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Friday, 30 October 2015

All Treats, No Tricks.....Happy Halloween! - Ginger butter biscuits

Happy Halloween!


Halloween is one of those days in the year when you can go all out and treat yourself........ and the kids of course!

On Halloween night I always have a steady stream of children calling to the door on the hunt for treats and year after year I will see the same kids coming back looking for certain things.





Rather than trudging round the supermarket and 'pound' shops buying loads of additive filled junk sweets I will make my own Halloween treats.

On the menu will be things I can wrap in small pouches such as bite size toffee apples, assorted fudge, ginger butter cookies, iced spiderweb biscuits, and assorted shortbread ghosts, witches, cats and tombstones, my special 'fudge mallow delight' inspired by Mr Willy Wonka himself and the firm favorite with everyone...... chocolate coated 'krispy' squares.

Sunday, 25 October 2015

Appearing tonight........MEATLOAF!

Meatloaf Monday's!

Meatloaf is very popular around the world........probably as much as that well known singer!

With 28 different countries having meatloaf in some shape or form in the top ten of family favourite meals, it comes as no surprise that Ireland is no exception! meatloaf is right up there with stew and bacon and cabbage.

In times gone by meatloaf was usually the preserve of the working poor or servant classes as it was a dish that could be bulked out with other ingredients to make the little bit of meat they could afford, stretch that bit further.
Using the cheapest cuts of meat, which had a high percentage of fat, it was popular to add stale bread, old crackers, oatmeal or other grains along with herbs or spices to make what can be a very tasty, wholesome and surprisingly healthy dish.

Tuesday, 20 October 2015

Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater! - Creamy pumpkin soup









October is Pumpkin time!
There was a time when you would have never seen a fresh pumpkin let alone canned, in this country.
Carved pumpkins or even pumpkin pie were mysterious things only seen on American television shows around Thanksgiving and in those scary horror movies that we would watch on Halloween night........Jason is alive!!!!

As a young child, American cultures and traditions had a big influence on our family as my mother, my uncles and my grandmother were all born and raised in the united states.
Even to this day I can still remember my grandmothers spaghetti and meat sauce, her peanut butter cookies, the roast turkey and her special gravy, unlike anything served up in this country, and the creamed corn and fresh cranberry sauce that always went with it, along with pickled vegetables which we still serve on our Christmas dinner table today!

These were the american tastes and flavours of my childhood, never to be forgotten and impossible to recreate......even if you follow her recipes! But for the last few years the American culture surrounding the pumpkin has become part of popular culture here for the season of Halloween, and you can now find huge palettes parked in the veg sections of supermarkets, deep boxes filled to the brim with pumpkins that will be gone well before Halloween night, but exactly what Irish people are doing with their pumpkins is hard to know.

The tradition of the carved pumpkin lantern has taken off and most houses will have a dismembered pumpkin spookily lit by a tea light sitting in a window or on their fireplace, it's eerie glow casting creepy shadows over the party, or sat on their doorstep where it can greet all the trick or treaters and scare next doors cat away with its horrible misshapen grin! but what happens to the best part of the pumpkin? more often than not it I'd say it ends up in the bin!

Ireland is not known for the eating of pumpkin pie or for the making of pumpkin soup or even just serving the tasty flesh as a roasted vegetable or putting it in a casserole, yes sadly we as a country largely ignore this healthy vegetable! although its seeds are tres chichi! and very good for you.

The pumpkin is a member of the squash family, the winter squash that is, and it is one of the most popular crops in the united states. It is certainly a versatile vegetable and can be boiled, baked, roasted, steamed, deep fried in a light tempura batter, served mashed or puréed and even put in a pie.
Surprisingly pumpkin is very popular in India where it is eaten cooked with butter, sugar and spices in a dish called Kadu Ka Halwa.
In China they actually eat the leaves too serving them up something like we do with cabbage.

But the most popular of all is the 'pumpkin pie', available all year round in any good diner, deli, state or county fair pie competition in the US.

Now I'll be the first to admit that making pumpkin pie is an awful lot of work as it involves getting all the flesh out of the pumpkin, cooking the flesh, then mashing it down and turning it into a purée and having to wait for it to cool before you can use it......far too much messing about, unless you want to go for the canned purée instead which can be a little tasteless! so I prefer to use my pumpkin to make a lovely winter soup or in an Autumn version of 'ratatouille'.

This soup is a lovely blend of the pumpkin with some other vegetables, a little kick from the spices and with a brilliant orange colour!
Some people suggest roasting the pumpkin first but I find it loses that vibrant orange if you do.
I prefer to use sweet potato rather than white potato to give the soup a certain smoothness......much healthier! and low GI too!
It is a big batch but it will keep in the fridge for a few days or you can of course freeze it in portions!

