angeala Flannery for “Corrigan knows his Food” on RTE.
Fame at last!

*A bushel is a weight, as in “I love you, a bushel and a peck” but according to Brewer in this instance it refers to a bushel sized container which obviously was big enough to conceal even the brightest candle.

“Martin Dwyer’s Words ! The blog that educates as it exposes !”

What a difference two years makes.

The garden has sudenly gone into overdrive and with some
sun today is anxious to show what it can do.

It is producing a bud on the pink rose Siobhán Ní Fhoghlú gave us.

And the rambler at the back of the shed is excelling itself.

One of our Foxgloves has put in a serious challenge to the Triffid

And the Clematis has at last realised that its job is to cover the
ruin at the bottom of the garden

Like our neighbour has done with a Montana Rubens

The Ivy which started its life in a pot guarding the church doors at
Caitriona’s wedding now is rapidly covering the lattice as intended

The Herbs are trying to be shrubs

even the herb annual seeds are coming on

Meanwhile…indoors the Amaryllis has caught the
rising of sap and flowered

But best of all, my Mothers Christmas Cactus which has sulked
since we moved out of Mary Street has at last decided to bloom
…in May!

I had a busy day on Saturday, a change for me as life hasn’t been full of deadlines since I sold the restaurant.
I was doing a cookery demonstration in the morning and early afternoon in the Ardkeen Stores and had also decided to give a dinner party that night.

The cookery demonstration was one that I was able to approach with great enthusiasm, it was of Sally Barnes totally delicious smoked fish, Woodcock Fisheries.
I was doubly delighted when Sally herself, whom I had never met, even though I had been eating her fish for a couple of years, said she would come down herself to be there for the demo.
The three fish I had decided to feature were her Hot Smoked Mackerel, her Smoked Haddock and her Kippers.
I have been using her Mackerel for a Rilette with great success for a some time and have found her beautiful undyed Haddock delicious in a Risotto
So those two were OK. The Kippers are really ideal breakfast eating, plain or with a pat of butter but this is messy to hand out at a cookery demo so I went to my fridge for inspiration.
A tub of very recently acquired Glenilin quark solved my problems, that and a toaster and I was set up.
At the end of this piece I will give you all of the recipes I used.

In the meantime I had the problem of what to give for the dinner party. Síle immediately solved one part of the problem by offering to do a Trifle (she ended up doing a brilliant version of my Summer Fruit Trifle) I decided to do a Carrot and Cumin Soup and as my garden is bursting with fennel at the moment fish with a fennel sauce seemed obvious.
My old seventies taste buds persuaded me to make some Fennel Hollandaise and then to compound that by serving the fish on a bed of Florentine Fennel. The result was, I modestly think, totally delicious.

The Smoked Fish cooking created quite a stir in the shop, people were very excited to meet Sally who was completely charming, and the products flew off the shelves (as did the Glenilin Quark)

What is it about West Cork that all these talented food producers are flourishing there?

Here are the recipes.

Sally Barnes Kippers on Toast with Mustard Relish
( for Breakfast or to serve with drinks)

2 Kippers

2 Tablespoons Fromage Frais
1 Tablespoon Seedy Mustard
2 Teaspoons Honey
4 Slices Brown Yeast Bread

For Breakfast.
Put the Kippers into a pan or jug and pour over boiling water.
Mix together the fromage, mustard and honey.
Toast the bread.
Spread the toast with the relish
Drain the kippers and lay one on each slice of toast.

For Drinks
Do exactly the same except cut each slice of toast into eight little squares and then spread with the relish.
Cut the kippers into similar sized pieces and put onto each piece of toast.

Sally Barnes Rillettes of Smoked Mackerel

2 Fillets Smoked Mackerel (175g/6 oz. each)
1 Med Onion
110g (4 oz.) Butter
Juice of Half Lemon
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Peel and half the onion and chop it finely.
Melt 2 oz. of the butter in a small heavy pot .
Cook tthe onion very gently in a covered pot for 15 mts until soft.
Flake the mackerel and search it for bones. Discard these.
With two forks continue to flake and break up the mackerel until it is a coarse paste.
Add the sweated onions, the remaining 2oz. of butter(melted) and the lemon juice, and pepper.
Still using the forks work the ingredients together until amalgamated.
Put into a dish into the fridge until set.
Eaten with salad it makes a good starter, or on hot toast or crackers it is good for lunch.
Great for spring picnics or as a sandwich filler with some crisp lettuce.

Risotto of Sally Barnes Smoked Haddock
(for 4 as a starter, 3 as a main course)

500g (1 lb 2 oz.) Smoked Haddock
110g (4 oz.) Streaky Rashers
2 Med Onions
225g (9 oz.) Risotto Rice
2 oz. Butter
60g (2oz.) Freshly Grated parmesan.

Poach the Haddock in 1 ltr(2 pts) Water for 15 mts.
Take out the Haddock but put the stock back on the lowest gas.
Once the fish cools remove all bones and skin and roughly flake it into chunks.

