What we eat

Spaghetti with Cod and Green Olives

2009-09-24T16:48:00.002+01:00

This seems to be all we are eating lately, it is just so delicious and so easy. Buy a punnet of the reddest cherry tomatoes you can find. Pop them in a roasting tray, drizzle with Olive oil and balsamic vinegar and stick them in a hot oven until the skins are burst and they are soft.

Then mash them to a pulp. Saute a chopped onion in olive oil, with salt and pepper. Add pieces of raw cod and cook through. Break the fish with a wooden spoon and add the tomatoes. When they are bubbling, switch off the heat and stir through chopped basil and pitted green olives. Drizzle some more balsamic over the whole thing.

Serve with spaghetti and a nice glass of wine.

I made this...!

2009-08-28T13:28:00.001+01:00

Birthday cake for Finn!

Little Windows - Ten on Ten July!

2009-07-20T10:53:00.003+01:00

Beet THAT!

2009-07-03T10:59:00.004+01:00

I'm intrigued by 'wrong' coloured foods! I love black spaghetti and I will always choose my ice cream by the colour, "I'll have the bright green one please!"...

The following is a great dinner party dish, the colour is very impressive and beetroot lovers will thank you for months!! Beetroot is the veg a la mode in this house, I've been using it ALOT, perhaps too much, Bill? It is delicious though so I'll throw a few more beetroot recipes your way before I abandon it!!

Beetroot Risotto

You'll need

Olive oil

500gms risotto rice

1 large glass of red wine

1 pk of cooked beetroot in juice

1 clove of garlic, crushed

500mls chicken/vegetable stock

100gms grated parmesan

A knob of butter

100gms soft goats cheese

Handful of rocket

Chopped walnuts

Method

Fry the rice with the garlic in oil until becoming translucent around the edges. Add the wine and the juice from the beetroot. Cook off the liquids and then add the stock, in dribs and drabs until the rice is cooked. If the stock runs out use hot water.

When the rice is cooked, chop the beetroot and add, stirring through to get as much dye on the rice as you can and then add the butter and parmesan. Stir through. Serve sprinkled with the rocket, walnuts and goats cheese.

Delicious!

A little movie for you!

2009-06-29T09:37:00.002+01:00

If you fancy a good laugh, head over to The Twilight Spoof - Mary and her two cousins Finn and Ru remade their favorite movie and it is a scream!

We'd love to see them get lots of hits so do please pass the link on to anyone you know who loves Twilight!!

Enjoy it!!

What we have lost...

2009-06-26T10:48:00.001+01:00

Summer Lovin...

2009-06-16T18:36:00.004+01:00

We caught a glimpse of summer a few weekends ago... and it was wonderful, spirits picked up, traffic jams were full of smiling faces, brown arms dangling from windows - no matter where you were there was sun to enjoy!

We took ourselves to the beach and, on returning, wanted something quick, easy and summery to satisfy those hunger pangs.

Asparagus & Lemon Pasta

You'll need

1 lemon, squeezed and zested

500gms cooked pasta, Farfalle or Penne are best, I used Fusilli out of desperation!!

4 tbsp of virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

100gms pancetta, optional

10 Asparagus tips

Method

Heat the oil and add the garlic. Add the pancetta and cook through. Add the chopped asparagus and stir until bright green. Remove from heat, add lemon zest and juice and stir the pasta through.

Serve!

Little Windows... Ten on ten...

2009-06-10T15:18:00.005+01:00

My contribution to the Ten on Ten project....

Thai Fish Cakes!

2009-06-07T17:48:00.005+01:00

These are easy to make and can be prepared in advance, then fried for a couple of minutes each side and served.

You'll need

150g cod or salmon fillet, skinned and deboned
100g raw shelled prawns
2 spring onions, chopped
1 tbsp Thai curry paste
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
Handful chopped fresh coriander
Method
Throw everything into your food processor and blend together to a rough mince. Shape into patties, this mix should make between 4 and 6 smallish ones. Fry in a bit of olive oil, until browned. Mix a tbsp of soy sauce with the same of honey and pour over in the pan. Serve with sweet chilli sauce.

I heart...

2009-06-07T17:37:00.002+01:00

Marks & Spencer Strawberry and Vanilla Cupcakes...

Just delicious!

Around the world...

2009-05-22T09:58:00.003+01:00

I love taking photos of food, so I was happy to help when a friend called and said she was hoping I'd pop down and take some photos of a world food fair she had organised! I was delighted!

The fair took place in Microsoft, Sandyford, and was an amazing smorgasbord of cuisine from all around the globe. Staff members were asked to bring a traditional dish from their home country and for a small cover charge, they could then try a little of each!

What a great idea! The different colours, textures and smells from all over the world spread before me like a patchwork quilt made me glad I'd skipped breakfast!!

My favorites were the Custard tarts from Portugal, and the Cabbage soup from Slovakia which I MUST have the recipe for immediatley!!

My photos can not even tell half the story, it was such a wonderful fair and such an amazing idea, hopefully a good chunk of money was raised for charity!

OCD - Obsessive Cullen Disorder!

2009-05-11T10:33:00.003+01:00

I know its been uber quiet on this blog lately, and well I feel I should explain. I should 'fess up.

My name is Lisa and I'm a Twilight addict.

Every spare minute I have is spent reading the rest of the saga... and I haven't had time even to cook anything very exciting!

However I am on the last, and rather far fetched, last book, so things should be back to normal soon!

Well until November anyway...

I want...

2009-05-07T15:39:00.003+01:00

K, so the weather is easing up and we are starting to think about going camping. Ladybird is still happy to hold us and we're not ones to waste opportunities! Anyhoo I've been surfing online to see what gadgets await!

I love waffles, don't eat enough of them actually, there is nothing as pleasing as a waffle with clotted cream, jam and fresh strawberries (Yes Ciara and I am looking out for gluten free waffles so we can eat this together...!) all piled high with a steaming cup of tea and a fork in hand.

So I was looking for waffle recipes and then I spotted this!

A camping waffle iron! I must have one! Oh you know me - I love cooking anything the hard way so why not cook waffles over the fire, can you think of anything more hardy and outdoorsy? I'd be "mom/wife/camp neighbor" of the year!

Marvellous! I'll let you know when I try it out!

Lasagne Primavera

2009-05-05T14:49:00.003+01:00

I've baked this style of lasagne for a good few years after eating something similar in Italy, but I'd forgotten about it until lo and behold I was watching a digital food channel that shows Rachel Ray and she was baking it on air!! I felt cheated but then delighted, a family favorite reinstated, and ours is a little different from Rachels so its all good!

Lasagne PrimaveraYou'll need
A pk of ready to bake (is there any other kind?) lasagne sheets
4 tins of tomatoes
3 courgettes, grated
500gms ricotta, mixed with 1 egg and 80gms grated parmesan
400gms lamb mince
1 mozarella ball

2 cloves of garlic
Handful each of basil, mint and parsley.

Method

Cook the lamb mince with the chopped onion until browned. Stir in 1 tin of tomatoes and leave to simmer until thickened. Add the fresh basil. Chop the mint and parsley and stir into the ricotta cheese. In a separate pan, chop two cloves of garlic and stir fry in olive oil, adding the courgette, with salt and pepper after a few moments. Stir in the hot oil until coated and remove from the heat.Pour some tomatoes from a tin to coat the bottom of the dish, then layer the lasagne, pasta, courgette, ricotta, pasta, meat, courgette, pasta and so on as you wish.
Top with a full tin of tomatoes and slices of mozarella.
Bake at 200c for a 40 minutes or until the cheese is golden and the dish is bubbling.
Wait ten to fifteen minutes before slicing.

Pavlova...

2009-04-24T12:28:00.004+01:00

The perfect end to a dinner party... An enormous pavlova will have your guests weak at the knees... Forget kiwi and lemony cream... You want sharp rasberries and vanilla creaminess dripping from forks....

My Pavlova

You'll need

6 Egg whites

400gms caster sugar

1.5 tsp white wine vinegar

1.5 tsp cornflour

Preheat your oven to 200c. Whisk the eggs into soft peaks, add the sugar, flour and vinegar and whisk again until shiny and with soft peaks again. Line and dust (with icing sugar) a shallow roasting pan and plop your mix into it, allow it to make its own shape.

Pop into the oven, and immediatley turn the oven down to 150. Bake the meringue for 1 hour or until it is nicely brown and cracking along the 'seams'.

When ready remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Lift the meringue onto your dish, and with the back of a spoon crack the surface, allowing it to collapse in on itself. Fill the hollow with vanilla cream (use M&S Madagasgar vanilla cream if you can!) and top with raspberries...

Exquisite!

Are you Twilighting?

2009-04-21T10:34:00.007+01:00

I robbed this wonderful picture from Ciara over at Milkmoon, to show you what my daughter has been up to for the last few weeks... Twilighting...

And, it seems, so has everyone in the universe, it is everywhere isn't it?

So, I read it to see what the fuss was about.

I sat down yesterday, and over a couple of hours in a quiet room, and then another couple of hours in bed, I read the whole thing through. I haven't done that since I was a teenager myself!

Holes in the plot aside (and there are many!) it was one of those stories that drags you kicking and screaming (with joy) back to your teen years, when books like this encouraged day dreams about the shopkeepers son, or that boy who catches the bus at the same time you do every day... At Marys age I would routinely fall in love with boys on the bus and while away the days dreaming of all the possibilities to come.

This book reminded me of those daydreams, with all its inconsistencies, and it was probably the most romantic and sincere thing I have read in years... I threw my irritations at Meyer (who I think probably got a bit lost in the romance herself) away and jumped in head first...

If you haven't read it - Do! True, it is a book aimed at 12-15 year olds, and it is FULL of holes (Which Meyer has attempted to resolve with Midnight Sun), it is a bit lazy, but... BUT... You will adore it... It will, he will, haunt you (You might even find yourself googling 'Edward Cullen' late at night!)! Just let go of any adult expectations, and go with it...

Happy Reading!

I want...

2009-04-20T11:27:00.002+01:00

This is the i-bride "Liu Tray" which caught my eye on my new favorite site Bohemia this morning... Isn't it edible! I love it, and am now plotting ways in which it can be mine (insert wild laughter here)...

You can see this adorable tray and other lovelies here...!

I heart...

2009-04-20T11:01:00.004+01:00

Franks Red Hot Sauce!!! My American readers will scoff at this post, but I have only just discovered that one CAN make restaurant style Buffalo wings at home, with very little effort and they turn out JUST AS GOOD!!!

No more trips to Tribeca for me!!

American Buffalo Wings

You'll need

8 tbsp Franks Hot Sauce (Available in Tesco!)

8 tbsp Butter

1.5 tsp White vinegar

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/8 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce

Pinch of Salt

Method

Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan,and heat until the butter has melted. Leave to cool.

Sprinkle the chicken wings with Maldon table salt and place into a really hot oven, cook until the skin is crispy and bubbling. Throw the wings in on top of the sauce and coat.

Serve with Blue cheese sauce (1 part mayo to 1 part sour cream, crumble chopped blue cheese and spring onion into the dip) and celery sticks!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T14:09:00.005+01:00

This has been my second Easter in blog land, and again we roasted a lovely Leg of Lamb and had family over to enjoy the day! It was such a pleasure to entertain in my new lovely kitchen!

I started the dinner off with a Pea and Mint Soup, which went down well, and was lovely and refreshing. Then served the lamb with rosemary potatoes and wilted greens... I have to admit I was so busy eating it all I barely took a picture!!

The evening rounded off nicely with a raucous game of Cranium (in which there was a few serious accusations of unsportsmanlike behaviour!) and our family favorite 'Incognito'!

Happy Easter!

