Horus' Hungarian Goulash!

It's funny how the arrival of rain can influence your food cravings, even in the midst of what is supposed to be summer!
A couple of days ago a cheeky storm blew in from the Atlantic bringing with it cooler temperatures, gales and lashings of the wet stuff. Of course dear old Donegal is inevitably the first to receive such bountiful moisture. Getting up that morning with the wind blowing and rain being flung against the bedroom window, the first thought for that days meals was a big pot of home made vegetable soup, no time to make it?.... thankfully, I always keep a stock of in the freezer....so no worries there.

But as the day progressed, the rain continued apace and the leaves were beginning to be stripped from the trees.....excuse me, but has anyone told Horus...the Egyptian god of storms!.....that it's supposed to be August here in Ireland and to take his storms elsewhere!......I began to imagine going home to a big bowl of a warming spicy stew, thick and chunky enough to stick to the ribs and keep out the cold.

A stew in the style of a Hungarian Goulash is very easy to knock together if, like me, you always have a bit of plain or smoked paprika and some Cheat's Tomato Sauce or some other tomato based sauce, on hand. It is not obligatory to make a HG (hungarian goulash) with pieces of diced beef, in fact it's the flavours that make this dish, not the actual meat you choose to use!
A HG is equally as tasty made with chicken, turkey, pork, venison or any firm meat you can get your hands on....I actually made this dish with minced beef as I was in a bit of a hurry, and the addition of some paprika spiced chorizo sausage adds that extra bit of jazz to the flavours too.
It is traditional I suppose to serve this dish with potatoes, boiled and served on the side or cooked in the stew itself, but as I am staying true to keto style eating for the time being, I simply served this up on a bed of steamed cabbage....freshly dug from the poly-tunnel I might add!

A Light Summer Supper....Sweet Apple & Potato Rosti

'If I eat any more salad I'm going to tum into a rabbit!'
Have you ever heard that expression? Well it's quite common in our house especially during the summer when salad lands on the table not just once a day but sometimes twice! The family do enjoy their greens, but still, salad can get a bit tedious day after day no matter how inventive I am!
So what to eat for a light summer supper that doesn't involve salad? try these tender little rosti cakes on for size!

I have teemed these rosti cakes with some cherry tomatoes, slices of paprika spiced chorizo, whole cloves of garlic and fresh rosemary from the garden, seasoned with a little sea salt, a good sprinkling of fresh black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil then baked gently in the oven until the tomatoes have burst and the garlic is soft.

For the rosti I like to use rooster potatoes as they are starchy but dry when cooked, it's the starch that helps hold these little babies together when cooking.

Waste Not, Want Not! ........And Put Pizzazz into Pork!

I have a tendency to harp on about certain things and food waste is one of them....there is no excuse for it!....even at home there is no excuse to be dumping food... if the food you buy is ending up in the bin because it has passed it's best then you are either buying too much food or you are not being sensible with what you are buying.
Something can always be made from the bits and bobs lying in the fridge that you are keeping with the best of intentions but you know they will inevitably end up in a landfill site!
But if you take a few moments and have a think about what you could actually do with those leftovers or things nearing the end of their life you may be amazed at the delicious results.

This tasty supper dish involves a few things I had in tubs in the fridge.......the few remaining spoonfuls of Spiced Pear Chutney, recipe HERE!  approx 100mls of my homemade pizza topping tomato sauce which is my Cheat's Tomato Sauce recipe HERE!  half a punnet of button mushrooms that had begun to turn quite dark, the dregs of a bottle of rose wine, half a tub of creme fraiche and the last onion in the net.

The 'Haves' and the 'Have Nots' ........How Secure is Your Food?

In a land filled with an abundance of produce, most of it grown on our very doorsteps, few of us in Ireland give any thought to our food security.
What on earth is food security?....well according to the World Food Summit that took place in 1996.... 'food security at individual and national level is achieved when all people at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life'...in other words, we are able to have continual access to a food supply.... we can buy what we want, where we want, it's fresh, nutritious and we can afford it!

Now that may sound pretty straight forward and easily achievable to the majority of people living in Ireland surrounded as we are by lush farmlands and a myriad of locally produced foods....or so you might think, but in the aftermath of the credit crunch things have taken a disturbing turn in this country and we are no longer as food secure as we might think!
So what does it mean to loose your food security? and what happens when you do?
The United States is a prime example of how bad things can actually get in a 'first world' society.

