Month: Mar 2019

Eggbite – the simple pleasures

irlandesuk cooking, cuisine ,

Eggbite – the simple pleasures

 

eggbite
Bacon and mushroom eggbite


My version of the big chain’s sousvide eggbites. This bacon and mushroom bite has a little cream in the mix and was cooked for an hour in the sousvide. Comes out perfect every time. Ideal for breakfast or if you’re on the run, it offers a little portable pleasure on the palate.

Simple recipe

2 free range eggs
2 cooked slices of bacon, chopped
2 large closed cup mushrooms, chopped
2 tablespoons of double cream
salt and pepper to taste

Method

Whisk 2 eggs with cream then add the chopped ingredients together with salt and pepper.

Pour the mixture into two 50 g jars with screw caps. I used two empty paté jars, properly cleaned.

Finger tighten the lids on the jars. This allows the air inside the jars to escape when placed in hot water, preventing the glass from cracking under pressure.

Place the jars in a sousvide water bath set at 78 °C for 1 hour.

Carefully remove from water and consume immediately or store in fridge once cooled.   

A string of words

irlandesuk poetry

A string of words

As blood is
            as words circulate
in the poet’s mind
            and fingers touch her lips
the pulse of her handsome blood
            beneath the hollow cheeks
the delicate porcelain smile
            below the naked eyes

She built of nature’s delight
            handsome in her womb
in the warmth of her blood
            morning noon and night
she presents a silent
            revelation

Her scrupulous kiss
            he takes on the fly
savours the soft bright wet
            tenderness of muscles
in which a wordless song arises
            contained in herself
a promise never meant
            to be broken

John Lyons

Weight watcher

irlandesuk poetry

Weight watcher

Age notwithstanding
            he honed his body
to perfection
            so that he bore
not a single
            superfluous gram

But alas too late
            to win the silken heart
that she’d surrendered
            to another in another life

John Lyons

Venice carnival remembered

irlandesuk art, poetry ,
murano lemon.png
Murano glass, a hand blown lemon

Venice carnival remembered

The play of light
            and shadow
on the canal waters
            place of all ages
place of all beauty
            shops filled
with sumptuous pieces
            of Murano glass

And how the light
            travelled through
the contoured colours
            and how it rose
in your eyes
            as you examined them
and how I loved you then
            and how I love you now

John Lyons

Rough with the smooth

irlandesuk art, poetry , , ,
warp and woof
Warp and woof, John Lyons (oil on canvas)

Rough with the smooth

Love too is a work
            of the imagination
it constantly seeks
            new forms of expression
in order to remain fresh
            to keep the present alive
and not simply trade
            on the faded past

It can be brash
            and outspoken
and have real attitude
            since by its very nature
it’s gestural
            more in the manner
of a de Kooning
            or a Pollock
than a Titian
            or a Raphael

Yes I want all of you
            the sweep of your strokes
across my body
            your hair falling
into my eyes
            my face drowning
in your tears
            of laughter
your precious hand
            gripping on to mine
as we hurtle
            down the roller coaster
moving from the darkness
            into the light

 

John Lyons

It’s good to be alive

irlandesuk poetry

It’s good to be alive

Cold and sharp last night
            clear and not much wind
the full moon shining
            a fine spread of constellations
Sirius very bright rising early
            preceded by Orion
vast glittering sworded
            chasing with his dog

In the calm splendour
            of the night
I take a short walk
            the earth hard frozen
a stiff glare of ice
            over the pond
my mind full of her
            of her last words to me
before the cold silence
            The bitter wind
drives me back
            into the warmth

I wake early
            my mind full of her
the lost warmth of her love
            the fond memories

Out in the open
            the sun has risen
I sit on a bench
            close to the woods
I bask in the pleasant air
            there are bluebirds
flying about
            I hear the reedy trill
of a robin
            then other songs that rise
to a steady chorus
            I stroll on past the pond
where the ice has melted :
            it’s good to be alive

John Lyons

Adapted from a passage by Walt Whitman

A fond farewell

irlandesuk poetry

A fond farewell

Dignity in the face of loss
            or the slow ebb of affection
when love slips away
            and silence and coldness
take its place

She was a lady of flowers
            an unending river
a city of the imagination
            an early morning song
she was flesh and blood
            and her eyes danced
before all she saw
            the magical breath of life
she was the stuff of dreams
            made real and whole
and a force of nature
            she was where I always
longed to lay me down to rest
            in her open arms
in her open heart
            she was beauty
refracted through love
            and for a while
I was hers and
            she was mine

John Lyons

The acid test

irlandesuk poetry

The acid test

Let the record state
            that there was love
true and honest
            and deep and full
of kindness
            and that steps
were taken
            to defend that life
against all adversity
            but words of promise
of commitment
            to commonwealth
to shared purpose
            are as nothing
until they are proved
            upon the pulse

John Lyons