Latest news with #AnthonyIrwin
Irish Examiner
05-07-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Seafood Made Simple: Seaweed scones and herb butter make for sea-deep flavours
Seaweed, an often-forgotten food, has been eaten in Ireland for centuries. Approximately 40,000 tonnes of seaweed is harvested in Ireland every year. When we consider the term seafood, we typically think of fish and shellfish, but the waters that surround our island offer us much more with sea vegetables and seaweeds. This time of the year you'll find rock and marsh samphire, sea kale, sea spinach and smaller sea plants like purslane. There are hundreds of varieties of seaweeds native to Ireland, pepper dulse being my most favourite. Also known as sea truffle, with wonderful black garlic undertones, it's a smaller sized seaweed but deeply savoury. Anthony Irwin and Angela Healy are growing two fabulous varieties of Irish seaweed in the pristine waters off the Mullet Peninsula in North west county Mayo. At their ocean farm, Dulra, they are cultivating winged kelp and sugar kelp seaweeds. Rope-grown with locally sourced seeds, this form of aquaculture is regenerative creating safe nursery grounds for young fish and crustaceans, sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as well as providing a nutritious food source. Seaweed is an important ingredient in my store cupboard, delivering deep umami and meaty flavours to so many dishes. It's a fantastic substitute for salt and makes a brilliant seasoning for spuds, vegetables and breads. For this weekend's recipe, I've used some sugar kelp seaweed to flavour a brown scone mix. You can, of course, use any dried seaweed you can get your hands on. Most varieties are available dried and powdered or flaked, which makes it an easy addition to any bake. Look for dilisk, nori and kelp. Not just for afternoon tea, a savoury scone is the perfect accompaniment to a summer salad, seafood soup, smoked fish or pâtés. There is nothing more satisfying than the waft of baked goods filling your kitchen. Seaweed scones with herb butter recipe by:Aishling Moore Not just for afternoon tea, a savoury scone is the perfect accompaniment to a summer salad, seafood soup, smoked fish or pâtés. There is nothing more satisfying than the waft of baked goods filling your kitchen. Servings 12 Preparation Time 30 mins Cooking Time 15 mins Total Time 45 mins Course Baking Ingredients For the scones: 300g plain flour 150g wholemeal flour 30g baking powder ½ tbsp brown sugar 1 tsp sea salt 2 tsp dried seaweed flakes (such as kelp, dillisk or nori) 85g unsalted butter, diced and chilled 2 large eggs 225ml milk Egg wash (1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tbsp milk) Sea salt flakes For the herb butter: 250g unsalted butter at room temperature 50g soft herbs (such as dill, chervil, parsley, fennel fronds) Zest of half a lemon Sea salt flakes Place the unsalted butter in a large bowl and beat using a spatula. Roughly chop the herbs and add along with the lemon zest and sea salt. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve at room temperature. Method Preheat oven to 220°C/fan 220°C/gas mark 7. Sieve the flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar, salt and seaweed and mix well to evenly disperse. Add the diced cubes of chilled butter and rub them in using clean and dry hands. Do this until the mixture resembles rough breadcrumbs. In a separate bowl, add the eggs and milk and whisk to combine. Make a well in the centre of the bowl, containing the dry ingredients and butter. Add the egg and milk mixture. Mix to bring together, forming a soft dough. Making sure there are no pockets of flour. Dust your work surface with some plain flour. Place the scone dough on top and shape to form a round. It's important at this point not to knead the dough and handle it as little as possible. Using a rolling pin, flatten out the dough to about 2cm and stamp out the scones using a cutter of your choice, wasting as little as possible working from the outside of the dough. Place on a large baking sheet, brush with egg wash and finish with a sprinkling of sea salt and seaweed flakes. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet and cool on a wire rack. Serve warm with a generous helping of herb butter. Fish tales Chilled butter for the scone mixture is vital to achieve a tender-textured scone. I love using wholemeal flour in scones for a more complex flavour, but you could just use plain flour. It's important not to over work the dough and handle as little as possible to avoid developing the gluten in the flour. It's always great to freeze half a dozen or so of the uncooked scones, which can be baked from frozen. For best results making the herb butter, use a stand mixer with the butter at room temperature. You'll find a great selection of native Irish seaweeds in most health food stores.
