Macaroons (GF)

I have been known on occasion to allow the odd pack of Crimble's macaroons to wander into my shopping trolley.  I blame my sister.  She almost always has a pack loitering in her goodie press so I tasted them in her house and then started to buy them for myself on occasion.  I'm not sure exactly what it is I like about them, is it the dense and moist cakeyness of them, is it the texture of the coconut or is it a combination of both those things married with a little chocolate.  Regardless I will happily scoff a couple of them in a sitting and then long for more.

I am constantly watching food programmes on t.v.  If I have a lazy day to myself I would happily watch them from morning until night and it doesn't matter if I have seen them before, I always learn something new.  On one such lazy day recently I was watching Ina Garten and she made some coconut macaroons.  I didn't scribble down the recipe as it was fairly straightforward but later that day made my own batch using her recipe as a rough guide.  The result was amazing.  I had to stop myself from scoffing the lot and was so glad to see my husband tuck into a few with his evening cup of tea.  The more he ate the less that were left to go straight on my hips the next day.  They are super easy to make and so much nicer than the shop bought version (sorry Mr. Crimble).  I see many macaroons in my future.  Nom!

250g/10oz Dessicated Coconut
1 x tin (397g) Condensed Milk
1tsp Vanilla Extract
3 large Egg Whites
A pinch of salt
50g Milk Chocolate
50g Plain Chocolate

1.  Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas Mark 3.  Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
2.  Place the dessicated coconut, condensed milk and vanilla extract in a bowl and mix to combine.
3.  In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites and salt using a hand held electric whisk until they form soft peaks.
4.  Fold half of the egg whites into the coconut mix.  Fold in the second half of the egg whites.
5.  Using an ice cream scoop(or a couple of tablespoons) drop the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. 
6.  Place into the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Turn the baking sheet and bake for a further 15 minutes. (You don't necessarily have to turn the baking sheet half way through but I found mine were going to brown down one side and not the other).  Remove from the oven when golden brown and allow to cool.

7.  Break the milk and dark chocolate into a heat proof bowl.  Melt over a pot of simmering water.  Stir when melted to combine and dip the base of each macaroon in until evenly coated.  Place back onto the baking sheet upside down until the chocolate has set.  Enjoy!

Edinburgh

Last Friday morning Mr. Boo and myself boarded a plane bound for Edinburgh.  We were heading there with 11 of our friends to celebrate my 30th birthday.  A few months earlier Mr. Boo sent out a sneaky text to see if people would be interested in taking a little trip to join us for dinner, when the resounding response was yes he revealed his plans and so we started organising together. 

We had been to Edinburgh on two previous occasions.  Both times we dined in Rhubarb in Prestonfield House and were equally impressed with both the surroundings and the food.  When Mr. Boo revealed his idea to mark my 30th I jumped at it.  I've never been one for big parties or being the centre of attention so a nice civilised meal with some of our closest family and friends sounded ideal.  Decision made he reserved the Italian Room, a private dining room in Prestonfield House, to house our gathering.  In addition our party would enjoy exclusive use of the Whiskey Room on arrival.  A few emails and phonecalls back and forth with the events team at Prestonfield House and we had our menus and details for the night finalised.  All that was left was for us to arrive with our happy faces to enjoy the evening.

Following some friendly banter (read death threats) with the ever so friendly (read evil cow) Ryanair ground staff we boarded our red eye flight and braced ourselves against the gale force wind.  A very bumpy flight, punctuated with plenty of "oh Jesus" and "sweet mother of the holy divine" and "I'm gonna be sick", later we landed safely in Edinburgh.  On arrival at the Bonham Hotel the general consensus was that everyone was "S T A R V I N" so we slinked into the restaurant for breakfast.  Mr. Boo & myself indulged in a full Scottish as it was a whole 4 hours before lunch.  It was as good as we remembered, especially the haggis and black pudding.

