Our new President, Michael :D Higgins, describes this community when he talks about ‘ní neart go cur le chéile’ - there is no strength without unity.
Our peninsula community is suffering right now. It had moved away from being a farming community into one based on the construction industry, now collapsed. Right now there is hurt, sadness and the terror of seeing the young people of the peninsula forced to leave.
I love this community. It has sustained us through sadness, grief and fear as well as entertained us and amused us.
Christmas is a time for giving back. For one, there are presents to be given. That's presents to say thank you: thank you for the patient hours of teaching, thank you for hard work done, thank you for being there when we needed you.
Michael :D talks about “a set of values as will enable us to build a sustainable social economy… the ethical connection between our economy and society.” In his acceptance speech he said, “Many of the most valuable things in life cannot be measured”.
So what can we make and give that would match the unmeasurable treasure that is friendship and community.
Speaking at the launch of the 2012 Brown Envelope Seeds catalogue, recently, I was struck when Kitty Scully from RTE suggested a packet of seeds would make a perfect Christmas gift. Nice idea, perhaps even seeds that we have gathered ourselves. That would be a mighty present.
But not everyone is a gardener, so I think I will try to process some seeds into something delicious and sustainable and this year make mustard for presents. This is a recipe for Tarragon Mustard. I'll give the basic recipe here, but to make it truly my own gift I will stir in a tablespoon or two of either ground sugar kelp or flaked nori that I hope I can collect from our local rocky coastline, once the weather improves.
Chunky Tarragon Mustard
4g black mustard seeds
20g mustard powder
80ml (quarter cup) white wine
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dried tarragon
1 heaped teaspoon sea salt
Crush the black mustard seeds, using a coffee grinder, processor, blender or (the best, I think) pestle and mortar. Just crush enough to break the seeds, don’t grind them to a powder. If you’re using a pestle and mortar, crush them a tablespoon at a time, otherwise they’ll shoot out everywhere. Your aim here is to allow the mustard to release a chemical that reacts with cold liquid.
Place the crushed black seeds and mustard powder in a bowl. Add the white wine, and stir. This will start the chemicals working. Add the vinegar, which sets the reaction and keeps your mustard fresh and sharp, and finally stir in the tarragon and sea salt to flavour the mustard.
If you taste it now, you will find it bitter and unpleasant. Don't worry. The mustard needs to settle for 24hours, by which time it will be mellow, but piquant.
Thank you to Connie McKenna for designing some lovely Christmas labels.
The labels are indeed a work of art Sally, but where did you source those lovely little pots for your mustard? We make our own mustard too - not as wholegrain and hearty looking as yours, but coveted by our friends. I am sorry to read about the thinning out of the peninsula. It is always sad to hear that people 'have' to leave. I can tell you though, from being one that had to leave in the nineties, the experience for them will be wonderful and they will come home when the time is right.
ReplyDeleteHi Mona, sadly the pot is a one-off that I bought in France. For presents, I will recycle the little pots I save from Glenilen yogurts. I'd love to hear more about your mustard recipe.
ReplyDelete