Apart from the book being a compelling read, motoring on at a fine clip and leaving me petrified of every sniffle and cough, it also got my thinking about the “what if” questions about survivialism.

The protagonist in the group was frankly quite useless at this sort of stuff.  Without allowing any spoilers, she clearly never did her stint in the Girl Guides.  There are groups (mainly in the US), who take this stuff to the absolute nth degree, amassing huge stores of weapons, equipment and long-lasting food and water.  But what about a normal Josephine or Joe Soap? What should you have in your pantry should the end indeed be nigh?

Well, as someone with clearly no life worth saving, I looked it up.  And here, my fellow mortals, are the top five nuclear-war foods you should have in your pantry.*

*Or your Mum’s pantry, as let’s face it, that’s where we’d all go.

1. Despite being the go-to emergency food of choice, most canned food (tomato-based and fruits especially) these days only lasts about eighteen months.  Others might last longer, such as tuna, spam etc. Sounds delicious, I know…

2. Going old-style on it, salt-cured meat and fish could stay edible for up to three years

3. Properly dehydrated fruit should last about eighteen months, although I’m not sure how much flavour will survive the process.

4. Good big proper bags of rice will keep you going for up to five, and even ten years if stored in the ‘proper’ (read: hardcore) way.  You may be craving a chicken curry to go with it by year two though.

5. Beans are a good option as they will store for up to 5 years.  Your relationship with your fellow cellar-dwellers may not however.

What would you fill your cupboards with if you caught sight of some poorly birds??

Photographs from  The Guardian and National Geographic

A memory tainted by some rather good Chianti I might add.

And so I’m sure I’m missing some key ingredients, but the below is nevertheless a supremely satisfying although light (and inexpensive!) supper, perfect for this change of seasons.

• 1 large glug olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 carrots, cut into batons, and then chopped roughly
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 2 cans cannelloni beans
• 6 cloves crushed garlic
• 2 pints vegetable stock
• 500g passata (or two cans chopped tomatoes)
• Dash balsamic vinegar
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 red chilli, deseeded
• Fresh herbs – basil, oregano etc
• 200g pancetta / prosciutto / lardons cooked and sliced if necessary
• 1 cup wilted spinach (I just put the leaves onto a dry pan on low heat for 30 secs)
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Croutons, if you’re bothered

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot and add the onions, celery, chilli and carrots, sautéing gently.

2. Add the garlic and cook for another minute

3. Pour in the stock, passata (or chopped tomatoes) and cannellini beans.

4. Add dash of balsamic and season with fresh herbs and salt and pepper.

5. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer gently for ten minutes.  Be careful not to overcook as the beans will go mushy.

6. Ladle into bowls and serve with topping of croutons, pancetta / prosciutto, wilted spinach and Parmesan.  Serve with crusty bread.

But for once, this avalanche of Harp-marked envelopes was accompanied by some proper goodies – the lovely people at Knorr sent over a hamper full of some proper kitchen kit.  Hidden in a lovely chrome breadbin were samples from their ‘Simply Versatile’ range of professional ‘Create More’ sauces, which cover the essential ingredients of most restaurant staples.

The Knorr ‘Create More Concentrated Sauces’ are available in Italian, Oriental and Indian ranges and form the basis for everything from pizza topping to curries.

So confident are they of the versatility of these ‘Create More’ sauces that they’ve got a chef – Steve, who sounds straight from Eastenders! – on hand who can be challenged to create anything (yep, they said anything) using these sauces.  Pop over to this link to see how you can submit your challege – you have until the end of the month, and there could be an Ipad mini in it for you too.

Click here for full details of how you can ‘challenge Steve’, get recipe ideas or order a free sample of Tomato and Basil Concentrated Sauce  to try yourself at home – tweet me the results, would love to see what you make!

I’m eye-ing up my jars of Tomato & Basil Concentrated Sauce as I type – this Sunday they’ll definitely be cracked open and put to work with the pureed mixed herbs, bread dough and sunflower oil; will tweet whatever my imagination comes up with, although the success of the exercise will probably depend on how much wine is consumed Saturday night!

Early last month, despite the snowy weather, we spent an enjoyable morning there  sampling its many brunch options, with the meat-heavy fry a popular (if unsurprising choice) with my unrepentatly carniverous boyfriend, and the dangerously-monikered ‘Killer Nachos’ a new favourite for me.

Since our brunch visit last month, we have returned for one of their monthly specials, ‘Sushi-Sushi’ night, an evening of miso soup, sushi and green tea with a dollop of fiery wasabi to boot.  The talented chef at the helm of Canteen is formerly of the famous Fat Duck restaurant and is also an accomplished tweeter – follow him and his team (and place your reservations!) here.