Pea and Mint Soup

You'll need

1 tbsp olive oil

1 clove of garlic, smashed

1 small bag of frozen garden peas (around 500gms)

500mls of vegetable stock

A handful of fresh mint leaves

Some cream to garnish

Method

Lightly fry the garlic in the oil, add the peas and the stock and simmer over a medium heat for 20 minutes. Add the mint. Blend until smooth. Serve hot with a swirl of cream.

Little Windows...

2009-04-06T16:02:00.006+01:00

From the lovely seaside town of Beaumaris, Wales.

Cheats Cuisine!

2009-04-03T17:20:00.004+01:00

I've been cheating alot lately haven't I?

At least I am still that boldy pants I was as a kid!

Latest cheat - Lamb Tagine!

you'll need

1lb lamb chunks

1 onion, sliced

1 tsp each of cumin, ginger, dried thyme

2tbsp flour

150ml orange juice

300ml chicken stock

70gms dried apricots

salt & pepper

mint leaves, to garnish

Method

Okay so this is a cheat because you need not spend days marinading anything, simply rub the lanb with half the spices, brown it, bung it all in a pot, into the oven for an hour and a half, stirring midway and done!

Serve with cous cous!

BRB!

2009-04-02T12:31:00.003+01:00

Sorry! I have been up to my eyes this week with a flurry of activites, getting this kitchen of ours into shape...

We took a trip to Ikea in Belfast, and it was a fruitful journey, we procured the table set of my dreams! For a complete steal! I am now a firm fan of Ikea and cannot wait until it opens here in July!

Anyway I hope to be back up and running over the next few days, doing more than throwing oven chips in the oven!

See you then!

Earth Hour...

2009-03-29T13:52:00.003+01:00

It was lovely to spend an hour in darkness last night with my global family, so many houses around me joined in, and it was nice to 'stand together' acknowledging the earth hour.

What a sky! It was so bright, although I wasn't sure if it was because of the lights or just because of the night! We spotted Orions belt, and Beetlejuice! We were all reluctant to turn the lights back on, but with laundry to finish, and tea to make!

photo courtesy of google images

The Big Boy...

2009-03-28T10:54:00.001Z

I took this photo of Joe heading down to Dun Laoghaire last week, I cannot believe it is him, he just looks so grown up!

Copycat!

2009-03-28T10:44:00.003Z

I often come home after a particularly nice meal out and spend the next week or so craving the food I had, just one more bite!

It was this way after a cheap and cheerful trip to Milanos in Dundrum, which I have to say I normally avoid, finding the staff rude and the dessert portions miserable! However with two teenagers in tow it seemed the best option, the crowd pleaser.

I ordered a Salad with goats cheese and it was delicious, so much so that I wanted to recreate it at home, for that 'one more bite' satisfaction!

I, of course, added bits and pieces but it was the similar enough so here it is, furthermore known as Milanos salad in this house!

Here is a list of what goes into it, add as much or as little of what you like, it'll be delicious!

Cooked chicken pieces, red and yellow pepper, beetroot, red onion, cherry tomatoes (try to get piccolos!), croutons, cafe style leaves, crumbled soft goats cheese. Add whatever salad dressing you prefer, we used bottled caesar and it was delicious!

I heart...

2009-03-26T16:04:00.003Z

My new kettle!!!

My eyes lit up when I spied this unusual kettle in House of Fraser the other day, and since a new kettle was on my shopping list (my old one is ten years old) and I had a voucher for HofF burning a hole in my purse, I said "Feck it!" and plumped for it there and then.... It reminds me of Art Deco, Sixties style and Futuristic all in one!

It does what it is supposed to, and in record time, but I get a kick out of it too, so that is a bonus! The wood handles make it seem less "Appliance" too!

I love it!

The Grand SLAM!

2009-03-24T09:34:00.003Z

We did it! Ireland, a tiny little island perched on the edge of Europe, has won the Six Nations Cup AND the Grand Slam!

It was like movie, those watching practically bit their own faces off with the tension, it was within 3 or 4 points the whole match... They're winning, we're winning, they're winning... It looked like we'd lost it, even after Brian O'Driscolls AMAZING TRY!! The man is like a steam train! Then suddenly with two minutes to go (Imagine the tension!) Ronan O'Gara kicked it over the posts, we were back in the lead only to give away a penalty at the eleventh hour... I thought Bill would go through the television as the welsh player lined up to kick a drop goal, but he missed it by inches and WE WON!!!! THE GRAND SLAM! The last time we did that was in 1948!! Oh I wished my dad could have seen it!! He would have loved it!

It was also nice to see Prince William sitting beside our lovely President McAleese, a promise of the two countries being better neighbors to each other in the coming years! But best of all, to see our boys collect the Grand Slam trophy, and hold it high, a symbol of being the BEST rugby team in Europe at the moment, we lost to not one team!

They often say in Ireland "Tiocfaidh ár Lá" - Our Day will Come...

In Rugby, looks like it has...!

Whats brew??

2009-03-23T14:48:00.005Z

The lack of activity on this blog has been down to my dear little Mac being uprooted from his corner and shuffled out for a few days in a cardboard box in my hall. We've been having lots of work done, and finally I have a new kitchen!! I have been in this house nearly ten years and had inherited the kitchen from previous owners, which I differed greatly in taste from!!!

So now I have my own kitchen, in my own house, as opposed to my own house but with someone elses kitchen. I can't wait to show you some pictures but I want to wait for the last few pieces of the jigsaw to be slotted into place (New Ikea table and tiles on the wall!) before the unveiling to my cyber friends!!

Aside from that though my camera has been happily snapping away, with various dinners eaten and interesting nights out. Over the next few days I'll tell you all about them.

I want to start though with telling you about this new club we've joined! A sister of my dearest friend has started a Beer Tasting session in her shop once a month, and so with Bill a steadfast beer supporter and me tipping my toe in the ocean as a novice, we both headed down on friday to have a taste and see what we thought of the best of the Belgian Trappist Breweries!

Five Beers to Taste!

Two trepid tasters make their way through the brews...

Since our trip last year, which landed us in Bruges, Bill has been keenly involved on a personal level with Belgian beers, and was dying to sample what is on offer here in Dublin. So we tasted, he hummed, I hawed, but overall we both came away with a favorite.

This was mine... Vedett Extra White...

Just perfect for me, light and refreshing, destined to be supped out of a nice glass as I sit admiring my lovely new kitchen over the next week...! Only to be enjoyed in the glare of the sun though, I suspect, so I'll have to make sure I'm within sight of that little glorious ray that comes in my kitchen window at around 6 o'clock!

Local Glitterati...

Some of Beers most loyal fans...

A beer fuelled discussion!

The Beer Tasting was a great fun! I learned alot, met some great people (including fellow blogger The Beer Nut! You can read what a beer review should look like over on his blog!) and discovered a bit more about my new favorite subject - BEER!

Happy (Day After) St Patricks Day from DUBLIN!

2009-03-18T18:51:00.004Z

Oh the frustration of internet glitches! Yesterday was St Patricks Day, I'm here in the horses mouth, and I couldn't get blogger to post for me! It kept saying error blah blah blah!

Anyway HAPPY ST PATRICKS DAY! Or as we say in Irish LA FHEILE PHADRAIG!!

We all donned green, pinned our shamrock to our lapels and enjoyed a day where the whole world joins us in the celebration of our lovely little island!!

I could have chosen a very traditional Irish dish for todays post, but considering most of the very Irish meals (Irish stew, coddle etc) were born from necessity due to half the country starving to death, I didn't feel it was exactly the spirit I was after! So after a him and a haw I decided to get into the spirit with a good old Beef and Guinness Pie! We've got cows, we've got stout, we've got appetites to sooth - as Irish a dish as you can get!

Must be eaten with a diddly eye diddly dee diddly dum!

Beef and Guinness Pie

You'll need
500gms Stewing beef
2 Carrots
1 Large onion
1 Sprig of rosemary
500mls beef stock
A Pint of Irish Stout (Guinness!)
Salt and Pepper
Enough Puff pastry to cover your pie dish!

Method
Saute the onions and the carrots with the rosemary (wonderful aromas here) and then add the seasoned meat. Stir about a bit and then add the stock and the stout! Add a couple of tablespoons of flour. Simmer for 2 hours with a lid on until the sauce has thickened! Pop into a pie dish, cover with pastry, glaze with beaten egg and bake until golden brown in a hot oven, about 180c.

Serve with mashed potatoes and a large glass of milk!

Cheats Cuisine!

2009-03-13T14:32:00.003Z

Another handy number to throw together! Its absolutely delicious and perfect for visiting children!

So simple - it cannot go wrong!

Sticky Toffee Banana Bake

You'll need

2 Jamaican Ginger Cakes

4 Large Bananas

Anything else you fancy, I sometimes add pecan nuts!

For the sauce

100gms Muscovado Light Brown

4 oz butter

150mls double cream

4 tbsp golden syrup

Method

Stir the sauce ingredients together and heat in a saucepan until the butter has melted. Meanwhile slice the cakes and the bananas and layer them. When the sauce begins to bubble, remove from the heat and pour over the layers. Bake for 15 minutes at 180c until piping hot. Serve with vanilla icecream. This makes a good amount for 6 people so you can say...

Yes, there is seconds...!

Little Windows...

2009-03-11T10:20:00.009Z

Here are my "Little Windows" for March...

I've been tagged

2009-03-11T09:11:00.008Z

I've been tagged by dear Ciara over at Milkmoon!

What is your current obsession? Hmmmm... Interior blogs, Clothes...

What are you wearing now: My big earrings,Denim Flares, black boat neck top and a teal green grandad cardie! Oh and my most amazing sheepskin bootie slippers that I love but are falling apart and I don't know where to replace them!!

Who was the last person you hugged: Grubbyman

If you were a tree what tree would you be?

Definatley a pear tree... with a partridge in it!

What's for dinner: Paella (cooking for Ciara!)

What was the last thing you bought: 4 Stripey Cups for a euro each in Dunnes...

What are you listening to right now: The sounds of a jackhammer building our lovely Luas line, and Brian Ferry singing Dylan...

What is your favourite weather: I love sunny winter mornings, and I love warm meditteranean mornings... either or!

What was the first thing you did this morning? I fed the birds in my garden, a thousand little hopping fellows... They had seeds, lard and breadcrumbs.

What is your most challenging goal right now: To try to get through to stubborn people.

Say something to the person who tagged you: There will be roasted plums, with honey, cardamom and marscapone...

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished, where do you want it to be: Dun Laoghaire town please, something nice in Clarinda park would do!!!

Favourite vacation spot: Anywhere at all... though I have been dreaming recently of majorca...

Name the things you cannot live without: Good company, A pen and paper...

What would you like to have in your hands right now: Honestly? A winning lottery ticket please. Failing that, A huge coffee slice.

What is your favourite tea flavour: Regular Barrys Tea

What would you like to get rid of: Words which degrade women, Snobbery.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go: Can I go back in time? Then I'd see my dad again, if not I'd like to visit my Aunt Maureen in New Jersey.

If you could have your portrait painted/made by any famous artist from any era, who would you choose: Picasso

Who did you have a poster on your wall of when you were 15? Kurt Cobain...

The rules:

1) Repond and rework, answer the questions on your blog, replace one question you didn't like with a question of your own! Then add one more question of your own!

2) Tag up to eight people!

I love you too, Makool....!

2009-03-10T20:21:00.004Z

I have never posted about clothes before but I couldn't leave the day go without telling you what I found!! I was drifting around the ether world and suddenly it was there, Makool Loves You, and every single thing on their adorable website could have been made for me!!!
I know a certain person over on another blog who would swoon for these mittens.... You know who you are!! ;-)

Oh and if anyone, lets say, was to love me so much they just had to buy me this Bicycle locket... I'd be ever so pleased...

