Recipe of the day is Nutella cookies. Easy to make and even easier to eat.
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Happy Easter
Hey there,
Happy Easter!
I hope you have a wonderful Easter weekend. The celebrations again may be dampened once again due to restrictions. It is at times like these that I feel that food and traditions are more important than ever to mark and celebrate these occasions and save us from the everyday mundane. For those that follow me on Instagram you may have noticed I started on the hot cross buns several weeks ago. Easter Sunday there will be herb stuffed leg of lamb and all the trimmings. For pudding there will be a couple of options my Eton mess roulade and chocolate fudge cake. Below are a few recipes that may be of use over the long weekend.
However you celebrate I hope you have a wonderful Easter weekend. Stay safe & well friends
My Top Breakfast Recipes
Hey there,
It can be hard to be inspired first thing in the morning about food. If like me you need several cups of caffeine whilst pondering what it is you would like for breakfast then you may be interested in this post. Below I have listed a few of my favourite breakfast dishes that might aid you in making a decision.
Guacamole Eggs
This dish is without doubt my favourite breakfast. It originally started out as Çılbır or Turkish eggs. Which is a dish of poached eggs served on garlicky yoghurt with a chilli butter sauce, I know it sounds crazy, but truly is divine. My version came about as I really wanted Turkish eggs for breakfast and had avocados that really needed using up so I mixed them through the yoghurt and it made the creamiest mild guacamole. I then substituted the aleppo pepper in the butter sauce and made a spicy chorizo sauce. I think perhaps I should have called these Irish eggs not because any of the key ingredients are Irish, but because it has the same colours of our flag the green of the guacamole, the brilliant white of the poached egg and the orange tinted chorizo butter sauce. All you need with these eggs is some good toasted bread to scoop them up. I hope you try and enjoy.
Ham & Cheese Jambons
For those not in the know ham and cheese jambons are a puff pastry parcels filled with, you guessed it, ham and cheese. They can be found everywhere in Ireland every petrol station and deli counter and for just reason nothing makes a better portable snack. Another, benefits of these are that the mixture makes 12 what I do is cook 6 to eat still warm from the oven and freeze the remaining 6 to be cooked straight from the freezer at a later date.
Granola Muffins
I used to really only ever make breakfast muffins at the weekend, now with this simple recipe I make them any day of the week. As with all muffins they are best eaten on the day they are made, I find the particularly handy during the week I can take a couple to my desk and eat through the day as I work. The time can vary a little in the cooking depending on the granola used.
Another favourite of mines is a dish that originated in lockdown one, not even really a recipe. I was out of bread and since I was making as little trips to the shops as possible, I had to come up with an alternative, I certainly first thing in the morning wasn’t going to start making a loaf of bread. I had some frozen potato waffles and though they are something to be honest I had eaten in years. I had a box for when my nephews and nieces are visiting, some of them are very fussy eaters. I simply toasted them in the toaster, it took 3 times for them to come out bronzed and slightly crisp. Whilst the waffles were toasting, I poached some eggs and make the quickest zingy chilli sauce by combining the juice of ½ lime, 1 tablespoon of runny honey and chilli flakes, fresh chilli chop finely is an excellent choice here too. Just stir together over heat until it begins to foam up, switch off the heat and let it stand to cool slightly whilst you waiting on the eggs and waffles. I simply topped the crispy toasted waffles with the soft poached or fried eggs and then drizzle with the chilli sauce.
What are your favourite breakfast dishes? Leave me a comment down below ad let me know.
For More recipe ideas click here
Festive Cocktails
Although, there may not be any Christmas parties this year it doesn’t mean that a cocktail or two can’t be enjoyed over the festive period. The red or white options can get a little boring at times, with these cocktails it will certainly liven things up.
As an alternative to mulled wine check out my simple mulled cider recipe:
If mulled cider isn’t your thing then check out my other festive recipes.
Ruby & Gold Rocky Road
My ruby & gold rocky road consists of chocolate, and lots of it. Studded, and made rocky with crunchy rich tea biscuits, mini marshmallows, and then my ruby and gold element in the form of milk chocolate coated honeycomb bars and glace cherries. What make this a great treat to have on hand is that you can stash it in a tin or in the fridge for times when something sweet is needed, plus it make a great edible gift. I always make a few batches post Christmas as well to use up any left over chocolates. Although, made with chocolates that nobody claims to like but when chopped up and put into a rocky road everyone devours them.
It’s a very straight forward recipe no more difficult that melting chocolate, butter and golden syrup together then stirring through the rest of the ingredients and tipping it into a tin to set for a couple of hours before cutting into delicious crunchy chocolate bars.