If you fancy reading a little more about this trendy little Limerick gem, pick up a copy of this month’s Food & Wine (it’s got a green cover!) The review is on our usual page 91, and while you’re at it, take a peek at the fab section on French classics, it’s got me craving a trip back to Carcassonne already!

Yup, me too, so to cut the BS, see below for a rapid-fire overview of the shopping deals in stores this weekend.

Aldi

• Irish Lamb Leg – €7.99 per kilo
• Roasting Potatoes (frozen) – 89c
• Prepared Winter Veg – 99c
• Luxury Listowel Lemon Cheesecake €2.99
• Easter chocolate treats from 79c
• Wines from €3.99

 Dunnes

• Irish Whole Lamb Leg €7.99 per kilo
• Ben & Jerry’s Ice-Cream half price at €3.09
• Fresh cakes from €3.99
• Butler’s Chocolates half price
• Spring Wine Sale – half price wines

Lidl

• Irish Lamb Leg €7.99 per kilo
• Sicilian Lemon Cheesecake €3.99
• Easter Chocolate Treats from 29c
• Fresh seasonal veg from 49c
• Wines from €3.99

Superquinn

• Irish Lamb Leg €7.25 per kilo
• Fresh vegetables 89c
• Half price Easter eggs
• Ben & Jerry’s tubs ice-cream half price, at €3.09
• French Wine Sale – up to 50% reduced

Supervalu

• Irish Round Roast Beef €7.97 per kilo
• Fresh vegetables and fruit 3 for 2, 69c each
• Nestle After Eight Dessert half price at €2.39
• Half price Easter eggs
• Wines from €7

Tesco

•  Whole Irish Lamb Leg
• Fresh Vegetables from 29c
• Frozen Roasting Potatoes 89c
• Half Price & 3 for 2 Easter Eggs
• Wines from €7

For example, two years ago I readily partook in the festivities at Thomond Park, during which Limerick vintners happily served up pint after pint (or glass of vino in my case) to their jersey-wearing customers.  Munster rugby is worth an awful lot of money to a city which has been hit badly by the recession with the closure of Dell and many other large employers.  It was deemed financially sensible to avail of an opportunity to cater for the crowds and keep some hospitality jobs safe for a little bit longer.

Another year I spent Good Friday at a lovely dinner cooked by a very good friend of mine.  Five of us girls sat around sipping wine, chatting about boyfriends and generally relaxing on a rare day off.  Our host served up a delicious chicken dish, which most of us tucked into readily while some of the group declined, as they had decided not to eat meat that day, out of deference and respect for the Catholic tradition.

I very much admire those friends for choosing to follow their beliefs, but it did bring into sharp focus the difficulty of reconciling strict Catholic rules with modern life, given that back then most of us were co-habiting, pill-popping, mass-dodgers supping happily on a glass of Pinot.

I’ve noticed some restaurants working around the law with innovative ideas. Ouzos in Dubin, for example, is open with a BYOB policy and one floating restaurant, La Peniche in Dublin, is able to side-step the rules. The uber-popular Tannery Dungarven, having consulting with An Garda Siochana about the matter, have decided to open, but will be serving a selection of soft-drinks with their much lauded meals.

I will be in France this Friday night and as a result I can pretty much assure you I will be nestled with a book and a glass of good Minervois red in front of the stove, but I’m interested in finding out what’ll you be up to?

Do you think we should observe the rules for this – just one – day every year? Or are you going to hell in a handcart with me and a glass of Chardonnay?

Perfect for lunch in a rush, or a tired last-minute supper, this recipe is both easy and cheap, a perfect combination in our house!

Much like red wine, early nights and broccoli, a taste for blue cheese is one that grows on you as you get older, as your palate demands ever stronger flavours and textures.  Despite turning my nose up at my Dad’s plate when I was little, we now love blue cheese in our house, regularly adding it to salads, steaks and, as of today, mushrooms.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Mixed mushrooms (chanterelle, shiitaki, oyster, etc)
• 1 tub crème fraiche
• 1 dash white wine
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Fresh bread – French baguette in this case

Instructions

1. Slice the bread evenly and arrange under a grill or on top of a hot griddle, to toast evenly on both sides.

2. Heat a knob of butter in a small pan and when it is sizzling, add the garlic, sautéing for a minute.

3. Next add the mushrooms, stirring regularly as they soften.

4. Deglaze with a small dash of white wine, reduce heat and allow to simmer until alcohol has evaporated

5. Stir in crème fraiche, season well, and serve with crostini (and a cheeky glass of vino if you can!)

However, there’s only so much mushroom / tomato / French Onion Soup one family can have, so we’re trying to branch out.  Some of my soup endeavours are more successful than others, and the below is one of those that was an intstant hit. Partly because although it was healthy, it tastes like something decidedly decadent.

