Autumn most certainly has made its presence known, as there is a little bite in the air and the evenings are drawing darker. I love this time of year, as once the rain is at bay, there are endless opportunities to forage in our surrounding hedgerows. I'm not sure if I have ever collected more blackberries than I did in the past fortnight, but my freezer is now well packed for winter crumbles, pies and jams. It has also been a wonderful year for apples. Upon collecting a few baskets full of juicy apples I declared that I was going to try my hand at cider-making. As my brother-in-law, John, has made some wine in the past he has agreed to help with this process. So with any luck I will be featuring recipes with lovely home-made cider in the near future.

Last week we welcomed a new member into our 'backyard family'. A beautiful little chick, whom we've yet to name. Even as a day old chick he was mimicking his mother's actions. Isn't nature just incredible?

It seems like since the children have returned to school I've been trying to catch up on my writing and photography work, but I will post a new recipe here very soon. It will most probably feature either blackberries or apples.

In Other News

The lovely Rosanne Hewitt - Cromwell, otherwise known as Like Mam Used To Bake, is launching her beautiful new book...'Like Mam Used To Bake' next Tuesday in Dubray Books on Grafton St. I'm truly honoured that Rosanne has asked me to say a few words on the evening. I can't wait to have a read of the book and I'm really looking forward to celebrating this special evening with Rosanne and her family and friends. 

Blog Give-Away Winner.

Thank you to all who entered my latest give-away. All names were popped in the hat and the winner is ..

 myfoododyssey.com said...

Hey Nessa. Sounds delish! I'm signed up to your blog and I'm sure I've gotten emails before, but I didn't get one for this post. Not sure if there's a ghost in the machine somewhere! June.

September 12, 2013 at 8:52 PM

June, could you please drop me an email with your postal address.Thank you!

Do you know how sometimes you'll have a meal that's so delicious and so satisfying that once you take the last bite you desperately wish you could rewind time and begin again? Well, I had such a meal a couple of weeks ago. The location; a restaurant on a cobbled street within Temple Bar, but just off the River Liffey. The setting; a room dressed with vibrant and inviting colours, with the most comfortable cushioned seating, which is fondly known as the Opium Room. My company for the evening; a small group of journalists and bloggers with the love of food being the common denominator.

Cumi Cumi Goreng {Crispy Marinated Squid}

Our evening began with a lychee cocktail, while we were treated to an engaging demonstration by Kevin O' Toole. He's an interesting guy, who's extremely knowledgeable on Indonesian cuisine and passionate about what he does. He runs a busy kitchen and I was more than impressed to hear that every paste and marinade is made from scratch in the restaurant. We then made ourselves comfortable in the Opium Room for our wine-pairing dinner. The wonderful Aoife Carrigy was our host for the evening, who guided us through each wine, while Kevin introduced each course of food. What a fantastic and enlightening way to dine. The Chameleon will shortly be offering wine-paring dinners to the public and I'd urge you to book yourself a spot and take the opportunity to enjoy this magical dining experience. 

Asinan Salad

I really enjoy a good story, and I'm always interested to find out where a business idea originates from. I was intrigued to hear that the Chameleon has been in business for twenty-five years, going from a vegetarian cafe to an underground nightclub, before finding the perfect niche as an Indonesian Cuisine Restaurant in 1994. The lady behind this thriving business was Carol Walsh and in 2002 she convinced her partner, Kevin O' Toole, to join her as the restaurant manager and within a year Kevin was attending culinary college. Kevin and Carol are hard workers and are passionate about food. This is ever evident in the food which is served in The Chameleon; where carefully selected ingredients are cooked to perfection with great know-how and skill. With this in mind, it's no surprise that they picked up the Best World Cuisine 2013 at this year's Irish Restaurant Awards. 

Pork Wontons

In my experience of visiting restaurants, quite often the service that is provided can be just as important as the food that is being served. I'm hardly alone when I say that good manners are a must for any establishment that relies on a return of business. Without a doubt I will eat at The Chameleon again, the food was sensational and the warm service was sublime. I felt very comfortable there and only for a pending train home I could have sat for the night soaking in the atmosphere while sipping on one of their carefully selected wines or an Irish craft beer. 

For more information, including menus and opening hours, see www.chameleonrestaurant.com or contact Kevin or Carol on book@chameleonrestaurant.com.

Give-Away Time
If you would like to have the opportunity to dine at The Chameleon, Kevin and Carol have very kindly given me a €50 voucher for their very fine restaurant, which I would like to offer to one of my lovely readers. I must note that I had written this blog post even before receiving this voucher, as such a gem of a restaurant experience had to be shared.

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning this voucher is leave a comment below, however, you must also be a subscriber to my blog. If you don't already subscribe you can do so by submitting your email address into the tab on the top right of this blog post.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS: You must be a resident of Ireland (north or south); you must be over 18; no cash alternative is possible, the competition will close at 6pm on Friday 13th September. The winner will be picked at random from the comments below.
Best of luck!