You will need:

olive oil or rapeseed oil
400 g peeled pumpkin
150 peeled sweet potato
1 medium onion
200 g peeled carrots
1/2 leek....white part only
2 stalks of celery
1/2 de-seeded red chilli (optional)
1 level teaspoon grated nutmeg
3 litres of chicken or vegetable stock or you can use water
100 mls crème fraiche or single cream
sea salt, fresh milled black pepper

How to:
  • chop the onion, carrot, celery & leek quite small and set aside
  • de-seed and finely chop the chilli
  • cut your clean pumpkin and sweet potato into small chunks....the smaller the better so it will blend easily later on
  • in a heavy bottomed, deep pot, heat a little oil and add the carrot, onion, leek and celery, fry lightly for a minute then cover with a lid and turn the heat down, let the veg cook for another minute
  • add the chilli, nutmeg, pumpkin and sweet potato, stir around for another minute then cover again, cook for 5 minutes on medium heat
  • while that is cooking you can heat your stock or water a little then add it to the pumpkin
  • cook for approx 20-30 minutes at a medium simmer or until all the vegetables are soft, then.....
  • turn off the heat and allow to cool slightly before blending with a hand blender or in a food processor.......try to avoid scalds at all costs!
  • once blended and lovely and silky smooth you can add the cream or crème fraiche, whisk in well
  • check for seasoning, add salt and pepper to taste, add a little more nutmeg if you think you need it.......it's all about your own taste preferences at this point!

Serve with some lovely, fresh baked crusty bread,
I like to serve it with large garlicky croutons.
To make a more substantial meal out try adding some whole cooked chickpeas, some diced cooked chicken or what's really delicious is some chopped or shredded smoked ham!




Wednesday, 14 October 2015

I Feel Like Chicken Tonight! - Lemon herb chicken


The 'One pot' dish is the busy family's saviour! Picture this.....you have arrived home from a busy day at work, you've done the school runs or whatever and all you want to do is soak in the bath........the last thing you want now is to start preparing lots of different things to feed the family........sound familiar?.......but stop! don't reach for that frozen ready meal...... the 'one pot dish' is here to save the day!

There are many different things that can be cooked in the one pot (it's really more of a casserole pot I suppose) but chicken is the easiest, and probably the fastest as you can cook it without wasting time on browning the meat like you would do if you were cooking beef, pork or lamb......also the cooking time is much shorter........ enough time for that bath!

There's something about lemon and chicken, they are two flavours that go so well together and the slow cooking of this dish gives the carrots and garlic a delicious sweetness....a great combination with the tartness of the lemon.
I never bother to thicken the lovely broth you get when the dish is finished cooking, you can if you really want to but we're talking about saving time here, so why bother?

You can use an actual whole oven ready chicken for this dish which will of course take slightly longer to cook, or you can use chicken thighs on their own, or with their legs attached......either way, buying ready portioned chicken helps speed things up for you!

you will need: to feed 4 people


500 g chicken thighs (approx 1 big thigh with the leg per person)

1 large lemon or 2 small ones
3 large cloves of garlic...I like to use the ones that are the size of chestnuts!
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 medium white onion
1 glass dry white wine (optional)
400 g peeled carrots
2 pints cold water
sea salt / fresh black pepper


how to:

  • cut carrots into nice thick sticks and place in the casserole pot
  • peel the onion and slice into thick rings and place on top of the carrots
  • trim any excess skin or fat from the chicken thighs and add them to the pot
  • wash the lemon and grate the zest over the top of the chicken
  • now slice the lemon into about 7 or 8 slices and add to the pot
  • peel and cut the garlic into thick slices and add to the pot
  • pour the wine over the chicken, add the cold water, season with salt and pepper and add the sprigs of rosemary, cover with a tight fitting lid
  • turn on the oven to 160 degrees.......while the oven is heating go and fill the bath!
  • when the bath is filled, place the pot in the oven, pour another glass of white wine and head for the tub
  • let the chicken cook for 30 minutes while you unwind........
  • after 30 minutes turn the oven up to 200, remove the lid from the pot so the chicken can brown while you dry your hair/set the table or whatever you need to do......the chicken may take about 15 minutes to brown
  • remove the pot from the oven, pick out the rosemary sprigs and slices of lemon and dispose of, serve the chicken and vegetables along with some of the broth in deep bowls, enjoy with some floury boiled potatoes on the side if you can be bothered to cook any, or just have some lovely crusty chunks of bread to dip into the broth, I recommend a nice chewy sour-dough or ciabatta!

Tuesday, 13 October 2015

It's Chocolate Week!......Chunky Chocolate Brownies!

Chocolate Is Love!

Chocolate.....is there anything better? probably not!

I have yet to meet anyone who does not like chocolate in some shape or form, and nowadays it comes in so many forms!
You can get chocolate bars in milk, dark, plain, white with all sorts of things added like nuts, fruit, Oreos, even jelly beans! chocolate eggs, chips, chunks, powder, spreads and creams are only some of the ways we can enjoy this heavenly luxury.

But there is good chocolate and there is not so good chocolate, and it all comes down to the percentage of cocoa mass in your bar! The higher the cocoa mass, the better the chocolate!
So when it comes to cooking with chocolate I recommend you choose a chocolate with a minimum of 65% cocoa solids.

you can find technical info on chocolate here! if you're interested, but if not, on with the recipe!

