Separated at Birth

I have long held the belief that a particular Hollywood superstar, Aaron Eckhart and my soon-to-be rockstar husband, Eric Eckhart are uncannily alike. I have mentioned this a number of times to people only to get raised eyebrows (apparently when Eric told his Mom this she said 'she wishes'!). And no, it is not just because they share the same surname either. They really do look alike - blonde hair, bushy eyebrows, blue eyes, wide mouth. Anyway, I finally have overwhelming photographic evidence which I present below.

The lovely Aaron Eckhart...

and the even lovelier Eric Eckhart

The defence rests.

Festival: Part 2

On Sunday our friends Dee, Richie and their son Séimí came out the festival with us. There were loads of food stalls with food from all around the world. Pic above of Eric, Dee, Séimí and Richie munching away (not the most flattering of photos as people have their mouths full but check out the face on Séimí with chocolate grin! Hilarious!)

This is a pic of the main stage which had free music all weekend. We saw some cool acts there including Kila, a mariachi group and an odd Polish hip-hop group that didn't quite hit the mark ('her name was Natasha, she was from Russia. Natasha, from Russia, Natasha, from Russia.' etc., etc.).

After wandering around a while we ended up in the fairground again where Séimí had the best time ever. It was a really lovely fairground, especially for smaller kids, and none of them seeemed too happy to leave it.


I have to say that it was one of the best festivals that I've been to in a long while - family friendly, a really nice vibe, lots of free events and great food. All the ingredients for a great weekend.

Festival: Part 1

This weekend Dun Laoghaire, the nearest town to where we live (just ten minutes walk away) had its annual Festival of World Cultures. It is a pretty big festival, with musical acts and vendors from all around the world and it goes on from Thursday to Sunday. Over 200,000 people were expected to come to visit the festival this year and I'd say that got every bit of that if not more. Dun Laoghaire is great location for this kind of festival as well, just by the sea (above pic of Eric by the pier).

Here are a few pics from the festival on the Saturday - exotic dancers on the promenade above...

and a pic of the Falun Dafa group from China (check out the girl sitting facing away from the group on the right-hand side. Eric thinks she was sent to the bold corner after she was caught bopping to the music instead of meditating calmly like her comrades).

They also had a lovely little funfair (more pics in Part 2) with this huge ferris wheel. We'd have liked to have gone on it but Eric overdid on the icecream and spinning around at a great height just didn't seem like the wisest thing to do.

A Sandwich Adventure

This blog has taken an age to write, probably because I have been trying to figure out why I wanted to write about sandwiches. I think it was inspired by a conversation I had with my sister-in-law Ceci. We got talking about banana sandwiches, as you do, when she suggested the daring combination of banana and Marmite. Now if you, like Eric, are turning your nose up, let me tell you that I tried it recently and actually it's very nice. A bit of sweet and a bit of savoury, a sandwich I can imagine getting cravings for. Anyway, hence this blog.

I have to say I like strange sandwich combinations, particularly if they work. For me there's nothing better than bringing together ingredients, which would appear to be an unnatural pairing, only to find out that they are a perfect match (okay, so there are alot of things that are better, but humour me here).

As most of you know myself and Eric are foodies and when it comes to food, quite adventurous, though funnily enough, the one food Eric says he will never, never, try is banana sandwiches. I am all for adventure as most of my favourite foods (eg blue cheese, coconuts, kimchi - not all together) probably wouldn't be around today if it weren't for some inquisitive fellow who thought 'well, maybe just a little nibble!'

Anyways, for all you fellow nibblers out there I have put more sandwich thoughts below. Please feel free to add your own in the comments section:

Perfect pairings
- Banana and Marmite - many thanks Ceci!
- Banana and Bacon - Nigel Slater, English food writer raves about this combo
- Bacon and marmalade or jelly, depending which side of the Atlantic you are on
- Crisp sandwich - 80s Irish cuisine, our friend Bridget, originally from Michigan, now self-proclaimed Paddy likes these. Translated: 2 slices of white bread (the kind with no nutritional value), lot of butter and a load of cheese and onion crisps (chips).
- Chip butty - this is the ultimate carb sandwich. Repeat procedure above but add french fries instead of crisps, and don't forget the ketchup.

Sandwich Dos
- Do cut in half, or even in quarters, diagonally - it tastes better, I swear!

- Do pair with a side of crisps or a pickle - it's all in the crunch

- Do try and get someone else to make it for you - another guaranteed flavour enhancer

Sandwich Don'ts
- Don't leave at a bottom of a bag so that it gets soggy - an ex-boyfriend used to love soggy sandwiches so much that he tried to recreate the circumstances of sogginess by carefully placing sandwiches at the bottom of a bag in a warm place. He called it "school-bag aged". I should have read the signs then.

Thought for the day

Below is a poem that I discovered recently by Mary Oliver, which I thought I would share. It really struck me as a wonderful piece of wisdom. I have it by my desk in work and it never ceases to give me a little lift when I read it. I hope you enjoy it.

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

The Giada

I am posting below a recipe of a meal that Eric's mum, Nita made for us when we were in America (which now seems aeons ago!). We liked it so much that we bought the book, Everyday Pasta, and have had the dish a couple of times now since we came back.



Quick background on the chef. Her name is Giada de Laurentiis. Neither myself or Eric had never heard her before but she is apparently the granddaugher of a film producer, Dino De Laurentiis, who produced a load of films including Serpico (one of my top ten films) and Hannibal. I have to admit that I thought she might be all pose and no punch (see ridiculous aubergine photo above, which had to be, had to be!!!, taken by a man) but actually her recipes are very good. She basically specialises in simple, straightforward Italian cooking, which is right up my alleyway.

Anyway the dish is called 'Farfelle with Broccoli'. It is just bow-tie pasta with broccoli in a butter and anchovy sauce, but as Eric pointed out, it is something that he, or I, would never have thought up. It's really handy for after work as it is quick and easy. The dish has now been dubbed 'The Giada', plain and simple.

Farfalle with Broccoli

This is the basic recipe but we added extra broccoli and anchovies and garlic because basically we are guts.

Ingredients - 4-6 servings

1 pound farfelle
2 heads of broccoli, split into florets
1/4 cup extra-virgin oil
4 tablespoons butter
3 garlic cloves
5 anchovy fillets
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup of parmesan

1. Boil pasta in big pot of salted water. After 5 minutes add broccoli florets and cook for 4 more minutes. Drain pasta and broccoli but reserve a cup of the pasta water.

2. In a large frying pan, heat oil and butter over medium heat. Add garlic, anchovies and pepper flakes and cook for 5 minutes.

3. Add broccoli and pasta and pepper flakes. You can add pasta water if it needs loosening up. Then serve with parmesan.