With our bellys full we set out for a bit of sight seeing.  We got a little side tracked along the way and enjoyed some shopping as we walked but finally found ourselves outside the castle for a few nice pics.  Pictures taken a little voice from the back piped up, "right, that's the cultural bit done, can we go for a pint now?".  Approximately 3 minutes later we were out of the rain and happily sipping on our first liquid refreshment of the day(non alcoholic for me, I had a party to host).  Warm and dry we decided to head to a bar closer to our lunch reservation and so made our way to Tempus on Georges Street.

On the way we stumbled upon Bibi's Bakery and sure it would have been rude not to have a look inside.  The windows were filled with beautiful displays of cupcakes, giant cupcakes and wedding cakes.  We pressed our hungry little noses against the glass counter to decide which cupcake to fill our belly's with and happily left with a little box full.  I had a yummy Nutella one, a deliciously light and moist cake with a tower of chocolate Nutella frosting and a scattering of chopped hazelnuts.

Following a swift one in Tempus we strolled to the Voodoo Rooms for lunch.  As I had already eaten a full Scottish and cupcake and was due to have a 3 course meal that evening I decided to keep lunch light with a chicken caesar salad (and a couple of mojitos).  My salad was yummy, and perfect to fill the gap to get me through to dinner, and the murmurrings from around the table indicate that everyone else enjoyed their meal too.  A couple more rounds of cocktails and it was back to the hotel for a disco nap before beautifying myself for dinner.

Mr. Boo and myself headed out to Prestonfield House ahead of the others to ensure everything was in place.  On arrival we were greeted by Susie, who together with William would look after us for the evening.  William was awaiting our arrival in the Wiskey Room brandishing glasses of champagne as we entered.  Following a quick trip to the Italian Room to check on the table setting and double check special dietary requirements had been noted we settled in to wait for our guests.  They arrived promptly at 7:30pm and so the evenings revelry's began.  There was much kissing and 'happy birthdaying' and glass clinking and camera flashing before canapes arrived and silence descended, well mostly silence if you don't include the nom nom noises. 

Canapes scoffed and bubbles quaffed we were seated for dinner.  The Italian Room is "Dramatically panelled with painted scenes as a souvenir of an eighteenth century Grand Tour, the green and gilt Italian Room is one of Prestonfield's most historic rooms and the most sought-after private dining room in the city.  Dine in a room that has played host to Presidents, Prime Ministers, Royalty and stars of every age - from Boswell, Johnson and Benjamin Franklin to Oliver Reed, Lauren Bacall and Elton John."  Would you be able for me?  I tell ya, it's far from private dining rooms I was reared. 

The table was beautifully set with silver candelabras and vases stuffed with seasonal flowers.  As a happy coincidence the tableware was monogramed with an 'R' for the on site restaurant Rhubarb but I allowed my guests to pretend it was done just for lil ol' me.  An open fire roared happily in the hearth to ensure we were all toasty warm for the evening and the room was constantly filled with chatter and laughter.   Both Susie and William were relentless in their desire to please and no request went unfulfilled throughout the evening.  Whatever our guests desired they obliged to ensure that everyone had everything they needed or just wanted on the evening, and all with unwaning smiles on their faces. 

Dinner was served and again silence descended, bar the clattering of silverware off plates and the smacking of lips and appreciative nom nom sounds.  I opted for a starter of hand dived scallops, butternut squash, lime, capers and coriander.  The scallops were cooked to perfection, melt in the mouth with a delicate smokey flavour followed by a natural sweetness.  The butternut squash did not disappoint either, charred on the griddle pan it was soft but not mushy and full of delicious sweet flavour.  I also had a little taste of Mr. Boo's soup which I would happily have finished had he not wrestled the spoon from my hand. 

My main was 35 day dry-aged sirloin of beef, three peppercorn jus and boulangère potatoes.  The steak was more than my little *cough* tummy could accommodate but what I did manage to put away was tender and full of flavour and the boulangère potatoes made a very welcome accompaniement.  I may have forgotten to take a picture of them because I dived straight in.  Others who chose the duck and cod declared them to be delicious also, the greedy gits didn't offer me a little taste though. 