I adore a good chocolate brownie and these are so devilishly good I only make them once a year as a special Halloween treat, They are always the first thing to disappear from the Halloween party buffet!
You may like them with cinnamon or you may like them with ginger, but if you want to leave the spice out that's okay too, they are still delicious! Some people insist that a brownie must have walnuts or pistachios, I prefer my brownies nut free!

For my Chunky Chocolate Brownies you will need: this recipe makes approx 12

200 g dark chocolate minimum 65% cocoa
150 g unsalted butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
150 g light soft brown sugar
3 medium eggs
120 g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
30 g dark cocoa powder....not drinking chocolate! ....it's not the same thing.
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or ground ginger
200 g chocolate chips in milk, plain, white or dark

How to:

  • pre-heat your oven to 160 degrees centigrade
  • butter a deep baking tray or you can use a disposable foil tray which is good for parties!
  • break the dark chocolate into small pieces and place in a heat proof bowl with the butter, vanilla
  • place over a pan of hot but not boiling water to melt gently, stir as it melts so everything becomes nice and smooth
  • take the chocolate mixture off the heat and transfer to a large bowl big enough to hold your brownie batter when everything else has been added
  • leave to cool slightly while you do the rest of your preparation
  • sieve the flour, baking powder, cocoa and spices and set aside
  • whisk the eggs with the brown sugar using a mixer until the mixture begins to thicken and get light in colour
  • whisk the egg and sugar mixture into the chocolate....if it looks like it is going to curdle add a few spoonfuls of flour but keep mixing
  • when all the eggs have been added you can fold in any remaining flour and mix well to give you a thick batter
  • add 100 g of the chocolate chips and stir into your mix
  • pour the batter into your buttered dish or foil tray then scatter the rest of the chocolate chips on top
  • place your tray on the middle shelf of the oven and bake until the top begins to crack but the centre is still moist
  • leave to cool then cover and let them sit overnight to get nice and gooey


When cool you can cut them into bite size brownies or nice big squares if you're greedy! 
The bigger the chocolate chip you can get, the better, but if not then you could always chop up some chocolate from a bar into chunks yourself.
You don't have to eat brownies on their own, you could always have them for dessert! Warm them up a little and top them with some good vanilla ice cream, fresh whipped cream  and a drizzle or drowning of caramel sauce..........divine!


Bagging a Bargain! - make the most of shopping

'Never pass a bargain', that's what I say!

If you are ever wandering around the supermarket or market and you spy a bargain, especially when it's something you know that you use regularly, never pass it by! If you have the ready cash, then what's stopping you.........snap it up!, even if there's just a day or two left on the 'sell by' or 'use by' dates!

People seem to have a fear when it comes to 'sell by' and 'use by' dates, and because they are not sure exactly what they mean, as a country we dump approx 700 euros worth of food per household each year!......crazy isn't it!....... so what are they really about? how can we use them to our advantage? and save ourselves MONEY!

'Sell By' ..... this is more for the convenience of the store for the ordering of their stock and to remind them of when an item should be removed from sale......it's not for the convenience of the customer......so don't worry too much about it.....in fact, ignore it!

'Use By' .....this is the important one for us the shopper!
If we buy something and the 'use by' date is a certain number of days away, then that item is good to use any time up to that date....if it remains unopened! that is the important point!
       
If you open a 'perishable' item, something like a tub of ready made coleslaw, then the 'use by' date on the packaging goes out the window!.......once you have opened or broken the seal on the packaging you are exposing the food inside to the air and therefore the possibility of bacteria growing or being introduced.......for example......I buy a packet of ham on the 9th of the month, the 'use by' date on the packet is the 25th of that month........this ham will keep perfectly well in the fridge up to the 25th as long as I don't open that packet! ....... If at any time I open that packet of ham before the 25th, then I have about 3-4 days in which to finish the ham or it will not be at it's best or could be going off and have to be dumped......and I hate wasting food!

Even if you haven't opened the packet by the 'use by' date, there is still a chance that the food will still be okay to eat if you open it a day or two after the date, this is very true for vacuum sealed products......you'll never know until you open it....so always open and have a check before feeding it to the bin....or the dog!
When it comes to things like coleslaw or milk they sometimes won't even last to the use by date...... many times I have had milk that was fine the night before the 'use by' date and the next morning it was sour!

When buying dry goods that you may want to store for long periods such as canned items or UHT milk, it does no harm to check the date, they may have been hanging around in a warehouse for a long time or even in smaller stores where stock may not move as quickly, your item could be closer to its 'use by' date than you realise......yes canned foods do last for years, but still, do check!

Now that we know about 'use by' dates and how we interpret them, we can go looking for bargains!

I love having a poke around those 'reduced' items shelves, fridges or baskets in the supermarket or local shops, as Forest Gump always said.....you never know what you're gonna get!! You may come across something you would use frequently or even something you've been dying to try but it may have been out of your budget.