Cheats Cuisine!

2009-03-10T11:43:00.003Z

This is a great cheat to have at hand, in case you suffer from spontaneous invite syndrome - "why don't you come for lunch today?" at 12pm!! This needs no major design just plonk everything together and serve with a salad!

Mediterranean Vol Au Vents!

You'll need

1 Pkt 6 Frozen Vol Au Vents

1 Cooked chicken breast

6 Cherry vine tomatoes

100gms tapenade

100gms Sun dried tomato pesto

1 Jar of Boilie Goats Cheese Balls

A handful of Basil, chopped

Cook the Vol Au Vents as per instructions. At the same time pop the tomatoes into the oven drizled with olive oil until they are bursting and soft.

While still warm fill with a teaspoon of each paste, some chicken, and top with a Boilie ball and a vine tomato.

Serve!

I want...

2009-03-09T09:29:00.002Z

These gorgeous retro tins are from Ikea...and only £1.95 for all three!!

'Ave a butchers..?

2009-03-04T11:49:00.006Z

There must be something wrong with me. No matter how many times I have told myself, warned myself, to buy my meat in the butcher, I keep coming home from the supermarket bags full of it and having a homer moment - Doh! Its ridiculous because the butcher, Nyhan Bros, is right there, beside the supermarket, no extra journey or stop involved! What is my problem?

I am trying though, and last week, as if to make up, I took a solo expedition across the road and bought 2lbs of mince. A huge quantity, but it freezes so why not! I had a nose round to see what else they had, Venison steaks! Poussin! Rabbit!

Oooo and corn fed outdoor reared chickens!! The little angel on my shoulders' tutting is becoming unbearable when I go to Tesco for a sunday bird, so thats good to know! I don't mind paying extra for an animal that has at least had a bit of craic before it walked the green mile.

I think I will have to tie a knot in my hanky, or laces at least, so I stop my zombie like march to the supermarket in time to remember the butchers!

As for my mince? It was put to good use!

Lisas Saturday Burgers

You'll need

(for 4 quarter pounders)

1lb of lean minced beef

2 tsps worcestor sauce

2 tbsp of your favorite relish (we use onion or ballymaloe!)

15mls natural yoghurt or creme fraiche

2 tsps cayenne pepper (optional)

Salt and pepper

Method

Mix all ingredients together, I use a fork as well as my hands as it seems to break the meat up even more. Divide into portions and make into patties with your hands. Pop onto a hot oiled griddle or pan and fry. Give them about two minutes each side. Let them stand while you prepare the buns with everything you like and EAT EM UP!!

Cheap Eats!

2009-03-02T09:06:00.003Z

Well I have square eyes from checking out the fantastic new Irish website Cheap Eats, its brilliant! Its one of those sites that has me bashing my head off the keyboard, wailing "I wish it was mine!", set up and run by graphic artist Jean O'Brien (check out the dotey graphics!!) and journalist Peter McGuire, and with fantastic ideas and recommendations all through the effortless dialogue. With tips on where to find great food bargains, which restaurants are feeding us well for less, and a general encouragement, in the face of a recession, to continue with the chin up and mouth open, for great food is still within our reach! There is sections of all aspects of food in Ireland, from recipes to food news, great restaurant reviews and even a Bloggers recommend section!!

I love it!!

Check it out here!

Beer anyone?

2009-03-01T11:04:00.003Z

I've been getting into the "beer is the new wine" craze, and I have to admit I'm loving it! Beer can be just as interesting to drink, and with less of a headache the next day, whats not to love about that!!

My personal favorite at the moment are the Asian beers, Tiger and Cobra being the most obvious choices. The subtle cider pop after a swig of Cobra beer is fantastic, and wonderfully refreshing after a mouthful of spicy curry! Beer sooths the mouth more quickly after a chili burn, so it is the drink of choice for any spicy dish.

There are two main theories behind the origin of "Pad Khee Mao", or Drunkards noodles, the first is that it is the hangover cure of choice by most Thais, the second is that so much beer is needed, to sooth the burning mouth while eating, that the diner ends up paraletic! Either way it is a great dish, one we eat all the time in this house, always with plenty of Tiger beer on hand too by the way...

Drunkards Noodles

You'll need

2 tbsp Stir fry oil

2 tbsp Oyster sauce

2 tbsp Rice Vinegar (or white wine vinegar will do)

1 tbsp Nam Plah sauce

1 tsp sugar

a squeeze of fresh lime

10 bird chillies, or 3 red chillies, chopped finely

1 tin bean sprouts

10 baby tomatoes, halved

1 green pepper, chopped

A handful of Pak Choi, torn into lengths

10 Button Mushrooms, halved

400gms thin rice noodles, cooked

Method

Heat up the oil and add the chillies and the rest of the veg. Add the sauces and stir fry for a minute, add the noodles and serve.

Be Careful!!! 'S hot!!

I want...

2009-02-28T17:24:00.003Z

Look at these! Aren't they adorable?! I wish I could buy the whole bunch - they're from Rosenthal and the range is Pepe and Friends Each item from eggcup to cookie jar, has its own little character, they really are sweet...

Available here!

Cheats Cuisine!

2009-02-25T16:15:00.003Z

To make a spectacular dessert in a hurry follow these easy peasy instructions for my quick and easy Black Forest Dessert!

You'll need

for four

4 chocolate brownie

1 tin pitted black cherries

4 pots chocolate mousse

125mls double cream, whipped to soft peaks

2 tbsp vanilla sugar

1 chocolate flake

4 oreo cookies, roughly broken

75cls kirsch (or vodka will be fine too!)

Method

Break the brownies into bite sized chunks and pop into the bottom of the serving dish, mix the kirsch with the juice from the tinned fruit and add the vanilla sugar, then spoon about two tablespoons over each brownie. Add half the cherries. Plop some cream on, then a full chocolate mousse, oreo cookies and more cream. Top with cherries and chocolate flake.

Perfect squidgy goodness to finish off a good meal!

Pancake Tuesday!!!

2009-02-24T09:58:00.004Z

Is it worldwide or just this side of the pond? Well today is pancake tuesday and children (and aduts) around the country woke up excited at the prospect of a day in which every meal is a pancake concoction!!

I'm just about to make ours but I thought I'd post first, I mean you don't need a recipe but I'll give you my two favorite fillings...

1) Chocolate buttons (make sure the pancake is hot!) caramel sauce, marshmallow, banana and the thickest double cream you can find! Mmmmmm!

2) Mix one part lime juice to one part coconut milk, add plenty of caster sugar! Delicious!

HAPPY PANCAKE DAY EVERYONE!!! As a little parting gift I will tell you a little story....

There was three men travelling by train across Ireland for business and they got talking. Each of them had a son and the conversation soon turned to their children.

The first one said "My son is wonderful, a real star, he was born on St Georges day so we called him George"

"Wow!" said the second one, "thats amazing because my son is called Andrew for the same reason, he was born on St Andrews day"

The third man nodded and then took his phone out of his pocket "That reminds me" he said smiling, "its my darling sons birthday today... I must ring him..." he dialled the number... "Hello? Is that you Pancake?"

(At least its not my cooking that is making you reach for the sick bowl!!)

***

Ugly but yum....!

2009-02-20T23:23:00.002Z

I have eaten one of these... A deep fried Mars bar, and I will admit -it was absolutely delicious! However as I chewed, I could feel my arteries screaming and I doubt I would make a habit of eating something so fattening - there is a days calories in one of these babies!

I came across this picture while moaning and groaning my way through This Is Why You're Fat

dot com, have a browse and let me know if you've tried any of the offerings there - which I've no doubt as to they probably taste delicious but my God, imagine every meal? After a couple of days worth of winter food, starches and stews, I crave raw food, salad and crisp vegetables... and thats after GOOD stodge! Imagine after a few days of the horrifics you can see here!

A little Baker Boy...

2009-02-19T09:45:00.006Z

So I often let Joe help me bake, but obviously I have to curb any licking or poking or smudging that he would enjoy. So today I allowed him to bake his own biscuits, from start to finish. I did step in for the mixing, and there was a two minute tantrum, but then he resumed with tear stained cheeks to making "Joes Biscuits". Which turned out to be one biscuit... for Daddy!

This recipe is great for little ones who are teething (as there is good resistance and not a lot of sugar) and the dough molds easily in their hands.

Joes Biscuits

You'll need

1 part apple juice
1 part flour
1 part baby cereal (I used Cow and Gate Baby Balance)

Method
Mix above ingredients together. Roll out and cut or mold into shapes. Bake for about 20-30 minutes at 175c.

Do NOT serve these to visiting adults, much as they may snuffle about in search of your latest bake, as they will reel in horror from the blandness and your reputation shall never recover! Solely enjoyed by the under fives and daddys who would walk on coals for their darling sons!

Little Windows...

2009-02-17T12:13:00.005Z

I'm always too late for the ten on ten recently, which is so annoying because I love taking part, so this month I'm going to start a new project which I am calling Little Windows... I will post some pictures in the same way, hopefully on the tenth, but if I don't make it I won't feel so badly!!

Enjoy!

Dear Old Barley!

2009-02-11T14:39:00.005Z

I hated it in stews, those little squishy blobs that would stick to my teeth, I couldn't stomach Barley at all unless it was mixed with sugar, rolled to an inch of its life, wrapped in plastic and sold for tuppence in the local chemist...

Then I kept seeing it pop up in the modern recipes, everyone was raving about it, everyone loved it... Barley, Barley, Barley!

So I thought, Okay, it must be good, it must have something to offer.

Nope.

I came, I ate, I didnae likey!

I'm sure... I know... Its definatley up some peoples alleys, just not mine. There is a musty smell from it that I dislike, it lingers in my nose too long... and the texture? Yack yack! Its rubbery, its smooth, like a mouth full of tiny balloons.

Before you mail me wailing about how I mustn't have cooked it correctly, how it is truely the most wonderful thing... Don't bother, really I did do it the justice it probably deserves! How do I know? Because everyone else in the house absolutley LOVED it! Bar me, the whole family are now barley addicts, going through cold turkey mind because I am never putting myself through that again!

For the Barley lovers out there... here is my recipe for Creamy Barley Risotto... Serve with white fish if you can, or topped with pickled quails eggs!... and Enjoy!

You'll need (serves 4 as a side dish)

250gms pearl barley

A glass of white wine

1 large onion, chopped finely

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 stick of celery, chopped finely

Some olive oil

500mls chicken stock

100gms creme fraiche

100gms parmesan cheese, ground

Method

Fry the onions, celery and garlic lightly in the oil and add the barley. Allow the barley to colour slightly before adding a glass of white wine and about a quarter of the stock. The good thing about barley vs rice is that it doesn't need constant stirring because there is little starch.

Keep adding the stock, as normal with risotto, until its gone, then test the barley between your teeth, you should be able to bite it in half with effort, it shouldn't smush. If its not ready, top up with hot water.

When you are happy with the barley, add the cheeses and serve!!!

Lentil Health!! ;-)

2009-02-09T15:55:00.004Z

Italians like to eat lentils with sausages on New Years Eve, here in this house we don't need an occasion, it really makes for the most hearty winter meal, full of goodness (watch the ingredients in those sausages, go for 70+% pork!!) and is a nice change from rice, pasta and potatoes which our dinners usually revolve around!!

Here is my recipe for Italian style Lentils, serve with your favorite sausage!

You'll need

350gms of green or brown lentils (I use tinned)

1 large onion, chopped small

2 stalks of celery, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

100gms bacon lardons

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

A sprig of rosemary

Method

Fry the onion, garlic and celery in olive oil until soft, add the bacon and the rosemary. Fry until pretty much cooked before adding the tomatoes and the lentils.

Simmer for about ten minutes and serve!

