Of fashion disasters, Ainsley Hariott and supermarkets...

First things first boys and girls. Did anyone catch The Late Late Show (and I mean the extremely unfunny Irish one here for my American readers) last night? Now I am by no means an expert, or anything even close on fashion, but WHAT was he wearing? As RTE's top paid TV persona, surely he has his own wardrobe person? Well, that person needs to be shot. Although being the egomaniac that Pat is, he may well have overrode any advice given to him and gone with the hideous ensemble himself. I mean seriously? Men of Ireland - you should be outraged!!! Anyways, I digress. Personally I can't stand Pat. He's always dissing America and harassing American guests, and with my immediate family all being American and myself having lived there for some 13 years, that just pisses me off! But the worst part is that he then has the nerve to offer trips to America as prizes. ARGH!!!! I did search YouTube for clippage of last nights episode for those of you with the fortune of not having seen the aforementioned "ensemble," but to no avail. ANYHOO...

Ainsley Harriott... I know the name but never saw him live until last night (well, apart from the dishwasher ads) and what a nice guy! I never watch The Late Late Show, but when I was flipping channels last night and saw cooking I had to stop. He really seemed like a lovely down to earth person and I loved what he was saying about kids in the kitchen. I love it when my toddler "helps" in the kitchen, albeit by licking the butter when I'm not looking! I too think it's important to introduce children to cooking, lest they spend their college years wasting away on ramen noodles! I found some Ainsley cuppa soup mixes at Aldi a few weeks ago and bought the French Onion variety. I am a huge fan of French Onion soup, but no one else in the house is, so it just goes to waste if I make it. So I thought I would try the ready-mix as a wee treat for myself. I am usually not a fan of processed foods, but I have to say this was a really decent mix. It tasted like some restaurant soups I have had, although not as good as my own (well, Anthony Bourdain's) home-made version. But definitely worth picking up if you're an onion freak like myself.

Continuing on the grocery theme I am waging war against the supermarkets of Edenderry. Why is it that the only fresh herb I can buy is parsley? HMMMM? This is absolutely ridiculous. Tesco did carry basil and coriander (cilantro) for awhile there, but apparently I was the only person in town buying the stuff! I can't even get thyme, and I had great plans to make this recipe today which calls for... you guessed it... thyme! Am I seriously expected to drive to Dublin to get thyme? Surely the residents of this cute Irish town aren't that culinarily (is that a word?) challenged? And despite having big signs up advertising home delivery in the store, Tesco doesn't yet offer it in our area, so I can't even pick and choose from their warehouse. I was going to hit the Farmers Market in Newbridge today to try and get some nice organic vegetables and some herbs, but alas my parents are coming and I must clean the house and hubby took the car this morning. *SIGH* So what to do? I have tried "ye olde herb garden" many a time, but usually end up killing everything. I do have Rosemary left, but as an evergreen, it's pretty hearty, even I can't kill it. Should I try again? Does anyone have any advice? I know I can't put basil and coriander outside until it gets warmer, but what about the other stuff? Any thoughts?

And what about Organic milk? How come I can only get a one litre container that expires the next day? I wouldn't mind, but Ireland's largest organic dairy is only twenty minutes from here. I should be able to get fresh organic milk when I want it, right? Does anyone here me? ARGH!!!

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