When you do find something, ask yourself......when will I use it?.....how can I use it?.......can it be frozen or bottled?......or how can I cook it and then freeze it?......is it really cheaper?
That last one is the important question!
I had the experience in a supermarket where I found a fridge of whole roasting chickens reduced as there was only 1 day left before its 'use by' date was up......they seemed like a bargain until I rounded the corner and there was more chicken, chicken fillets to be precise... when comparing the price per kilo of each, the chicken fillets worked out cheaper per kilo than the whole chicken on 'offer' and I wasn't paying for bones!
So you do have to be careful......always go shopping with a calculator I say! Someday I hope to walk into the supermarket and see hordes of shoppers all standing with their calculators out whilst doing their shopping!

When should I shop?......Hitting the supermarket at certain times of day can help too!.....early in the morning is good........ when new stock is being put out you may be able to haggle for 'old' stuff, also just before closing time is good too......it's a great time to buy fresh flowers, in-store bakery goods, or fruit and veg that may otherwise end up in the skip!
Just before closing on Christmas Eve or just before a bank holiday or at the end of a bank holiday is good too......most big stores close at 5.30 or 6pm on Christmas eve, if you get there about 20 minutes before closing you can bag some wonderful bargains on fish, meat, fruits and vegetables....anything that is fresh really as they don't want it sitting around until the store opens maybe the day after boxing day.....you can really do well on luxury items such as fresh salmon, goose, turkey, duck, fresh cranberries, fancy desserts, ready made meals suitable for freezing etc. that might be beyond your budget the rest of the year......and FREEZE! FREEZE! FREEZE! I say!

Can I haggle in the supermarket?.......of course you can....if you don't ask, you don't get! and sometimes they would rather take any money than have to record wastage.
Small local stores, farmers markets and roadside sellers are the best places for haggling and you should always try to build up a friendly relationship with stall holders if you see them regularly.......praise of their products sweetens the path to talking them into giving you a bargain!

 read more supermarket tips here!  So happy bargain hunting..........and don't forget the freezer bags!

Sunday, 11 October 2015

The Humble Crumble.......why so difficult?


After almost thirty years as a chef I still find it hard to come to terms with the fact that apple crumble is not considered to be one of the best desserts ever invented........Yes there may be the delicious chocolate fondants, the light as air meringues, the soufflés and mousses with a multitude of flavours and fillings, the cheesecakes, the steamed puddings, the crisp pastry tarts, yet all of them, in my opinion, fall short of the humble crumble.

oh the joy of eating a perfect crumble!.....each spoonful a layer of soft fruit, sweet bicuity crunchy goodness bathed in silky vanilla custard....... a communion of textures and flavours in each mouthful.

Dare I venture to say, that I suspect the reason this dish is treated like a second class citizen, is that my fellow chefs find what should be a simple dish, extremely hard to make.......There, I've said it!
Some may argue and shout indignantly in their denial, but the fact of the matter is, I have only ever had what I consider to be a properly cooked fruit crumble maybe two or three times in my eating and cooking career......cooked by other people that is!

I have had crumbles made with every fruit and topping imaginable, once I even had mango and pineapple with a passion fruit custard and muesli crumble topping, and believe me you don't want to go there!

Getting the fruit base right is the relatively easy part, the topping is another matter, and this seems to cause the greatest difficulty!

I have experienced crumble toppings that have tasted like sawdust....either too much oatmeal or the use of wholemeal flour was to blame, ones that were a buttery flour powder just scattered over the top where someone had forgotten to put in the sugar, ones that came out practically burnt on top and hid a gooey raw dough underneath, and even one delivered to the table uncooked which my brother, who is also a chef, had the displeasure of sending back!

I have had crumbles in small dishes, big dishes, little crock pots, huge show off  bowls where a big spoonful has been slopped upside down into a pool of custard, and even glasses where the fruit was at the bottom and the crumble topping, which had been cooked separately, was dusted on top......what madness was this? I asked myself.

When I see a fruit crumble on the menu there is a momentary excitement which quickly changes to doubt.....should I be brave and order my favourite dessert?     shall I risk a possible disappointment?
With the parting shot of a bad dessert, the meal you have just eaten regardless of how delicious, fades into dreadful insignificance......my fellow chefs should be aware of this!

A good crumble is a perfect blend of soft fruit, not overly sweetened, with a sweet,crunchy, chewy, biscuity top.

Whether you should cook the fruit or not depends on the type of fruit and its moisture content.
Red fruits such as blackberries or raspberries will leech out a lot of liquid during baking and could cause a soggy crust so there are steps you can take to prevent this...... By mixing a little cornflour with the fruit, any juice that seeps out will thicken and stop the crumble topping getting soggy.

