and Pogue Mahone

My German friend and his Italian wife made a 1/2 doz loaves of Irish soda bread.

Also my anniversary - Mar 17th, 1980-1984 - USAF.

There is a lot of good food to be had in Ireland, where they produce some of the best ingredients in the world. And now that cooking styles from all over the globe have become common in Ireland it's better yet.

I actually hold dual citizenship, Irish and U.S., since mom is from Ireland and was an Irish citizen when I was born. We still have the house and property there in a remote coastal area and most of my relatives are commercial fishermen. Which I do here BTW.

So on trips over there as a kid I spent my time fishing, snaring rabbits, and foraging. And cooked for myself.

The seafood is phenomenal and in good variety. It's restricted now but the best salmon was the wild caught Atlantic salmon we got. Broiled with good Irish butter. Turbot, cod, haddock, pollock, various sole, ballan wrasse, skate, razor clams, prawns, lobsters, rock crabs, oysters, mussels.............

Excellent breads and pastries, with phenomenal dairy products, milk, butter, cheeses, ice cream......

The meats are great too, with Irish lamb being some of the best in the world, along with the beef and pork. I can never get enough of the little breakfast sausages, or many other the other sausages and bacon I find there.

Starting to see more game offered in the markets, like venison, rabbits, ducks, grouse.

The produce is great too, and the potatoes are the best. At least those grown in the home garden in the rich turf soils, tender little red ones boiled with just a bit of butter and salt.

And there's the booze, a trip to Dublin is required to go through the St. James Gate Brewery to sample Guinness draught, Harp lager, and their other products. I found good ciders and perrys and of course the whiskeys.

And the chocolates and other candies in Ireland and the UK are better.