kat ate that

Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

2012-03-05T09:49:00.000-08:00

Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
(with cranberries)

I was reflecting on my posts from this time last year and unsurprisingly my thoughts are moving in a similar direction; panic about what the winter months have done to my waistline. How on earth will I fit in my summer clothes without too closely resembling the muffins I make?

So, when it came time for my monthly girls get together, and therefore another excuse for me to bake, I chose to take the high road. I pulled out my Food and Wine Magazine, March 2011 issue and there was the perfect healthier recipe. It hit all my requirements; wholesome and yet totally quick and easy.

The cookies do have some butter for flavor but also a little canola oil, plus they are made entirely with whole wheat pastry flour. If you can't get that, I would suggest white whole wheat flour or half and half regular flour with regular whole wheat flour. You can choose to bake them as bars (as I did) or cookies (a little more time than I had available). The original recipe calls for toasted chopped pecans in addition to the chocolate chips but I didn't have any so added some cranberries.

My guinea pig buddies were enthusiastic and the recipe was requested; a good sign of success I think. They are really quite like a blondie with an extra bite.

Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons canola oil

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup dark chocolate chips (I used 60%)

1/2 cup cranberries

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F
Butter a 9 x 13" baking pan then line with parchment paper
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside
Using your mixer, beat the butter, oil and sugar until creamy
Add the egg and vanilla and beat again until smooth
With the mixer on low speed, beat in the dry ingredients until just incorporated
Finally add the chocolate chips and beat on low again until just mixed
Turn the dough out into the baking pan and smooth out the top evenly using a spatula
Place the baking try in the oven and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until golden and just set in the center
Cool the bars in the pan and then lift them out onto a cutting board
Peel away the parchment from the sides and cut into squares

Alternative substitutions that I think would be tasty:

white chocolate chips and chopped dried apricots
Dark chocolate chips and cherries

You could successfully freeze the cookies in the pan prior to baking (if well wrapped) or after baking. After baking I would not cut them, leave them as a slab and triple wrap in cling film.

Enjoy!

Pea and Broccoli Soup

2012-03-03T08:45:00.000-08:00

Pea and Broccoli Soup

My husband's parents recently visited us from Scotland. Actually they were at the end of an enviable round the world trip so were full of great stories. My Mother in law makes a great soup, so I immediately put her on soup duty while staying with us. She did not disappoint.

After they left and inspired by her, I resolved to make soups more often. My little one who is extremely veggie averse, will often eat a soup. It needs to be pureed into an orangy red color though... This one unfortunately doesn't meet her requirements but is nevertheless a delicious soup. It's creamy and smooth, hearty and healthy. I loved it, my older daughter enjoyed it and my husband could not get enough.

In was in "use it up" mode when I made this soup; I had a small amount of split peas needing finished, broccoli reaching the end of it's life and half a carton of veg broth needing used up. Here it what happened:

Pea and Broccoli Soup

Ingredients

1 medium onion chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, minced or chopped finely
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pinches dried thyme (or fresh if you have it)
3/4 cup split peas
3 small heads of broccoli chopped into small florets and stems chopped
1 1/2 quart/ approx 1 1/2 litres broth/stock ( I used half chicken half veg broth)

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot on medium heat
Add the onions and garlic and reduce to medium/low for approx 15 mins
Cook the onions until softened and translucent not caramelized
Stir in the thyme and cook a further couple of minutes
Add the broth and split peas and bring to a boil
Reduce to a simmer and cover for approx 15 minutes
Add the broccoli and simmer a further 10 minutes or until everything is soft
Adjust seasoning as needed the puree the soup

This soup has a creamy almost cheesy note to it, but if it's not hitting the spot, crumble either feta or goats cheese on top.

Enjoy!

Cheesy Soda Bread

2012-02-22T08:26:00.000-08:00

Cheesy Sodabread

As promised weeks ago, I give you Cheesy Soda Bread! Who doesn't like the sound of that?!

This recipe is largely Rachel Allen's from her "Food for Living" book. However, unlike traditional scones or most wheaten bread recipes, these contain no butter. The small amount of cheese is not worth worrying about, particularly if you use a very strong cheddar which will yield lots of great flavor for a small sprinkling. Finally, I subbed in whole wheat pastry flour for half of the regular flour to up the wholegrain ante. You could just as easily sub regular whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour if you cant get whole wheat pastry.

All in all, you can feel good about your waistline while you tuck into these babies. As I explained in my last post, I served these with eggs poached in home made tomato sauce and they were just the ticket to sop up the sauce. Who doesn't love a bit of cheese with their eggs too? Obviously these are suitable for endless occasions. Rachel recommends a number of changes to the basic recipe; chopped chives, or other herbs, or go the sweet route with raisins or chocolate. Amazingly I haven't tried the chocolate option yet but it's just a question of time. It would be really delicious.

Cheesy Sodabread

Ingredients

1/2 lb/ 1 3/4 cups regular flour

1/2 lb 1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or whatever ww flour you have on hand)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

400 ml/ 1 3/4 cups buttermilk

3 oz grated strong cheddar cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 475°F or 250°C. If you have a pizza stone put it in the middle of the oven
Place the dry ingredients on a bowl and mix well using a whisk
Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk
Stir in a circular motion using your hands until just mixed
The dough will be soft but not so sticky that you cannot work with it.
Place the dough on a floured board and shape it into a large flat round approx 3/4 in deep.
Cut out the scones using a cutter of your choice or cut them into shapes (see above for my random ones!)
Sprinkle and press a little cheese on the top of each scone
Place the scones on a floured baking tray and into the oven. If you're using a pizza stone, slide the scones off a floured pizza paddle onto the pizza stone already in the oven
Bake for 10-20 mins depending on the size of your scones.The scones will be done when they look golden and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Master this most basic of recipes and take it in 10 different directions. Chocolate chips are next on my list of add ins!

