In fact, cooking is a very professional & challenging task in our daily life.
Lao Tzu the Founder of Tao De ( Path & Virtue )Sutra, have use Cooking of fish as analogue to running a country. That is "Managing or Running A Big Nation is Just like Frying A Small Fish"!!
You see when one fry a small fish, one beside control the amount of oil & the temperature, it is not suppose to have too frequent changes or interference.
The following cookery school methods is actually on the way to cooking enligthenment.
In Ireland, Cookery Amid the Greenery
By MELISSA A. TRAINER
APPROACHING the town of Shanagarry in County Cork, Ireland, can stir a lot of emotions in the first-time visitor: awe at the beauty of the place, a peacefulness brought on by the serenity of the countryside. But for some people, a trip to this hamlet sparks something else altogether, a quickening of the pulse as you realize you're about to get into the kitchen and start cooking.
For Shanagarry is home to the Ballymaloe Cookery School, one of Europe's most notable destinations for the serious foodie. Owned by Tim and Darina Allen and sitting in one of Ireland's richest agricultural counties, the school started out as a sideline business. In 1983 Darina began offering cooking classes out of their 19th-century Regency house, to supplement Tim's income as a farmer. The response was great, and Darina started teaching local people, focusing on simple, straightforward fare using the wonderfully fresh ingredients grown on the farm or caught in nearby waters.
Quickly outgrowing its original home, the school moved 50 yards to its current location, a converted apple barn constructed during World War II and designed by Tim's maternal grandfather, Henry Hill, a well-regarded Cork architect. The design was an engineering feat considering the rationing and lack of supplies at the time.
The kitchens are now in the former apple sorting rooms, and because there was no electricity during the 1940's, there are enormous north-facing windows that open wide and maximize daylight. The windows look over the school's cow pastures and the seafood-rich Ballycotton Bay, just a mile away. Darina, originally trained at a catering school in Dublin, has since published 13 books. Her first, "Simply Delicious" (1989, Gill & Macmillan) was a big success.
The Ballymaloe Cookery School operates year-round, with a mix of one-day classes and weeklong immersion programs. While its focus remains firmly on locally grown foods and Irish traditions (How to Keep a Few Chickens in the Garden is the name of one course), offerings now include such surprising options as A Day in Italy and Sushi for Beginners.
When I went to Ballymaloe this past summer, I attended an Intensive Introductory course, a 10th-anniversary present from my husband, and was joined by my friend Mary Birchfield, who unlike me, had never taken a cooking class. There were 48 students, mainly from Ireland, Britain and the United States, enrolled in this five-day course. As everyone arrived that first morning we were offered coffee, tea and scones in the dining room.
The student body ran from university students to well-traveled retirees. Most were attending solo. While waiting for things to start, I admired the school's flair. Fresh posies of lady's mantle, herbs and sweet peas were everywhere. The creamers, serving bowls and water jugs were from a local pottery, and the white-stuccoed walls were adorned with contemporary and traditional artwork, much of which was for sale.
Although this was a hands-on intensive class, Darina eased us in slowly on the first day and introduced us to the extraordinary ingredients - fresh Jersey cream, free-range eggs and quirky heirloom tomatoes - gathered from her 100-acre farm, recently certified by the government as organic.
In her lively and engaging manner, Darina demonstrated 12 dishes - among them brown bread, tarts of smoky Gubeen bacon and mushrooms, and almond meringues with strawberries and cream - and passionately urged us, when cooking at home, to purchase our ingredients from sources that used local farmers, purveyors and fishermen. We broke for lunch around 1, and headed back to the dining room, where we took our assigned seats and tucked into the dishes Darina had prepared.
After lunch we returned to the demonstration classroom, where we observed more preparations and tasted the dishes we'd make the next morning. By the time class ended at 4, I was stuffed and needed some exercise. The sun wouldn't set until after 10 p.m. and the skies were clear, so Mary and I and an Irish classmate headed to walk the cliffs in Ballycotton, the nearby fishing village. A former goat track, the seaside walk is one of Europe's most significant bird-watching sites - more than 300 species migrate through over the course of the year. Our classmate, who worked for Ireland's Environmental Protection Agency, was able to point out such rare birds as the chough.