Chop the rashers finely and fry in half the butter until crisp.
Remove with a slotted spoon but leave the fat in the pan.
Peel and chop the onions finely and add to the pan with the remaining butter.
Cook the onion gently for 9 to 10 mts until soft.
Add the rice to the pan and fry the rice for 1 mt.
Add the hot stock a ladle full at a time making sure the liquid is absorbed by the rice before the next addition.
This amount of rice should take roughly 825ml(just under 2 pints) of the stock and take 20 mts to absorb it all.
The risotto should be still creamy and not dry like rice normally is.
Fold in the flaked Haddock and the bacon and serve.
Serve the Parmesan seperately.
This is excellent with a crisp winter salad of chicory and chinese leaves.

Summer Fruit Trifle

Sponge :
4 Eggs
125g (4 oz.) Caster Sugar
125g (4 oz.) Sieved Flour
60g (2 oz.) Melted Butter

225g (8 oz.) Strawberries
225g (8 oz.) Raspberries
4 Tablespoons Strawberry or Raspberry Jam
6 Egg yolks
600ml(1 pint) Milk
2 Tablespoons Sugar
4 Tablespoons Brandy, Sherry or Liquour
300ml(10 oz.) Cream
60g(2 oz.) sliced Almonds

First make the sponge. Line a swiss roll tin with non-stick paper.
Whisk the 4 eggs and the 4 oz. sugar together until light stiff
and creamy.
( The classic test is that you should be able to leave a trail of
the figure of eight in the mixture with the whisk)
Now fold in the melted butter and then ( using a metal spoon )
fold in the sifted flour.
Pour this into the prepared tin and bake it at 180 C 360 F Gas 5
for 20 mts. until golden, firm and dry in the centre.
Tip this on to a cooling rack and leave to cool.
Now make the custard;
Put the milk into a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Beat the egg yolks up with the sugar and pour over the hot milk.
Beat again and pour back into the pan.Put on a moderate heat and,
stirring all the time with a wooden spoon, continue to heat until the
mixture coats the back of the spoon (if it starts to bubble at the
edges take off the heat , pour into a cool bowl and whisk hard).
Cut the sponge into squares about 2″ by 2″ and spread on one side with the jam.
Place a half of these in the bottom of a large serving bowl.
Lay over the fruit (halve the strawberries) and sprinkle with the alcohol.
Repeat with another layer of jammed cake .
Now pour over the still warm custard and put into the fridge to set.
While it is setting whip the cream until stiff and toast roast or fry
the almonds until brown and aromatic.
Just before serving spread the cream over the top of the trifle
and scatter over the almonds.

Carrot and Cumin Soup

1 kg. (2 lbs.) Carrots
4 Sticks Celery
1 lge Onion
3 cloves Garlic
1 tsp. Ground Cumin
60g (2 oz). Butter
500ml. (1pt.) Vegetable stock ( or water)

Peel the carrots, potatoes, onions and garlic and chop roughly.
Have ready a saucepan with a solid base and a good fitting lid.
Melt the butter in the saucepan and then put in the vegetables and sprinkle over the cumin.
Set the heat at lowest possible and put on the lid of the saucepan.
(If the lid is not a good fit put a butter paper over the vegetables to hold in as much steam as possible)
Let these cook in their own juices until soft ( this can take as long as 30 mts.)
This sweating process concentrates the flavour and brings out the natural sweetness of the vegetables.
When the vegetables are soft add in the stock or water and bring to the boil.
Make it into a puree either by liquidizing or by pushing through a coarse sieve. I think that this soup benefits from having a coarse texture.
Bring back to the boil and season well ( if you like a spicier flavour you can add extra cumin at this stage)

Roast Brill with Two Fennels
(for 4)

1 kg (2 lbs) Brill Fillets

1 med . Onion
4 Sticks Celery
2 heads Root Fennel
1 tablespoon Butter.

Fennel Hollandaise
3 Egg Yolks (Free Range)
Bunch Fresh Herb Fennel
225g (8 oz.) Butter.

If the Brill is from a big fish and the fillets thick leave them be. Other wise cut the fillets in two and skin one piece, then piggy back it on the other half.
This gives you a thicker piece of fish which wont dry out in cooking.
Put these on a well buttered oven sheet.

Peel and slice the onion finely, also finely slice the celery and the fennel.
Cook these in a large pan in the tablespoon of butter on a reasonably high heat, stirring and tossing all the time until they are soft but still have a little bite.

Just ten minutes before service put the tray of fish into a hot oven preheated to Gas 6, 200C, 400F.Cook for just the ten minutes.
Finely chop the herb fennel and melt the butter until sizzling.
Beat the egg yolks with the fennel and dribble over the hot butter beating all the time (a hand held electric beater is good for this-but it can also be done with a whisk or in a liquidizer or a food processor)

This should form a thick creamy sauce smelling of Fennel.

Reheat the Root Fennel and onion mixture and put a large spoon on each plate, put a piece of Brill on the fennel and spoon over the sauce.

Serve with some small steamed potatoes and (always terrific with hollandaise) some Broccoli, or, if you are pushing out the boat, some asparagus.

It’s four in the morning, the end of December
I’m writing you now just to see if you’re better
New York is cold, but I like where I’m living
There’s music on Clinton Street all through the evening.