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Insider: LeBron James may opt out of current contract
By June 29, LeBron James needs to decide whether to opt into the final year of his current contract with the Los Angeles Lakers or opt out, presumably to sign a new, slightly longer deal. Shams Charania of ESPN recently reported that James is expected to simply play out that final year of his current deal, which would pay him $52.6 million next season. However, nothing is a foregone conclusion with him until it is official. Advertisement According to Anthony Irwin of ClutchPoints, there seems to be a realistic chance that the 40-year-old will opt out and sign a new two-year contract. Via ClutchPoints: "Most echo Charania's reporting that James intends to opt in, but some sources close to the Lakers say they anticipate James opting out and signing another two-year deal worth near the max with a player option for the second season and another full no-trade clause," Irwin wrote. If James signs a new contract, the Lakers would have a certain level of salary cap flexibility, depending on the amount of money in that contract. "If the Lakers approached James and explained how taking slightly less would give them some necessary wiggle room under whichever apron, sources indicated that conversation would likely be productive, as they were just a year ago. "... To be absolutely clear, taking as close to his max as he wants would be completely within James' rights that he's earned over two decades in the NBA and in his Lakers tenure, and helping even a little bit would be a sign of good faith. It just also needs to be mentioned that this potential avenue to cap flexibility would be off the table. "... In order to get the Lakers under the luxury tax line so they have access to their full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, James would have to take a discount of well over $10 million. As things currently stand, sources do indicate this is pretty unlikely. Technically, it isn't impossible, but the Lakers would be unwise to plan for this without crystal clear messaging from James and his camp. "In order to convince him to take such a cut, the Lakers would have to do their homework ahead of time and show him who this discount would help them get. "... Let's say James splits the difference and takes something like $7 million less next season. This would give the Lakers more room under the first apron, which would help them take back more in a trade than they send out. If you're hoping for a discount, this is probably the most practical thing to hope for." If James is serious about winning another NBA championship, which would be his fifth, the best path for him to take would be to take enough of a discount to give the Lakers the ability to use the full mid-level exception, which is expected to be worth $14.1 million. Otherwise, they would have the taxpayer mid-level exception of roughly $5.7 million. Advertisement Last summer, James was reportedly willing to take enough of a discount to open up access to the full mid-level exception for L.A. But after no free agent was willing to sign for that amount of money, he agreed to a larger amount of money — $48.7 million, to be exact, for the 2024-25 season. This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Insider: LeBron James may opt out of current contract
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
LeBron James drops cryptic social media post about retirement rumors
This is the third straight offseason during which people have wondered if LeBron James is going to retire from the NBA. Most expect him to be back with the Los Angeles Lakers next season, but one can never really be sure what he has planned, and he often tends to keep his cards close to his chest, so to speak. On Saturday, he made a cryptic post on his X (formerly known as Twitter) account. The post features a video in which he is asked by a reporter if rumors of his retirement are true before it abruptly cuts out. Above the video is a caption that reads, "I've been asking myself the same question…" The superstar does have a history of making people wonder for a period of time what could come next for him. Two years ago, right after the Lakers were swept in the Western Conference Finals, he implied that he was considering retirement by saying he had a lot to think about moving forward when it came to basketball. Advertisement Many figured it was perhaps a ploy to draw some attention and sympathy toward himself, and sure enough, he returned for two more seasons — at least. James has a $52.6 million player option for next season that he can either play on or decline. Insider Anthony Irwin reported that even though James will most likely opt into that option, there is a real chance he will opt out and sign a new two-way deal. This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: LeBron James drops cryptic social media post about retirement rumors
