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!

Bord Bia Irish Food Bloggers Event Part Trois

I am entering this tart into English Mum's Big Bake Off due to some bullying, yes blatant bulling from The Glutton and of bit of Gluttony egging on from English Mum herself.  Wish me luck peeps.

I may have mentioned once or thrice that I recently attended a Food Bloggers Event in Bord Bia.  Well, for those of you who missed that I did.  As part of the days events the lovely people at Bord Bia fed and watered us very nicely indeedy.  Much to everyone's delight, having stuffed us full of delicious Irish Pork and various accompaniments, dessert followed in the form of a beautiful strawberry tart.  The room filled with 'oohs' and 'aahs' of appreciation as it was delivered to tables and I heard more than one person express an interest in receiving the recipe after lunch.  Now, as if the people of Bord Bia had not been good enough to us already they happily said they would make the recipe available to anyone interested, and they did.  Having put them to the trouble of emailing me with said recipe it would have been positively rude of me not to post about it, so here you go peeps, get ready to drool.  This is a deliciously light tart, perfect for summer entertaining.  I made it last night and it is no more this morning.  Mr. Boo and myself had a very generous slice each and my neighbours were the lucky and very grateful recipients of the rest. So go on, off to the kitchen with you and whip up this little lovely.  Go on, shoo!

White Chocolate and Strawberry Tart

Serves 12

250g Plain Flour
25g Icing Sugar
65g Cold Unsalted Butter
1 Egg
250g Mascarpone
200g bar of good quality white chocolate
145ml cream
400g Strawberries

1) Sieve the flour and icing sugar into a food processor. Add the butter and whiz until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add just enough egg to bring the mixture together.
2) Shape pastry into a disc and wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.
3) Roll out the pastry and shape into a 20.5cm (8”) fluted pastry tin. Prick all over. Cover with a large circle of baking parchment and top with baking beans. Chill until firm. Preheat the oven to 190°C(170°C fan)/374°F/Mark 5.

4) Bake for 12-15 minutes until the pastry has set. Remove the beans and parchment and continue baking for 5-10 minutes until the pastry is dry and slightly sandy to the touch. Cool in the tin on a wire rack.
5) Melt the mascarpone and chocolate together in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure the base the of bowl doesn’t touch the water. Don’t stir; otherwise the mixture will thicken into a sticky mess.
6) Remove bowl from the pan and set aside to cool completely. Meanwhile, lightly whip the cream. Fold the chocolate mixture into the cream. Spoon the filling into the pastry case and chill.
7) To serve, top with strawberries cut in half and dust with icing sugar.

I have added some notes after the pics.

Notes: 

I forgot to dust it with icing sugar at the end as I was a tad over excited at the prospect of getting stuck into it!

I added the egg a couple of tablesppons at a time (I broke it into a small bowl and gave it a little whisk) until I had enough, rather than add it all at once and find I had too much.

I used my grease proof paper trick to line the pastry case but cut it a little big so that I could gather up the edges to remove the baking beans easily.

If you have neither the time nor the energy to bake your own pastry buy a ready made tart case from a supermarket and just make the filling. (I'm all for the easy life so don't worry I won't judge you, promise)

I know it says DO NOT STIR up there, but I just couldn't resist.  When I removed the chocolate mixture from the heat I did give it a quick stir to mix the chocolate and mascarpone as I was afraid they would not mix when added to the cream once chilled.  Sorry, but that was like asking Dougal NOT to press the big red button, it just wasn't going to happen.

OK lesson over, now off with yiz!

Bord Bia Irish Food Bloggers Event

Last Thursday I attended Bord Bia (Irish Food Board) for the Irish Food Bloggers Event following an invitation from Donal Skehan.  The event offered a great opportunity for food bloggers from all over the country to meet for the first time. Now, I have to admit, I am quite new to this whole blogging lark having only started last year and as I am a novice in both the culinary and journalistic fields I was mighty surprised to be considered for the event.  As the say, never miss a genuine opportunity, so off I toddled on the first true summers day of the year.

