My tin box, full of goodies, comes with me on the train, on a plane, up the hills, onto the beach or the cliffs.
I’ve got several picnic baskets, they are best for the beach and fit several small frying pans so I can cook sausages over a little fire.
I make a circle of stones on the sand, send the kids off to collect driftwood, scrunch up the sports pages and sizzle the sausages.
What could be better after a swim? Colman’s mustard, made from the powder, is an obligatory accompaniment for me, and thick slices of fresh soda bread slathered with butter.
You’ll never be short of friends when you arrive with a picnic! I’ve got lots of hand-woven willow baskets.
Some are relatively new, others are old and wonky but all much loved and full of memories: childhood memories of picnics by the sea on the cliffs near the Metal Man in Tramore.
Mummy would always roast a fat cockerel just before we left and bake several loaves of brown soda bread and a spotted dog.
Always a pot of raspberry jam. Good bread and jam tastes so nice outdoors. And a cake, an old-fashioned coffee cake, is my favourite.
You could, of course, make or bake something exotic for your picnic; though gorgeous, it’s definitely not essential.
You’ll probably have lots of delicious store cupboard staples ready for a spontaneous picnic. I love to have good sardines or mackerel, a tin or two of really good anchovies.
The latter will be delicious on thick slices of crisp cucumber (a delicious bite that Rory O’Connell introduced me to), and big juicy red and yellow tomatoes…
Make a batch of mayo and divide it in half, add some crushed garlic and chopped parsley to one lot and you’ve got a delicious aioli or garlic mayo.
I usually bring a few hardish-boiled eggs too and a couple of ripe avocados.
You’ll need some flaky sea salt for the avocados, and I love a little dollop of mayo, a sprinkling of Aleppo pepper and flaky sea salt over the eggs – that simple treatment transforms them into a little gourmet picnic bite.
Don’t forget a hunk of cheese, or something soft and gooey, and some water biscuits, a bottle of rosé and/or fizz and some elderflower cordial.
Depends where you’re off to, but one could call to a local shop to pick up a bag or two of ice, bring an ice bucket with you, use it as a container to fill it with picnic goodies on the way and for garbage on the way home.
Happy picnicking!
Seasonal Journal
Exciting News from Tipperary
Cashel Blue Cheese, based in Co. Tipperary, have been making farmhouse cheese since 1984, and are now making a new cheese ‘Cashel Blue Organic’; made to the same recipe as their flagship classic except for two differences; it is only made seasonally and is aged for longer.
This results in a particularly rich and complex cheese. Made in partnership with organic milk producers, the Little Milk Company.
They have added a new cheese to their repertoire ‘Shepherd’s Store’ which is a traditional, European style, semi-hard sheep’s milk cheese.
It is only made between the months of February and September.
Creamier in style than Manchego or Pecorino, this is a distinctly Irish traditional farmhouse cheese.
The milk is sourced from two local flocks of ewes, which are free to roam and graze outdoors throughout the season.
cashelblue.com
Nourishing the Soil: Isabella Tree and Thomas Halliday at the Earth Convention in September 2025
On Tuesday, September 9th 2025, 5×15 returns to the Royal Geographical Society to explore Land and Soil with an exceptional panel of speakers.
Featuring bestselling author and leading conservationist Isabella Tree and Thomas Halliday, campaigner and former president of the National Farmers’ Union, Minette Batters and conservationist Merlin Hanbury-Tenison.
‘What can we learn from the distant past about the possible future for our land and soil? How can we nourish our soil and reground our societies? The importance of restoring biodiversity and preventing further losses. Can the answers be found in regenerative agriculture or rewilding? Grass-fed beef or vat-grown proteins?’
For more information, see 5×15.com/events/the-earth-convention-live-energy-finance