For a spicy version add a pinch of chilli powder with the tomatoes!

Abbey Road....

2009-02-07T14:26:00.000Z

I didn't realise what it looked like as I was snapping...

SCOIL DUNTA!

2009-02-03T13:25:00.005Z

We were thrilled to be woken by a text message reading "Scoil Dunta - Isteach is amach ro-danseaireach" (School Closed - Access too dangerous)!! Looking outside we could see why...Having a landrover comes in very handy sometimes, we ploughed along where other cars were stuck, and clung to roads that other cars were sliding off... heading for my mothers house and the field beside it, where the snow lay unmarked and glistening in wait.

What a great day! Lets hope for more snow tomorrow!!

Did I or Didn't I?

2009-01-31T11:45:00.002Z

I was I had posted this little four minute video, of our grand trip last year, but it appears I never did!

The wonderful music is by wonderful Chequerboard...

A little treat!

2009-01-29T13:34:00.001Z

If you want a treat... and you have a minute... pop over to Honeybee and have a look at this...

Wonderful...

Forgotten Posts!

2009-01-29T13:13:00.004Z

I was flicking back through some recent photos and I realised I never told you about the cake I made for my brother Eamons birthday recently (yes my whole family are all winter babies!) and so if its okay I will tell you about it now!

Firstly here is my brother... he always does this eejit face when we try to take his photo...

And now here is the cake...!

I couldn't stop laughing the whole time I was making this... it just looked so much like him!

The cake itself was a Lemon and Almond cake, recipe below and it was really delicious... My brother said it was a different experience, slicing up his own face and passing it around so we could all eat it... but great fun altogether!!

Lemon and Almond Birthday Cake

(Great for fondant icing!)

You'll need

225 g soft unsalted butter225 g castor sugar4 large eggs50 g plain flour225 g ground almonds1/2 teaspoon almond essencezest and juice from 2 lemons

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C.

Cream together the butter and sugar until almost white. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding a quarter of the flour after each addition. When all the eggs and flour have been incorporated, gently stir in the ground almonds, then the almond essence, lemon zest and juice.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for about 1 hour. Cover with foil after about 30 minutes, once the top is lightly browned. The cake is ready when the top is firm, and a skewer, inserted, comes out cleanish - you want dampness, but not gooey batter. Take the cake out and let it stand for 5 minutes or so in the tin. Then turn it out on a wire rack and leave till cool.

P.S. I think you can safely assume ALL my cake recipes to be from Nigella Lawson unless I say otherwise!!! xx

Happy Birthday Little M!

2009-01-28T09:13:00.003Z

-I'll post the recipe for this Malteser cake soon, after I get up off the floor where I am still lying after it dawned on me that next year I will be the mother of a TEENAGER!!! ;-) Sure am I not one of them meself still? -

Forragers food...

2009-01-26T14:27:00.001Z

"We are shelves, we are
Tables, we are meek,
We are edible,

Nudgers and shovers
In spite of ourselves.
Our kind multiplies:

We shall by morning
Inherit the earth.
Our foot's in the door. "

Taken from Mushrooms by Sylvia Plath

Wild Mushroom and Walnut Soup

You'll need
4 cups of wild mushrooms
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
1 cup walnuts, shelled
300mls chicken/vegetable stock
75mls double cream
A drizzle of walnut oil

Method
Saute the onion, garlic and mushrooms until soft. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. In your food processor blitz the walnuts with the cream. When ready to serve the soup add the walnut cream. Serve with fresh bread and a dribble of walnut or truffle oil...

A little nutty...

2009-01-20T11:16:00.006Z

One of my favorite bars as a child was the good old "Marathon" (now renamed as Snickers),and pocket money from my great grandfather, of one pound, would buy me a Supercan of coke, a marathon bar and my weekly copy of "the Mandy"... Thems were the days...

So now, but only on very sunny days, I will often treat myself to a snickers bar, keep it in my pocket until its soft, sit on a wall somewhere and then eat it very carefully, enjoying every bite...

Marathon Muffins

(aka Snickers Muffins from guess who? Yep Nigella Lawson... I really must branch out and buy another baking book!!)

You'll need

250g Plain Flour

100g Golden Caster Sugar

1.5 tablespoons baking powder

Pinch Salt

6 tbsp Crunchy Peanut Butter

60g Melted Butter

1 Beaten Large Egg

175 ml Milk

3 Snickers Bars, chopped into small pieces

Method

Preheat your oven to 200c and line your muffin tray with muffin cases. Stir together flour sugar, baking powder and salt. Add peanut butter and mix until you have a bowl of crumbs, then in a seperate bowl, add the melted butter and egg to the milk and mix. Mix the wet ingredients gently into peanut butter mix

and stir in the chopped snickers bars. Divide mixture between 12 muffin cases and bake for 20-25 minutes.

A Muse or two...

2009-01-16T19:04:00.002Z

Those of you who follow this blog will know that we spend most of our summers in Italy, down south in the middle of the most glorious teal green mountains, and beside a meandering river known as the Melfa.

The first time I ever ate a bean, barring baked beans from a tin, was in this valley, and I could not believe how delicious beans could be! Since then I have been a bean addict, not a week goes by when I don't cook the famous Beloveds or some other concotion! This evening with all the ingredients for my favorite dish, I set about making some... to go with some inspired chicken!

With Christmas over and done, I am starting to look to the summer and those glorious mornings, with the sound of geese as they pass in a gaggle, the afternoons with the low hum of worker bees and the smell of honey in the air, and those warm evenings with the crickets chirrupping in the trees and the smells of what we're cooking wafting across as we sit in the dimming sun...

Melfa Chicken...
You'll need

1 Large chicken

50gms butter

1 tsp maldon salt

3 tbs honey

3 tbs milk

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 onion

Parsley to garnish

Method

Preheat your oven to 190c.

To prepare the chicken, pop it into the roasting tin and,using a spoon, seperate the skin on the breast from the flesh. Slice the butter and place the slices under the skin. Pop the onion into the cavity. In a cup mix the milk, honey, and garlic together and brush onto the bird. Sprinkle with the salt and pop into the oven. Its usually 1 hour 10 minutes per kilo.

When cooked, the juices will run clear when you skewer between the thigh and the leg. Leave to rest for ten minutes before serving.

Serve with Beloveds... (I put fresh coriander in these tonight, not strictly italian but delicious all the same!)

Happy Birthday Joe...

2009-01-11T23:00:00.005Z

Perfect Birthday Cake (from How to be a Domestic Goddess)

This quantity will fill a 12" square tin!

You'll need

500gms plain flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

.5 tsp salt

400mls buttermilk

3 tsp vanilla extract

250gms unsalted butter

400gms caster sugar

6 eggs

Method

Mix the flour, salt, bicarb, and baking powder together in a bowl.

Then in a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs, one by one, with a spoon of flour, into the mix while mixing all the while. Add the rest of the flour and buttermilk and blend to a smooth batter.

Bake at 180c for about 40 minutes or until a cake skewer comes out clean.

Leave to cool in the tin, and then turn out onto a wire tray.

When the cake is cool, run a serrated bread knife through lengthwise to create a top layer and a bottom layer. Don't worry if it breaks a bit, icing covers all tracks!

Draw a template onto a sheet of parchment, which you have cut out using the cake tin as a guide. Then cut out the template and lay on top of the cake, cut around it using a bread knife.

Fill the cake with freshly whipped cream and strawberry jam. Ice using egg white icing, prebought is just as good, I go for Supercook White Frosting!

Ten on ten... January....

2009-01-10T21:34:00.005Z

If its okay, I'm going to do this ten on ten from my own archives, ten of my favorite photos from our amazing year! Hope you enjoy them!

Happy New Year!

ITS STILL ME!!!

2009-01-09T13:08:00.002Z

Wait! Wait! It is me! With a new look for 2009!

I've also decided to branch out a bit, broaden our scope, look over other walls other than the kitchen wall!

2008 was wonderful, getting to know the world of blogging, and meeting all the amazing and dedicated bloggers out there in cyberspace! I have made some good friends!

So here is a new road for a new year, and I hope you will all come with me while I find out where this new road will take me!

A big ole bowl...

2009-01-08T20:23:00.004Z

...of steamin' hot chilli...please...

Thats the order as I got it down the telephone wire two evenings ago. A very tired and fluey man arrived home, with an inability to say the letter 'M' and a desperate need for some TLC. So I set about making him some chilli, with enough pep to clear his head and fill his belly!

Here is my own recipe for Chilli con carne, enjoy!

You'll need

400gms mince beef

100gms mince pork (optional)

2 chilli peppers (chopped finely)

1 onion, chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 tbs cumin

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

2/3 tbsp tomato puree

1 tin of baked beans

1 tin of chilli beans

1 tin of sweetcorn

3-4 drops of worcestor sauce

1 tbsp of flour (dissolved in about 50mls water)

Method

Fry the onion, celery, peppers and garlic in oil for about two minutes, stir in the cumin and then add the mince. Brown through. Add the tomato puree and tomatoes. Stir. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir over a low heat until thick. Serve with rice, guacamole and corn chips or celery sticks!

Mayoneasy...

2009-01-05T11:48:00.003Z

I have always avoided making mayonnaise, which incidently is probably my favorite thing on earth, because it always gave off that edge of being more hassle than it was worth!

Since making some myself, I have of course changed my mind, although still have yet to make regular mayonnaise, my foray into the flavoured mayo front is a successful one.

It isn't hassle, it isn't difficult, its well worth it and guarantees lots of those invaluable Mmmmms from loved ones!

Tarragon Mayonnaise for Steak

You'll need

2 Egg yolks, beaten

1 tbs White wine vinegar

200mls Sunflower oil

1 clove of garlic

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp pepper

A handful of tarragon, chopped finely.

Method

Whisk the eggs and the vinegar together, I use an electric whisk for this. Add about a teaspoons worth of oil and whisk like mad, until it begins to thicken and then drizzle the oil in while whisking away. The mixture will begin to mayonnaise-ify, get thicker and paler.

When you are happy with the consistency, taste it, add your salt and your pepper. Add the garlic and the tarragon and if you have it handy, a squeeze of lemon juice.

Serve dolloped on hot steak slices in a baguette!! Delish!

A trifle amusing!

2009-01-04T11:55:00.004Z

I've never been a huge trifle fan... although I will admit those I have trifled with have been "old school" with tinned fruit, birds custard and buckets of sherry! However after a disastrous attempt at a trifle last christmas, which left mouths like smoking guns and sent most of us over the limit, I decided to think of something new for this years attempt. With some inspiration from Emily over at Honeybee I decided on this!

It worked out well, subtle and not too rich, and certainly one for the recipe notebooks to make again and again!

Raspberry and Almond Trifle

You'll need

3/4 Raspberry Muffins

1 bar white chocolate, grated

1 carton of devon custard

1 carton of whipping cream

1 tin of raspberries

A few fresh raspberries

Chopped almonds

100mls of Amaretto

Method

Roughly break the muffins into chunks, place into a seperate bowl from the trifle bowl, and sprinkle with all of the ameretto.

Leave for a few minutes and then take half the chunks and line the trifle bowl. Top with some tinned raspberries, grated white chocolate and a sprinkle of chopped almonds. Top that with a thin layer of custard. Repeat until all the muffin is laid and finally top with softly whipped cream, almonds and the fresh raspberries... Grate some chocolate on top and serve within a day.

Happy Christmas!

2008-12-24T09:01:00.004Z

Well I've been up to my eyes in the Christmas run-up, this is the first minute I've had to get online!

I will have plenty of recipes and posts after the festivities, but for now I will just post a bit about the wedding cake I put together for my brother and his now wife, for their wedding which was held in Markree Castle last weekend...

Here it is!

