Diary of a busyish woman

Still typing the ham labels and I've realised we've no more cooked spiced beef - not even enough for ourselves! I know we'll survive, but it's still a calamity. More ham orders last night, so William has to do a stocktake when he's finished picking everything this morning. Meanwhile I'll be heading to Cork to do a few extra deliveries. I might even take time out and get a cup of coffee - I hope. However until I return home and see what's left, I'm going to worry! I hate the idea of not being able to satisfy our customers. It's the nature of the job. In haste and until tomorrow Avril

For good or bad, it's the little things that we remember. On my own in our office trying to print off the labels for our ham orders. Yes, believe it or not, I actually do a separate label for every single piece of meat ordered directly from us. Having talked through how much meat each customer needs, then we must finish the job properly. As Willie says, 'attention to detail'. Slapdash doesn't work in the food business and neither do shortcuts. So this morning has been interesting. I spoke with one customer who told me that his ham was too big last year. Having discussed his numbers - 3-8, but only 5 eating meat probably, I recommended a kilo of our Rosscarbery Dry Cure Loin Bacon. If he needs another piece the day after St. Stephen's Day, it's surely better than looking at ham in the fridge on New Year's Eve! I've also been on the phone to a customer in France as we tried to co-ordinate a delivery by courier to a Dublin address. Result: everyone's ha...

More years ago than I care to remember, I was a Girl Guide in Bandon , where I rose to the lofty heights of attaining my Gold Cords. I still have them, but they are just a tangible sign along with the host of badges I collected of the fun and the learning. Always having an interest in cooking, I managed to collect the Irish Cook, Cook and Outdoor Cook badges, but it's the recipes that I used that continue to draw me back. One such was this odd favourite of mine: Get a banana, wrap a slice of ham around it. Place in a lightly buttered dish and top with grated cheese. Bake for about 6-8 minutes at 180°C. Enjoy as a light nutritious meal. I wasn't prepared to switch on the oven tonight so my take on it was to chop 2 Caherbeg Free Range Dry Cure Streaky Rashers and cook them in an ungreased pan. Add in sliced banana. Toss for a few seconds to heat. Add two lightly beaten eggs. As the eggs begin to set, sprinkle with a little black pepper and some grated cheese. Remove from the he...