Hard fruits such as apples and pears should be cooked lightly beforehand as you could find the crumble topping is cooked but the fruit beneath is still hard or that the apples or pears have a high
moisture content.
I always partially cook hard fruits before making my crumble.......this way I can see how much water there is in the fruit and how much they need to be sweetened if at all....it is very much hit and miss trying to sweeten raw fruit!
You can pre-cook the fruit by peeling and dicing it into bite size pieces, placing it in a saucepan with a little knob of butter, cover with a lid and cook over a low heat until the fruit begins to soften, if there is a lot of moisture you can then add some cornflour.

When it comes to getting the crumble topping right it all boils down to the correct ratio of dry ingredients to butter......one would never and should never use margarine to make a crumble topping!
For perfect crunch you should always go for the good old fashioned traditional recipe of flour, butter and sugar and leave it at that....yes you could add rolled oats or nuts or even wholemeal flour but you are playing with fire and risking a ruination of your crumble!

How you make the crumble top has a lot to do with it too!
merely rubbing butter into flour and sugar by hand will not guarantee that desirably crisp crunchy texture, it's really about how far that process of 'rubbing in' is taken...... it is somewhere between sandy texture and approaching the formation of a biscuit dough, and the only real way to achieve this is with that trusty kitchen tool.......the hands free mixer!

If there was ever a piece of kitchen equipment I would recommend anyone to invest in, it's the mixer. They come in all shapes and sizes, and budgets!
forget your juicers, your blenders, your smart espresso machines, the hands free mixer is your tool!
It is only with the muscle of electric power that a truly great crumble top can be made.

Once you have weighed your ingredients and put them in the bowl, you begin by mixing on a medium speed with the 'K' hook....yes it looks pretty much like a k!

When the butter has been 'rubbed in' and achieved a sandy texture we need to take it a stage further.

The trick is to keep rubbing it in until it begins to form small lumps, as if we are aiming at making a sweet pastry dough.


Once we have reached this point we have to switch tactics, we want to continue rubbing in but we don't want to form a dough, so we change to the 'whisk' attachment.

As we continue to 'whisk' on a medium speed small little balls almost like minuscule biscuits, begin to form, and when we scatter these over the top of our fruits they will hold their shape during baking, resulting in that all desirable perfectly crunchy, buttery biscuity topping.

Now the only decision........custard? or cream?


You can find my Autumnal Apple & Pear Crumble recipe HERE!

Friday, 9 October 2015

Give us this day our daily bread!

Bread is not healthy! 


How often recently have we seen this in newspapers, magazines and health supplements, or heard it on national media.....but answer me this... if bread is so unhealthy, how are the French, who are one of the biggest bread consumers on the planet, how is it that they are so healthy?




Some put it down to the French consuming a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, fish and other healthy things, but they eat bread at every meal! surely this must be a bad thing? Apparently not!

The thing about the French, is that you will be hard pushed to find a plastic wrapped white loaf even in a supermarket!.......the French love their bread...... they are connoisseurs of the loaf!..... and every little village and hamlet will have a bakery that supplies the community with 'real bread', not just the everyday baguette and croissants, but a mind numbing selection of breads to be consumed at different mealtimes, with different dishes or even in different seasons!......bread heaven to me!

Here in Ireland, we seem to have developed a neurotic fear of this simple, everyday food!

There are many confusing reports floating around in the media and at dinner tables these days such as 'eating bread will make you fat'.......'you will suffer the dreaded bloat'.....'eating bread raises your blood sugar levels and increases your risk of diabetes'.......another one is.....'GLUTEN is bad for you'.....so be afraid, be very afraid!
But you must remember that these magazines, newspapers and TV programmes are there for one thing......to sell the 'idea' of a lifestyle or usually some sort of product or advertising air time!......how else do you think they make their money?........if you want honest healthy eating advice then go to a health practitioner or a nutritionist!......don't buy it!...and a nutritionist will always suggest eating bread!

So let's address some of these issues that cause us concern......"eating bread will make you fat"........of course it will if you eat too much of it..... indulging in large amounts of any highly processed food such as 'white bread' or 'plastic fantastic' as I like to call it, will do you no favours, especially if you combine it with the likes of cheese, butter, jam, sausages, bacon or chips or even crisps! when laid out in front of the TV for hours every night.......ah the old chip butty.....delicious, but should be approached with caution!

Commercially manufactured breads are made using the 'CHORLEY-WOOD' process, you can find all the techno info about it here!  This process may be great for the manufacturer but not so good for the consumer if that's the only bread you eat! The methods involved in making this sort of bread could also be the culprits behind 'bloating' if you unlucky enough to suffer this uncomfortable problem, and to be truthful, such a highly processed product can also have an adverse effect on blood sugar levels..... the highly refined sugars enter the bloodstream faster than the sugars from carbohydrates which are more natural and unrefined!

So that leaves the last 'bugbear'......'GLUTEN'.....what is gluten? why are we so afraid of it?.....and why do people believe it is bad for them?
Gluten is a protein found in flours and grains such as barley......and protein is one of the essential building blocks of life.....it's also quite an important component in bread making as it makes the dough stretchy and allows the bread to rise, the gluten also helps the bread to keep its shape during rising and baking, in other words it's a GOOD THING!

