New to Me: Portnoo and Spice Bag

 I had another outing with a friend today--the same one who brought me to the place where I discovered curry and chips. She was heading to Dungloe to do some grocery shopping and asked if I wanted to go with her. I figured I might as well take the opportunity to go to Aldi and Lidl where the veg people traditionally make for Christmas is on a deep discount at the moment. Plus they have some things for the holiday that I can use in the months ahead but that would likely be gone if I didn't get them now. I didn't really need anything now, but I was able to stock up on things and we should now be able to avoid going to the grocery store for a couple of weeks at least. Even after that, we won't need much. So it was a productive trip, even though I don't care much for grocery shopping. It was a fun day today though. We were in and out of the stores early and then we went to a wee village I'd never been to called Portnoo. My friend wanted to go to a small shop there where they sell sausages she really likes. It was raining when we were going down the narrow road towards the village, but it stopped and the sun even came out on the way back. She stopped at a small viewing platform so we could stand in the wind and look at the sea for a few minutes, which was lovely. There was even a faint rainbow.

Then we turned toward home, stopping along the way in another tiny village, Lettermacaward. There's a pub there that my friend loves and we stopped there for lunch. She got gluten free chicken curry with rice and chips and I was tempted to get the regular version again, but instead I opted to try something new--a chilli chicken spice bag with curry sauce. Note that there is no bag involved.

It was only a year or two ago that I first heard about a spice bag and I had no idea what it was. I guess there are different types, both vegetarian and not. It's usually veg and chips with a spice coating on them and it can also contain some sort of meat--this one has chicken. I think the origins of this may be murky but one story I read said that a takeaway in Dublin tossed leftover food in a bag or container at the end of the day and somehow word got around and people started asking for it. Demand spread and now it's on many menus. I have no idea whether this is the true origin story or not. I think this is supposed to be good for hangovers too and I can understand why. I don't know if they're all like this because this is the only one I ever had, but it won't be the last. It was excellent. Just the right amount of spice and an excellent curry sauce. 

On the way home, we swung by the library so I could pick up a book Bill got in today. So we're all set for our traditional holiday hibernation--no plans and nowhere to be. Just enjoying a quiet festive season at home. This is exactly the way I love to spend the holiday--relaxed, peaceful, calm, and quiet. Whatever you like to do at this time of year, I hope you're able to do lots of it and are enjoying the days.

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