I've Got A Crush..........On Cheesy Cauliflower!

Cauliflower is one of those go to vegetables when following the keto lifestyle as it is so low in carbs you can pretty much eat it until you are stuffed....it also goes well with cheese....isn't that convenient! as cheese is another of those keto friendly items, though it should be eaten in moderation.

But as one should not be indulging in items that are high in carbs, a traditional style cauliflower cheese made with a rich cheesy sauce of butter, flour and milk is simply out of the question.
Yes one can simply boil or steam ones cauliflower and pour a little cream over the top, scatter some grated cheese and pop it in the oven, but that tends to get a bit boring after a while.....even for me!
So lets bring on an alternative way to enjoy our cauliflower cheese.

If you are blessed with a food processor, then this dish is easy peasy and swift to make, and, the cauliflower will not have to be cooked too much....if you have to crush the cauliflower with say, a potato masher then you really have to cook it to death otherwise you'll get a sore arm when mashing.

Cheesy Onion Tart.....

.......with a little rocket salad & spiced pear chutney.

The marriage of cheese and onion is another 'made in heaven' .....just ask Mr TAYTO!
and as far as I'm concerned anything with cheese in it is good!

This tasty concoction is great as a simple lunch dish, adequately filling to have as an evening meal, and can even be made as individual tarts or in canape size suitable for a party.

The cheese I use is Sperrin Blue made by Dart Mountain Cheese as it's made just up the road from me in Derry...to find out more on their fabulous cheese range and other products....click HERE!
The Sperrin Blue is crumbly yet creamy with just the right amount of that distinctive blue cheese tang to marry well with the sweetness of the onions.

you can find the recipe for Spiced Pear Chutney HERE!

Spiced Pear Chutney.....for a Cheesy Onion Tart!

When I recall the pears of my childhood, I am invariably reminded of school dinners where tinned pears were served atop a pool of creamy semolina or rice pudding, or indeed on what seems to be everyone's pet hate, that delectable white 'frogspawn' otherwise known as TAPIOCA...personally I am rather fond of it...the way I make that is!

As a child, at home for a Sunday luncheon we would occasionally have a tinned pear trifle and a bit of whipped 'Dream Topping' on top with those rainbow strands 100's and 1000's.....well it was the 1970's after all and kitsch reigned supreme along with the psychedelic geometric turquoise and burnt sienna wallpaper!

Rocking Roast Potatoes!

 At this time of year the flowers are beginning to appear on the potato plants in the nearby fields and within another week it will be time to dig those first potatoes of the season. These delicious new potatoes require a simple quick wash to remove any soil, and then they can then be steamed or lightly boiled in their skins, dollop on a lump of real...and I mean REAL butter, a dash of sea salt and away you go....one of the most Irish of Irish dishes, and quite divine it is too!

But we all love a roast potato too yet it it not the done thing to roast a newly dug spud, sacrilege at it's worst! There are many schools of thought out there on how to achieve the perfect roast potato and every chef and home cook has their own philosophy about how it should be done.....I am no different....so don't act surprised!

It's a hard Blog life!

The busy summer season has taken over my life and writing this latest post is like going to confession!....most Irish native will know what I'm talking about....so bless me 'blog' father for I have been rather naughty....it has been ahem!...4 weeks since my last blog post...I really should be ashamed of myself!

Yesterday was my birthday and I suddenly realised the month of July had flown faster than you can burn a saucepan, and, with even more shame I realised I only did 2 lousy blog posts during the month of July....what was happening to me I asked myself? 

Yes during the summer season when everyone else is out tanning themselves my work load tends to double or even triple but still, I am cooking at home on a daily basis....I do have a family to feed after all......but as every busy parent knows, you can easily get stuck into a rut of the same old same old, run home to mamma, dishes. I could tell you our weekly menu right off the top of my head and believe me it hasn't changed in weeks, we have a curry every monday...usually chicken, on Tuesdays it's meatballs with spaghetti or if I'm in a real hurry and can't be bothered to roll meatballs it will be straight forward spaghetti bolognese, Wednesday it's usually a casserole, either, pork, chicken or tuna....Thursday, it's gammon or bacon and cabbage...home grown of course, our sweetheart cabbages are fabulous this year!, Friday it is fish....well duh!...Saturday tends to be pizza night, home made of course! and Sunday will be the old faithful Sunday roast......meals I could cook with my eyes closed.