Enjoy!

Eggs Poached in My Best Ever Homemade Tomato Sauce

2012-01-26T17:24:00.000-08:00

My Best Ever Homemade Tomato Sauce

This is the tale of 4 yummy things:

Homemade Tomato Sauce
Cheesy Sodabread
Poached eggs
Basil olive oil

I've been thinking about eggs for dinner all week, but my husband is not such a fan. So I held off until he left for a business trip today, when I unfolded my plan. Eggs poached on homemade tomato sauce have long appealed to me, but only today did I actually get off my behind and make them. This dinner is ridiculously easy but rams home how good ingredients can result in the tastiest food.

Having bought a sizable quantity of San Marzano tomatoes last weekend I decided the moment was right to make a batch of tomato sauce. My 3 year old was (sort of) resting on the couch after lunch, so I set to work. I don't have a standard method of making tomato sauce, in fact we don't often eat it in this house. When I was pregnant with my second child the mere smell of store bought tomato sauce gave me instant nausea. To this day I still dislike most store bought tomato sauces but homemade is a different matter. Nevertheless, I knew it needed to be good, so I opened my "Jamie's Dinners" for advice.

Simply using garlic, tomatoes and a little of my new favorite ingredient; O&Co basil olive oil (Thanks Kirsty!) I made a simply delicious tomato sauce. If you can get your hands on some of this olive oil, buy it! It's subtle and yet amazing in it's ability to enhance the flavor of all sorts of dishes. I've used it in dressings, with my pea puree, and tonight, in the absence of fresh basil, it infused my sauce with an extra richness and extra something yummy. That said, fresh basil and good extra virgin olive oil would make a perfect substitute in this or any other recipe.

My Best Ever Homemade Tomato Sauce

Eggs poached in Homemade Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped or minced

3 large (28oz) cans of whole tomatoes (the best you can get; I used San Marzano) Do not break up the tomatoes until after the sauce is cooked. The tomato seeds may make the sauce bitter; yuck, I learned from experience in the past.

2 teaspoons olive oil (I used basil olive oil)

salt and pepper to taste (Go easy on the salt; your tomatoes may already be quite salty)

To finish:

1 tablespoon basil olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large pan on medium and add the garlic.
Cook gently for approx 3 minutes then add the tomatoes
Cover and simmer the sauce for approx 30 minutes
Turn the heat off and glug in the basil olive oil (or chopped basil leaves and olive oil) and balsamic vinegar.
Gently break up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon or a potato masher

To make the poached eggs, simply crack the eggs in a small bowl then gently place in the sauce. Cover and cook on a medium heat for approx 5 minutes.

I served mine on top of Cheesy Sodabread Rolls. I thought it was simply delicious and it went down pretty well with the 5 and under crowd. The only objection was a yolk, but we worked around that!

Enjoy the sauce endlessly with pasta, fish, poached eggs, or cook your sausages in it.

Cheesy Sodabread recipe is next in line for the posting.

Quinoa Pancakes

2012-01-18T16:12:00.000-08:00

Quinoa pancakes; sorry about the poor photo quality; it was before 7am...

It's been a month of excess and enjoyment in this house. I may be behind the majority but my New Year healthier approach to cooking and baking really only started yesterday.

And finally I am inspired to share again thanks to one of the (many) new cookbooks I got for Christmas. The King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Book has been a fabulous addition to my already overflowing bookshelves. It contains a wealth of information, tips and recipes on how to use whole grains without sacrificing any taste whatsoever. However, given my overdose of Christmas baking (some frozen) lasted us until last week; I could not, in all conscience, add more goodies to the snack cupboard until we were all done with the reserves.

Today, however, a cold is moving through our house and my little one woke up asking for pancakes. I couldn't say no; partly because (selfishly) it gave me the perfect excuse to try out the pancake section of my new book. The book gives me an excellent opportunity to use the whole grain flours I have been storing in my freezer, unused for months. Apparently whole grains go off much faster than their processed cousins so I now keep the less often used ones in my freezer. Today it was the quinoa flour that shouted to me.

So at 6:30a.m. I got out the baking bowls and we set to work. The batter has no fat or sugar added but manages to turn out a light, slightly sweet and earthy pancake. Very well received by all and it pleased this Mummy no end to send her brood off to school and work with a protein packed breakfast. My husband made some comment about feeling like he was in a hotel; I guess I haven't made a decent breakfast in a while! We had them with pumpkin butter and a touch of maple syrup but the recipe recommends maple syrup mixed with ginger syrup which sounds lovely to me.

Quinoa, ginger and cranberry pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup (3 7/8 oz) quinoa flour
1/4 cup (3/4 oz) whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (4 oz) milk
1/2 cup (4 oz) applesauce
1 egg
1/2 cup (2 oz) dried cranberries

1/4 cup minced crystallised ginger ( I omitted; my kids have given it the curly lips in the past, but it would be delicious)

Directions

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients ( not including the cranberries)
In another bowl, whisk together the milk applesauce and egg.
Mix the wet with the dry and stir until well mixed together; it will be quite runny.
Finally stir in the cranberries and crystallized ginger if using .
Leave the batter to sit for 10 minutes
Heat a heavy skillet or griddle pan on medium
Pour a 1/4 cup of the batter for each pancake.
Cook until bubbles form and the edges just start to turn golden.
Turn them over an cook another 1-2 minutes until golden.

