About

Irishmikesmith.com is a newsletter, website, and podcast devoted to the faith, family, food, and farming.

If you visit irishmikesmith.com or subscribe to my newsletter, you’ll get a lot of meal ideas, DIY for meat curing and more — but you’ll also get book, podcast, news, long reads, and travel recs because we talk about that stuff at the dinner table a lot.

COOKING

One of the things I love to do is cook. It unwinds me. It provides therapy. It keeps me creative and challenges me in ways so many other things simply can not. I didn’t want to be “that guy” and simply post a bunch of random recipes, but wanted to do something both fun and purposeful. My cooking section contains recipes, tips and tricks, and fun how-to sections on topics that matter to me. Sometimes we have to push ourselves, especially in this day and age where so much food is so close…we barely have to work for it. What if we could learn how to make homemade pasta for our family once a month, or maybe a few cheeses to keep on hand for snacking or to “wow” your guests? How about cooking for the kids, the wife, the significant other, the potluck? Enjoy.

EATING OUT

I love writing about local food. I love finding local restaurants, places that are off the beaten path and of course, referrals by people I like/respect/trust! My angle, however, is less salty than a true restaurant critic and I never go into an eating establishment asking for free food so I can “blog about it.” I tend to write with a supportive, lets-keep-money-in-our-community angle, encouraging people, especially those that need a trusted source to make them feel OK about trying that weird Vietnamese restaurant that has the red door back by the dumpster, kind of place (actual restaurant that no longer exists).

The Eating Out section is about just that, eating out in and around Seattle, East King County, my hometown of Spokane, and when get up and get out, on the road.  When travelling, I eat and drink the same way; local, referral, out of the way, non-mainstream eats.

ARTISAN AT HOME | DIY

A fun blend of modern pioneering, farm-steading and good old-fashioned do-it-yourself, I like to catalog ideas around the home that hopefully inspire you to do more yourself. I have learned to make liqueurs, extracts, bitters, hard cider, beer, cheese, vinegars, and lots of bread. The goal is to build our own pantry with things we make, ideally from things we grow, raise, or barter for.

FOOD EDUCATION

Someone said we need to write to learn and not to teach. I am trying to do that with some of the “nerdy” notes on food history and facts. These little posts certainly don’t cover all of it, but might help in a trivia contest!

FAITH AND INSPIRATION

Not just about faith, but a lot of it is. Certainly intended to be inspirational and fun. I write about my family a lot here and musings I have about life and so on.

RECIPE INDEX

I am asked a lot for recipes so I decided to try my best to catalog them in a simple way by section. Fun to browse and try something new!

STORE

I like to make things too. When they work and people show interest in them, I have them available to sell. All handmade and small-batch items. Mostly made ourselves with the occasional “hand-selected” item from other small-batch friends I have made over the years. Think of it as a collection of things we like and think you will like too. All of these store items are on my Blacksmith Trading Company website. You could call it our family store.

HOUSEKEEPING

I would love to hear from you for any reason, including advertising, but especially about food, wine, and beer in Washington, chocolate, coffee, or non profit work. Here’s how: Phone: 425.324.6030 Email: irishmikesmith at gee male dot com.

Image Use – Whenever possible, I try and use original photography. When I am unable to, I either pay for the rights to use a photo through a stock photography website, or I try and use a Flickr image, embedded with that particular users connection, thereby giving them ample credit.

Comments – I do not edit comments at any time, but will not post them if they are derogatory, hateful, or contain foul language. We work very hard to make sure our content is positive, including comments generated by our readers. This is why I have a fairly robust filter.