Camaraderie became the norm among all of us students. Ego and pretension were nonexistent, and we quickly became a laughing and lively lot, regardless of cooking skills. Many of us had experience; others were clearly clueless. This proved comforting - no need to prove one's brilliance - as we tied on our aprons, grabbed our knives and headed into the spacious and light-filled classrooms.
The second day, Mary and I teamed up and greeted our teacher, Pam Black. A graduate of the school's 12-week certificate class, Pam was knowledgeable and patient. Each pair of students had the same setup and supplies, a teacher (who also taught two other pairs) and a station within a larger kitchen. I immediately liked our mini-kitchen, with a five-burner gas stove, an oven, ample counter space and the necessary pots and pans. At other cooking schools I've attended, I've frequently grown frustrated and wasted time sharing stoves and implements with the other students. All too often I'd have to stand hip to hip with other budding (and temperamental) chefs. I was delighted that this wasn't so at Ballymaloe.
Mary and I had chosen to make scones, raspberry jam and pan-grilled mackerel that morning. I wanted to sharpen my fish filleting skills, so I happily tackled the mackerel, which had been caught only hours before. Then, while Mary successfully replicated Darina's recipe and jarred the jam, I made the scones. My first attempt was an absolute bust; even the teachers were baffled by my oozing dough. With a wave of her hand, Pam said: "Life's too short, Melissa. Feed this to the hens and start over." My second attempt yielded a perfectly tender batch of Mummy's Sweet White Scones.
On another day I made a traditional Kerry pie, a savory lamb pie with thyme, carrots and onions. The hot-water pastry dough method was remarkably quick and foolproof. The tender and flavorful lamb had come from Kevin Day, a local butcher who has his own slaughterhouse. When decorating the top of our pie with the excess scraps, we applied stars and stripes, which made our patriotic pie easy to spy in the lunchtime lineup. Read More....
The New York Times > Travel > In Ireland, Cookery Amid the Greenery
Lao Tzu the Founder of Tao De ( Path & Virtue )Sutra, have use Cooking of fish as analogue to running a country. That is "Managing or Running A Big Nation is Just like Frying A Small Fish"!!
You see when one fry a small fish, one beside control the amount of oil & the temperature, it is not suppose to have too frequent changes or interference.
The following cookery school methods is actually on the way to cooking enligthenment.
In Ireland, Cookery Amid the Greenery
By MELISSA A. TRAINER
APPROACHING the town of Shanagarry in County Cork, Ireland, can stir a lot of emotions in the first-time visitor: awe at the beauty of the place, a peacefulness brought on by the serenity of the countryside. But for some people, a trip to this hamlet sparks something else altogether, a quickening of the pulse as you realize you're about to get into the kitchen and start cooking.
For Shanagarry is home to the Ballymaloe Cookery School, one of Europe's most notable destinations for the serious foodie. Owned by Tim and Darina Allen and sitting in one of Ireland's richest agricultural counties, the school started out as a sideline business. In 1983 Darina began offering cooking classes out of their 19th-century Regency house, to supplement Tim's income as a farmer. The response was great, and Darina started teaching local people, focusing on simple, straightforward fare using the wonderfully fresh ingredients grown on the farm or caught in nearby waters.
Quickly outgrowing its original home, the school moved 50 yards to its current location, a converted apple barn constructed during World War II and designed by Tim's maternal grandfather, Henry Hill, a well-regarded Cork architect. The design was an engineering feat considering the rationing and lack of supplies at the time.
The kitchens are now in the former apple sorting rooms, and because there was no electricity during the 1940's, there are enormous north-facing windows that open wide and maximize daylight. The windows look over the school's cow pastures and the seafood-rich Ballycotton Bay, just a mile away. Darina, originally trained at a catering school in Dublin, has since published 13 books. Her first, "Simply Delicious" (1989, Gill & Macmillan) was a big success.