Enjoy!

Christmas Cookies, Cakes and Gingerbread Houses...

2011-12-20T18:12:00.000-08:00

Happy Christmas to all or should I say Happy Baking Season!

My homemade Peppermint bark to rival Williams Sonoma

I am from a long line of 'fill the biscuit tin, in case someone pops in' women. Traditionally we also delivered Christmas biscuits (cookies) to a few lucky folks at Christmas time. So when the calendar hits December, I start big time planning. Who am I kidding, it happens long before December.

So you'll understand, we've been busy in this house over the last few weeks. Like many others, I love to give cookies at Christmas. The giving list gets longer every year; and despite having some tried and true Christmas cookie recipes I always feel compelled to try out a few new ones.

This year I am linking the recipes I have used alongside a few snaps of the final products. This is as much for me next year as it is for any readers so apologies for poorer grammar than usual. I'm in a rush to get back to the kitchen action.

Here goes:

My particular favored new recipe is for Peppermint Bark. I was determined not to pay $25 a box this year at Williams Sonoma, so found a recipe for me to make my own. Success!!

I have a ginger obsession at this time of year so one of the many recipes I use is the following Ginger Chocolate Chip Blondies. They are so good...

Continuing on the theme and desperately trying to harness my control frickery, my girls and I got up to gingerbread men and house making, using the following healthier recipe from Heidi at 101 cookbooks. These are wholewheat gingerbread men!

This is the girls playing with the scraps at the end

House components and little guys

Decorating time

The finished product; again an exercise in self control for me!

My Mum usually makes me my Christmas cake, in fact, I'm ashamed to say, I've never made one before. This year I was going to skip it as we are not having any family visiting. However Nigella got the best of me with her Chocolate Fruit Cake from Feast. It looks amazing, is soaking in Kahlua as I type and boasts one of my favorite combinations prunes and chocolate. Haven't tasted yet but can't imagine it will disappoint. It did take me a whole morning on my own to complete though; even the lining of the tin requited a lot of concentration and 25 minutes!

These little fellas below are ready to go out; in the packages are Chocolate Crackle Cookies, a recipe. surprisingly, from McKormick spices. They include Roasted Saigon Cinnamon and Ancho Chile Pepper but are basically a double chocolate cookie with a kick. Yummy adult cookies but my kids love them too. They freeze amazingly too.

The other cookies in the packages are a recipe from the boys at Baked. The cookies are Oatmeal Cherry Chocolate chip from "Baked; New Frontiers in Baking". Very delicious.

Oatmeal Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today, Nigella linked to her Christmas Chocolate Biscuits, and they looked so easy and sounded so simple, I just had to give them a go:

They're similar little chocolate shortbreads with chocolate frosting...mmm

One last link; as yet I've only made the dough (it's sitting in the fridge) but no mention of Christmas cookies/ biscuits whatever you want to call them, is complete without these. This recipe for Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies was posted by me way back in March, but it is "Christmas in a cookie" for me.

Happy Baking!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

My favorite Cut Out Cookie Recipe...aka Jock Cookies!

2011-12-12T11:09:00.000-08:00

Christmas Stars

A couple of years ago, our good friends visited us for Thanksgiving. Jayne is a great cook and also Northern Irish, so she came armed with many, goody stuffed Tupperware. The best of the best were these AMAZING sugar cookies that she had cut out in "Jock" (their dog) shapes and covered with melted butterscotch chips. Oh boy! They were so good. We (I particularly) could not stop eating them and I think even she was surprised how good the butterscotch tasted on a sugar cookie. If I remember correctly she was trying to avoid a supermarket trip so she used the butterscotch in a pinch. Anyway, Jayne was kind enough to fork over the recipe and now we need little excuse to whip up a batch in this house. So, it's time to share.

A wee bit of fun for the kids; Candy Cane Copycats

These cookies are in no way healthy; but they are not everyday cookies or lunch box snacks. They're for special occasions; it's up to you how many occasions you nominate special, after you taste them.

Cut Out Cookies

Sparkly Snowflakes

Ingredients

1 cup/ 1/2 lb butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium, until whitened.
Add the egg and vanilla and continue to beat on medium until well incorporated.
Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture slowly. Mix until just incorporated.
Take the dough out of the bowl and shape it into a disc approx 1" thick.
Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 30 mins
Roll out the dough on a floured surface to approx 1/4" thick.
Cut out your shapes til your hearts content and re-roll as necessary.
Be careful not to overwork the dough and if the scraps get too warm, wrap again and place back in the refrigerator for another 10 mins or so.
Bake for approx 5 minutes then turn the tray around and bake another 5 minutes.
They will be done when they begin to turn golden around the edges.
Cool for 2-3 minutes on the tray before transferring them to a cooling rack
leave to cool completely before decorating

This Christmas, I used the simplest of frosting/ icing, borrowed from Nigella. The ratios are as follows:

1 cup confectioners sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons hot water

This will give you a pretty runny icing which you can flood the cookie with. It will dry to hard in a few hours.

The cookies will keep (unfrosted) for about a week in an airtight container and apparently they freeze too. I am testing that out; I've frozen a sample and will add a comment when I defrost them.

My Halloween Cut Outs this year

A Healthier Take on Cornbread...and rambling on Thanksgiving

2011-11-20T11:27:00.001-08:00

Cornbread muffins

I didn't grow up eating cornbread; soda and wheaten bread were my staples but when in Rome and all that. My first impression of cornbread was that it was distinctly dry and honestly a bit tasteless. However, I have come to enjoy it with some changes. I particularly think it makes a delicious stuffing.

