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| Helen Tilston and Katy foraging for seaweed. Photo John Crowley |
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| Helen's walk by Youghal Lighthouse. Photo Helen Tilston |
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| Photo Helen Tilston |
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| Mackerel freshly caught by local fisherman and gifted to me |
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| My friend Katy and I foraging for Rosehips Photo Helen Tilston |
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| Photo by Katy - on shore enjoying the "meitheal" A must is a silver teapot |
Sometimes we have home made short bread biscuits from Ahernes Restaurant Youghalwww.ahernes.com
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| Art Show - at Aherne's Restaurant Youghal |
Plein Aire Cottage Artists show continues at Aherne's in Youghal, Co. Cork.
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| Art show at Aherne's Youghal |
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| Art Show Aherne's Restaurant Youghal |
Our foraging of seaweed at low tide yesterday yielded pepper dulse, bladderwrack and serrated wrack. The latter as shown in photo at beginning is used for a seaweed bath, which is a luxury.
I am looking forward to catching up with all of you and your blogs shortly.
Dear Helen, it looks like you are having a marvelous time in Ireland!! Gorgeous photos! I am curious, what do you do with the seaweed? My husband's Swedish relatives pick rosehips as well, which they turn into soups and teas - they say the same thing, that it is excellent for a cold. All the best, Louise
ReplyDeleteHello Louise, Thanks for visiting. I use seaweed in cooking. There are more than 300 varieties along the coast of Ireland. All edible and none can harm or poison, unlike mushrooms. I forage for only about 10 varieties. I use kelp in soups, dulse in flavourings and pepper dulse in lieu of pepper. The is a sweet kelp I use in baking. My kitchen has jars of dried seaweed. I rarely use salt as the seaweed is sufficient. Hope all is great with you. How did your seminar go in Toronto?
ReplyDeleteHow invigorating to see such gorgeous photos of your County Cork country/seaside, Helen! It is not difficult to understand the reason for your extended stay in Ireland. The generosity of fishermen and farmers, I, too, have experienced in Greece - how sweet and thoughtful these gestures are.
ReplyDeleteYou have captured the beauty of the landscape in your painting, and how amazing to see them on show.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend,
xo
Poppy
Hello Poppy,
DeleteThe mackerel were so fresh and I also have a friend who gifts us vegetables. What a treat. I try to garden but have resolved to stick to flowers. We have many fertile cats who live on the town wall and they think they own our garden.
Thank you for your kind words on my paintings. You are most kind.
Fondest wishes
Helen xx
Looks like you are enjoying Ireland and had a good summer, Helen. It all looks wonderful and I shall add Aherne's to my list of places to visit as Cork is top of my places to see in Ireland, although we must get up the coast, too, to find the home of my ancestors. Beautiful photos. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHello Marianne,
DeleteI hope you do visit Ireland. Aherne's is a well respected landmark in Youghal and has been in business of decades. The service is superb. There is much to see.
Fond wishes
Helen xx
Though my blog has been inactive for the longest time....I am delighted that I caught you quite by accident. Truly dreamy...walking with you as you described living in coastal Ireland O my gosh...how lovely.
ReplyDeleteSending you love...xxx
Hello Mona,
DeleteWhat a lovely surprise to have you visit. I miss your blog and hope you return one day to writing again. I often think of you when I see the fertile cats who live on the town wall. There are some amusing characters.
Thanks again for visiting
Fondest wishes
Helenxx
Dear Helen - I am really ignorant about the uses of seaweed, and which can be used and which cannot. We used to stay with an old lady in Glasgow when first married and she had seaweed sent to her from one of the Scottish isles. She used to make a junket with it, and swore by its health giving properties.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly look very much at home back in your old childhood country - tea from a silver pot, china cups, and homemade shortbread on the shore sounds perfect.
Hello Rosemary,
ReplyDeleteI was fortunate to have studied seaweed foraging with Dr. Prannie Rhatigan. She has an award winning cookbook "Irish Seaweed Kitchen" Prannie is a medical doctor and has also grown up using seaweed. There is much to learn about seaweed. I harvest about 10 varieties. There are several hundred varieties growing in Ireland.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Helen xx
It seems you're having a great time in Ireland. I wish you a sunny and beautiful autumn, Helen!