Thankfully it all went smoothly, metaphorically and literally, with only a few bumps in the icing! The tiers were all different, with the brides mothers famous fruit cake on the bottom, and then I made a chocolate orange cake for the top tier and a chocolate biscuit cake using my own recipe for the middle! All went down a treat!

I will post the chocolate biscuit recipe soon, I'll need to make it again to see how much of everything I put in, its my own recipe that I put together as I always find other biscuit cakes too buttery and sickly sweet...

But for now you'll have to make do with a picture! Happy Christmas Everyone!!!!

And of course BEST WISHES TO MY LOVELY BROTHER FERGAL AND HIS GORGEOUS NEW WIFE CAT!!

Ten on ten.... December

2008-12-10T17:40:00.006Z

Woooooo! I'm actually posting this ON TIME!!!

Here it is... my contribution to the Ten on ten project for December...

Betty Spaghetti!

2008-12-02T13:12:00.005Z

I had some pastry left over last week after a gorgeous Sunday lunch that I will tell you about soon. I also had some cooked spaghetti in my fridge. So hoping to use up one or the other I then suddenly remembered a post I'd seen over at Michelles brilliant blog !

It was for something called Spaghetti Pie, which looked really delicious, done in the oven encased in cheese and sauce! With my leftover pastry though, I thought "I wonder if I could wrap spaghetti in pastry?" for an actual Spaghetti Pie! Only one way to find out...

Needless to say it was delicious, pasta - good, pastry - good, cheese - good, I mean whats not to like! The leftovers the next day were even better and I would make this again for a picnic to have cold with salad, which is how I ate the leftover slice and it was delicious.

Here is the recipe in case you ever fancy a slice of Spaghetti Pie. Take it as a rough guide only, you can do this with any combination you like!

Spaghetti Pie

You'll need

300gms cooked spaghetti

400gms minced meat

150gms chopped tomatoes

1 chilli pepper, chopped finely

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 onion, chopped

125gms parmesan

125gms Philidelphia cheese

125gms grated cheddar

Leftover Pastry, either puff or shortcrust is fine

Method

Heat the pan and add a dash of olive oil. Fry the onions, chilli and garlic with the meat until nice and brown, add the tomatoes and the puree. Add the parmesan.

Remove from the heat.

With a scissors, chop the spaghetti into small pieces, maybe 4cms. Stir into the sauce.

Line your pie dish with pastry and spread the philidelphia cheese thickly on the bottom, cover with the spaghetti mix and top with the cheddar.

Brush milk around the sides of the pie and cover with more pastry. Prick this top and decorate if you wish. Brush with beaten egg and bake until golden brown.

Yawn!

2008-12-02T11:46:00.003Z

Ooh I have been asleep! So I shall get back into what may turn out to be a flurry of posts by playing a quick game of Tag... I have stolen this from my friend Lisa on Facebook, but sure its all in the name of fun!!

Rules:
* Grab the book closest to you. Now.
* Go to page 56.
* Find the 5th sentence.
* Write that sentence as your status.
* Copy these instructions as a comment to your status.
* Don't go looking for your favourite book, or the coolest one you have -- just grab the closest one.

*Post your sentence to your blog and reference back to me!

My offering is "Name association was big, as were my presumed interests in vaudeville and politics"

Come on - PLAY!!!

If anyone knows what that is a quote from they get extra kudos!!! ;-)

Easy Peasy Roly Poly

2008-11-24T13:41:00.005Z

I loved making swiss rolls in school, something about getting that perfect swirl with no cracks appealed to the perfectionist in me!

So when I set about making a meringue roulade, I was sure I could handle it! However it was a hundred times easier, believe it or not!! Rolling meringue is like rolling marshmallow, easy as pie! And even if it cracked it would look great! Winner all round! For this roulade you need nothing but the basics... no flours, no vinegars, nothing... Dunno how but it works a treat, even without the stabilisers!

White Chocolate and Blueberry Roulade!

You'll need

275gms Caster sugar

1 tsp Vanilla extract or half a pod, scraped

5 Egg whites, room temperature

Icing sugar, for dusting

For the Filling

150gms White chocolate

100mls Natural yoghurt

250gms Marscapone

150gms Blueberries

Heat your oven to 220c.

Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until holding stiff peaks, then gradually whisk in the sugar until the meringues are glossy and stiff. Whisk in the vanilla.

Spread the meringue thickly on a lined swiss roll tin. Turn your oven down to 160c and bake the meringue for about 15 minutes or until golden and firm to touch.

Remove from the oven and turn out onto a piece of greasproof, dusted with icing sugar. Leave to cool.

Melt your chocolate in your usual way, then stir in the yoghurt. Beat in the marscapone until smooth. Spread over the meringue and top with the blueberries.

Roll your meringue, using the paper to help. Leave wrapped in the paper and chill for at least 1 hour before serving dusted with icing sugar.

I've been Tagged!

2008-11-24T09:01:00.004Z

Thanks Ciara over at Milkmoon! I love a good game of tag and this one is a great challenge - 7 facts about ME!

Here they are...

1) My first job was as a pony girl in Brennanstown Stables, Co. Wicklow. I was 9.

2) Gilbert O'Sullivan is my mothers cousin.

3) I would happily spend €900 on a pair of Manolo Blanhiks... if I had it to spare!

4) I have seen every episode of 'Friends' at least fifty times, have the box set, but still cannot watch anything else if its listed!!

5) I love the idea of bluetooth technology as it allows me to talk to myself out loud in my car without people thinking I'm a looney tune!

6) I allow my son to draw all over the walls of my house and I really do not care if it looks bad!

7) Hmmmm, last but not least, I am a huge Billy Idol fan!

I will in turn tag...

and anyone else who wants to play!!

Curry... The Return...

2008-11-21T12:42:00.005Z

Remember my No Worry Curry that I posted a good while ago, well it has come full circle and I would consider it now to be the perfect "cook for a crowd" meal that you can whip up at a moments notice, and be certain to please everyone!

No Worry Curry

The New and Improved Version

You'll need

100gms of fresh coriander

2 red chillies

2 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp thai fish sauce

2 tbsp of olive oil

2 Pink Curry Onions

300gms Cooked Prawns

1 Tin of white crab meat (M&S is the best I found)

2 tins of chopped tomatoes

1 tin of coconut milk

Method

Pop the coriander, chilli and garlic into the processor and blitz to a rough paste. Add the oil and fish sauce and blitz again. Heat a heavy bottom pan and add a dash of oil. Chop and saute the onions until soft and then add the paste. Stir for a couple of minutes to allow the aromas to fuse, then add the tomatoes and the coconut milk. Reduce by half.

Remove from the heat and stir through the fish.

Serve with thai sticky rice.

Gok Gok...

2008-11-19T15:32:00.005Z

My darling little Joe has found out about chocolate and since then the mere rustle of a wrapper in a pocket has him shouting "GOK GOK" very loudly! You can see for yourself below...!!

So it was like christmas for him the other evening when, spurred by a chocolate loving daughter, I made some good old fashioned chocolate puddings, of the self saucing kind! I'm not a huge fan but everyone else in the house likes them, including now darling Joe!

This recipe is so simple and guaranteed to turn out everytime so do try them!

Hot Chocolate Puddings

You'll need

250gms plain chocolate

50gms soft unsalted butter

120gms caster sugar

4 Eggs

Half tsp vanilla extract

50gms plain flour

Pinch of salt

Method

Melt the chocolate in your usual way. Mix the butter and sugar together using an electric mixer until blended and smooth. Then add the eggs, alternatively with spoons of flour, to avoid curdling until you have a smooth batter. Add the vanilla and the salt, then mix in the chocolate using your mixer to make sure it doesn't settle at the bottom of the batter.

Butter your ramekins well and pour the mixture in. Bake in a preheated oven at about 200c for about twelve minutes. DO NOT OVERCOOK!!! The top should be cooked and the sides coming away from the ramekins.

Upturn them onto individual plates and serve with gently whipped cream on the side.... Ooooh and raspberries if you have any!!

You can also make these a little bit more "dinner party" by using a chocolate flavoured with spices, Green & Blacks do a few, or by adding a tsp of chilli powder to the mix for a fiery kick! If you do use spiced chocolate use creme fraiche instead of cream and add a few drops of rosewater or orange flower water...

Ten on ten...

2008-11-18T09:05:00.004Z

I keep forgetting the Ten on ten... which is annoying because I love taking part! I've just been so busy with the various that the tenth just slips by, or I take the pictures and forget to upload them!

Here is a belated (again!!) contribution to the Ten on Ten!

Stuff that!

2008-11-17T18:47:00.006Z

I've been following Rosemary Shragers School for Cooks over the last few weeks, and it is a treasure trove of inspiration, she really is a fantastic chef, with great ideas. After one particular show, where the teams were asked to stuff breast of chicken with chicken mousse, I was dying to try something similar. Then another show 'Saturday Kitchen' stuffed a whole chicken with chorizo sausage and lemon. That clinched it - I immediately set about stuffing some chicken, and put together a Spanish inspired meal that was so simple yet had everyone stuffed to the gills but hoping for even one spoon more.

It was slightly restauranty and so I will describe it to you in restaurant fashion...

Spanish Chicken Roulade

Organic breast of chicken, stuffed with feta cheese, lemon and chorizo. Served with warm chorizo and potato salad and wilted spinach.

You'll need

4 large chicken breasts

200gms feta cheese

zest of 1 lemon

1 tbs chopped parsley

75gms cooked chorizo sausage

Salt and pepper

For the salad

250gms new potatoes

1 cooked chorizo sausage

Juice of 1 lemon

1 red onion, chopped

Method

Mash the feta. Skin the chorizo and chop into tiny pieces. Add to the feta with the parsley and season.

For each chicken roulade, lie the chicken breast between two sheets of cling film and bash with a rolling pin until about 3mm thick. Spread one fourth of the cheese mix onto the breast and roll up. Wrap with cling film and chill.

After about ten minutes, remove from fridge. Heat olive oil in a pan and carefully place the roulades in to brown on top.

Then remove them to an oven dish and pour the oil over. Bake for about 12 minutes or until cooked through.

For the salad, boil the potatoes, skins on, until tender. Add to the pan that browned the chicken and fry lightly. Add the chorizo and allow the oils to profuse. Add the parsley, the lemon juice, season and serve.

Wilt some spinach in olive oil over the heat.

Eat!

Chi Ching Cherries!

2008-11-13T18:40:00.002Z

Okay firstly sorry for the silence, I have been busy as a bee, lots of cooking and baking of course, but very little time to sit down here and get it all blogged!

So I will, over the next few days, tell you what I've been doing, but for now, here is a recipe for a Cherry Brandy Cake I made for my mothers birthday on Tuesday. There is a famous story that we tell where my mother decided to make chocolate cherries for Christmas presents, on a whim, and began immediately. It turned out, as the chocolate was hardening on its alcoholic little fruits, that the bottle of brandy that my mother had used, was a bottle of aged XO, which brandy lovers and barmen will recognise as one of the most expensive drinks one can order! My father had been given it as a present and was, of course, saving it for a special occasion. My mother went through various possibilities, such as adding tea to the bottle, or dropping the bottle on the stone floor, before fessing up and taking it on the chin! So it was with a nod to that, that I set about creating a cake version of the expensive sweets and here is the recipe!

Chocolate Cherry Brandy Cake

You'll need

120gms darkest chocolate

60gms butter

300gms cherry jam

150gms self raising flour

2 eggs

150gms caster sugar

70mls brandy

Method

Melt the butter and chocolate in a pan, take off the heat and stir in the sugar, jam, brandy and eggs with a pinch of salt. Add the flour and stir through.

Pour into a cake tin and bake for about a half and hour on a medium heat until a cake skewer comes out clean.

