Jellyfish salad - my revenge

It came into conversation a few weeks back, I hate Jellyfish, they have ruined my life and I need to extract revenge on them – they must die.

My sentiments are not unwarranted, I have good reason to feel this way about those 'things', I have actually been suppressing my feelings for years now.

Revenge is a harmful action against a person or group (or jellyfish) in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived.

The story:

At the very innocent age of seven, when all things were magical and beautiful and what my parents said was gospel, I went on a family holiday to Bundoran, Co Donegal.

It was all going swimmingly until I went swimming at Rossnowlagh Beach. It was a glorious day, in the days when the Sun visited Ireland during the Summer, I had a spade and a shovel and life was grand.

Into the water I splashed. “Look at me” I cheered to my adoring parents.

Step, jump, up and down I bobbed on the small waves.

Then “squish” down went my tiny little foot onto an evil, dangerous and spiteful jellyfish. I didn't mean to touch it, I just wanted to play, I didn't even see it. But the jellyfish didn't care.

The sting ran up my foot, the pain was something I had never experienced before.

The stinging cells are triggered by an object touching a microscopic hair. This hair triggers the cell to squeeze violently, ejecting a hollow thread that penetrates the victim's skin and injects poison.

My father came rushing over, tears streamed down my face. I felt sick, I got sick and still the pain echoed through me.

“Why me” I would have pondered if I wasn't too busy screaming in pain.

It eased after a few hours, but the scar stayed with me forever. That evening I discovered a hearty appetite (yep I blame the jellyfish) because before then food was a disruption to my busy playful life.

And as a result of this fine appetite I have grown accustomed to, comes my idea for sweet revenge. 

Because “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”

How to cook jellyfish:

For cooking jellyfish you have to first soak the jellyfish overnight in the refrigerator. The best way to cut the jellyfish is to roll up the flesh and slice it, so that you get thin julienne strips. These strips are then to be blanched. The blanching can be repeated one more time (it is sooo evil), after which you drain off all the water.

Now you can marinate these pieces with the seasoning of your choice, like vinegar, salt, spices and so on, and then add them to salads, or vegetables or other sea-food dishes. After mixing the seasoning the marinating process should be done in the refrigerator. Usually the juices which collect after marinating, are to be discarded as they might have harmful bacteria.
Recipes include: Jellyfish sushi, burgers, stew, salad, satay and stir fry.

Satay Jellyfish - www.rasamalazia.com

Meet more like minded people on: Revenge on those dumbass Jellyfish that sting for no reason Facebook page!

The Wedding

I like to review hotels, B&Bs, events and destinations, but this week I want to take a big step and review a wedding.

This wedding was no ordinary wedding where usually dinner is the best part, people groan through the speeches and save the dancing until 2am, this was an American Irish Wedding.

It brought together the best traditions of both cultures to make it a mega event which will be impossible to top in this century.

The celebrations began a week before the wedding (or at the engagement two years ago – depends on your point of view) the groom, his best men and friends headed for a top secret weekend to Amsterdam while the ladies brought Dublin to a standstill – and that was just with with their Guinness drinking.

I was delighted to be in the wedding party as I was doing a reading (nailed it) and so as per American tradition got invited to Rehearsal Dinner. It was such a lovely event held at the beautiful Creevy Pier Hotel, Ballyshannon. The dinner was full of heart felt thank yous to close friends and family, some gift were exchanged, a meal consumed and a few drinks ...

Could we submerge this tradition into Irish weddings?

We had some of these...

No way in hell – firstly getting the immediate wedding party, let alone friends and family away from the bar the night before a wedding would prove impossible. Also the speeches are directed to the people who have most helped you along in life, they are meant to be emotive – that would be pretty flat here. As a nation we do insult much better than flattery.

On July 8, the sun shone down on the wedding party as Rory (my giant cousin) and his beautiful lady Megan exchanged their vows, and throughout the day those up above tied down the rain gods and let the sun angels free on Co Donegal, lighting up the sky and allowing us to walk slowly and majestically instead of running frantically.

The destination of the reception was the grand Great Northern Hotel, Bundoran. The location, service and atmosphere was top notch. The food was exquisite – Oysters, New England Chowder and instead of the usual “beef or salmon” request we were rewarded with Beef, Salmon and Lobster for the main course with a delicious selection of treats for desert.

Although I felt I would see that oyster return up the same way later on that night, it did not and within a few hours after some dancing we were ready for some evening snacks which included fish and chips, battered sausages (yum) and burgers. Oh and there were sweets!

No it wasn't just the food that made the wedding, it also was not the ALL DAY OPEN BAR (although boy did it help) that made the occasion so memorable, it was of course the people.

The bride and groom were the party leaders, they danced and jumped, smiled and posed and drank and we all followed suit.

Megan & Rory (c)fifiheavey

Unusually the best men and bridesmaids along with the stunning bride and groom each did a party piece as they were applauded to their seats at the reception, this took confidence (which was in abundance) and really set the tone for the day.

Although many say you can't beat an Irish wedding, it was the yanks (I know the Red Sox fans won't like that) who really brought the fun to Fundoran. Not for them, sitting in the corner until five to two before unleashing the dance moves. They were up and at em after the first dance.

Everyone mixed so well (the alcohol helped there) and within an hour the handsome American hunks were fighting over dancing with my granny, there was Irish dancing, RnB moves and of course some dirty dancing.

The end of that magical night did not mean the end of the celebrations because Saturday they were up and out ready for more.

I don't think a wedding reception inside the Guinness Storehouse or even Disneyland would top this wedding, and why would we want to? The day was just a small tribute to the amazing newly married couple and to their friends and family who each brought their own flair to The Wedding.

This was the real Royal Wedding, no heirs or graces just some fun loving Americans, drinking loving Irish and one hell of a party.

Brilliant, awesome - legendary!

Childhood holiday re-visited

I am packing my bucket and spade!

I have been off work this week - recovering from a fun hen party and preparing for a pretty big wedding and my mini Summer holiday!
This weekend I will re-live family fun circa 1990s with a trip to Bundoran, Co Donegal. Oh the happy memories of sun burn, rain, sand between my toes and getting sick on the amusements!
This Friday, July 8 my cousin and his delightful girlfriend will get hitched in a beautiful church in Ballyshannon before hot trotting it to the Great Northern Hotel, Bundoran for some full on celebrating. What makes the wedding special  (aside from the couple of course) is that it is an American wedding in Ireland. Both Bride and Groom are American but because of family connections (like me) and their love of the olde country they have decided to merge 70 of their US family and friends with those of us with Irish passports to celebrate their happy nuptials.
I am so excited, at first I was disappointed to hear I would be making the trip to Bundoran instead of Boston, but now I couldn't be more in the zone. Not only will the wedding be beautiful (I have seen the Bride's veil - so I know) the setting and location spectacular (come on weather hold on for us) but the crowd should be fun and the atmosphere ecstatic.

Who does not love the bumping cars?!

Along with all that, this weekend also sees the annual migration of people from Northern Ireland to the South as we edge closer to the 12th of July. Bundoran has always been the ideal spot to escape prospective troubles so I am expecting the town to be crammed full and ready to party.
As I will be reading at the wedding ceremony, me and my boyfriend have been invited to rehearsal dinner, the night before the wedding. This American tradition is something new to me, so I can't wait for the experience.
I will let you all know how the American Irish traditions merge and also about my adventures in the 90s number one holiday destination in my next post. Lets hope it lives up to my edited memories.
There will be surfing - both crowd and water!!

Bundoran

What are your childhood holiday memories?