On entering Bord Bia I was greeted by the lovely Klara Golez, Klara played a huge role in making the day happen, who presented me with a name badge and a folder.  The room was already a buzz with clusters of excited people as I entered.  Having met no one in person prior to this occasion I made my way towards the lovely Babaduck, whom I had had many online conversations with via Beaut.ie.  Some other beaut.ies in attendance included Reindeersp, Gee Gee and TrulyMiss all looking stunning as would be expected.

Once seated Maeve Desmond, Bord Bia Marketing Services, welcomed us all and introduced David Owens who spoke about the Bord Bia Quality Mark and its importance for Irish pork.  Next up, Lorraine Fitzmaurice of Blazing Salads, demonstrated a quick and easy recipe for some delicious Organic Spelt Soda Bread (the ingredients for which have been purchased and a recipe should appear later this week).  Slices of the bread were passed around for the group to sample and from what I could see all devoured it.  In addition Lorraine spoke about Miso and its importance in vegetarian diets as a rich source of protein.  A Migu Miso Pesto was prepared and tossed with some tagliatelle and again a sample was sent around for everybody to try.  It is something else that I will be trying out this week as it offers a healthier, low fat alternative to regular pesto, without any compromise on taste.

Following on from Lorraine the hilarious Pat Conway, GMIT, demonstrated his skill in butchering a pork loin.  Let me tell ya, don't for the love of Jesus cross this fella in a dark alley if he happens to be brandishing a saw cos he is pretty nifty with the aul cutting clean through flesh and bone!  Pat sliced the loin into it's various cuts and gave some wonderful tips on how to ensure that you always cook a beautifully tender piece of pork by following some simple steps and guidelines.

Maire Dufficy, a Bord Bia Food Advisor, took over from Pat to demonstrate some quick and healthy recipes using pork.  The aromas that wafted their way through the room from her cooking had us all drooling and she armed us with a myriad of recipes to try at home.  Maire also gave out her top tip, and it is one of the best cooking tips I have heard yet.  If you are buying meat from your butcher to marinade, bring the marinade to the butcher and ask them to vacuum pack it with the meat.  Vacuum packing will completely seal in both the flavours and the aromas of the marinade so no longer will I have to spend the day worrying that the smell of my main course is permeating my dessert!

While lunch was being prepared, Damien Mulley spoke about blog marketing.  As with all who spoke before him Damien shared some great advice on networking and how to improve blog readership.  Lunch followed and was delicious; yes you guessed it, pork.  I had some yummy pork belly, complete with crackling, accompanied by roast vegetables, salsa and noodles.  Once that lot had been scoffed plates appeared before us baring the most wonderful light strawberry tart (if I track down a recipe it will be posted without fail).  As time was running over slightly Eoin Purcell spoke on the process of transitioning from blog to book as we licked our plates clean.

Following lunch Erica Ryan and Jocasta Clarke spoke about food styling and photography and doled out some indispensable tips.  Erica spoke about the use of glycerine, super glue, WD40 and many other unlikely items you would never even contemplate using with food.  Jocasta advised on the ideal light to use for photographing dishes and also about how to arrange displays to maximise visual impact.  I hope to put these tips to good use and produce a higher standard of pictures for the blog.  I desperately wanted an upgrade on my camera prior to the event, having listened to Jocasta I now desperately NEED one, so I shall be throwing all of my spare euros into Percy for the foreseeable future. 

Now, you would think that all of that would be enough for one day but oh no.  We had been told in advance to bring a bag for some swag and boy were they needed.  Once the day's talks had drawn to a close we were invited to mingle and to load up with lots of scrummy freebies.  I did things in the wrong order so missed out on what I hear was some top notch cheese but none the less I left with a bag heaving full of yummies.  Below is a list of what I nabbed:

Mint plant courtesy of Living Flavour
Alfalfa, Broco Shoots & Smart Seeds Sunflower Mix courtesy of Good4U
Chutney for Cheese courtesy of Sheridan's (as I said I missed out on the cheese also)
Biltong Beef
Smoked Trout courtesy of Goatsbridge
Pu-Erh & South African Rooibos Tea courtesy of Barry's
A Macroom Oatmeal Ginger Biscuit courtesy of Lilly Higgins
A melon salad, the name of the supplier I have since forgotten, soz.

