Spelt Soda Bread Part Deux

Bless me readers for I have sinned, it has been a while since my last post.  I have been elbow deep in paint for what seems like an eternity.  Mr. Boo thought it would be a great idea to paint the hall, stairs and landing.  Now I only suggested this last summer, you know, a sensible time of year to undertake such a task.  Longer daylight hours make it easier to paint in the evenings and I am just generally in a better frame of mind for tasks such as this when the sun shines and temperatures fall somewhere above zero to accommodate windows being thrown open to allow the toxic paint fumes to escape the house.  He took on board my suggestion and then mulled it over for approximately 6 months before declaring on January 2nd that we should go buy the paint and just get stuck right in.

I have to be honest and say that with my belly still full from the over indulgence of Christmas and while nestled snugly on the sofa with a giant box of chocolates for company the last thing I wanted to do was paint anywhere in the house.  But the hall, stairs and landing!  That is the most awkward space in the house to paint and I still have nightmares from the 1st time we did it.  I had no choice though, if I don't do these things when he suggests well then I can forget about it for at least another 6 months. 

As we stood there in our painting clothes, brush and roller in hand I gave him his warnings, "take your time and don't hit the ceiling".  "OK", says he and off he goes.  I was on cutting in duty and he was on the big in between bits.  We assume these rolls because I'm the neat painter and he is the messy one so I try to keep him away from door frames and the ceiling.  As I diligently and pain stakingly cut in with my little paint brush he declared he was flying and moving on to the next wall.  I turned to look at his progress and there, on the crisp white ceiling was a big thick line of lovely fresh Antique Cream paint.

Me: "Erm, I thought I said to be careful not to hit the ceiling?".
Him: "I know, I didn't",
Me:  "Well then, what's all the paint on the ceiling there?".
Him: "It must be from the last time".
Me: "Well considering the walls were pale green and that is cream paint I'm guessing you did it just now".
Him: "Oh right, sorry, I'll be more careful".

In fairness he was more careful.  Careful to ensure that he consistently splodged paint all over the ceiling so that it had a lovely cream border.  We had to pay someone to come in and paint the ceiling, well I say we, I mean he.  He offered to paint the woodwork for me.  I thought it would be quicker and cheaper to do it myself.  He returned home on Saturday with the paint required and I got stuck in.  In a moment of madness I decided it would be a great idea to paint the spindles of the banisters and the sides of the stairs not covered by the carpet runner.  By the end of day one I decided that wasn't my best idea to date.  By the end of day two I felt it would have been quicker and easier to just move house.  By the end of day 3 I wanted to cry and to bake, I didn't have the time or the energy to do either.  By the end of day 4 while I was still standing with brush in hand at midnight I wanted to kill my husband who felt it was necessary to pop his head into the hall every now and then to say, "God that looks great now, I'm glad we did it".  WE?!  WE?!  At 7am on day 5 as I crawled out of bed to finally finish it I was also rather glad that we did it, it is now a bright and airy space.  Perfect to brighten the January blues and clear the fuzziness from my brain.  Now I feel ready to get back to baking and blogging. 

I have a little revised recipe today to ease back into things.  When the snow trapped me indoors recently and travelling to and from shops other than my local store was knocked on the head I felt I had to adapt certain recipes as I couldn't always get the ingredients needed.  One of the things I bake pretty much constantly is the Organic Spelt Soda Bread recipe that I acquired from Lorraine Fitzmaurice at an event in Bord Bia last year.  Unfortunately my local store didn't have any natural yoghurt in stock but did have buttermilk so I decided to give it a bash with this instead.  You can find the original recipe here.  I simply substituted 700ml of buttermilk for the milk and yoghurt required in the original recipe.  I found that it produced a more moist and doughy bread.  The crust on the sides and base of the loaf also didn't crisp up quite as much as in the original recipe.  Apart from that I was very pleased with the texture and flavour of the bread.  Next time I am forced to substitute buttermilk for the yoghurt I may bake the bread for at least 45 mins, or maybe even a little longer to see if this will yield a more crispy crust but for now I am happy that when the next cold snap hits I will still be able to whip up my favourite bread to accompany the hearty stews and soups needed to keep the freezing temperatures at bay.