The negative issue with gluten is when you are either born with, or develop an intolerance to gluten which is a condition known as 'Coeliac Disease' and I wouldn't wish this painful and inconvenient condition on anyone!
People who suffer from gluten intolerance are prone to excruciating cramps and either chronic constipation or diarrhoea when they have an attack, and many are denied the pleasure of being able to dine out with friends due to the severity of their condition.
Even the simple exercise of storing bags of flour on the same shelf as foods meant for coeliacs, or using the same knives or other equipment to prepare foods for non coeliacs can cause cross contamination, it is one of the highest risks to the sufferer when 'eating out'.

If you are lucky enough to not suffer from any intolerance issues there is no reason why you can't enjoy bread, even if you are aiming for weight loss or weight maintenance. If you want to be able to enjoy bread in a 'healthy' way then go for 'real bread' bought from an artisan baker or bread you have baked yourself.
A home made yeast risen loaf is naturally low in fat and sugar!... yes I'm telling the truth! it's all about the flour folks!

Aim for using wholemeal, rye, buckwheat or spelt flours.....these are flours that are high in fibre, contain good 'complex' carbohydrates, which means the natural sugars are slowly released in the body providing a continuous source of energy rather than a 'sugar rush' that leaves you feeling great one minute and awful 20 minutes after it has worn off!......yes you will have to mix a certain percentage of white flour with these flours or else your bread will be like a brick!..... but go for a good quality stone-ground, non processed white flour......meaning the flour does not have all the goodness stripped out of it!.....we want a flour that has retained its fibre and essentially its flavour.....this is how bread was made for hundreds of years, long before the bakers of Chorley Wood got their hands on it!

A home made loaf of bread is essentially flour, water, a tiny bit of sugar and salt, and yeast....and that's it!......no added fats, not packed with sugar and NO ADDITIVES!....so enjoy, moderately of course!
If you're worrying about your waistline then bread should be treated pretty much like every other food....too much of a good thing is bad for you! in other words, anything eaten to excess, in other words don't eat half a loaf to yourself at one sitting!.... will do you and your waistline no favours!

Basic bread is easy to make....and you can find my 'Family Friendly Loaf'' recipe HERE!

To find out some more about the 'REAL BREAD CAMPAIGN' click HERE! you can find a list of artisan producers and bakers in your area who are doing it for real!

Wednesday, 7 October 2015

'Tea Bread' or 'Tea Brack'.......don't be afraid to choose!


I am very lucky.....I think I already said that elsewhere on this blog!, but I am lucky to live within minutes of the hottest Halloween festival in the world....or at least they hope it will be crowned that very soon!

'Scary Derry' or the 'City of Bones' is ranked #1 out of twenty worldwide destinations as the best place to celebrate the creepy festival of Halloween, and the Banks of the Foyle's family friendly Halloween Carnival and all its shenanigans has to be experienced at least once!



you can find out more about 'Scary Derry' HERE!

Cast your vote for Derry as the world's #1 Halloween Hotspot  HERE!

Halloween, celebrated each year on 31st October, is the ancient pagan festival of  'Samhain' or end of summer, a period falling between the autumn equinox and winter solstice when the souls of the dead are said to rise and walk the earth once more visiting the homes of their living relatives.

Traditionally on the night, an Irish home and anyone in it, including any dogs and cats! were blessed with holy water and mirrors were covered with sheets so the wandering souls of the dear departed could not cross back over to the realm of the living........creepy stuff or what!



At this time of year the Irish barmbrack, roughly translated from Gaelic as 'speckled loaf', appears on the shelves of  bakeries and supermarkets across the country, and of course there is a history behind the eating of 'barmbrack' or 'tea brack'.

Barmbrack or tea brack, as it is also commonly known, usually in the southern counties, is a sweetened yeast dough with sultanas and raisins, occasionally cherries are added too depending on the family recipe, into which a ring, a silver coin, a piece of cloth, a button and a thimble have been placed, this was to tell your fortune!

On Halloween night everyone in the house got a slice of the barmbrack. Should you find the ring,  you would marry within the year, finding the coin foretold of great wealth and good luck, the downside of this was that finding either could also mean a trip to the dentist if you bit down to hard and chipped a tooth! the thimble symbolised spinsterhood, the button bachelorhood and the cloth, poverty or bad luck.
You can still find a lucky ring in today's shop bought barmbracks.

you can find my recipe for 'Barmbrack' here!

Barmbrack or Tea Brack is not to be confused with 'TEA BREAD', which is a different kettle of fish altogether as it actually has tea in it......Tea Brack or barmbrack you eat for your tea or while drinking tea......and we Irish do love our tea!

Tea bread is similar to a fruit cake but is even tastier!

It is made by soaking the fruit in tea, some of which is added to the actual 'loaf'. It is usually made with just sultanas and raisins but as I am partial to cherries I cannot bring myself to leave them out!