For dessert I opted for the chocolate offering, naturally, warm Valrhona milk chocolate tart, star anise poached pear & pear ice cream.  While it was more pear heavy than chocolate heavy it was a lovely end to the meal.  The pear still had a little bite to it and the chocolate crunch that lined the plate added a nice balance of texture to the fruit and the chocolate mousse.  By all accounts the rhubarb crumble with ginger ice cream was the star of the desserts show and received hearty praise from all who ordered it.  My sister who received her dessert of a trio of ices first had it hoovered up before the remaining desserts had been served, I think she enjoyed it.  As if we hadn't stuffed our belly's enough we then tucked into petit fours of florentines (one of my favourite treats) and perfect cubes of turkish delight. 

After dinner entertainment came via the mens toilets.  A selection of hats are available for patrons to try on while they erm well wait for their hands to dry I assume.  The lovely Susie ordered the men to go and retrieve some hats for the ladies to try on.  There was much hilarity at hats of various shapes and sizes perching atop heads of various shapes and sizes.  We were even permitted to try on some antique styles removed from the safety of their protective leather hat boxes.   A round of musical hats ensued to uproarious laughter  and much camera clicking before order returned to the room.  My favourite was a white leather jockeys hat worn with the most earnest face by one of our male guests.  With fully belly's we headed for Tigerlily in search of some liquid refreshments to end the evening.  Mojito anyone?

The next morning we all rose in various states if chirpiness for round two of the Scottish breakfast.  I opted for the full Scottish again and I think it was even nicer than the previous days offering.  Once checked out of the hotel we headed our separate ways to spend the day as we wished.  I accompanied my sis to the Disney shop to stock up for the little princess she had left at home for the very 1st time.  I wanted one of everything for me but unfortunately they didn't have my size.  My niece however was in luck and received a case full of goodies when her mam returned home.

Half of us then met in the Witchery by the Castle for lunch.  We were starved, hadn't eaten much at all since we left Dublin *cough*.  This was my third visit to the Witchery, we had eaten in both the main dining room and the Secret Garden on previous occasions and were seated in the main dining room again.  Both rooms are beautifully appointed spaces, the main dining room is dimly lit with low ceilings and lots of flickering candlelight, the Secret Garden is a lighter space but equally as grand.  There were 3 menus to choose from, a la carte, a set menu of 3 courses for £30, and a light lunch/pre-theatre menu offering 2 courses for £14.95, meaning you can enjoy a meal in one of Scotland's finest restaurants at a very reasonable price.  We enjoyed a really beautiful lunch and maybe a sneaky glass of bubbles, I honestly couldn't think of a more perfect way to end our whistle stop tour of Edinburgh.

I had the most wonderful birthday, it surpassed all of my expectations, and I don't think I will ever have one quite so wonderful again.  I have my husband to thank for that, he is a very special man who treats me like a princess and has made it his lifes mission to ensure that I am truly happy.  He pulled out all of the stops this year and threw me a most lavish celebration, one I never dreamed I would enjoy in my own honour.  I will never be able to repay him but I will try with as many scrummy home cooked meals and freshly baked cakes as he can manage.  Following 8 years of feelings of guilt regarding enjoying my birthday in the absence of my mam I have finally unashamedly revelled in this years celebrations and I intend to allow myself to do so from here on in.  I am surrounded by wonderful people, all of whom helped to make it a most memorable holiday for me and I am very grateful to them for that.  I know that together we will look back on that weekend with great joy and tears of laughter for a long time to come. 