Christmas: The Countdown
It has been a long and dark year. One which most of us will be glad to see over and look forward to a brighter 2021. I feel it is the lack of celebrations through 2020 that are making me feel so strongly that this years Christmas celebrations will be more important than ever. Christmas has always been an important event, at least to me, anyways. It breaks up and brings brightness to the bleak mid winter, something which I feel we all need amped up this year. There is a Danish and Norwegian word that sums up the feeling of the seasonal period perfectly and that hygge. It is a word used to express feelings of comfort, coziness and contentness. These are all the feelings that these cold dark nights bestow upon me. I love the coziness of a cold dark night, the house illuminated with fairy lights and the flicker of tea light candles as wind, rain, snow or sometimes even a combination of all three pelt the windows and of course a bowl of something soul soothing and comforting to eat from a bowl on the couch.
This year from today the 11/12/2020 the recipe of the day will be a festive recipe on the countdown to Christmas. These recipes will look at side dishes to accompany the main feast, cozy recipes on the lead up to the big day, sweet treats and snacks and of course all those other eating opportunities in between.
Below are just a few of the recipes available in the Christmas recipes section.
Kefir Pancakes
These I boldly boast are the best pancakes ever! Light, fluffy and sponge like absolutely ideal for mopping up syrup or any of the butter pat that may have melted and run down the stack pooling at the bottom. I have posted pancake recipes before and I do at times still make those pancakes, but it is usually with kefir these days. It isn’t just because of this fabulous elixirs numerous health benefits but simply because I always have some in the fridge and it really makes the best pancakes ever.
Kefir for anyone not in the know is a fermented milk drink , it’s similar to a thin yoghurt. It originates in Russia and dates back to 1884. It is usually fermented over night with kefir grains giving the drink a sour, tangy slightly carbonated drink. I now use it in place of buttermilk in almost all my recipes as well as drinking every morning. one of my favourite recipes including kefir are my pancakes. I make them almost every weekend.
Happy Halloween
Hey guys! I felt compelled to write a post about my favourite recipes at this time of year. I always feel at this time of year my eating habits change rapidly from the lightness of summer to the comfort and cosiness of autumnal eating. Again, we find ourselves in solitary isolation which was difficult in the brighter airy months and feels increasingly tougher in these dark grey and wet weeks. This has impacted on my eating as well I feel I want food that is bolstering, hearty, and soul comforting but, with also with a lightness. Food that feels good to make, eat, and after too.
My slow cooker has been brought out and is working overtime at the moment. It really makes some of the long slow cook meals I’m currently eating very easy. I find I really never us the slow cooker in the summer months. Here are some of my favourite recipes that can be made either in the slow cooker or the oven.
A recipe that I certainly can’t stop making at the moment is my chicken pot au feu it gives me the comfort of a stew whilst offering the lightness and freshness of a good chicken broth. A rare combination, but a welcome combo.
For simple solo indulgence I find myself making my mushroom barley risotto. It is a risotto made with pearl barley. Using the barley instead of rice means that it doesn’t require constant stirring. Although, I feel that at time perhaps that the mind numbing of standing stirring a traditional risotto might not bad thing either, a welcome distraction at the moment.
During these challenging times I feel comfort and pleasure must be taken wherever possible and these are the recipes that give me immense joy and pleasure.
Slow Cook Oxtail stew
If like me you are craving hearty comfort food then have I ever got a recipe for you this slow cook sensation creates a large vat of stew that can make several dinners and only gets better the longer it sits. It also can be frozen making it extremely useful for weeknights. Simply thaw and reheat.
Oxtail is a cheap old fashioned cut, like most cheaper cuts it benefits from a long slow cook to make it tender. My recipe takes 5 hours in the oven so that the meat becomes so tender that it comes away from the bone with the slightest nudge with a wooden spoon. If it makes things easier you can pop it into a slow cooker rather than the oven, especially handy when your working.
I recommend eating with a large bowl of buttery mash or champ potatoes. To change things up for the next meal cook some pappardelle pasta, reheat and stir through the meat sauce, and sprinkle with a generous amount of parmesan for a rich and delicious ragu, or top with puff pastry for a delicious and simple pie to take care of the leftovers.
August Recipe additions
Summer may be coming to a rapid end. The weather has changed, the evening began to draw in. Whilst I do welcome the thought of cosy and comforting meals that will ensue, I am not quite ready to give up on the brightness and freshness that summer eats provide. Below are a few of the latest recipe editions to the site during August. You may notice that some of that cold grey skied weather has prompted a few dishes that help bolster and warm the soul. I do hope they can bring a little summery brightness to your eating.