A few years ago I tried a great version by Giada Di Laurentis. She added cheese, garlic, fresh corn kernels and sundried tomatoes to a basic boxed cornbread mix. It was delicious, especially with chili and much more moist than my previous experience; I was a cornbread convert.

This Thanksgiving I need cornbread for 2 purposes; one for the stuffing and I also am on cornbread muffin duty for my daughters school Thanksgiving Feast. So, inspired by Giada's idea, I added fresh corn to a basic but healthier cornbread recipe and hey presto; I thought the sundried tomatoes might not go over so well with the 3 year old crowd.

The basic cornbread recipe is from Eating Well Magazine; which substitutes the usual high butter content with more buttermilk and just a little canola oil. In fact, I used light olive oil as I was all out of Canola. No harm done!

A Healthier Cornbread

based on an Eating Well Recipe

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups yellow stone ground cornmeal

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons canola or light olive oil
1 cup of thawed, frozen corn (or fresh)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F
Grease or butter a 8 " square pan, a 12 count muffin pan or 24 mini muffins (as in the picture)
In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt
In a large bowl whisk together the egg, buttermilk and oil
Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Stir until just combined
Finally add the corn and stir gently until just mixed through.
Pour into the pan or into muffin cups.
Bake for approx 25 minutes (square pan), less for the muffins; approx 15 mins for the mini muffins and 18 for the regular muffins. They will be done when a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool the cornbread in the pan. For the muffins, remove them from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool.
Like all muffins and quick breads, these will freeze nicely. I recommend triple wrapping in cling film before doing so.

A note on the recipe:

You can easily double this recipe and bake in a 9x13" pan.

I plan on using my cornbread for the following stuffing recipe.

I am churning the pumpkin ice cream as I write, thanks to David Lebovitz.

Brownie Pie was made and frozen last night thanks to Rachel Ray; sorry can't find a link to it but it's in the November magazine.

Finally, I plan to brine my turkey tomorrow night using the following recipe. I'm changing it up this year as I usually use this recipe, which is a total winner, if you're looking for inspiration.

Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours! Time for me to be thankful for great food, family, friends and health!

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Prep...and Cranberry, Pear and Ginger Chutney

2011-11-19T13:11:00.001-08:00

After much deliberation (understatement of the century) I have finally decided on our Thanksgiving menu. I have pored through cooking Light, Eating Well magazines, Nigella Feast, Baked (both books) to name but a few. As you'll remember, I'm Irish so I don't feel so tied to the usual traditions. Therein lies the problem; apart from turkey, I feel we can go in any direction with the food. My only fixed point is for the vegetables to be seasonal. So this morning, off we went to the Farmers Market to scoop up whatever looked best. I'm home with a purple cauliflower, butternut squash, brussels sprouts, parsnips, sweet potatoes, pears and apples. That helped me finalize the menu.

Here goes:

Thanksgiving menu

Breakfast:

Pumpkin cheddar muffins

Appetizers

Green goddess dip
Crudites
Artichoke dip
Trader Joe's Store bought appetizers (my one concession)

The Main Deal

Maple Cider Brined Turkey
Cranberry Pear and Ginger Chutney
Cornbread stuffing
Purple Cauliflower sauteed in olive oil and garlic
Parsnip Gratin
Pureed Sweet Potato with smoked paprika

Dessert

Chocolate Brownie Pie
Pumpkin Ice Cream
Rustic Apple Pie

Random snack (who doesn't need one of those tucked in the cupboard?)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Loaf

What did I miss? The cocktail of course, but that can wait for a couple of days to be finalized.

Last year I noisily proclaimed I was going to take shortcuts via Trader Joe's ready made choices. People who know me might find that ironic; even on a busy week night, it pains me to put a store bought meal in front of my family; so why Thanksgiving of all times?!

The truth is the greatest holiday excitement of my year is Christmas. I have incredibly happy memories of Christmas as a child. Unsurprisingly, most of the fun for me was food, not gift related. I love to recreate some of that for my children but a couple of years ago, after going all out for both holidays, I really did not enjoy my Christmas dinner.

Time to rethink the plan; I decided to take a very simple approach to Thanksgiving going forward. It worked out for us last year; I used Trader Joe's Cranberry Sauce, Stuffing, Pumpkin pie and appetizers. It made for a very relaxing Thanksgiving Day. However this year I just can't bring myself to go the store bought route. So, make ahead is my strategy this year, plus I have assigned an appetizer to my husbands cousin who will be coming with her friend.

Today I made the Cornbread for the stuffing and the Cranberry Chutney. Tomorrow the Pumpkin Ice Cream is on my radar. The Pumpkin Chocolate Loaf is already made and in the Freezer. The plan is coming together! I'll share as much as I can.

Cranberry Pear and Ginger Chutney

based on a Epicurious recipe

Ingredients

2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 cup onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup grated fresh ginger (peeled first, I freeze mine in a ziplock bag and find it so much easier to grate when frozen)
2 1/2 lemon zest (finely grated)
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 12 oz bag fresh cranberries, washed and picked through
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large firm pears, peeled cored and chopped into small pieces

Directions

Combine the vinegar, onions, ginger, lemon zest, cinnamon stick, pepper flakes and cloves in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil
Simmer for about 10 minutes to reduce by about half
Add the cranberries, sugar and pears and stir until the sugar dissolves
Cover and cook for about 30 minutes or until the pear is tender and the flavors have combined.
Store in the fridge for 3 days, or freeze until needed and thaw at room temperature.

