Do not waste your Money for Waste

Until now I used a Tag a bin service to get rid of my waste. I though I might save money this way and its pretty flexible, however lately our family produces way to much waste. So I looked around which service in West Cork has which scheme to offer, and you see above the result.
I used for years Wiser Bins, and was very happy with the Service, so I decided to give them a call to see if they can match the offer of the others. They kind of can, so I will give that a try and keep you posted if this resolves my Waste issues... (We also try to reduce our waste and do more recycling)

Update from the Garden

This year I didn't take enough care of the garden.
It started of in March, I had to do proper fencing first to ensure no horse, rabbit for chicken gets into it. The old fencing I had was damaged from the winter, and I needed to get stronger poles.

So I only had time to plant a few basics, such as salad, radish,carrots, potatoes, and cabbage.

The stuff grows like hell, but so does also the weed. Because of other activities my garden doesn't look pretty at all and I might just get some help with it soon I guess.

 In the herb garden and with the strawberries it looks really good however. We already had a few strawberries as a dessert, and I hope for more.

So, now I better get back to gardening, hope I can plant a few more things to be harvested later this year.

Da capo: One year ago on Clonlins Blog

Every Thursday we look back what happened on this blog a year ago.

Today's topics:

Heidi High performing 
Recipe: Noodle (Fussili) Salad 
Brotzeit

Who came up with that name ? Stinking Bishop Cheese

I wonder how comes up with this names, and on what is it based, hopefully not on real experiences.

However I tried recently that Stinking Bishops Cheese because I thought the name is funny, and its really stinky, but very tasty too.

I might just get a proper container next time which seals the smell off better !

Continental / Austrian Breakfast

Good Morning !

Are you having your breakfast right now, and did you ever wonder how people on a other side of the world have theirs ?

I do love the Full Irish Breakfast, with this sausages, beans and so on, but to be honest it took me some years to get used to it.
I recently could on my trip to the mainland enjoy the continental breakfast there, the Austrian Style with the special shaped bread (Semmel), breakfast Sausage and so on.

I stayed at the Pension Alte Schmiede and the host there was very friendly, also with our little one Sophie which made every morning a little mess at the table. But the owner was very nice and even gave us toys to play which she kept from her own children.

The coffee or Tea was fresh prepared, the Austrian butter and honey just tasted delicious on one of the bread rolls, and you even could opt in for a 5 Minute Breakfast egg.

We had a very good time there, and every Saturday night I dream now of a continental breakfast at the Alte Schmiede.

Da capo: One year ago on Clonlins Blog

Every Thursday we look back what happened on this blog a year ago.

Today's topics:



Kerry, or the silence of the lambs
Summer Refreshment / Clonlins Cocolate indulgence
Recipe: Irish Stew with an Austrian-German Approach

Summer flair in Austria

I was recently in Kufstein in Tyrol, its famous for its winter tourism but also in the summer this place has lots to offer. I checked in at the Andreas Hofer Hotel, just next to the Castle of Kufstein.

In the evening I strolled down the old city in which in a little street the outside of the restaurant “Auracher Loechl” catched my eyes.
The place is the birthplace of the famous Kufstein Song, and has a tradition of serving food for 365 days a year since 600 years !

It is a kind of traditional “Gasthaus” ( guest house ) and a wine serving pub with restaurant. To show my wife the diversity of Austrian dishes I ordered one of their specialities they call the “Austrian Tapas”.

The tapas are a collection of Austrians most famous dishes: Wiener Schnitzel, Beef Stroganof, Tiroler Knoedel, Erdaepfel Groestl and Kasnocken.

It would take to long to explain all this dishes, best is you go and try it yourself, there is for sure something you like !


Compared to Ireland it is much cheaper to go out and dine in Austria. Together with a glass of wine and a pint of beer we paid less than 60 Euro for all that delicious foods. Believe me, its not just because I am from there that I loved it so much, my French wife can confirm that she enjoyed It very much.

With this offer I have no doubt that the “Auracher Loechl” will be serving another 600 Years delicious food to their guests.

DIY: Movable BBQ

That looks yummi, 2 steaks on the BBQ.
My father constructed this BBQ and he recycled 2 old household machines while doing so. A drum of a washing machine and the lower part of a lawn mower.

Why you might ask someone has a lawn mower BBQ ?
Thats easy answered, if you grill with wood it smokes a lot when lightening it up, so in that case, depending on the wind you can have the BBQ far located from the place where people sit.

Once you have less smoke and more heat you can bring it closer, and after the BBQ if it gets dark and colder outside you might bring it close to the table as a heat source for your guests.

Its a funny Idea I think.

Review: Ritzenhof Saalfelden / Austria

Erdbeerschaumkrapferl "Ich mag Dich"

While on holiday recently in Austria I also visited my old home town Saalfelden which I left 7 years ago. Many things changed but thanks God many also stayed the same.
Like every time being in good old Austria I passed by the Restaurant Ritzensee.

I love this place for their good food, but also the view on the Ritzen lake is stunning.

When I don't go for local sourced fish or meat I always have a bit of a space for their desserts.

The Austrian Cuisine is famous for its desserts so I couldn't resist to have one piece of the famous Sacher Cake with Cream. My wife opted for a lighter version and had a Strawberry Cream assortment with fresh fruit.

Its amazing what value you get for your money, look at that piece of cake, Jesus, and the chocolate on top, it was just like a dream.

Close to the Restaurant lives a lovely Family offering traditional or modern style B&B at the Pension Kroell and Alte Schmiede. In the summer you can avail of the Summer Alpin Card which provides you with many free entries to local attractions, a taxi ride, and much more. We used that card so much and with all that savings we actually saved so much, worth 2 nights staying at the B&B.

Looking back, I miss Austria, but my current home Ireland got lots to offer as well.
About all the good food Ireland got to offer I will tell you more over the coming weeks.

Da capo: One year ago on Clonlins Blog

Every Thursday I make a little review what happened on this blog a year ago.
So this is the first edition of this series, I hope especially the new readers like this to see what happened a year ago.
Eggs and Chicken Suprise :-)

Little trick