Which is the perfect combination foodies on a wedding diet

Enough for 10 servings

Ingredients

• 1 large glug olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 whole butternut squash
• 2 cups black beans (you may need to pre-prepare these, check the packet for instructions)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 fresh chillies, finely chopped
• One sachet taco / fajita seasoning (or 4 teaspoons)
• 1.5 pints vegetable stock
• 3 x 500g passata cartons / (or about 1500g of chopped tomatoes)
• Taco toppings – sour cream / beef mince / cheddar cheese / tortilla chips / kidney beans etc

Instructions

1. Chop the butternut squash in half, remove seeds and pop in pre-heated oven (about 180C) for twenty minutes, until bubbling and golden.

2. Remove, and when cool, skin and dice so fresh cooked butternut squash cubes

3. Heat glug of olive oil in deep heavy-bottomed pot and sautee the diced onion until golden

4. Add the garlic and chillies and stir well for two minutes

5. Pour in the chopped tomato / passata and the vegetable stock.

6. Stir in the seasoning and add pinch of black pepper and salt

7. Add the black beans and butternut squash and bring to a boil.

8. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for ten minutes, stirring regularly

9. When a little cooler, whizz a handheld blender through the soup, blending the butternut squash but leaving a chunky consistency

10. Ladle into bowls, add desired topping and pop under the grill for a minute or two to melt the cheese.

11. Serve with fresh nacho / tortilla chips

It was a real treat indeed to review the Lady Helen – both in terms of the food and service (both of which were excellent, I’m still dreaming of that white onion veloute!) but also to be able to enjoy a day or two at the truly stunning Mount Juliet estate – all 1500 acres of it.

I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised at the value offering – while the hotel has five stars and the restaurant 3 AA rosettes, the prices aren’t at all bad, given the quality of the food, the warmth of the service and the sumptuous surroundings of the hotel.

The eight course tasting menu is €45 on Thursdays, and the hotel regularly run offers of 1 night bed and breakfast with dinner for €99 per person.  Given that a trip to the airport can cost that in parking alone, I think that represents pretty good value in the staycation stakes. Follow @mountjuliet on Twitter for info on their regular offers.

To read the full review, pick up a copy of Food and Wine Magazine (€3.80, @FoodAndWineMag) in any good newsagents / supermarket. We’re on page 91, but don’t miss my favourite part of this month’s edition – the ‘hot 100′ list of covetable foodie treats from cookbooks to kitchen kit.

So…comfort food is in order I think, despite the Spring season.  I’ve been meaning to try this stalwart of US menus for years, ever since a good friend (hailing from Indiana) first laughed at my incredulous face as she showed me the pre-packed, boxed stuff.  Powdered cheese, for heaven’s sake.

I reckoned it couldn’t be that hard to cook myself and lo and behold, some ten years later, I got around to putting that theory to the test.

And it really is super easy, the only hard part will be getting your hands on rigatoni pasta!

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 tsp dijonnaise
• 1-2  finely chopped garlic clove(s)
• 500ml milk
• 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
• 2 heaped tablespoons of flour
• 8 smoked rashers / smoked streaky bacon / 1 cup smoked lardons
• 250g + 25g grated cheddar
• 350g rigatoni (any pasta really will do)

Instructions

1.      Pre-heat the oven to about 180c.

2.      Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.

3.      Fry / grill the bacon and set aside

4.      Melt the butter in a pan.

5.      Add the garlic and dijonnaise and stir for one minute.

6.      In a cup, mix the flour with a little milk until you have a smooth paste.

7.      Pour all the milk into the pan, gradually mixing in the flour mixture, whiskingregularly until it’s brought to a boil.

8.     Reduce heat and allow the sauce to thicken for a couple of minutes.

9.      Adding the cheese and bacon and stir until melted.

10. Empty the drained pasta into the pan with the sauce and mix well.

11. Ladle portions into bowls / ramekins / cups (we used big fat Ikea cups here!)

12. Mix 25g of cheese with the breadcrumbs and season well.  Sprinkle this mixture on top of each portion and pop into the oven for about 15 minutes, until the breadcrumbs have turned golden.

13. Serve with garlic bread, a blanket and a good movie.