I would also like to thank the readers of this blog who offered so many kind words on my recent post over my concerns about my impending birthday.  It was a very difficult post to publish, even after I had hit the publish button I remained a ball of confusion as to whether I had done the right thing.  Since that day I have felt much more positive about the year ahead.  Just seeing those feelings that I had kept so closely guarded for so long in print gave me a huge sense of relief, but the kind words of all of you lovely people reassured me that it was most definitely ok to move on in some way and most importantly to allow myself to feel happy again.  Thank you all so very much, I am now looking forward to exploring all that my thirties has in store with much excitement. 

Temple Street Launches 'The Great Irish Bake' Campaign 2011



Temple Street launches ‘The Great Irish Bake’ Campaign 2011


Proudly sponsored by Gem Pack Foods

Don your apron, grab your whisk and get ready to ‘Bake a Difference’ as Temple Street Children’s University Hospital launches the 3rd annual ‘Great Irish Bake’ Campaign proudly sponsored by Gem Pack Foods. This year, Temple Street and Gem want this national fundraiser to go even bigger and are hoping to raise €100k to go towards purchasing life saving pieces of equipment for the hospital.

‘Baking a Difference’ is simple when you know how. Simply log on to http://www.thegreatirishbake.ie/ where you will find hints, tips, recipes and much more! Register online to participate in this great cause and start baking and selling your tasty treats in work, school or college. The Great Irish Bake Campaign has proven to be a big hit with companies who gather together their very own baking committees to bake and sell at morning coffee breaks. To date, thousands have been generated for Temple Street through companies alone.

You can also become a fan of ‘The Great Irish Bake’ facebook page where you can keep up-to-date- on the latest baking news, exchange recipes and tips with fellow bakers, send Temple Street pictures of your creations and fundraising events to be uploaded to the page and let us all know how much you have raised. Search for ‘The Great Irish Bake’ on Facebook to become a fan.

Donal Skehan (Ireland's answer to Jamie Oliver!) is this years Great Irish Bake Ambassador and has created 4 recipes for the campaign which will be released over the course of 2011 to encourage people to roll up their sleeves and ‘Bake a difference’ for Temple Street. “I’ve seen first hand the importance of having life saving equipment at Temple Street. Baking for such a good cause is not only simple and inexpensive but it’s also a lot of fun! I urge everyone to give baking a go and raise as much as possible for Temple Street!” said Donal.

For every Gem ingredient used in Donal's recipes, Gem will place a donation sticker on these products with 5c per pack sold going directly to Temple Street. Sales & Marketing Director at Gem, Bobby Mulligan said “Temple Street Hospital is an extraordinary place that does fantastic things for children all around Ireland everyday. As an Irish Brand we are delighted to have the opportunity to work with our customers and the keen bakers of Ireland in generating funds for life saving equipment for Temple Street”.

“We are absolutely delighted to be in partnership with Gem for this coming year. Gem is dedicated to our cause and is enthusiastic about generating significant funds for the hospital. Temple Street believes that every child deserves access to the very best treatment and equipment available. With the support of Gem and people nationwide we are hoping to raise funds to ensure that the children in our care have the best possible chance of getting better. I sincerely hope that everyone will get behind this fun and worthwhile campaign and bake a difference for Temple Street” said Denise Fitzgerald, CEO Fundraising, Temple Street Children’s University Hospital.

Gem Stockists:


Gem products are available in Dunnes Stores, Tesco, Superquinn, Spar, Londis, SuperValu and independent stores nationwide - www.gempackfoods.ie/retail.htm

Great Irish Bake Fundraiser ideas:

Why not host a Teddy Bear’s picnic at your Crèche, hold a cupcake decorating competition at your school/college and sell your creations afterwards, get your co-workers to pay an entry fee for a ‘cake off’ – best cake wins, invite friends around to make a donation for a delicious home made brunch or afternoon tea or host a coffee morning at work or at home.

All donations made will make a real and lasting difference to the thousands of children that come through the doors of Temple Street Hospital every year. Groups and individuals all over the country are encouraged to raise funds by selling their wares for this great cause. The Temple Street Great Irish Bake is the ideal opportunity to raise much-needed funds while having lots of fun with friends and family.

