Graignamanagh, a quaint and richly historical village not far from Cow House, is home to Cushendale Woollen Mills, one of the last Irish woollen mills in the country and the only one in the south-east of Ireland. Run by the Cushen family for generations, they make beautiful textiles and rolls of yarn from the fleece […]
Recipe: Nutella & Salted Caramel Stuffed Cookies It might come as no surprise that Nutella is quite popular during our summer program. It’s so popular that on occasion, we have, in fact, had to ration the delicious chocolate and hazelnut spread. After all, sugar highs are usually followed by sugar lows. We think the obsession must […]
In County Cork, nestled just above Mizen Head, Ireland’s most Southwesterly point, lies the ruins of Dunlough Castle or ‘Three Castle Head’. Dunlough Castle or Dun a Locha, which means the fort of the lake, was built by Donagh na Aimrice O’Mahoney in 1207. In its glory days the castle sat proudly as three towers, […]
Recipe: Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup with Cheese Toasties
This recipe is a sophisticated twist on a summer camp classic. As a young boy, Cow House Co-Director Frank Abruzzese spent several summers in New Hampshire on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee at Camp Tecumseh. Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup were most definitely a camper favourite and gathering from other peoples’ experiences, this particular combination is a popular one.
A few tweaks elevate this dish, the first simply substitutes a good quality cheddar for the more standard American cheese slice. We shred our cheese to ensure an even melt. As always, Kerrygold butter on the bread is key and finally, the added flavour of roasted peppers in the tomato soup is a big step up from the canned variety usually served.
Twenty minutes from Cow House Studios, just outside Enniscorthy town, lies an area rich in history. Carley’s Bridge Pottery, established in 1654, pre-dates the O’Gorman farm by nearly 200 years and is known as Ireland’s oldest pottery. Founded by two brothers from Cornwall, England, they settled in the area because it was known to be […]
Recipe: Beef & Guinness Stew with Mashed Spuds
During these cold winter months, nothing could be better than a comforting bowl of stew. The weather here in Ireland seems perfectly suited for food like this from mid-autumn through early spring and thankfully, the grass-fed lamb and beef, as well as the fantastic root vegetables available here, lend themselves well to this style of cooking.
This recipe uses perhaps Irelands most well-known export, Guinness, the hearty stout from Dublin. When co-directors Rosie and Frank moved to Ireland after studying for their masters at San Francisco Art Institute, they lived for a time in Stoneybatter, a section of Dublin just north of the river and west of the city center. St James’s Gate, where the famous brew is made, was just a short walk away on the other side of the Liffey. Some mornings the sweet and earthy aromas of malting barley were so strong it seemed like it was being brewed next door. Some of those same aromas are strongly present in this fantastic stew.
Recipe: Gluten Free Christmas Pudding
This recipe has been adapted from one of Darina Allen’s classics. Darina is an enthusiastic advocate for Irish food both at home and abroad, and was instrumental in setting up the Farmers’ Market Movement in Ireland. She set up the Ballymaloe Cookery School with her brother in 1983 and has released numerous cookbooks and television series. Rosie’s sister Edel adapted this recipe from Darina’s book, A Simply Delicious Christmas. Rosie’s mother, Mary, has been using this book for many years, having been gifted to her by Rosie’s father Michael in 1989. Known for his sweet tooth, we still wonder to this day whether this gift was meant to be a hint!
Recipe: Cow House Celebration Chocolate Cake
Every year during our summer art program there are always a few birthdays and this chocolate cake never disappoints. Our students will even go as far as pretending it’s their birthday to get Caitriona baking. Sweet treats have always been a particularly special part of mealtime at Cow House and while we keep things healthy, occasionally, you need a bit of something indulgent for the soul. The expectation for incredible deserts started with Rosie’s mother Mary who in the early years, would spoil us with her Pavlovas, Banoffi Pies and Black Forest Gateaus then, Rosie’s Sister Edel kept up the tradition with equally tempting additions. Caitriona now expertly crafts a variety of cookies, pies and cakes that are not only delicious but beautifully adorned with decorative touches.
Recipe: Spiced Aubergine & Chickpeas, Radish & Celery Salad, Quinoa & Minted Yogurt
This dinner is adapted from a few recipes in Yotam Ottolenghi’s fantastic book Jerusalem. We absolutely love this book and use it on a weekly basis. If you like this meal, you’ll love the book. Many of the recipes are vegetarian, healthy and really satisfying. This book alone has accounted for about half of the spices we now hold in our red kitchen pantry and well worth having around. A sprinkle of Za’atar on some scrambled eggs with a dollop of Greek yoghurt is a satisfying break from your usual breakfast routine.
Recipe: Irish Brown Soda Bread
We’re thrilled to be launching a new series of posts on our website sharing recipes from our kitchen. We couldn’t think of a better one to start with than the traditional Irish Brown Soda Bread. Brown bread is one of those recipes that can vary from home to home. Everyone adds their own special touch whether they might bake it in a tin or on a stone, add seeds for extra bite or buttermilk for added depth. Cutting this bread requires a steady hand and some strength. The crust is thick and hard and the internal texture is quite delicate. Cut them too thick and you’ll be accused of making “doorsteps” as Rosie’s family likes to say.