This would be a great idea to can but that's not in my skill set...yet, so I always freeze. It works out just fine. I always make extra so we can have it at both holidays (when I'm not get TJ's help) and we like it with crackers and cheese also...

Enjoy!

Aromatic Butternut Squash Stew

2011-11-14T17:06:00.000-08:00

Aromatic Butternut Squash Stew

I am continuing my love affair with the humble squash and here's my latest offering. This is a very versatile stew; you could switch in any number of other vegetables (but stick with the squash, please) and it will still taste great because of the combination of spices. I used the newest ingredient to my pantry; Saigon Cinnamon. I was keen to try it out in something, but you could absolutely replace this with regular cinnamon.

The recipe I used as a base was vegetarian but I added a little chicken sausage for an extra bite. Honestly, the meat is really not necessary to make this recipe a success; just use what you have and go for it! I do think this would make a great side dish for Thanksgiving. It fits my criteria for a restful Thanksgiving; you can make it ahead and simply warm it up. Like many a stew, the flavors even improve over a day or two.

Just one caveat; the photo above was taken after simmering 20 minutes longer that I would have liked. Hey, it was the witching hour in this house and I forgot to turn the stove off after a final taste. I have to say, that although the squash was a little mushier than I might choose, the stew was still utterly delicious. A very forgiving recipe.

Aromatic Butternut Squash Stew

loosely based on a food network kitchens recipe

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 fully cooked chicken sausages, cut lengthwise and chopped into bite-sized pieces
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 14 1/2 oz canned tomatoes (whatever you have on hand)
1/4 teaspoon saigon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 medium butternut squash , peeled and cut into approx1-inch cubes
1 (16-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed ( I used cannellini beans but chickpeas would be better)
3 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
the zest of 1/2 a lime
1/2 cup golden raisins
2 cups of frozen corn, thawed
Juice of 1/2 lime
salt and pepper to taste
a small handful of breadcrumbs (optional according to how you like your stew consistency)

Directions

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and add cook the onions on medium heat for about 10 minutes
Add the garlic and sausage and cook a further 3-4 minutes
Add the tomatoes, cinnamon, coriander, cumin and red pepper flakes and cook a further 3-4 minutes
Add the broth, squash, chickpeas, zest and raisins and simmer with the lid half on, for approx 20 minutes or until the squash is tender but still has a bite.
Finally add the corn and lime juice and warm through.
Add a sprinkling of breadcrumbs if the stew seems a little watery (optional)
This is delicious served with couscous but, as always with a stew, crusty bread would be a winner too.

A note on the recipe:

Vegetable switch-ins which would work nicely include; fresh spinach, shelled edamame or peas.

Enjoy!

Bread Bread and more Bread

2011-11-12T17:23:00.000-08:00

Ahh....fresh bread

Be forewarned; this post has no recipes but, since I have been rather obsessed of late with the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day , I felt I needed to write something up to justify my slow output! At the end of the summer, a good friend of mine, whose cooking and baking skills I greatly admire, introduced me to the concept of Artisan bread in 5 minutes a day. So I promptly checked the first book out of the library and had a go. I was hooked! Their basic white rustic loaf is amazing! My kids and their friends just could not get enough.

But, I do regard this bread as a treat; it's ingredient list boasts not even a hint of my other obsession; wholegrains. Hence, next on my list was their 2nd book; Healthy Bread in 5 minutes a day; if I was going to continue the bread habit, better make it healthy. So I tried their Wholegrain Master Recipe . Again delicious and very popular with my kids too.

These breads are truly are very easy and quick to rustle up, but there are a number of detailed steps that should not be rehashed by me, for fear of missing an important point. Example below; I forgot to cross the top with my knife before putting the bread in the oven and this is what happened:

a rather bizarre shaped loaf (still tasted good though!)

Instead I would strongly encourage you to get a hold of one of the books and give the concept a try. I recommend reading the first section in the book thoroughly and do follow each detailed step meticulously for each recipe. It won't take you long to do so, but the authors' attention to detail in their recipes, really pays off with a beautiful rustic loaf.

If you're hungry for a little more information now though, in a nutshell, here's how it works. Mix together a batch of the bread dough in 5 minutes flat (yes, really). No kneading is required, very few ingredients and only 1 bowl or tupperware. The dough rises in a large tupperware on the counter for about 2 hours. Then you place the tupperware containing the dough in the fridge until you feel like some fresh bread. When you get the urge, take the dough out of the fridge and using scissors, snip off a grapefruit sized piece. Shape it into a round (again no kneading) , leave it to rest again then, bake in a super hot oven. What could be easier??? Honestly, not a lot.

I probably should add that this is my first time using yeast as a rising agent; I'm Irish for goodness sake! We use baking soda and buttermilk! Anyway, for whatever reason, I was somewhat intimidated by yeast, but I'm so glad I gave it a go. It's very satisfying to have this dough in your fridge knowing fresh bread is just a notion away. They have amazing ideas for add ins, shapes and sizes to make all manner of bready baked good.

This one even has my beloved butternut squash baked in

And if the bread gets a chance to go stale...whip up a little panzanella or crostini

Have a go!

Halloween Brownies anyone?

2011-10-27T17:55:00.000-07:00

The m and m's may suggest "kid" food, but the brownie is all about the adults

Full disclosure; the following recipe is not my usual healthy take on a classic recipe. This is pure unadulterated sugar, butter and CHOCOLATE...but oh so good on an occasional basis; particularly over Halloween.