It is also different from barmbrack in that it has some spice added be it cinnamon, nutmeg or mixed spice, and it is always made in a loaf tin for ease of slicing. It is also softer in texture and less dense than a fruit cake. As for which tea you use to soak the fruit in is entirely up to you! some say it should be a good Earl Grey but I use equal quantities of good old Irish Barry's tea and lemon green tea.

Tea bread has a totally unique flavour compared to a standard fruit cake or Christmas cake, and even though it is made with quite a lot of sugar the cooking temperature is higher and cooking time less.

Although common in Ireland tea bread has it's origins in Britain and every area seems to have some version of their own e.g. 'Bara Brith' is common in Wales.
Across the Irish sea, tea bread is enjoyed primarily at afternoon tea or 'high tea' where it can be found served with 'lemon cheese', more commonly known as lemon curd, and in Yorkshire served with Wensleydale cheese.

you can find my recipe for 'Spiced Tea Bread' here!

Tuesday, 6 October 2015

"It's my destiny to be the King of Pain"..(Pain....as in the French for bread!)......Introducing the King of Irish bread!

Plain or fruit?..........which one are you?


They say you can tell a lot about an Irish person from their choice of soda bread or 'scone bread' as it is known here in our border region...... I'm a bit sceptical about that but I'm sure there's many an argument takes place across this isle as to whether one should have fruit or not in ones loaf, or to even have it as a loaf or should one eat it as a farl......a 'farl' being when the dough is cut into triangles and baked on a griddle rather than in the oven.



Everybody seems to have their preference,.......but me? I prefer a fruity soda loaf with sultanas and lots of cherries........ no currants or mixed peel for me! than you very much, but on second thought there's nothing like a piece of toasted soda farl with your fried breakfast...... a bacon and egg soda farl....available in many a cafe in Derry!

Soda bread is the quintessential Irish bread and at one time everybody and their mother had their own recipe!

Growing up in Ireland, the making of soda bread was a second nature exercise, there was no weighing out of ingredients involved, it was a cup of this a cup or two of that, a spoonful here and a spoonful there, and by watching mammy make her bread you learned to know just by looking in the 'mason cash' mixing bowl that your measurements were correct......sadly it is an occurrence you see less and less in Irish homes and a skill I fear may be lost to this next generation.



Of all breads, the Irish soda loaf is the easiest to make and is simply delicious, and in this our National Bread Week, Irish soda bread certainly deserves top place in the list of Irish breads, if not great world breads! so have a go at making your own for it takes mere minutes.

Traditional Farmhouse Soda: makes 1 loaf


500 g plain flour + 1 level teaspoon of baking soda OR use soda bread flour which has soda already added
1 level teaspoon of salt
50 g salted butter
400 ml buttermilk

a heavy bread tin or small roasting tin just big enough to hold the loaf.....I use a round cake tin!
a little extra butter melted......just for the tin 

how to make your loaf:

  • heat your oven to 180 degrees centigrade
  • sieve the flour, salt and soda into a big mixing bowl
  • rub in the 50 g of butter
  • if adding fruit....now's the time to do it.....make sure it is clean and there are no sticks in the sultanas etc.
  • place your tin in the oven to heat while you are adding the milk to the flour........why? that's just how it  was done in the cottages of Donegal, the butter not only prevents the loaf from sticking to the tin but it also gives a lovely nutty under crust to the loaf.......you can of course just butter your tin and not bother putting it in the oven
  • make a well in the middle of the flour add 3/4 of the buttermilk and using a metal spoon mix the flour into the milk working from the outside to the centre
  • keep mixing until it begins to form a dough.....too dry? then add more buttermilk
  • when the dough begins to come together get in with your hands and mix a little longer then scrape your bowl out onto a floured surface
  • knead your dough lightly for a few seconds and give it the shape of your tin, remove your tin from the oven, brush with melted butter, put in your dough, cut a cross in the top if you wish and put the tin back in the oven
  • bake for approx 20 mins until well risen and nicely browned on top
  • turn out of the tin and cool on a wire rack
  • slice thickly, spread with butter and your granny's blackberry jam and enjoy!

Chef's Notes:

you can try this recipe as a wheaten soda, just use equal quantities of wholemeal flour and white flour, if using white soda bread flour then you need to add half a level teaspoon of baking soda for the wholemeal flour.
when making a fruit loaf you can add 120 g of fruit per 500 g of flour, try adding a heaped teaspoon of mixed spice to a fruit scone too....it's very tasty!

Monday, 5 October 2015

'Scone' as in 'dawn' or 'Scone' as in 'Stone'!

Regardless of how you pronounce it, the 'scone' has become one of the most popular items to reach beyond the boundaries of the historic 'afternoon tea'.

Although the drinking of tea was first popularised around the 1600's, the idea of afternoon tea did not appear until 1840 when the Duchess of Bedford couldn't wait for her dinner! That long stretch between her lunch and the next meal which was dinner, fashionably served at 8 o'clock, was just too much for the dear duchess so she decreed that tea and sandwiches be served every afternoon, she then started inviting the girls around and so began the tradition of afternoon tea.


