About The irish mammy

Originally I aspired to start this blog in 2015 and after a difficult start I parked it and got on with raising my family. I am an Irish Mammy in real life – I have three lovely children and thankfully they are now past that super dependant stage. My eldest became a teenager this year and my youngest turned 7. I’m hoping that I now have some more time to share my passions in life – cooking, gardening, cooking from the garden and generally living a more homemade sustainable life.

Sometimes I am full of contradictions, but maybe it’s more like I get hit with a dose of reality. Absolutely, I love to make everything from scratch but there is never enough time!

I have come up with plenty of hacks over the years to save me time. But inevitably I end up buying processed food or heading to the takeaway just like everyone else. I tell myself that if I live by the 80/20 rule, it has to be somewhat better. Homemade from scratch 80% of the time and convenience/eating out 20% of the time. After all life is for living. In order to enjoy the kitchen and garden and reap the benefits from that lifestyle, I can’t allow myself to get overwhelmed by it.

Growing

If you haven’t gathered by now, as the Irish Mammy I love to grow my own food and have been doing so for the last 8 years. I have been steadily adding to my knowledge through experience over those years. I will definitely never know it all, and gardening will certainly keep you humble as well as supple. As soon as you think you know something, the weather will come along and laugh at you and upend the best laid plans. I am ready though to pass on what I’ve learned and maybe pick up some more knowledge from my followers.

Cooking

Cooking is in my genes – literally! My dad was a chef, and though he was doing what I sometimes call “institutional cooking” he was always trying something new at home. He taught me to make a fatless sponge cake at around 8 years of age. I was so proud to be given the responsibility of making all the birthday cakes for my siblings when he was away at work. He did try to teach my mother, but I picked it up quicker. I’m sure she had lots of other tasks to keep her busy, so it was easier to leave it to me when I was so enthusiastic. Find The Irish Mammy recipes here.

The Irish Mammy – Life Experience

I loved cooking so much that my first job was washing dishes in a local restaurant and take-away. That quickly led to waitressing and then cooking. After a failed attempt at college, I ended up working as an untrained chef in a local hotel. That was a baptism of fire and I learned pretty quickly. Then I took over my own restaurant, (the same one that I had started washing dishes in at 15) when I was 20 years of age. I was very wet behind the ears starting up my own business but I work & learn best under pressure.

I continued to run my own business for 10 years bowing out after the crash, though I did hold out until 2013. After a spell cooking in a nursing home, I left the industry altogether, to concentrate on raising my family and retrain in something a little more family friendly. I now work part time as an office/accounts admin locally.

Life is funny though. As I was leaving the food industry in a work capacity, I now had more time to dedicate to growing my own food which had always been an ambition of mine. I started small with a few vegetables. Now I grow in a 60 foot polytunnel, 10 raised beds and a 100 square metre in-ground garden. Learn more about The Irish Mammy garden spaces here. I also have chickens for eggs and to make compost. It’s the type of hobby that can grow legs. Now I dream of owning a farm with my own milk cows, raising beef, pork and lamb and becoming pretty much self sufficient. Dreams eh?…..