ReplyDeleteHello Satu,
DeleteYes, life is good and we are making some great discoveries and lots of adventures. Wishing you a fabulous weekend
Helen xx
Hi Helen - so glad you seem to have settled in and are out being a true Irish lady ... foraging, painting en-plein air ... I see you've studied under Dr Rhatigan ... it's wonderful how one can learn. So good to see the exhibition too ...
ReplyDeleteIt seems you didn't comment on my Y for Youghal post .. yet I remember artists and Youghal ...
http://positiveletters.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/y-is-for-yorkshire-coast-youghal-yew.html
I also wrote about the "Mother of the Sea" - a Manchester lady who helped the Japanese with their nori harvest ...
http://positiveletters.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/m-is-for-mother-of-sea.html
should you wish to read either of them!
Cheers Hilary
Hello Hilary,
DeleteThank you of the links to your postings on Youghal and nori seaweed. i will look forward to reading them. Yes Dr. Prannie Rhaigan is a knowledgable teacher and authority on seaweed. As she is a medical doctor she is careful in her recommendations and in the medical world scientific evidence is needed. She did however have excellent information on clinical trials using seaweed. I have much to learn in this field or should I say shore?
I will be over to visit your blog shortly.
Hope all is great with you.
Helen xx
My dear Helen,
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to see your new post! It made my day. I am absolutely transported by the beautiful scenery of Ireland. It is breathtakingly beautiful part of the world. And also, I am inspired by your foraging, harvesting and having a picnic by the sea (and not to mention, eating freshly caught mackerels). This is the sort of life in which we find our contentment. Enjoying a beautifully stimulating company of our friends and sharing their conversations over a cup of tea (you do know how to do it in style even if it is an informal picnic, the standards are kept, a silver teapot is essential.) I love the paintings at the exhibition. What a stunning turquoise colour in that seascape painting! That's the sort of aura that I get from you, dear Helen. I can feel the aura of people in terms of colours. With you, it is the colour of turquoise and sometimes, it's cerulean like a clear sky.
I wish all the very best and continued success at the exhibition of Plein Aire Cottage Artists.
With warmest wishes, ASD
Beautiful views, delicious fish and wonderful paintings Helen..... and lovely to enjoy it all with friend's. XXXX
ReplyDeleteHello Jackie. I am a bit late in answering you visit. We are very fortunate to have such a variety of fresh fish.
DeleteFondly, Helen xx
Ireland is the #1 place on my bucket list :)
ReplyDeleteHope you visit one day
DeleteHelen
Lovely post. Fresh mackerel is one of my favourite fish. Yum!
ReplyDeleteI love seeing some of your paintings. Also I enjoy seeing how rosehips appear in nature and uncooked mackerel. We stock rosehip tea and use rosehip seed oil as a skin moisterizer. Macherel, I've only seen cooked or canned, but never fresh.
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely post. Beautiful photos and paintings. Warm greetings from Montreal, Canada. :)
ReplyDeleteI came looking for you today as I realized it had been a long time since I saw a blog feed come through. But when we are in Greece I find so many things that keep me from the computer that I am always missing things. This was one of them. Beautiful post. Merry Christmas! xxx Jackie
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas Helen and may this new year bring you joy and inspiration.Thank you for all your sweet words and kind reacts, thank you for beeing inspiring for us. Olympia
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Hello Helen, long time no see! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, and I wish you all good things for 2017. I love that you have a silver teapot and china cups for your shoreline tea! I am also really impressed that you know the names of seaweed and what to do with them. You are clever. I do hope that all is well with you, and I do apologise for not having visited. Lots of love to you, Linda xx
ReplyDeleteNow, that's the life Helen! Silver teapot and china teacups on the beach? Why not, right? As always, I LOVE your paintings. Happy New Year Helen. Christa
ReplyDelete