By the 1880's tea in the afternoon had turned into a social event for upper class ladies..... and gents of course.....who would dress especially for the occasion in tea gowns and gloves.

Rarely do many of us have time in the afternoons anymore for a cup of tea never mind a scone, but the tradition of afternoon tea has held it's own with tea shops popping up all over the place and every cafe or coffee shop catering to the post shopping trip ladies in need of refreshment.

Any hotel worth their salt will always offer afternoon tea and five star establishments like The Savoy or Claridges are famed for their afternoon offerings, but Irish establishments are now doing their bit too and every decent hotel will have their own 'afternoon delight' offereings!

With their mind blowing selections of teas from around the world and bite size cakes to rival the best patisserie in France we seem willing to 'fork out' if you'll pardon the pun, for what is not quite a meal!

Sunday, 4 October 2015

Last of the Summer.......Rhubarb!

We are in the first days of October and the sun has been shining for the last week with temperatures equal to a good day in August.....yes we are in the throes of an Indian summer! and when the sun comes out our taste buds seem to change instinctively and crave lighter foods.

Wandering round the market a few days ago I spied what is probably the last of the seasons rhubarb, of course I had to buy it, it could be months before we see any fresh again!

There are things in life that are just meant to be together and rhubarb and ginger are two of them!
One can always enjoy rhubarb in a pie or a crumble or even some tasty jam, but my preferred method of enjoying this tart fruit that disguises itself as a vegetable, is as a deliciously spicy compote served alongside the sweetness of meringue and the obligatory fresh cream but with a ginger secret in the form of a 'dacquoise'. A dacquoise is the French term for what is layers of nutty meringue filled with whatever you fancy.

The best of the Breakfast Brunch! ...... how to make 'fadge' or Irish potato bread

A Sunday with no guests?......... best day to enjoy brunch!


Maybe you were out last night or had friends round, either way you've had your Sunday morning lie in and are now in need of sustenance, and what better way to start the day than with a good brunch without going to the whole bother of cooking dinner or dolling yourself up to go out for lunch.

I think nowhere does breakfast quite like Ulster and I include Donegal in that!  and the Ulster fry is just the ticket...good for more than just breakfast time it also makes a perfect brunch......but after a night on the tiles maybe we are feeling just a little too fragile to go the whole hog of a fry, so lets go for something a little lighter yet just as sustaining.

For a delicious and filling brunch try simply potato bread or potato cakes with some crisply grilled bacon, you may also like to add a poached or some scrambled egg, and of course a good pint of.......tea!


The basic Irish potato bread or cake, has many different names depending on what area of the country you were raised in......here are some of them
  • potato bread or cake
  • boxty
  • poundies....with scallions of course!
  • slims
  • potato farls
  • tatie bread
But I am going to make 'fadge'.........which is what my father called it........and he was from Derry!

So for the basic potato bread mixture......

Saturday, 3 October 2015

Get ready for National Bread Week!

Yes it's National Bread Week.... beginning tomorrow!


2014 was the first year that Ireland held a national bread week, I don't remember where I was or what I was doing, no doubt I was up to my elbows in a 32 pint pot somewhere, but somehow I missed it......my bad!....but this year there is no excuse!

National Bread Week has been highly publicised and fair play to Bord Bia and the FCBA which is the Flour, Confectioners and Bakers Association, it looks like it's going to be a good'un!

you can find out more about National Bread Week  HERE!


So get to know your fruit soda from your barmbrack, your boxty from your farl and learn to 'love your loaf'!

I will be posting a recipe a day of our family favourites so if you'd like to bake along with me I recommend you stock up on the following:

for basic scone and traditional Irish breads:

plain four
wholemeal flour
porridge oats
baking powder & baking soda
butter & baking margarine....the firm vegetable fat kind!
castor sugar
eggs
milk & buttermilk
potatoes.... you can't make 'fadge' without them!

for fruit breads:

sultanas, raisins or mixed dried fruit, glacé cherries
mixed spice
light soft brown sugar
your favourite tea.....yes tea!

for something a little more exotic.....yeast breads:
strong bread flour white & wholemeal or rye
sunflower seeds 
olive oil...not extra virgin

don't forget your apron!

Friday, 2 October 2015

Hail to the humble 'spud' on National Potato Day!

“I appreciate the potato only as a protection against famine, except for that, I know of nothing more
eminently tasteless.”

So said the greatest of gastronomes..... 'Jean Anthelme Brillat Savarin' ....who it seems was really more interested in the psychology of eating rather than the food itself......surprising for a French man!


Most Irish people should find that quote highly insulting as it seems to imply that anyone who holds the humble 'spud' in esteem is a few potatoes short of a full sack!
It also stirs memories of the unfortunate history of our country and the great hunger that occurred between 1845 and 1852 when 1 million died from starvation and another million fled the land, many of them only to die on the 'coffin' ships taking them to the new world and a supposedly better life far from the harsh political system that forced them to rely on the potato as a means of nourishment.