That said, the brownies described are a new recipe to me. I typically make either a healthier version or if I'm going all out, I use a recipe that calls for many more eggs than I had left in my refrigerator. So I set out on a google search for a rich, no holds barred, brownie recipe that only required 4 eggs.

Enter David Lebovitz. He calls these his absolute best brownies and the man does not lie. I didn't change the recipe much, except I recommend using parchment instead of foil and I doubled the recipe to bake enough for a party. Also, to Halloween-ify them, I dotted the top with orange m and m's, 10 mins before they finished baking.

Something I learned from the Baked gods, you can freeze a brownie very successfully. Who knew? You just triple wrap them in cling wrap and let them defrost at room temperature when you feel the craving. Having learned that useful snippet, I see no point in ever baking a small pan.

Anyway, these are super-decadent, fudgy rich brownies. Bake them at your waistline's peril. I had hoped to take some to a Halloween party, but there's no way they'll last that long.

Halloween Brownies

Ingredients

12 tablespoons butter
16 oz dark chocolate (chips or chopped)
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup all purpose flour
Orange m and m's

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F
Butter a 9x 13" baking pan, line it with parchment, leaving 2" extra on 2 sides. Then butter the parchment paper.
Using a low heat, melt the butter in a medium sized pot
When melted, turn the heat off
Add the chocolate and stir until melted
Stir in the sugar and vanilla
Stir in the eggs beating or whisking vigorously until combined
Finally add the flour and stir "energetically" for 1 full minute until the mix looks glossy and the graininess of the sugar has gone (apparently this is the key to success with this recipe)
Pour the mix into the prepared pan and into the center of the oven
Cook for 20 minutes then remove the brownies and push in the m and m's to the almost set batter
Return the pan to the oven for a further 10-15 minutes or until the center of the brownies is just set.
Cool the brownies in the pan
When completely cool, lift the brownies out of the pan by the parchment paper and cut them into squares

These will keep in an airtight container for 4 days (good luck with keeping them that long!) and will freeze beautifully (see above).

Enjoy!

The Everything Muffin

2011-10-10T15:58:00.000-07:00

The Everything muffin

Those who know me well, know they will often be offered a muffin at some point during a visit. I do love me a muffin. My current favorite and (Jayne, this ones for you) is this little fella' pictured.

Often I find that muffins are no use for an on the go snack; great in the house, where we can sweep up the crumbs easily, but in the car or anywhere else, a little too messy. This one is different. It maintains it's integrity, but is still soft and moist enough to be very delicious. And, it's healthy to boot; it has no oil or butter in it. Yet it doesn't have that tell tale, rubbery or hard texture, of many healthy muffins. These points make it a great kid snack and particularly when you're on the go. My 4 year old (for only 6 more days...) now takes a packed lunch to school, so these have been a snack feature frequently in the last month. I should add, they freeze exceptionally well.

Are you in yet? If I still haven't convinced you, then here's my last attempt; it's got ooey gooey chocolate chips in it. It doesn't take many chocolate chips to take a healthy muffin from blah to crave-worthy.

The Everything Muffin

based loosely on a Cooking Light recipe

makes 18 muffins

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat pasty flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 cup old fashioned oats

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon wheat bran

3 tablespoons ground flaxseed

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup plain or fat free or low fat yogurt (I prefer to use 0% Greek yogurt)

1 cup mashed ripe bananas ( about 2 bananas)

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups chopped dried cherries or prunes or apricots (or combination of all or your favorites)

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F
Place muffin liners in the muffin pans
Place flours, oats, what bran flaxseed, baking soda and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine.
Add the brown sugar and whisk also.
In a separate bowl whisk together the egg, yogurt and bananas
Add the Dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined.
Finally stir in the dried fruit and chocolate chips.
Using an ice cream scoop fill the muffin cup to about 2/3 full
Place in the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until the spring back when touched lightly on top.
Remove the muffins from the pan immediately and cool on a wire rack.

If you wish to freeze them, make sure they are completely cool, then place muffins in a zip-lock bag and into the freezer.

Enjoy!

A simple fall dinner

2011-10-09T16:05:00.000-07:00

Nothing says Fall more than the huge butternut squash that hit the markets at this time of year. I love the taste of butternut squash, probably more than any other vegetable. Sweet, earthy and nourishing to boot.

On Friday, I had about 1 hour in the house before heading out on a variety of kid centered missions in the afternoon. The challenge was; to get a dinner prepared that could be on the table within 5 minutes of us arriving home. The second challenge; that the dinner actually taste good having waited a few hours for our return.

Enter roasted sagey squash, onion and potatoes with sausages. I hurriedly chopped the potatoes and squash into small pieces, tossed them with fresh sage, olive oil, salt and pepper, then into the oven for a while. Sausages into the microwave to defrost, then onto the grill (my oven is tiny; if I had room they would have snuggled in alongside the potatoes). Dinner was made and ready to reheat when we arrived back at later. A hunger emergency was narrowly avoided in our house.

The verdict; a delicious but utterly simple, Fall dinner, kids and adults agreed. Super tasty served with a chutney or relish alongside.

Sagey Fall Vegetables with Sausages

Ingredients

1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces
1 red onion, halved and sliced
4-5 medium potatoes, chopped into bite sized pieces
A small glug of olive oil
Salt and pepper
A small handful of fresh sage, chopped finely
1 lb sausages of your choice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450°F
Using a large roasting tray, toss the squash and onions together with some olive oil, seasoning and sage
On another roasting tray, toss the potatoes with olive oil and seasoning
Meanwhile preheat your grill and get the sausages on
Check on the vegetables after 10 minutes and shake to move around
The vegetables should take about 25-30 minutes to cook; the potatoes will need a little longer than the squash
Serve when ready or cover for reheating later.