Log on to http://www.thegreatirishbake.ie/  for baking tips and recipes from Donal Skehan, 2011 Great Irish Bake Ambassador, and fantastic free downloads such as event posters and signs to promote your event and make your Great Irish Bake fundraiser a piece of cake! Anyone can participate in ‘The Great Irish Bake’, all you need is a venue, cake and people!

Flourless Brownies(GF) & Gluten Free Baking

During my blogging year(and a bit) I have become much more aware of the food I eat.  Whilst I always appreciated a good meal and loved to cook up a storm in the kitchen I didn't always think about the food I was eating and it's journey to my table.  Now I am more adventurous in my choices, willing to try flavours and textures I would have refused before.  I also choose my ingredients with a lot more care and with more curiosity as to where it has come from.  I ask my butcher lots of questions about cuts of meat and am happy to try those cuts that for a long time have been out of favour.  I'm not sure why they became unfashionable as they are so delicious.  I also check labels when buying fresh fruit and veg to see if items are locally grown and where Irish grown produce is available it beats imported items into my shopping basket.

Not only am I more aware of the food choices I make but also those of others.  I read so many inspiring Irish and also international food blogs, bursting full of fabulous ideas and each with it's own unique style.  Some embrace food in all it's guises but others focus on food governed by lifestyle choices or dietary restrictions.  Through my blog I have become more aware of coeliac disease, and am quite surprised that the number of people affected is much higher than I had previously thought.  As it is something that I am not faced with in my day to day baking for family and friends I never really gave it much thought, but having encountered queries and comments relating to the blog I decided to educate myself a little so that I could attempt to offer some gluten free recipes on the blog.

Coeliac disease is an auto-immune disease which affects the gut and other parts of the body.  It causes the body to attack itself when gluten is eaten.  Gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley & rye, is what gives elasticity to bread and spring to cakes.  Some people can also be affected by oats.  To treat coeliac disease people diagnosed must stick to a gluten free diet and avoid foods such as breads, cereals, flours, pastas, pizza bases, biscuits, cakes and pastry as these are the most obvious sources of gluten.  It is also advisable to avoid oats as they can become cross contaminated with other grains. 

As most baked goods require flour in some shape or form those with coeliac disease can find the choice of baked goods very limiting.  On the side bar of the blog I have added a new 'Gluten Free Treats' button, if you click on it it will link to a page that contains all of the gluten free recipes from the blog so far.  I have only started to explore the world of gluten free baking but will make an effort to post some more gluten free options and also some specifically gluten free recipes throughout the year.  I hope this is of interest to some of you and I would love your feedback on this in the comments. 

For more information please check out Coeliac Society of Ireland.  Also, if you would like to try some gluten free baking I have found Seriously Good! Gluten Free-Baking by Phil Vickery to be a really fantastic book.  It is full of information and has a great range of recipes to keep you very busy in the kitchen. 

IMPORTANT
It is very important for you to check that the brand of certain products eg. baking powder that you use is gluten free as products can become cross contaminated during production.  If you are a member of the Coeliac Society of Ireland you will receive an annual Food List with details of gluten free products and brands.  Also you can check all ingredient lists on food packaging and avoid anything that clearly states it contains wheat.  Some products also provide allergy information on their packaging which would state if the item is gluten free. 

Flourless Brownies

I was going to start off with something boring like a bread or scones but as I haven't made it to my local health food shop yet to stock up on specialist flours yet I decided to see what I could rustle up with the contents of my baking press.  Luckily for you and me I settled on brownies as I knew that as they are a flat tray bake substituting ground almonds for flour shouldn't cause too many problems.  I was pretty impressed with the results and when I asked Mr. Boo's opinion and he said they were the best brownie's he had ever tasted I knew I was onto a winner.  He is my harshest critic, especially when it comes to chocolate treats so his was high praise indeed.  He enjoyed his taster bite so much he polished off 2 whole brownies with his cup of tea.  I hope you enjoy them just as much.  Be warned though, they are extremely gooey and delicious.