Decorate with a chocolate frosting and glace cherries.

32 years ago...

2008-11-07T15:44:00.005Z

I was born! Yes this week I have celebrated my birthday and what a great week I've had! Bill brought me to my favorite Fernhouse Cafe for breakfast and my best friend treated me to a slap up late lunch in town...! It was a day of spoiling for me!

I got some lovely presents, including some interesting new cookbooks! My brother gave me two, one entitled "Irish Recipes Yer Ma Used Ta Make" which is lovely and a fantastic huge almanac of desserts, some I've never even heard of (Chess Pie anyone?), which I'm sure I will make full use of! I also was lucky enough to get Gordon Ramsays latest, and last night I set about making something from it, to welcome in the last year of my early thirties!

Gordon Ramsays Pork Stroganoff

(He uses fillet, I used chops!)

You'll need

2 lge pork chops

200gms mixed mushrooms

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely sliced

50mls brandy

150mls sour cream

squeeze of fresh lemon juice

1 tsp paprika

Method

Trip and chop the pork into small pieces. Heat your pan, oil it and fry the onions, garlic and mushrooms until soft. Tip the contents of the pan into a bowl and put aside. Add the pork pieces to the pan with some oil and fry until golden brown. Return the onions, garlic and mushrooms. Add the brandy and bring to the boil, then add the cream and the tsp of paprika. Season. Serve with plenty of Rice and sprinkled with more paprika and parsely!

Colcannon

2008-11-02T08:13:00.005Z

Colcannon is a traditional Irish meal, served at Halloween. The local supermarkets and Greengrocers become stocked to the hilt with the beloved Curly Kale, which rarely makes an appearance at any other time of year!

You'll need

500gms Floury potatoes, peeled and boiled

200gms Curly Kale, washed and chopped

125mls Creme Fraiche

1 Clove of Garlic, crushed

100gms Butter

50mls Milk

Salt and Pepper

4 large coins wrapped in foil, I use 50 cent.

Method

Mash the potatoes well and add half the butter, stirring until mixed through. Stir in the creme fraiche and the milk. Season. In a frying pan heat some olive oil and add the garlic. Fry the Kale in the oil until bright green. Stir through the potato. Drop the wrapped money into the mix and stir.

Melt the rest of the butter in a pan. Place a large dollop of Colcannon in a bowl and make a small well in the centre. Pour some melted butter into the well and serve.

Dip your spoonfuls of Colcannon into the melted butter as you eat. Watch for that money!!

Hallowe'en Greetings!

2008-10-31T09:49:00.003Z

It is the morning of All Hallows Eve and I am planning a day of traditional food, that most Irish have eaten all their lives, once a year on this occasion which is probably the only purely Irish tradition that we still actively celebrate. Some people still recognise the two Solstice days but it is the minority. So Hallowe'en is the last standing tradition left for us to recognise our ancestry, the druidic Ireland. It is clinging to its roots, but the bonfires become less and less, the witches are morphing into superheroes and the chocolate covered apples are becoming apple shaped chocolate...

Sure the "Trick or Treat" side of things has become popular in the last few things, I try to convince my daughter that "Apples or Nuts", as we used to say, is better but she doesn't listen. And the outfits become shop bought, top to tail, no imagination needed. Apart from the expense, we still like to make our outfits, as my mother did for me, from odds and ends, bits and bobs. Traditionally you waited until it was dark to get dressed so we uphold that also. Then with faces painted and a shopping bag ready, they'll eat a big bowl of Colcannon, maybe find a sixpence, and head out into the smoky nights to collect their dues...

Joe the Pirate

Who's been eating all the pies?

2008-10-27T12:53:00.005Z

Short answer - Me!

These last weeks I have been obsessed with perfecting my Lemon Meringue Pie recipe, and so the house has been dotted with these perfect fluffy desserts. Any opportunity I had to make a dessert and I was on it! In all, I think, I made seven... and I'm almost happy!

So I'm going to give you the recipe, although it may have to be replaced sometime soon, at this very moment I am Lemoned and Meringued out!

Lisa's Lemon Cloud Pie

Firstly for the base, line a 9" deep cake tin with greasproof paper or tin foil. In your processor blitz about 300gms of digestive biscuits to crumbs. Melt 125gms butter in a saucepan and stir through the biscuits. Pour the buttered crumbs into the tin and press down, with a soup spoon, until smooth. Pop into the fridge as you do the next stage.

Now, for the filling you will need,

2 Large Lemons, zested and juiced

40gms cornflour

290mls water

2 egg yolks, beaten

100gms caster sugar

Method

Pour enough water (maybe 50mls or so) into the cornflour and stir, despite resistance, until smooth. Then, in a saucepan, bring the water and the lemon zest to the boil. Remove from the heat and add to the cornflour paste. Add the sugar and the egg yolks. Return to the pan and stir with a wooden spoon until you will see it start to thicken. Continue until it coats the back of the spoon and hangs rather than drips. Pour onto the biscuit crumb crust and chill.

Make your meringue topping by whipping 3/4 egg whites until they have stiff peaks. Add approximately 120/150gms caster sugar and whip again until the meringue is glossy. Pour into the tin, on top of the curd and then into a medium oven (I preheat to 200c and then turn down to 150c when I put the pie in) for 45 minutes. If the top becomes too brown while cooking, cover with foil.

Remove from the oven and leave to stand on a teatowel (curds sweat!) for about ten minutes or longer before serving.

Whoooooooooooooooo spooky!

2008-10-27T12:44:00.004Z

My "DD" as they say in cyberland had her hallowe'en party in school on Friday... It was a difficult week of desicion making for her as she decided what to go as... Finally we decided on The Ghost of Marie Antoinette! What do you think?

A Great Steak Butter...

2008-10-26T15:02:00.003Z

Take about 100gms fresh butter, at room temperature, and mash with a large clove of garlic, a pinch of sea salt, and two teaspoons of worcester sauce. Pile the mixture into a cling film and roll into a sausage shape. Chill and then cut into patties.

Perfect melting onto a good T-bone steak...

Americana...

2008-10-21T19:03:00.008+01:00

So listen, as I've said before, I am enamoured with American food at the moment and have been eagerly anticipating food scenes in my favorite tv shows... Bill tells me I'd see it all in The Sopranos but I just don't find people getting kicked to death entertaining so I'm passing indefinately on that one. However recently, while watching a gorgeous American movie called "Waitress" I was reminded of that great American institution "The Cream Pie"...

Then at a family dinner the other evening, my youngest brother mentioned that his culinary high was the eating of a Coconut Cream Pie while visiting my older brother in New York. His face became wistful and he spoke quietly of its perfect marraige of creaminess, sweetness and nuttyness. I had to try it.

So with him on his way over to watch the Celtic match with Bill, I set about making one, with a few tips from Martha Stewart, whom I've been told is like Nigella Lawson mixed with Anthea Turner. We don't get much from Martha Stewart this side of the pond, but I do know she is one to look to for superb baking tips.

Here it is...

Coconut Cream Pie

You'll need

A prepared pie crust (See my fav recipe here)

75gms plain chocolate

85gms cup sugar

170gms unsweetened coconut milk

85gms whole milk

85gms Double cream

30gms cornflour

5 egg yolks

A good pinch of salt

100gms flaked, unsweetened coconut

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon butter

Prepare your pie crust. When cool, melt the chocolate and brush the inside of the pie with the melted chocolate until well covered. Leave to cool.

Mix the cream and milk together. Combine the coconut milk, the sugar and half the cream/milk mix in a saucepan and heat gently. Just before the boil take it off.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the remaining cream/milk mix and cornflour together stirring until smooth. Whisk egg yolks with salt in a seperate mixing bowl. Temper yolks by adding some scalded milk mixture slowly to the yolks while whisking well. Add yolk mixture and cornflour mix back into milk mixture and whisk vigorously over medium heat until thickened and just about to boil. It should coat a spoon and not drip easily. Remove from heat and add coconut, vanilla, and butter. Mix together until butter is melted. Taste and add more sugar if you need it. Fill your pie dish with the mix and refrigerate.

My brother was the first to taste it - "thats it, thats it!" he said "perfect!"

But well guess what! I didn't like it! After all that I put a forkful into my mouth and was not happy.

It was just too globby... I wonder with a topping of some sort would it even out more for my taste. I mean I like the inside, I like the outside but the combo just wasn't right for me... I'm now thinking meringue topping? What do you think?

Pout for Trout

2008-10-19T12:52:00.005+01:00

I rarely cook fish, not because I dislike it, I actually adore it, but a) its expensive and b) I'm afraid of it...! I have a terrible fear of getting a bone caught in my throat, probably from the memory of it happening to my mother when I was small and the exagerrated imaginings of a child listening to an adult conversation regarding its removal. So I am a little cautious when eating fish, and rarely enjoy it if its one of the more boney varieties!

However I have found a solution to this problem thankfully, Paté it!

Trout Pate

You'll need

1 Trout, gutted and boned

1 large clove of garlic, skinned

2/3 sprigs of Dill

100gms cream cheese

100gms sour cream

Plenty of salt and pepper

Method

Pop the garlic clove and one sprig of dill into the cavity of the fish. Then simply bake the fish at 180 degrees for about 15 minutes or until opaque. When it is done, use your fingers to pull the meat off and check for any bones. Pop the fish meat into your food processor, along with the roasted garlic, the cream cheese and the sour cream. Pulse until smooth. Season and finally chop the dill and stir through.

Serve on Brown scones.

Apple Snip Soup

2008-10-17T13:16:00.004+01:00

Browsing through some of my favorite blogs I'm noticing the soups starting to appear, as the nights get colder and we're heading toward Hallowe'en, those familiar, the warm and cosies, beckon themselves into the kitchen and onto our tables.... Thank God for that! I love autumnal food... undercurrants of the preceding season and the one to come, where the pallet is darker, more rich and golden, and everthing follows suit...

Anyhow, here is a recipe for my favorite autumn soup. Simple and crisp like the mornings but with a peppery warmth to match the darker evenings.

Apple Snip Soup

You'll need

A Large knob of butter

4 large Parsnips, peeled

1 large White onion

2 Red apples, cored and peeled

1 Clove of garlic, crushed

1 litre Stock (veg or chicken)

1 Potato, peeled

1 tsp black pepper

125mls double cream

Method

Chop all the ingredients. Saute the onions in the butter with the garlic and the apples until the onions are soft and translucent. Place in a saucepan with the chopped parsnip and potato and cover with the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer until the vegetables are cooked. Blend until smooth. Add the cream, the pepper and a pinch of salt and blend. Salt to taste.

Belated...Ten on Ten!

2008-10-15T09:30:00.004+01:00

Here is a better late than never Ten on Ten!!

Snif...

2008-10-14T09:24:00.001+01:00

I forgot to do my Ten on Ten.... Sorry to all of you who have come a lookin!

But I will do it today instead and post asap!

What they ate!

2008-10-12T10:36:00.006+01:00

When General Lafayette, the French hero, came to visit George Washington in the 1870s, Mary Ball Washington, Georges mother, famously prepared Gingerbread.

The soft cake like gingerbread she offered was popular in those days, it is recorded to have been a favorite of the writer Louisa May Alcott and Emily Dickinson, and yet it seems to have made its way into extinction. Its hard biscuit cousin being the "gingerbread" of today! It is a pity, because, after the soft yielding squares that were cooling into my kitchen became too much of a temptation, I discovered that the ancestor of the hard brittle gingerbread man is actually a superior sensation of taste and texture.

I wanted to recreate this softer cake like biscuit, and so set about bastardising a few recipes until I was happy. I found the rigmarole of online recipes for "Lafayette Gingerbread" ridiculous and unnecessary so using our dear Hannah Glasses recipe as a base I came up with my own. Here is a simple recipe for 19th century gingerbread that can be whipped up in a minute, even if a processor.