A couple of notes:

I am not a big salt fan, but roasted vegetables need salted generously in my opinion. I use sea salt to lower the sodium content.
Please feel free to substitute a herb of your choice for the sage. I happen to love sage and the earthy Fall vegetables, but rosemary would also be lovely here.
A few cloves of garlic are be delicious roasted with the potatoes

Enjoy!

Baked Beans

2011-10-04T16:59:00.000-07:00

Baked Beans

This recipe is a good fit for a rainy, homebound day; it takes a long time, but is very worth it. If it needs more selling, the large periods of inactive cooking time make it the perfect choice if you (like me) are also juggling the demands of a 3 year old underfoot.

My husband and I were raised on Heinz baked beans. For those of you not from the UK, baked beans were most mothers "go to" side dish on a busy night and they were always the pairing with sausages. I think nowadays I'd find them too sweet, nevertheless, recently I have been thinking about them a lot.

So browsing through Mark Bittmans's Food Matters Cookbook, I was drawn to the Boston Baked Beans. American baked beans are a different breed, but I thought I'd give them a go. I mean they start with bacon; whats not to love? The verdict; my husband and I loved them. The girls were indifferent which blew me away, given my fond childhood food memories. I may have caught them on a contrary night; it wouldn't be the first! I'll keep you posted when the saved leftovers come out of the freezer for attempt #2

In the meantime, try them out for yourself (when you have a day at home...).

Baked Beans
adapted from a Mark Bittman recipe

Ingredients

8 oz bacon, cubed or thinly sliced
2 onions, chopped
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 lb dried white beans (confession; I used dried kidney as I was all out of white), rinsed
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300°F
Using a large oven proof casserole (I used a cast iron dutch oven) cook the bacon over a medium heat until crispy and the fat is rendered.
Remove the bacon from the pot and pour off most of the bacon fat, leaving approx 1 tablespoon
Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pot and the onions.
Cook the onions until soft and browned (approx 15-20 mins)
Stir in the tomato paste and cook for a couple of minutes
Add the cooked bacon, molasses and mustard
Then add the beans and enough water to cover everything by 2 "
Bring to the boil and scrape up all the tasty bits on the bottom of the pot while stirring
Cover the pot and transfer to the oven.
Bake for 1 hour then stir and check the liquid level. It should not fall below 1 1/2 ". Add more water if necessary.
Cover and bake for another hour, then check again. By this point the beans should be getting softer.
Keep checking every 30 minutes and when the beans are tender, remove the lid, increase the oven temp to 400°F.
Continue baking until the liquid reduces to the correct consistency (mine took over an hour to do this, Mr. Bittman suggests anywhere between 15 mins and an hour)
Serve and then freeze the leftovers

Enjoy!

Panzanella Salad

2011-09-28T07:08:00.000-07:00

Panzanella Salad

I composed most of this post over a month ago when the summer was still in full force and therefore tomatoes were at their peak. Life got busy, time passed and finally I'm getting around to sharing this beauty.
One of my go to meals each summer is the versatile Panzanella, or Tuscan Bread Salad. If you're a breadaholic, like me, it's a wonderful summer comfort food. I'll never forget the first time I made it, I enjoyed it so much that I have the time, place and company etched in my food memory bank (a fun place to visit!).

The basic premise of cubes of stale bread, a good olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing, tomatoes, cucumbers and fresh basil, can be taken in many directions. I usually add white beans and chunks of Parmesan which makes it just delicious. I have substituted zucchini, green beans, edamame, peas and also added leftover chicken or pork. Some bacon would be nice although surprisingly I haven't tried that yet.

Traditionally the bread used is stale, not toasted. It's a great 'make ahead' meal; it really needs to sit together in your refrigerator for a couple of hours to give adequate time to marry the flavors and for the bread to soak the yummy dressing.

Summer may be over but we are still harvesting cucumbers from our teeny tiny vegetable patch and the tomatoes are holding their own in our local farm store. So, if you're like me and desperately holding on to the last remnants of summer, make yourself a panzanella salad.

Panzanella Salad

adapted from an Everday Food Recipe

Ingredients

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

2 cans cannellini beans (drained and rinsed)

3 cups of cubed stale crusty bread (preferably wholewheat)

1 lb plum tomatoes (or whatever variety you have), cut into bitesize pieces

1 English cucumber, chopped into bitesize pieces, skin on

1/4 medium red onion, very thinly sliced

4 oz Parmesan cheese, cut roughly into small chunks

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

Directions

Using a large bowl, mix the vinegar, oil, salt and pepper.
Add the beans, bread, tomatoes, cucumber, onion and cheese
Toss together gently to ensure all ingredients are coated with the dressing
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours an up to 8 hours.
Add the basil just before serving

A couple of notes on the recipe:

This is a great leftover "user upper"; add whatever is lurking in your fridge (within reason!) See below for photos of my leftover panzanella.
We have not been growing english cucumbers, so I roughly peel the kirbys, deseed them and chop.
This is very tasty as a side with fish or on it's own as a vegetarian dinner.

Enjoy!

Mango Coconut Ice Cream

2011-09-23T06:44:00.000-07:00

Mango Coconut Ice Cream

Apologies it's taken me so long to post this recipe. It's a winner and while most of you may no longer be craving ice cream, I'm sure there are some like me, who always do. There is never a time I would refuse ice cream; two pregnancies have only intensified my deep love for any type of ice cream.