(makes 12-15 depending on the size you cut the squares)

200g/7oz Unsalted butter, diced
250g/9oz Good Quality Dark Chocolate
200g/7oz Caster Sugar
3 Large Eggs
125g/4.5oz Ground Almonds
50g/1.75oz Cocoa Powder

1.  Preheat the oven to 160C/F/Gas Mark .  Line a brownie tray with foil.
2.  Place the butter into a pan and set over a medium heat until melted.  Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring occasionally until melted.

3.  In a separate bowl whisk the caster sugar and eggs using a hand held whisk until creamy.

4.  Add the chocolate mixture to the egg and sugar mixture and mix gently until well combined.

5.  Sieve in the ground almonds and the cocoa powder(you may need to give the last of the almonds a helping hand through the sieve) and again gently mix through to combine.

6.  Pour into the prepared tray and smooth out.  Place into the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes.

  There should be a thin crisp layer on the top and the brownie should still have some wobble. 

7.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack before removing from the tray and cutting into yummy scrummy gooey squares of heaven.  Enjoy.

Eat Magazine

If you are a twitter regular or you read any of the other Irish Foodie blogs you will no doubt be aware of the buzz currently running through the twitterati about a new food magazine for Dublin.  Eat Magazine is a new free monthly food and drink magazine.  20,000 print copies will be distributed around Dublin monthly.  The magazine will also be available to view online, and via iPad/iPhone apps due to launch in February.  If you would like to read this months issue you can do so here.

I would like to wish Mikey every success with this new venture and I look forward to reading future issues.

P.S.  If you look very closely you might see this little old blog featured on page 6. 

Granola

Last week Yvonne from Hey Pesto tweeted that she was making up a hamper and wanted to include some healthy options.  In the end she opted for some yummy jars of homemade granola.  I love granola but don't often buy it as I have never found a shop bought version that I really like, so I decided to make some myself.  I am still firmly in the battle to eat healthy foods following the stodge and comfort food of December.  The weather is not helping as it regularly hovers near 0 or in the minuses at the moment.  While all of my meals are prepared from scratch using fresh vegetables I am still being drawn towards carb laden mash potato and similar for dinner so I feel that breakfast and lunch need to take on a lighter twist.  Granola with natural yogurt for me is not only a healthy way to start the day but also a really tasty way too.  I'm not a big fan of porridge so this is an ideal way for me to get some porridge oats into my morning routine.

The following is my recipe but do feel free to add some dried fruit once the granola has cooled and also use nuts of your choice. 

Granola
(makes enough to fill a 1ltr Kilner Jar)

240g/3cups Porridge Oats
100g/1cup Almond Flakes
100g/1cup Blanched Almonds, roughly chopped
100g/1cup Walnuts, roughly chopped
2tbsp Sunflower Oil
10tbsp Honey

1.  Preheat the oven to 165C/329F/Gas Mark 3.  Line a baking sheet with grease proof paper.
2.  Place all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix well to ensure the honey and oil are evenly distributed throughout.

3.  Pour out onto the prepared baking sheet and spread out evenly.
4.  Place into the preheated oven for 45 minutes.  Remove from the oven at regular intervals and stir to ensure that the mixture browns evenly and to avoid large clumps forming.

5.  When golden brown all over remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. (The mixture may still seem a little soft or damp when removed from the oven but it will crisp up as it cools.)

6.  Transfer to an airtight container and store for up to one month.  (If you wish to add dried fruit do so at this stage.)

Bring Me Sunshine.....