Gingerbread

You'll need

3.5 cups (1 lb) of flour (I used my measuring cups for this recipe instead of the scales)

1 tsp salt

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp nutmeg

A good pinch of white pepper

6 oz of soft butter

6 oz of golden caster sugar

1 cup golden syrup or treacle

2/3 tbsp cream

Method

Mix everything together until you have a firm dough, like a shortbread. Fashion into a square, as deep as a brownie tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until the top is browning at the edges.

Leave to cool, cut into brownie size squares.

Chicken of Aragon...

2008-10-08T14:40:00.011+01:00

"I believe that if ever I had to practice cannibalism, I might manage if there were enough tarragon around."

James Beard

Picture courtesy of Google Images

Tarragon is a main component of eastern European cooking, or so I discovered when I typed it into wikipedia today. I did not want to start another post with how much I like something, so I went in search of some facts that may take this post far away from my usual "look what I did" and in doing so I found some interesting recipes, and some interesting facts to share with you!

The first thing that I did not know, and am absolutley delighted about, is that it is known by many as "Dragons Wort". I am completely obsessed with the recent tv series The Tudors and as a result all things medieval. Not for the first time, as a teenager and young adult I was swept away by all things Elizabethan... read everything I could on Mary Queen of Scots... and even my debs dress was an Elizabethan style gown, corset and all. Anyway the words Dragons Wort appeals to my medieval passions, sounding much better on my shopping list than Tarragon, although I did like rhyming of Tarragon with Aragon!

Some other facts I discovered about it was that Tarragon came to France from the plains of Siberia in the 15th century by the Arabs, and was swiftly delivered to the Royal court of England... and that it was taken as medication for scurvy in the 1800s...It is a natural stomach soother, and was once thought to counteract snakebite...

This whole obsession was brought about by my eating of a very nice pie while at the Electric Picnic this year, there was chicken and a couple of vegetables in a thick gravy inside, but something else... something pungent, that I tasted with my nose, that made this pie so delicious I couldn't stop thinking about it for weeks!

Then while buying my herbs this week I spotted some Tarragon lurking at the back the basket, and I twigged it - Thats it!

So I put it to use immediately by making a good old chicken pie, using leftovers I had in the fridge, but with a potato crust instead of pastry, the creamy chicken needing something to soak it up! It was absolutely delicious, and my love affair with Tarragon (sounds like a line from Lord of the Rings) has begun...

Chicken of Aragon Pie

You'll need

Some leftover chicken, the equivalent of or 3 cooked breasts.

A good handful of Tarragon (try and get the french stuff!)

Two large carrots, chopped and cooked

A bunch of Scallions, chopped

A bunch of Asparagus, chopped

150mls fresh cream, use double if you like

1 Tbsp flour

About 800gms mashed potato

A beaten egg.

Method

In a small bit of olive oil, Fry the scallions and asparagus until tender. Add the chopped Tarragon, and stir until the scent hits your nose. Start singing with Joy. Add the cream. Stir in the flour and the carrots. Stir over a good heat until the cream begins to thicken. You want yoghurt consistency. Pour into a pie dish and top with the potato. Brush the top of the potato with beaten egg, as you would for pastry. Bung into a hot oven (180/200c) and leave until the top is golden and crisp.

For a Vegetarian option, double the amounts of carrots and asparagus, and add chopped celery and cannelini beans.

Home Ec Revisted

2008-10-05T15:54:00.006+01:00

My favorite thing ever about school was Home Economics class, in our huge classroom with its eight individual kitchens, it was licence to play house well on into my teens!

Under the instruction of our mad teacher, who was caught in a timewarp somewhere between 1901 and 1968, we learned the basics of cookery. I remember making lots of things, but rice pudding and rock buns, scones and butterfly cakes stand out proudly amongst memories of incontrollable giggling, silent food fights (standing for role with pudding in my hair was quite a skill) and the joys of carefully but precisely pouring iced water down the back of a friends jumper. I don't think I have ever laughed like I did in school, and certainly not as hard as the day a very brave friend of mine was asked to taste the teachers offering of our weeks recipe and responded with enthusiasm, which we all recognised as a precursor to mayhem, the tasting was dramatic and followed by a loud scream and pretend retching, choking and falling about.

Anyway, apart from my love of a good session of nervous laughter, I have retained a love of cooking, and above all admiration for all teachers.

My offering today is to say to them "It was not in vain" and that they did teach me something - the basics, a foundation on which to build and improve.

Here is my version of a Home Ec favorite.

Apple Crumble

You'll need

150gms plain flour

50gms Brown flour

125gms cold butter, cubed

50gms Ground almond

75 gms caster sugar

25gms demerara sugar

8 large sweet apples

3 Tbsp sugar

Method

In a mixing bowl rub the cubes of butter into the flours, as you would for scones, but it will be less like breadcrumbs and more like biscuit crumbs due to there being more butter.

When this is done add the almond and give it a firm stir through with your fingers. Shake in the sugars and mix briefly before setting aside.

Peel, core and slice your apple and line along a deep pie dish. Sprinkle with sugar and mix around. Sprinkle with the remainder of sugar and top with the crumble mix. Don't press the crumble down at all, just allow it fall where it likes.

Bake at 190 for 30-35 minutes until the apple is soft, if the apple is still hard when the crumble is golden and crispy (as types of apple will vary) cover with foil, turn the oven down to 170/160 and leave for a further 15 minutes checking every 5. Its a labour of love.

Serve with vanilla ice-cream after a roast dinner!

La Vita Semplice...!

2008-10-05T12:31:00.004+01:00

The simple life appeals to us all where dinner is concerned, we have enough complications during our busy days than to struggle with complicated dinner recipes and I'm sure you have seen on this blog, that I prefer a couple of great ingredients coming together rather than faffing around with a zillion spices when the end result is the same.

However there are times when we all want something a bit fancy, and thats fine too, special dinners deserve the finer touch, and occasions would be spoilt without finer food - Personally Christmas wouldn't be Christmas if we were eating rice and beans!

So sometimes we find it hard to judge, what is special enough yet simple enough to please my dinner guests, what food will have them rolling out the door complaining yet thankful that their bellies are full?... Something warm, tasty and with fresh ingredients is always top of my list, quick to prepare so I'm not exhausted when we all sit down, but with enough care and attention to feel special.

So next time you are having friends for dinner, maybe you've spent the morning making a killer dessert and you just want something gooooood, but handy, to eat before it, try this...

Pasta Alfredo

You'll need

150gms of parmesan cheese, freshly grated

100gms of fresh butter

150gms of double cream

2 breasts of cooked chicken

500gms fresh fettucine

A handful of fresh baby spinach

Method

Melt the butter and add the cheese, when it starts to melt add half the cream and stir until smooth, add the remainder of the cream and heat until just bubbling.

In a seperate pan, have water boiling and pop your fresh fettucine in for two or three minutes. Strain and then pour the pasta in onto the sauce, mixing through.

Serve with slices of chicken on top and baby spinach on the side.

Kids love...

2008-09-29T18:05:00.003+01:00

The best chip dinner is made by mixing equal parts of mayonaise and melted butter with a clove of garlic, plenty of salt and pepper and grated cheese...Add to chips and eat!

Heaven!

Licken Chicken...

2008-09-29T17:56:00.005+01:00

I've always had a vague hankering for what the Americans call 'Cobbler', I'd never eaten it before, but yet I knew, maybe from my previous life as an American pioneer (or are those memories of watching Little house?) that it would be hearty home food... to warm the cockles!

So when I saw a 'How to...' in my favorite food mag, I went for it...

My American readers may be falling around at this point, but remember in Europe things like Twinkies, Oreos and Cherry Coke are the exotic, the unknown... We don't have drive in movies, grits, diners, Cadillac cars, waitresses on roller skates, route 66, and all those lovely things that build America in my mind! We have themed American restaurants like you may have Irish ones, but those menus are usually burgers and buffalo wings so the Cobbler, be it fruit or fowl, is a lovely idea of what an American mother may place on the table for her hungry crowd... It is foreign, it is different and I wanted to make it!

It was delicious, but I definitely went overboard on the peas, and it needed more cream...

But I got the idea, and will definately be perfecting this recipe...

I am writing this recipe from memory as I accidently gave the mag away without taking the recipe down so here is what I did, but my dear American friends might like to tell me how they might do it, so I can try again and hopefully come up with a more authentic cobbler!

Chicken Cobbler

You'll need

4 large chicken thighs

100gms peas

2 leeks, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 sprigs of thyme

Handful of parsley, chopped

200gms fresh cream

Half a stock cube

Method

Fry the chicken, with the onions and leeks, in plenty of olive oil until brown all over.

Add the peas, and the cream and then crumble in the stock cube.

Make the cobbler by mixing approximately 150gms of plain flour, 1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda and 80/100mls of buttermilk.

Place the creamy chicken mix into an ovendish and plop handfuls of the cobbler mix on to the top. Brush the cobblers with beaten egg. Bake in a preheated oven until the chicken is cooked and cobbler nice and brown!

Soul Food!

2008-09-29T14:22:00.005+01:00

I went to see Joan Baez on Saturday.

I have been a huge follower of Baez since I was a young girl, intrigued by the cover of her 'Baptism' album, and transported by the airy soprano and her stories and life lessons. As an adult I am a huge folk fan, from Kate Rusby and Bert Jansch to Nick Drake and John Martyn, but the music of Joan Baez is more precious than any other to me, it has been the soundtrack to my life in many ways! So to get tickets and sit in the front row, inches from the legendary chantreuse herself, as she sang all my favorites was an amazing privilege.

I love Joan Baez, she is a great example of a strong independent woman. She has never compromised her femininity in order to speak as loudly as the men. She makes no bones about her views and told us straight who she'd be voting for, she sang some political numbers which have huge relevance for today, and some new songs written for these times we live in now... She did a fantastic Dylan impression which had us roaring with laughter, and sang Swing Low Sweet Chariot without her guitar, or any accompaniment, which was phenomenal.

She was wonderful, so personable and with such rapport, there wasn't a dry eye in the house at times, and the laughter lifted the roof at others... but when she encouraged us to sing along with her to Amazing Grace, it was almost religious...

I didn't think it was possible to love her anymore than I have for most of my life... but it is!

Here is a snippet I shouldn't have recorded but I did...

Little Splodges

2008-09-29T13:26:00.004+01:00

I usually have the various bits, required for this recipe, left over after baking for a birthday party or dinner party, and to be honest it is a curse that I cannot resist making them, because I will, invariably, end up eating most of them...!

Here, anyway, is my recipe for a refridgerator cake we like to call 'Little Splodges'

You'll need

150gms white chocolate

10 oz packet of digestive biscuits

100gms ground almond

100gms butter

A handful of chopped pecan nuts

A handful of marshmallow

Some dried berries (we favour strawberries)

Melt the butter and the chocolate together in the microwave or ban marie, leave to cool slightly before adding the marshmallow and then crush the biscuits to powder in your food processor or by hand and stir into the chocolate mix, add the almonds and crushed pecans and fruit. Plop spoons of this mix into cake cases and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Tip - Don't eat too many - you may be so ill you have to go to bed.

A little bit of home...

2008-09-27T14:49:00.004+01:00

"My mothers menu consisted of two choices... Take it or Leave it"*

This was kinda like my house! And you know what? I never opted for the second choice, not one day in my life...

My Moms Macaroni...

You'll need

500gms fresh pasta shells

Tbsp of Plain flour

Large knob of butter

100 gms Grated Cheddar

100gms Grated Gruyere

250mls Milk

1 Tin of Tuna

4 Eggs (Soft boiled)

1 pkt of Cheese and Onion crisps...