During the week beginning March 17th, 2018, during our Open Residency programme, artist Richard John Jones installed his work Public Sculpture, a figure without a body. We hope for this to be the first of many public sculptures in the woods adjacent to the Cow House. This installation found its beginnings as a work included in the exhibition The Plough And Other Stars curated by Kate Strain in 2016 at the Irish Museum of Modern Art. This exhibition was associated with our own 2016 residency The Centre For Dying On Stage #3 also curated by our then curator in residence, Kate Strain. We were thrilled when shortly after the exhibition we were contacted by both Richard and Kate who proposed the farm as a permanent home for the work. After much coordination, it was wonderful to see the successful installation despite some fairly horrific weather. Special thanks to artist Deirdre Buggy who took time out of her busy schedule to help Richard with the installation. We look forward to sharing this special addition to the farm with our future visitors.
Exhibition Dates: March 2nd to April 27th, 2018 Opening Reception: March 9th, 6 PM The work of Cow House Studios Co-Director Frank Abruzzese is featured in Terra Nostra, the most recent exhibition Situated in the Wexford County Buildings. The exhibition is curated by Karla Sanchez and presented by the Arts Department of Wexford County Council. […]
Twenty cosy hand-knit MOG hats made from beautiful local wool to support our scholarship fund for Art on the Farm.
The second item in our little shop is a cosy hat knit by Rosie’s mother Mary. Referencing her initials, we have affectionately named them MOG hats. Mary literally knit 20 of these very special hats while sitting by the fire during the winter months.
Community update with Paul Gaffney
Paul Gaffney is one of four associate artists at Cow House Studios and participated in his first residency with us back in 2014. As an associate artist, Paul is a regular visitor to the farm and teaches during our summer program Art on the Farm. For the past number of years, he has been investigating different ways of experiencing and representing landscape. His research is focused on developing a meditative approach to landscape photography and explores how the act of image making can enable and disrupt a sense of connection with one’s surroundings.
Paul was recently selected for the Arts Council’s ‘Next Generation Bursary Award’ 2016-17. His books have been nominated for the Photobook Award at the International Photobook Festival Kassel (2013 & 2016), shortlisted for the European Publishers Award for Photography, and selected for several ‘Best Photobooks of The Year’ lists. Gaffney’s work has also been presented as solo exhibitions at the Centre national de l’audiovisuel (Luxembourg), Flowers Gallery (London), Gallery of Photography (Dublin), Belfast Exposed Gallery, Ffotogallery (Cardiff), Oliver Sears Gallery (Dublin) and in group shows and festivals in the US, UK, South Africa, Ireland, Italy, France and China. His images have been published internationally in print and online periodicals including American Suburb X, Harvard Design Review, Creative Review, The New Yorker, European Photography, DU Magazine, Katalog, PaperJam, Source, Photomonitor and Landscape Stories.
Paul recently took time out of his busy schedule to answer a few of our questions. Click through to read his answers.
If you have been to Cow House, then you know we love our tea so a mug seemed like the perfect way to launch our little shop. We will periodically offer limited edition beautiful things made by Irish craftspeople embellished with designs by our former resident artists.
Arran Street East is small Dublin based ceramic studio, we LOVED their mugs from the moment we laid eyes on them and you will too. This small batch is extra special because each one holds a little surprise when you lift your cup for a sip of tea or coffee. The drawings were specially designed by Woosung Lee, each mug is hand thrown and the drawings are hand stamped.
All proceeds go towards our scholarship fund. In other words, if we sell all these mugs, it will go towards funding a partial scholarship for a student to attend Art on the Farm. It’s a win-win; receive something beautiful and unique while helping to provide a special experience for a young artist.
Please join us on November 3rd, 3 pm at our studios for our annual open day to introduce Rising from the Hill, our six-week residency investigating the complex relationships between local context and larger global systems. This residency was conceived in the spirit of meaningful exchange between practice and theory and as an outcome of […]
Artwork by Cow House Studios Co-Directors Rosie O’Gorman and Frank Abruzzese will be featured in Bare Root, a group exhibition exploring rural and farmyard environments, and the points where nature and the man-made intersect. The exhibition will open Friday 20th October, 6.00pm at Wexford County Council Buildings, Carricklawn and will run from the 23rd of October to the […]
We are thrilled to have our residency How to Flatten a Mountain featured on lenscratch.com. The piece was written by 2017 participant Val Patterson, the Social Media Editor for LENSCRATCH and a Los Angeles artist specializing in fine art portraiture, travel and landscape photography. In the post, Val recounts here experience here on the farm participating in workshops, […]
Opening Reception Saturday 1st July at 1.30pm at Wexford County Council Buildings, Carricklawn The Arts Department of Wexford County Council in partnership with Wexford Arts Centre are delighted to present And Creatures Dream…A New Language, a group exhibition which reveals in part how the visual arts are represented in County Wexford, with focus in this […]
We are delighted to announce our new associate artists (from left to right) Ann Maria Healy, Mathilde Ganancia, Sarah Tynan and Paul Gaffney who in their new roles will be teaching this summer during Art on the Farm. These four artists represent a diverse set of artistic practices ranging from painting to sculpture, installation, performance, video and photography. In their young careers, all have exhibited widely whilst receiving recognition for their exceptional work as recipients of numerous grants and awards. We look forward to working with them over the next few years and are certain they will have much to add to our educational and residency programming.