I recently tried the bread with this delicious Beef, Bacon and Bean Soup, from Irish Beef.co.uk.  It was really quick and easy to throw together, perfect for a cold day when I would much rather be wrapped up on the sofa than slaving away in the kitchen.  Once I had chopped up the ingredients and popped them into the pot I just left it on the hob to bubble away and do it's thing.  It was a really hearty and warming dinner and the flavours were so delicious, almost like a Mediterranean style Irish stew.  Topped off with a thick slice of bread smothered in melted cheese it was unbelievable moreish and I was very happy to have enough leftovers for lunch the next day.  As the weather turns frosty again this would be the perfect dinner to warm you right to your toes and also a nice way to enjoy comfort food while still trying to stick to those healthy new year resolutions.  Enjoy!

Irish Foodies November Cookalong - Winter Warmers

Last Friday was the first Friday of the month and as an Irish foodie that meant just one thing, cookalong time.  The theme this month was winter warmers and I didn't have to think twice about what I wanted to cook.  When winter sets in and comfort food cravings sky rocket the dish at the very tippy top of my list is stew. 

As a child I lived on stew for the best part of 2 years or so.  I was obviously going through a picky eating phase and my mam rather than force things on me would religiously have a pot of my favourite stew on the stove so that everyday I would eat a proper dinner.  My mams stew was one of her makey up dishes, based on a packet of oxtail soup with the softest veg and the perfect thick consistency.  It was the most delicious stew I have ever had and sadly for me I have never been able to recreate it.  My sister makes a pretty good dupe, and even though she has given me instructions on how to make it, it has never tasted even remotely like mam's.  When my dad enquired on the phone on Friday night what I was having for dinner and I replied with stew he immediately recalled my love for it as a child. 

I think this is why I love it so much as an adult, and why it brings so much comfort on cold dark nights.  Each bowl that I ate as a child was made with love, just for me and to make sure I had a nourishing dinner every day.  Not just any old dinner because it was convenient for my mam, but one that would be eaten with gusto, the delicious flavour in every spoonful savoured.  My mam with cook 4 separate meals every day if it meant each member of the family ate something they enjoyed and sometimes, after all of that, a slice of toast or a cup of tea and a lemon puff would do for her.  You see there was no one to make sure her favourite meal was cooked and handed to her.  None the less, she did it everyday and not one day did she complain.  Her husband and her children were happy and that was sustenance enough for her.  I'm not sure I ever told her that her stew was the best in the world, but it was mam, so thanks so much for the endless pot. x

This is my version of stew, it is roughly based on a Jamie Oliver recipe.  The 2 constants are the red wine and beef stock from his recipe but I have a tendency to change the other elements depending on whats in the kitchen.  On Friday I used the following.

Beef Stew
(serves 4)

4tbsp Oil and a knob of Butter
A handful of Sage Leaves
2 small Red onions, peeled and diced
1lb of steak pieces
2tbsp flour
Sea Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
2 Carrots, washed and sliced(not too thinly as you don't want them to disintegrate while slow cooking)
2 small Potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 Parsnips, peeled and sliced as per the carrots
2 small Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cubed
2tbsp fresh Rosemary, stalks removed
2 Cloves of Garlic, peeled and sliced
2tbsp Tomato Puree
285ml/0.5 Pint of Beef Stock
1/2 Bottle of Red Wine

1.  Preheat the oven to 160C/300F/Gas Mark 2.
2.  Place the oil and butter into a casserole dish and set over a medium heat.
3.  Add the onion and sage leaves and fry for a couple of minutes.
4.  Place the flour in a bowl and season with some salt and pepper.  Add the meat and toss to coat evenly.
5.  Add the meat to the casserole and seal.
6.  Add all of the vegetables, tomato puree, stock, wine, rosemary and garlic.
7.  Cover with the lid and bring to the boil.  Transfer to the preheated oven for 3-4 hours until the meat is tender. (the longer you leave it the better as the flavours develop with time and it thickens up beautifully)
8.  Serve with crusty bread smothered in lashing of butter, the real deal, not the cholesterol friendly stuff.  Enjoy!