Patty Pan with Cherry Tomatoes and Macaroni

Simple food is really the best! I've recently gotten into the good habit of going to the market on the Basel Marktplatz to buy my fruits and veggies. They are much fresher and taste much better than those from the supermarket (of course!). The other benefit is that I come across produce you wouldn't necessarily find in the supermarket, such as the patty pan. I knew patty pans from California, where they are readily available in the supermarket, but had rarely seen one in Germany or Switzerland before. Until I went to the market. And these aren't just your regular patty pans. These ones are really big. By the way, here in Switzerland they call them Patissons.

Over lunch break I went to the market today and bought such a beautiful pale green patty pan. At first I was skeptical because it was so big and I was worried that its size meant it was old and it would be soft inside, but the lady at the stand assured me it would be fine. I also bought some cherry tomatoes, garlic and parsley. So for dinner I whipped up a nice meal with the loot from the market. 

Recipe for 2

Olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large patty pan, chopped into large cubes
Hand full of macaroni

2 tblsp. chopped parsley

1 tblsp. chopped basil

Salt and pepper

1/3 c cream

8 cherry tomatoes

Grana padano, grated

Heat olive oil in a pan and add the garlic. Once the garlic starts turning color, add the patty pan cubes and enough water to cover them half-way. Bring the water to a boil and then let the patty pan simmer until almost done, so still firm not mushy. Stir frequently. Add the macaroni and extra water if needed to cook the macaroni. When the macaroni are almost done, add parsley and basil, salt and pepper. Stir to mix. Once macaroni are done, add cream and let cook for about 2 minutes until the cream has thickened a bit. Serve with cherry tomatoes and grana padano on top. 

Best Places to Eat in Ireland

It's time to finally write about the other culinary gems we found in Ireland. Although, we didn't actually find them. I had read about all but one of them. Doing my research really paid off!

Blackberry Cafe in Thomastown

This was a really cute place that served light lunches and pastries. We had brown bread with goat cheese and onion jam served with mixed salad. For dessert I had a scone with raisins that came with the oligatory salted butter and raspberry jam. Everything was very good. I'd even go so far as to say that the mocha I had was the best one I had ever had! So smooth with just the right amount of chocolate in it. 

The Ballymaloe Shop Cafe in Shanagarry

I'd read about the Ballymaloe Cookery School several years ago and knew that at least I'd have to stop by the café if I couldn't take the time to take a class (or afford to stay overnight at the house). As the name suggests, you enter the small café through the shop. The shop is packed with various attractive kitchen gadgets that I had to peel myself away from in order to not end up with excessive amounts of luggage (I had made a larger  purchase at the Nicholas Mosse Pottery the day before). The café was full when we arrived, but we luckily only had to wait a few minutes before we got a free table. We had a reuben sandwich and an onion and brie tart for lunch (served with delicious white and brown bread, and salted butter, of course) and Austrian cheesecake and raspberry chocolate tart for dessert. Everything was outstanding! In Cork I ended up buying Darina Allen's new cookbook Forgotten Skills of Cooking: The Time-Honored Ways are the Best - Over 700 Recipes Show You Why. I've already tried some of the recipes and hope to make many more!

Farmgate Café in Cork
The English Market in Cork didn't end up being quite what I had in mind when I read about it. Somehow I had pictured a more open space. Nevertheless we ended up getting a great light lunch at the Farmgate Café. Since we knew we'd be having a huge meal at Cafe Paradiso that evening we decided to share the grilled Ardsallagh Goats Cheese Salad made with mixed leaves and veggies and tossed in a honeyed dressing. It was very fresh and yummy.

Petit Delice in Cahersiveen (the only place I hadn't read about in advance)

Unfortunately the day we drove the Ring of Kerry it was raining so we didn't have a good view and we didn't stop much on our drive from Sneem all the way up to Kilrush. But we decided to get a bite to eat when we arrived in Cahersiveen. We walked down the main street and happened upon Petit Delice, a French bakery. We ordered a raisin roll and a white chocolate brownie and both were very, very good.

Tea room at Burren Perfumery

I had read about the perfumery and was keen on visiting it although the day we were in the Burren it was raining hard and any detour seemed to prolong the misery of driving in the rain on a narrow road with tall hedges fit for 1.5 cars max. But I'm glad we stopped because we had a wonderful lunch there: plates of mixed salad (green, carrot, and potato) with hummus followed by a delightful brownie made with Green & Black's organic chocolate. The whipped cream that came with it was the perfect complement. It was one of the best brownies I have ever had and, believe you me, I've had many! 

Queen of Tarts in Dublin (Cow's Lane branch)
On our first day in Dublin we stopped here for lunch as it was right around the corner from the Dublin Palace. We had sandwiches (roasted veggie, and ham and cheese) and then we each had a dessert with a delicious cappuccino: hot blackberry and apple crumble, and Bailey's chocolate chip cheesecake (Bailey's not as in the liquor). Between the chocolate chip cheesecake and the crumble, the cheesecake definitely won. We liked it so much that we returned to the branch on Dame Street two days later to share another piece of it, but, strangely, it wasn't nearly as good as the first. I'd be willing to give it another try, though. 

Chaper One in Dublin
This was the most noteworthy place we ate at in Dublin (it ain't got that Michelin Star for nothin'!). It was extremely good and the photos I sneaked on my iPhone just don't do it justice. So you'll have to eat there if you want to see the food. It was so, so, so, SO good!!