Last Sunday marked the 9th anniversary of my mam's passing.  I wrote a post last week about the date but then deleted it.  I considered writing the post again but ummed and awed.  My loss is such a personal thing and something that I have kept closely guarded for all of this time.  My mam was quite obviously a huge part of my life and now this blog has become a huge part of my life, so I thought that maybe I should write about it here.  If I am truly honest with myself yes, I set up this blog as a means of documenting my baking and to encourage me to bake more, but more than that I set it up in an effort to have some sort of a tangible link to my mam.  That's silly really, isn't it?  How can I expect to have a tangible link to her when I know that death is finite?  I can't, but I so desperately want one that I will do anything, believe anything to keep her spirit alive in my life.  Why?  Because that is all that I have left of her. 

I knew that my mam was going to die.  She was sick, and while she had periods of respite from her illness we were told a few weeks before her death that nothing more could be done.  I don't know what I felt at that time, I don't think I really felt anything.  What are you supposed to feel on hearing that news?  I know that I definitely did not want her to go.  Had I been asked to give up my right arm to save her I would have.  Had I been asked to give up my own life to save her I think I would have done that too.  Anything would have been more favourable than living my life without her.  But these options were not available, and as predicted 11 weeks later I held my mam's hand as she took her last breath. 

In that instant my life changed unimaginably.  My whole life was turned upside down and inside out.  I didn't know how to react to the situation, so I didn't.  I tried to numb myself from the reality of the situation and carry on.  The hardest thing to deal with was obviously the loss of my mam and the fact that I would never again see her or talk to her.  I wouldn't get anymore lipsticky kisses on my cheek or warm cuddles on the sofa.  I would never again hear her laugh or sing from the kitchen.  I hate this fact of life daily.  Hate it, and will never accept it.  The second hardest thing to deal with has been the loss of myself.  I was a different person right up until that moment.  I was happy.  To those around me I still look the same, still act the same and appear no different at all.  But I know otherwise.  I am quite a different person now and I always will be.  I mourned the loss of my mam and myself for a long time.  Last year I laughed one day and realised it was the first time I had heartily laughed for over 8 years.  Imagine that, eight years without laughing properly.  Of course I had laughed and found things amusing but it wasn't the laugh that I had been born with, it was a dead laugh.  I had forgotten how to be happy, or wouldn't allow myself to be.

On Sunday I went to the annual mass that we offer up in my mam's memory.  Afterwards we all spent some time in my dad's house and then we went our separate ways.  Mr. Boo and I stopped off at the cemetery and I chatted with her for a few minutes and then he brought me for lunch in an effort to make the day more bearable for me.  As we ate lunch talk turned to my birthday which at that stage was exactly three weeks away, it should also be the day that my mam would turn 65.  I always loved how special I felt that we shared the same birthday but now I feel guilty for looking forward to my birthday and enjoying the day.  I know that I shouldn't as we should all make the most of our birthday each year but I feel that I am somehow rubbing my families faces in it by getting excited.  Suddenly I was crying and asking Mr. Boo if it was OK to be excited about my birthday this year.  I will be 30 so a bit of a milestone as I enter into a new decade.  My 21st fell 3 weeks to the day after my mam had died and so passed without much pomp or ceremony as has each birthday that followed.  For the first time I am kind of happy that my birthday is approaching and I really want to celebrate it.  I am also aware that yet again it will be another sad day for me, my dad and my sisters.  Mr. Boo's answer was that of course it is OK for me to be excited about my birthday.  My next question was "is it OK for me to be happy again?", to which he responded with a resounding yes.  He told me that my mam would want me to be happy and to enjoy my birthday and every day.