Method

Cook your pasta (I cook the eggs in this same pot) and put aside, then in the same pot melt the butter and add the flour to make a thick paste. Add the milk and stir, adding the cheese in bits and pieces until you have a thick creamy cheese sauce. Throw in the pasta, the tuna and season to taste.

Serve with the eggs on the side and covered with crushed Cheese and onion crisps... Oh and a large glass of milk... there, really, is nothing like this combination...

*Quote - Buddy Herbert

Jelly on a plate!

2008-09-24T13:07:00.007+01:00

As you know I love Limoncello, and I absolutely adore (roll your r's on that one) its sister Cremoncello (which is made by adding cream)... In fact I truly believe the latter to be the most perfect liquid in the world...

So it follows that I might attempt some form of sweet from these delicious liquers...

I have plans for cakes, tortes, trifles and all sorts of conncotions to be slathered with these delightful cellos, but for now here is a little quickie... an amuse bouche shall we say, a petit four...

Perfect for a quick dessert, can be whipped up in seconds, to amaze and please those lucky enough to sample it!

LimonJello

You'll need

1 packet of lemon jelly (Jello stateside!)

100mls boiling water

100mls Limoncello

150mls double cream

Method

Melt the jelly in the boiling water until completely dissolved. Add the limoncello and the cream, stir well and pour into moulds. I filled 8 small moulds.

Leave in the fridge for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight and serve, alone, perhaps with some fresh fruit and a homemade biscuit on the side!

Bellini anyone?

2008-09-23T15:23:00.003+01:00

I never looked into a formal recipe for Bellini cocktails, hearing that they were made up with champagne and peach pulp was enough for me to throw a few together as soon as I could... Oh delicious!

But... not for everyone, for some the peach pulp proves too much visually, the little spots of it being swirled around in the fizz... for me thats the best bit, a food and a cocktail? Whats not to like?

So here is how I prepare Bellini cocktails... A Lá Lisa!

You need a glass of pink champagne, a spoon of pureed peach and a raspberry per cocktail.

Plop the pulp into a martini glass, pop in a raspberry and add the champagne carefully!

Then drink it until its all gone, make another, do the same, and again... and again... and... and...

The Black Stuff...

2008-09-21T16:31:00.007+01:00

Its hard to make a manly fairy cake, so when faced with the challenge for a recent birthday party, I knew beer had to come into it somehow. I had recently bought Nigellas 'FEAST" which has a whole section on cakes, so I flicked through looking for inspiration, and there it was, a recipe for a Guinness cake! Beyond manly if you ask me, Guinness puts hairs on the chests of women! Nigellas recipe was for a cake, but its easy to adjust for fairy cakes, I usually just add a bit more flour if the batter is very damp, a cake can cope with a moist interior but a fairy cake? Not so much...

OH they were delicious!! So easy too! I love that!

Iced with philly cream cheese icing and they looked like little pints sitting there! I only wish i had taken the time to ice little harps on each - that would have been sweet!

Here is the recipe from Nigella Lawsons book, I might substitute the guinness for flavoured ale next time and see what happens!

Chocolate Guinness Cake

You'll need

250ml Guinness

250gm unsalted butter
75gm cocoa (I use Green and Blacks!)
400gm caster sugar

142ml sour cream
2 eggs
1 tbsp real vanilla extract
325gm plain flour
2 and a 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method

Get your oven nice and hot, around 180^oc, and prepare a tray with your cake cases.

Pour the Guinness into a large pan, add the butter in cubes, and heat until melted. Stir in the cocoa and sugar. Don't worry about lumps unless they're massive! Remove from the heat and in a separate bowl beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and pour into the beer mix in the pan and finally whisk in the bicarb and flour. I left mine stand for a while, then filled the cases in my usual way (wondering is it enough, will it overflow, dropping a blob in the middle of the tray, and on the floor, all accompanied by a varying degree of my favorite curse words, most inherited from my mother, including the wonderful "sugery shite"...)

Bake for a snip of ten minutes, until a skewer comes out clean and pop onto a wire tray to cool completely before icing with a mix of 200gms Philidelphia cream cheese, 120mls double cream and 400gms icing sugar.

Happiness is...

2008-09-18T15:36:00.004+01:00

...getting an email to say you've won a Blogiversary Bash gift from Susan over at StickyChewyCreamyGooey!!! Thank you Susan!!!

Susans blog is one of my new favorites, I was coaxed over there after doing a food survey that had a link to her blog and I just couldn't get enough of her amazing recipes and food photos which would have saliva dripping off your chin, see my favorites here and here! Oh and here! Aren't they unbelievable! So she has become my hero, the blog I aspire to... the dishes I wish were mine!

So I was jumping for joy when I saw that I had won a gift for participating in her Blogiversary Bash!! I won a book on Food Photography which I cannot wait to receive and hopefully come closer to the pictures I aspire to take!!

The Blogiversary Bash was great fun to take part in, I brought my Pina Colada Cupcakes to the do, and they fit right in among the other amazing fare! Have a look here!

Thanks Susan, and Congrats on your first birthday!!!

What they ate!!

2008-09-16T12:51:00.008+01:00

God only knows where it got its name, I've hunted around and found recipes for things "in a hole" dating back to the 1600s, pidgeon in a hole, game in a hole, all with the "hole" represented by batter of the yorkshire variety! So I deam that the 'toad' is anything but good meat, the bits and pieces you're left over with, the kind of things now stuffed into sausages. An 1861 recipe calls for the cheapest meat you can find, the sausage of today!

Anyhoo... I've always loved Toad in the Hole, it amused me as a child with its endearing title, and it is probably one of the most satisfying meals to present to your hungry family, on a day which promising sun turned to wind and rain... those cold bitten cheeks in from the cutting outdoors turn cosy and red as they eat away...

I'm delighted to include this in my What they ate spot, and I am forsaking my own recipe for an 18th century one, taken from an 18th century cookbook called "The New Art of Cookery" by Richard Briggs 1792!

Make sure to always have plenty of mashed potatoes and hardy veg to go alongside!!

Toad in a Hole.

Mix a pound of flour with a pint and a half of milk and four eggs into a batter, put in a little salt, beaten ginger, and a little grated nutmeg, put it into a deep dish that you intend to send it to table in, take the veiney piece of beef, sprinkle it with salt, put it into the batter, bake it two hours, and send it up hot.
[The new art of cookery, Richard Briggs; 1792].

You'll need

6 Sausages (or if you must a piece of veiney beef!!)

Knob of lard

4 eggs

750mls made up of approx half milk and half water

500 gms approx of plain flour

1/4 tsp salt and same of ginger and nutmeg

Method

Whisk the milk, eggs, flour and spices together and leave to stand for at least an hour. Put a knob of lard in a roasting dish and put into a hot oven, 220c to heat.

Lard

In pan, melt another knob of the lard and fry the sausages for about ten minutes, until browned. Check that the lard in the roasting tray is ready by dropping a teaspoon of batter in, if it sizzles its ready. Add the sausages to the tray and pour over the batter. Replace straight back into the oven for about twenty minutes (not the two hours needed from a 1761 oven!) or until risen and golden.

Have everyone sitting around the table before removing from the oven, as it is at its most impressive while puffed up and steaming. It will collapse into itself soon after, and you can slice it up like a tart and serve alongside mashed potato and veg!

Everythings Fudgy...

2008-09-14T17:50:00.005+01:00

There is no time like birthday time! I was delighted when my best friends sister rang me to discuss an upcoming party in her honour as it meant I could get to that brownie recipe I've been meaning to tweak! I love Nigella Lawsons idea of serving piled up brownies instead of a traditional cake, with candles stuck in here and there... so I decided immediately to do that!

Only problem is, I'm not too pushed on the brownies from Nigellas recipe, they are a bit 'nneeah' for me... As you know I love the crowd pleaser, the 'oh goomph godff' that is spat through chocolate coloured teeth as my wares vanish into eager mouths...

So I tweaked and I twirped (?) and this is what I came up with...

These brownies are a little special, and I'll let you in on my secret ingredient - chopped up mars bars!!! They melt and splodge all over the inner workings of what seems to be a garden variety brownie and surprise the eater with a mouth coating delicious moreish goo on biting in!!!

Try them... they will never let you down!!!

The "Can I Have Another" Chocolate FUDGE Brownie!

You'll need

250gms Butter

200gms Green and Blacks Cooks Chocolate (or any good dark)

250 gms Caster sugar

1 tsp Vanilla extract

100 grams of Mars Bar (Chopped into small pieces!)

100 grams Chopped walnuts

250gms Flour

A handful of glace or dried fruit, I used strawberries.

4 Eggs

Method

Melt the butter, chocolate, and half the mars bar bits in your usual way (I use a thick bottom pan on a low heat) and when melted, leave to cool for a moment before adding the beaten eggs and the sugar. Add the flour and the extract and beat together. Add the rest of the mars bar and the walnuts.

Pour into a pan and sprinkle with raisins or, as I did, sun dried strawberries! Pop into a 180c oven for about 25 mins, or until the top is pale and cracking, but the centre still gooey.

Leave to cool completey in a block on a wire tray, then cut into squares and EAT THEM!!!

Ten on Ten!

2008-09-11T11:32:00.004+01:00

I'm taking my ten on ten from photos I took earlier this month at the Electric Picnic festival in Co. Laois. The place was buzzing and so vibrant I couldn't resist! Hope you enjoy them!

Mellow Yellow...

2008-09-08T11:24:00.005+01:00

Ah comfort food, everyone has their favorite don't they? I have a million and one favorites - all stodgy, calorific and extrememly bad for me!!! My moms macaroni, steak and kidney pie, buttered bread with jam, chocolate pudding with extra chocolate, millionaires squares, chili con carne with plenty of sour cream, eggy bread with butter, sugar and cinnamon... oh dear! How on earth do I resist?

Sometimes I wish I didn't enjoy cooking so much, its hard not to whip up a batch of scones when there is cream in the fridge and eat them all one after the other! I'm a "whole pack of biscuits with my tea" kinda gal, and that is why you will rarely find a biscuit in this house, they last all but five minutes!

Comfort food is rarely a salad (although a full fat chicken caesar is definatley a runner up!) never a piece of fruit (unless encased in meringue) and absolutely rarely a raw vegetable!

I have been watching what I'm eating for the last while, with my brothers wedding upcoming, and it has been difficult... the reason being that I find it impossible to make diet versions of anything, cheese on toast MUST be with doorstep bread, mature english cheddar, lashings of butter and a couple drops of worcestershire sauce! Whats the point in a burrito without sour cream, cheese, beans AND guacamole? Cream sauces MUST include CREAM!!!

My friends often ask me how I am not fat as a fool, and although I'm no skinny malink, I have managed to maintain a figure of some description by running around after two children, always taking the stairs and eating regular portions, be they laden with the worst properties! I hope that including lots and lots of goodness in between the badness I will counteract it! I have my cadburys fingers crossed!

Here is an all time favorite in our house, a comfort food that will have you tucked up in heaven as soon as its served, alongside buttered bread and lots of parmesan!

Easy Milanese!

You'll need

2 pints chicken stock

1 onion, finely chopped

1 sachet of saffron powder (or generous pinch of the real thing)

6 tbsp butter (Just do it!)

275g risotto rice

75g parmesan cheese (plus lots more for serving)

Salt and freshly ground pepper...

Bring the stock to the boil, remove from the heat and add the saffron, leave to infuse. Melt half the butter in a saucepan until foaming, add the onion and stir for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add the rice and stir in the butter until the grains start to swell a bit then add some stock. Stir over a medium heat, allowing the rice to absorb the stock before adding more. Stir constantly, for about 20 minutes until the rice is done, with just a little bite. Stir in the parmesan and the rest of the butter. Season and serve!!