Banged, Mashed and Cow Nookie

I've been traveling in Ireland for just over three days and as I whip through the Irish countryside on a train I thought there should be no reason in 2012 that I can't keep up to date on this little baby I call a blog. That's what smartphones are for right?

So here's the 411(how dated is that?):

Last Monday I has the pleasure of waiting in line at MSP airport for about an hour behind a lovely couple with two offspring and an geriatric in tow. About 20 minutes into our session together the couple was approached by the local NBC roving reporter to discuss the breaking news that airfare was going up. I about fell over when I heard that.

Long story short due to the Chicken of the Sea closeness I was experiencing with my adopted family I was forced to stand directly over the shoulder of Pa while he gave his two cents worth of airline economics in his Grain Belt tee shirt on air. The whole time SAGL was texting that I should be mouthing my web address and my single status into the camera. Why I didn't think about it I don't know? I could be on holiday in Israel with Sven Sungaard as we kibbutz if I had been quicker in my chukkas.

After dropping the soap for the TSA agent (who did not seem to appreciate all the work I've accomplished at boot camp) I met up with Just Joni and The HR Brigade (which is comprised of the matriarch of mi familia and her BF from their time hiring, firing and general human resources debauchery back in the day).

Fast forward to our connection flight on Aer Lingus (insert joke here) and I am seved my first official Irish meal. It came all wrapped up in pretty cellophane and aluminum foil. It was the best damn meatloaf I ever had at 38,000 feet in the air. And this meal was my deciding factor that I would track all forms of potatoes I devoured during my sojourn through the motherland. Meatloaf adjacent rehydrated potatoes were the first.

After 24 hours without sleep and an autobahn like drive down the Irish carriageways by Just Joni we found our week long home in Adare. With some investigation we landed at Pat O'Conners pub. I ate a burger and was ridiculed by family friends on Facebook for traveling to Ireland to eat a burger. Let me remind you this country turned to potatoes in a time of need and outside of Tato Skins by The Keebler Elves the potato has yet to find its time to shine. Save for French Fries of course.

Day two included really good rhubarb Greek yogurt. And we all know how much a major player rhubarb is in my life. Later in the evening myself and the Golden Girls wandered into Aunty Lena's (apparently Norway left its mark in Ireland about 110 years ago when Aunty Lena's opened). Here I ventured to prove others wrong and try local fare. Bangers and Mash (again insert joke here) it was. Two apple sausages paired with a variety of mashed potatoes all swimming in what I seriously hope was calorie free gravy.

Day three found me on a bus tour along the coast. We saw castles, big red cocks...waking the locals with its call of the wild, The Cliffs of Moher and a bull getting down and dirty with a cow thus guarantying I can have another burger sometime next year. At one stop in Doolin we doned our Ladies Who Lunch caps and woofed down some more pub fare. This time I stepped out of the comfort zone of burgers, brats and potatoes to try something new.

Lunch today was wonderful. I had a goat cheese tartlet with whiskey marmalade and caramelized onions. All on a bed of red Bibb lettuce with a vinaigrette. And of course a nice cider to chug before getting on the bus again. Please see photo above.  

Let's talk about whiskey marmalade. At one point I almost asked Just Joni to roll a €100 note and whip out a mirror because I was ready to get that sweetness into me anyway possible. I was struggling to think of a souvenir that I could pass onto SAGL and get some use out of myself and I think a case of whiskey marmalade is it. Sorry if you're reading this SAGL. And clear some shelves in the kitch before I land next week.

That brings you up to speed on my foreign food consumption. My goals before I leave next week are black and white pudding (not a dessert by the way) and prawn cocktail flavored Pringles. That's right. Shrimp cocktail flavored Pringles.

Please excuse the lack of photos and links. Or any misspellings for that matter. Give me a break I did type this with a finger on a phone in the Irish countryside. My Apple MacBook Air sponsor has yet to provide...