The Ballymaloe Cookery School operates year-round, with a mix of one-day classes and weeklong immersion programs. While its focus remains firmly on locally grown foods and Irish traditions (How to Keep a Few Chickens in the Garden is the name of one course), offerings now include such surprising options as A Day in Italy and Sushi for Beginners.
When I went to Ballymaloe this past summer, I attended an Intensive Introductory course, a 10th-anniversary present from my husband, and was joined by my friend Mary Birchfield, who unlike me, had never taken a cooking class. There were 48 students, mainly from Ireland, Britain and the United States, enrolled in this five-day course. As everyone arrived that first morning we were offered coffee, tea and scones in the dining room.
The student body ran from university students to well-traveled retirees. Most were attending solo. While waiting for things to start, I admired the school's flair. Fresh posies of lady's mantle, herbs and sweet peas were everywhere. The creamers, serving bowls and water jugs were from a local pottery, and the white-stuccoed walls were adorned with contemporary and traditional artwork, much of which was for sale.
Although this was a hands-on intensive class, Darina eased us in slowly on the first day and introduced us to the extraordinary ingredients - fresh Jersey cream, free-range eggs and quirky heirloom tomatoes - gathered from her 100-acre farm, recently certified by the government as organic.
In her lively and engaging manner, Darina demonstrated 12 dishes - among them brown bread, tarts of smoky Gubeen bacon and mushrooms, and almond meringues with strawberries and cream - and passionately urged us, when cooking at home, to purchase our ingredients from sources that used local farmers, purveyors and fishermen. We broke for lunch around 1, and headed back to the dining room, where we took our assigned seats and tucked into the dishes Darina had prepared.
After lunch we returned to the demonstration classroom, where we observed more preparations and tasted the dishes we'd make the next morning. By the time class ended at 4, I was stuffed and needed some exercise. The sun wouldn't set until after 10 p.m. and the skies were clear, so Mary and I and an Irish classmate headed to walk the cliffs in Ballycotton, the nearby fishing village. A former goat track, the seaside walk is one of Europe's most significant bird-watching sites - more than 300 species migrate through over the course of the year. Our classmate, who worked for Ireland's Environmental Protection Agency, was able to point out such rare birds as the chough.
Camaraderie became the norm among all of us students. Ego and pretension were nonexistent, and we quickly became a laughing and lively lot, regardless of cooking skills. Many of us had experience; others were clearly clueless. This proved comforting - no need to prove one's brilliance - as we tied on our aprons, grabbed our knives and headed into the spacious and light-filled classrooms.
The second day, Mary and I teamed up and greeted our teacher, Pam Black. A graduate of the school's 12-week certificate class, Pam was knowledgeable and patient. Each pair of students had the same setup and supplies, a teacher (who also taught two other pairs) and a station within a larger kitchen. I immediately liked our mini-kitchen, with a five-burner gas stove, an oven, ample counter space and the necessary pots and pans. At other cooking schools I've attended, I've frequently grown frustrated and wasted time sharing stoves and implements with the other students. All too often I'd have to stand hip to hip with other budding (and temperamental) chefs. I was delighted that this wasn't so at Ballymaloe.
Mary and I had chosen to make scones, raspberry jam and pan-grilled mackerel that morning. I wanted to sharpen my fish filleting skills, so I happily tackled the mackerel, which had been caught only hours before. Then, while Mary successfully replicated Darina's recipe and jarred the jam, I made the scones. My first attempt was an absolute bust; even the teachers were baffled by my oozing dough. With a wave of her hand, Pam said: "Life's too short, Melissa. Feed this to the hens and start over." My second attempt yielded a perfectly tender batch of Mummy's Sweet White Scones.
On another day I made a traditional Kerry pie, a savory lamb pie with thyme, carrots and onions. The hot-water pastry dough method was remarkably quick and foolproof. The tender and flavorful lamb had come from Kevin Day, a local butcher who has his own slaughterhouse. When decorating the top of our pie with the excess scraps, we applied stars and stripes, which made our patriotic pie easy to spy in the lunchtime lineup. Read More....
The New York Times > Travel > In Ireland, Cookery Amid the Greenery
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