Most of the above has been sampled already.  The melon was eaten when I returned home from the event and was exactly what was required on such a sticky day.  Lilly's scrummy biscuit was practically inhaled the following morning and the rest was dipped into over the weekend.  On Saturday and Sunday numerous mojitos were mixed up using Living Flavours mint plant.  On Sunday whilst relaxing in my back garden with my hubby, his brother and his wife I rustled up a salad with some spinach, all of the goodies from Good4U and the lovely Goatsbridge Smoked Trout.  To accompany this I made a honey mustard dressing, sweet potato wedges and a salad of mozzarella, tomato and basil. Yum yum yum!  Below is a snap of the trout salad but as I had hungry people waiting to be fed I was only granted permission for one quick snap.

Thank you to Donal Skehan, Bord Bia (especially Klara and Maeve), all of the guest speakers and all who provided swag for a truly wonderful day.  Looking forward to the next one already, and to meeting more lovely food bloggers as I really only skimmed the surface this time.  To those of you that I did manage at least a quick hello, it was lovely to meet you.  To those that I did not have a chance to meet, I hope to meet you in the future.

P.S. I didn't take too many photos on the day as my camera felt a little shy and intimidated when it saw all of it's bigger, shinier cousins around.  See, I really do need a new super dooper camera.

Bord Bia Pork Pack

I have been invited to attend a food blogger event by Donal Skehan of the Good Mood Food Blog  this coming Thursday, and as a result Klara from Bord Bia sent me an Irish pork pack in advance of the event.  I say a pork pack, it was a loin of pork to be precise.  As there are only the two of us in the house I knew we would not get through the beast in one sitting so decided to spread it out over two meals.  On friday night Mr Boo carved off two steaks and trimmed them of any excess fat.  They were cooked as follows:

Lemon, Thyme and Garlic Pork Steaks

1 handful of thyme, picked
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 clove of garlic
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
2 pork steaks or chops

(the marinade recipe will stretch to 4 cuts of meat)

1.  Pound the thyme in a pestle and mortar with 1tsp of salt.
2.  When the thyme is pulped add the garlic and 1tsp of black pepper and pound again.
3.  Stir in the lemon zest, juice and olive oil.
4.  Smear the mixture over the meat and leave to marinade for at least 10 minutes or longer if you have time.
5.  Heat a pan to a very high heat and fry on both sides for 4 minutes each.  They should be golden and nicely charred but be careful not to burn them.
6.  Remove from the heat and rest for 4 minutes.

I served these with Donal Skehan's Zingy Purple Potato Salad (obviously I didn't have purple potatoes) and some rocket.

Last night the remaining pork was roasted, and two very hung over people received a welcome invitation to come and help us eat it.  The recipe is as follows:

Before this we all got stuck into some popovers from my previous blog post

Rosemary, Thyme and Garlic Roast Loin of Pork

2 tbsp of Salt and some fresh black pepper
3 large cloves garlic, sliced finely
8 stalks rosemary, stripped
1 handful thyme, picked
4tbsp Olive oil
Pork loin

1.  Place the salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary, thyme and olive oil in a bowl and stir until well mixed.
2.  With a sharp knife pierce the pork all over.
3.  Pour the oil and herb mixture onto the pork and rub all over, pushing the herbs and garlic into the pierced holes.
4.  Heat some oil in a pan and brown the meat all over on a medium heat to seal.
5.  Place in a roasting dish and roast fat side down for 30 mins.
6.  Turn the meat and roast for another 20-30 mins until cooked through.
7.  Remove from the oven, cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 10 mins before serving.

I served this with a creamy potato gratin and some roasted carrots. Yum.

I have no pictures of this as my camera had died, sorry.