He is right, she would want all of us to be happy again.  So while my heart is still very much broken, beyond all possible repair, and a little piece of me will forever be lost somewhere in the universe, I can be happy.  It is a different kind of happy than before, some of it's sparkle and lustre has been scratched away but it is enough.  I don't think I will ever feel completely guilt free in my happiness but that's OK, I can live with that.  I am entering into my 3rd decade(or is it my 4th?) with a new understanding and respect for myself.  I know that I am strong enough to handle the nasty changes that are inevitable as I move through my life and I am very comfortable with the person I have become.  Most importantly I have it on good authority that it is OK for me to be happy, and so that is what I will endeavour to be, and I hope that if something has robbed you of your happiness you can believe that it is OK for you to be happy again too.

xxx

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 January 2011 Cookalong

I'm back!  I know I have been missing in action since the Christmas period so apologies.  I hope you all enjoyed the festive season.  I had a lovely(and tiring) time with family and friends and more food than one person should consume in such a condensed time frame.  I am still feeling the effects of it now but am going to make a big effort to get back into my blogging mojo over the next few days.

As it is the 1st Friday of the month it is time for the Irish Foodies cookalong.  The theme this month is budget or leftover cooking following the excesses of Christmas.  I stocked up on dried fruit before Christmas, I think I was expecting armageddon or something the amount of it I bought so I decided to put it to good use.  As I have a penchant for baking I also have oodles of flour knocking about the presses so I settled for a nice fruit soda bread.  I thought this fitted the bill perfectly for January as it is easy to mix up, is not too naughty but has a hint of sweetness to make the transition from Christmas treats back to healthy eating a little more bearable.

Fruit Soda Bread
This recipe yields 2 x 1lb loaves

450g/1lb Wholemeal Flour
450g/1lb Plain Flour
1.5tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1tsp Salt
50g/2oz Candied Peel
50g/2oz Crystallised Ginger
50g/2oz Currants
50g/2oz Golden Raisins
50g/2oz Sultanas
600ml/1pint Buttermilk

1.  Grease to 1lb loaf tins and preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7.
2.  Sieve the flours, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl.  Add the dried fruits and toss in the flour mix until evenly distributed.
3.  Make a well in the centre and gradually pour in the buttermilk and mix to form a dough.
4.  Divide the dough between the two loaf tins, flour a large knife and cut a line down the centre.  Place into the preheated oven for 25 minutes.
5.  Turn upside down and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes.  To test if it is cooked tap the base, if it sounds hollow it is ready.
6.  Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Note:
The Irish tradition is to form the dough into a round loaf, cut a cross in the top and then stab each quarter with a knife to kill the fairies within.  I would like to assure you all that no fairies were harmed in the making of these loaves.  Sure why would you want to kill some lovely little fairies, wah?!

Happy New Year

So yet another year has been put to bed.  I cannot believe just how quickly it whizzed past.  I remember as a kid how time would drag, days felt like weeks, weeks months and so on.  God how I would love to have a kid year now, think how productive I could be with so much time on my hands.  I used to wish time away, now I wish that I could slow it down and savour it just a little more.  I guess this is not such a bad complaint, if time dragged on into infinity it would most likely mean I am standing still wishing my life into action.  It's haste and speed tell me that I am living it and I hope loving it and so do not notice it tick tocking away.

I will not be making any new year resolutions this year, I gave up on that a few years ago when I realised I am incapable of seeing them through.  Instead I will do as I did last year and vow to strive to be the best me that I can be in 2011.  It worked out pretty well for me last year so I have high hopes for the 12 months stretched out ahead of me.  I am still far off reaching perfection(hard to believe I know) but I made some positive changes last year that mean I am entering the new year much happier and more comfortable in my own skin and even a smidgen more confident.

The most positive thing to come out of 2010 has been my growing love for this little blog.  Some days it is all consuming, it occupies every moment of consciousness, other days I only think about it every second minute.  I have come into contact with some wonderful people through blogging and I hope that can continue.  Following my Christmas break I feel refreshed and anxious to bake again.  If I succeed in being my best me I will hopefully be more organised and therefore will blog more, just don't go holding your breath though, I'd hate to see you turn blue.

Thank you all again for your support and encouragement in 2010 and I hope you will dust of your aprons to join me this year.  I wish you all health and happiness in 2011 and any other bonuses life sees fit to throw your way. 

Le grá
R x