— Sincerely, L. Cohen

I had to do a bit of travelling on my own in the car last week and as a break from the radio I idly switched on the CD player to see what Sile had been listening to. This turned out to be a Leonard Cohen “Greatest Hits” which I played and sang along with happily. I was amazed that after all these years I was still word perfect in songs like Suzanne, and The Sisters of Mercy and (this one a great personal favourite) Thats no way to say goodbye.
Then along came the above;, The Famous Blue Raincoat and, even though I had been aware of Jennifer Warnes having a hit with it some years ago, it was one of his songs that I had never really listened to.
I ended getting completely absorbed by the song and the strange story it told.
I kept pressing the repeat button on the player and happily listening to it again and again.
It tells a story of a man whose wife Jane has an affair with his friend/ brother the wearer of the blue raincoat.
Cohen tells the story in beautifully spare verse where one finds oneself searching for the meaning in the words, and to make sense of some of the ambiguous hints Cohen gives out.

I found a web page where there is a long discussion, over several years,by nerds like myself about what exactly he intended to tell us in the song.
There are two wonderful parts in the song where Cohen conveys lots of information in simple sentences. One is his discription of the friend /brother who he indicates has fallen on hard times by saying:

The last time I met you you looked so much older
Your famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulder

This gives a sharp snap shot of the man and makes me sympathetic with the people who have decided that the “brother” had a drug problem.

The other lines I love are ones of extraordinary generousity and I think forgiveness when he says;

If you ever come by here, for Jane or for me
Your enemy is sleeping, and his woman is free.

Yes, and thanks, for the trouble you took from her eyes
I thought it was there for good so I never tried.

These lines remind me so much of lines of a similar sentiment he expresses in “Sisters of Mercy” when he says;

We wern’t lovers like that, and besides it would still be alright

Good on you Leonard.
It is great to think that 38 years later you can still get me thinking.

May 19th

It is no good, six days later and this song is still lodged in my head.
I am hoping that this will fix it.

Its four in the morning in the middle of May and I cannot sleep because the words of this bloody song are running through my head and haunting me.
I am hoping that this effort at line by line analysis will exorcise it and let me sleep.

Famous Blue Raincoat

Its four in the morning, the end of december
Im writing you now just to see if youre better
New york is cold, but I like where Im living
Theres music on clinton street all through the evening.

Here Cohen sets the scene, the format is a letter to a friend, the prosaic style anchors the verse, we are led to believe that it is going to be a formulaic letter. The adressee (I’m going to call him John) has been unwell, I’m going to assume this was the result of abusing drugs, I think the text will bear me out, but Cohen is being cheerful, he often is despite his reputation for glumness, he is making the best of living in New York.

I hear that youre building your little house deep in the desert
Youre living for nothing now, I hope youre keeping some kind of record.

Again I think this smacks of drug recovery, I can hear clearly a well intentioned counsellor telling John to keep a diary of his recovery.

Yes, and jane came by with a lock of your hair
She said that you gave it to her
That night that you planned to go clear
Did you ever go clear?

This is a moment of total insensitivity in the song, John had cuckolded Cohen and then the errant wife/girlfriend comes back, affair over, carrying a lock of his hair given the night he tried to give up drugs.

Ah, the last time we saw you you looked so much older
Your famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulder

This is Cohen at his most masterly as a poet, I love the seedy picture he paints of John in a few spare words, you can see a man who has let himself go with drugs.

Youd been to the station to meet every train
And you came home without lili marlene

This is , I think pure narrative, John’s (german?) girl had let him down and doesn’t arrive-who can blame her?

And you treated my woman to a flake of your life
And when she came back she was nobodys wife.

The crux of the song, John seduces Jane and so destroys her relationship with Cohen.

Well I see you there with the rose in your teeth
One more thin gypsy thief

The weakest line in the song I think, seeing John, the seducer, as a Lothario. Cohen uses a gypsy frequently as a symbol of romantic lawlessness

Well I see janes awake —

She sends her regards.

This is a sly moment from Cohen, It seems in the context of a letter a natural and real piece of writing but it also tells us that Jane is actually sleeping with Cohen.

And what can I tell you my brother, my killer
What can I possibly say?
I guess that I miss you, I guess I forgive you
Im glad you stood in my way.

Cohen at his most magnamimous, almost fatalistically accepting that the cuckolding has improved his-Cohens- life in some way.

If you ever come by here, for jane or for me
Your enemy is sleeping, and his woman is free.

Another huge gesture of magnaminity, or is it, or is Cohen saying that he is prepared to offer up Jane because he knows she will stay with him this time?

Yes, and thanks, for the trouble you took from her eyes
I thought it was there for good so I never tried.

This is one of Cohen’s most beautiful and generous lines, ranks with
“We weren’t lovers like that and besides it would still be all right “ in The Sisters of Mercy.

And jane came by with a lock of your hair
She said that you gave it to her
That night that you planned to go clear

— sincerely, l. cohen

And so he finishes as he started, but somehow manages to surprise us with the formula of the letter coming back in and the regular signing off.