Tuseday Treat! - Old School Rice Krispy Treats

Any child who has been raised in Ireland will know the joy of the rice krispy bun....always a favourite at birthday parties...... for any parent who is not in the least skilled at baking they are the easiest thing to make and well worth it to see the pride on that little face when they say my mammy or my daddy made these......even if it means you are picking rice krispies off the floor for the next month!
Kids can also get involved in the making process as all you are doing is melting chocolate and stirring in rice krispies then scooping it into paper cases and chucking some hundreds and thousands over the top or even mini marshmallows....easy peasy for anyone! However, we can take the classic rice krispie treat a step further and make it something altogether more luxurious!

This recipe results in a krispie treat that is rich and sweet from the caramel but with a delish bitter chocolate top to counteract that sweetness. I don't advise letting the kids help you with this one as lethally hot sugar and kids are NOT a good combination! BAKER BEWARE!

Scarborough Fair Chicken

I am a Simon & Garfunkel fan, a child of the 70's and 80's, and who couldn't resist the delectable, young, Dustin Hoffman in 'The Graduate' ! I found the movie unusually funny in places...and at the time I thought the story beyond absurd....am I alone in thinking this?.....or maybe I had been leading a very naive and sheltered Irish existence and didn't understand that these things actually went on in the real world and not just in the movies!

The sound track to the movie was by the wonderful Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel who introduced me, not personally I might add, to the glories of traditional folk music. One of my favourites from the movie is  'Scarborough Fair'. which is an ancient folk balled from the late 1600's to the mid 1700's, no one seems quite sure which. Scarborough itself is a seaside town on the east coast of England, in Yorkshire to be precise, and a lovely little town it is too with a fortified castle overlooking the sea that is well worth a visit. Sadly Scarborough Fair no longer exists as this momentous fair...it was held for 45 days!...ended in 1788...there has been some effort at reviving the tradition on a somewhat smaller scale of course and it's usually held in September.

Traditionally a 'fair' or 'fayre' was a place where traders and farmers would gather to buy and sell livestock, wares and any excess of home produce not specifically needed by the family such as eggs, butter, cheese, wool and livestock. Back then all homes were pretty much self sufficient but one of the things housewives would buy at the fair would be chickens, albeit live ones! which she would take home and either raise them to produce eggs for either eating or to provide more hens.

This is a very tasty way of cooking a chicken and is an extremely simple dish, but packed with maximum flavour from the assorted herbs which blend so well with the orange. If you can roast a chicken you can master this and it's a perfect Sunday lunch meal.

If you can't get flat parsley you can substitute with curly and a stalk of celery for added flavour.

You will need......feeds 4 - 6 people

1.5 - 2kg whole, oven ready chicken
3 medium oranges....try and get really juicy ones
50 - 80g butter plus an additional 100 g which you should dice and keep well chilled
4 sprigs each of fresh rosemary and thyme
6 - 8 sage leaves
small handful of flat parsley with stalks attached
500mls water
sea salt, fresh black pepper
1 shot of Cointreau if you can get it

How to....

There is one simple rule when working with chicken...have a sink or bowl filled with hot soapy water, anytime you touch the chicken you must scrub your hands before handling anything else.... also you must scrub anything that touches the raw chicken like the chopping board or knives etc. I always try to do any work to the chicken in the actual roasting tray rather than use a chopping board.

Back In The Saddle! More tasty Goodness On The Way!

Having a physical affliction slows you down somewhat and certainly puts a dampener on ones enthusiasm for certain things, and as I have been suffering for a few weeks with a painful leg it has meant that I have spent little time standing at my stove for any length and indulging in my favorite pastime....cooking! But thank goodness things have turned the corner and the old bones are getting back on track and I feel re-energized and ready to light the fires under the pots once more.

Having to stay off my feet for the majority of the time has had its advantages in that I have dragged down from the shelves groaning with cookbooks, some old classics that I haven't read through in many moons and discovered some old recipes that I haven't cooked in a few years and some that have never seen the inside of a saucepan or an oven!

New discoveries can stimulate the imagination and can develop wonderfully into something new and exciting and copious notes have been made for future meals and recipes which I will share with you over the coming months.

Soon to follow will be a sweet paprika and pork casserole, 'Scarborough Fair Chicken'...and if you know the song you will know it will include parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme! there will also be a delicious 'breakfast on the run'...a running out the door healthy breakfast...and so many other delights to get the taste buds watering...so until then, check back soon....later on today in fact!