The recipe is super easy; it's from Cooking Light Magazine, June 2011. Basically you make a smoothie then put it in your ice cream maker. Done! And the best bit; it's really pretty healthy but has a creamy consistency thanks to the coconut milk. It also keeps well, without icing up, the way many home made ice creams seem to. My kids both love this ice cream so it's a good all round family pleaser.

Try it out quickly before the snow comes!

Mango Coconut Ice Cream

Ingredients

2 cups cubed and peeled ripe mango

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 (13.5oz) can light coconut milk

Directions

Place the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth
The pour the "smoothie" mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze following the instructions on your ice cream maker.
Spoon the ice cream into a freezable container and freeze for at least 2 hours to firm up.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Rice Comfort Casserole

2011-09-21T16:42:00.000-07:00

I'm always in search of a new idea for leftovers either meat or vegetables. My staple turns for leftovers are frittatas, enchiladas and pizza toppings, but I needed something new. I had leftover chicken and was craving rice, so googled the 2 for inspiration. Taking a lead from this recipe, here is the result.

I have to admit that much as I love love love the summer here, I do welcome the cooler weather; now I can turn on my stove again without cooking myself at the same time. So the prospect of brown rice needing 45 minutes on the stove, was happily an option, this morning, when I got a jump start on dinner.

This is a simple take on a casserole, but from from scratch. The sauce created is very reminiscent of a Campbell's soup casserole, but oh so much tastier and better for you. It checks off all the boxes for nutrition and throws in some major comfort too.

My oldest daughter has just started full day Kindergarten and in contrast to her usual hearty appetite, is often so tired by dinner that she has lost interest in food. So, tonight I prescribed comfort food, in the hope of getting a decent meal in her tired little body, before bed. It worked! I asked her if she liked her dinner and she answered, "Love it!". Score for Mummy!! Unfortunately my 3 year old was not so convinced; I'll keep working on her!

Chicken and Rice Comfort Casserole

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 cup low fat milk
1 cup chicken or veg broth ( preferably low sodium)
2-3 cups cooked chicken (chopped)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage (or herb of your choice)
2-3 cups cooked brown rice
1 1/2 cups frozen peas (thawed)
1/4 cup wholegrain breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400
Melt butter in a pan over a medium heat
Add the flour and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring.
Pour in the liquid and whisk over the heat until smooth and thickened.
Add the chicken and sage
Taste and season as necessary
Lightly butter or oil a medium sized shallow casserole dish
Place the rice on the bottom of the dish and sprinkle over the peas
Pour the chicken in the sauce over the top and spread evenly
Mix together the breadcrumbs and Parmesan and sprinkle on top of the casserole
Place in the oven for approx 30 minutes and serve with a salad, or not...

Notes on the recipe:
This is an endlessly tweekable recipe; adding more cheese to the sauce would be tasty. Also, many different herbs could replace the sage; thyme would be particularly good. Broccoli or green beans would be good replacements for the peas.

Enjoy!

Simple Zucchini and Chickpea Salad

2011-08-31T18:11:00.000-07:00

Zucchini and Chickpea Salad

I'm back! The last month has got the best of me; a combination of vacation, children and a visit from my parents has stalled my blogging. I've had tons of ideas but a lack of opportunity to post.

So, with school (and Kindergarten for my oldest, gulp) around the corner, I'm enthused to get back in the groove. Tonight's little salad is a version of an endlessly useful summer combination. The zucchini are still in season and delicious. There are always beans in my cupboard, lemons or limes in my fridge and basil in the garden. So, whip them together, crunch some black pepper on top, add a little Parmesan and you have yourself and great dish. Its one of those refreshing but hearty summer salads. It makes a tasty lunch, dinner on it's own with crusty bread (my latest obsession...more soon) or as a side for fish or chicken. The choice is yours.

Zucchini and Chickpea Salad

Ingredients

3 small zucchini, cut into your choice of bite sized chunks
1 small lime, juiced (or lemon; I had run out)
1 oz Parmesan cut roughly into small chunks or crumbles
1 can of chickpeas rinsed to reduce the sodium content (any white bean could substitute)
A handful of fresh basil and parsley leaves (feel free to substitute)
1/4 red onion finely chopped (could substitute scallions)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to your taste

Directions

Mix the ingredients together and if possible let them sit for an hour or so to let the flavors come together.

Simple as that.

Enjoy!

Summer Sides part 2: Grilled Ratatouille

2011-08-01T08:34:00.000-07:00

I'm experiencing a rediscovery of my Jamie Oliver books this past week. My friend Jayne has raved about his food revolution book. It seems her family cannot get enough of his recipes, so I decided to pull out one of my old Jamie books and get inspired. My current obsession is Jamie's Dinners. I want to make nearly every recipe in there and I'm not quite sure why I haven't!

Anyway, it was Jamie who assisted my latest ratatouille creation last weekend. I'd really been craving this dish and so wanted to make sure it wasn't a let down when I made it. Not to mention I was serving it to our wonderful neighbors for dinner. As it was a fiercely hot weekend here in the northeast, I opted to cook the whole recipe on the grill. I just used my roasting tin as my pan and my grill as an oven. It all worked out just fine. You can, of course, use your oven at 375°F/ 190°C.

Ratatouille

(loosely based on Jamie's Dinners: Grilled and Tray Baked ratatouille with white fish)

Serves 6

Ingredients

3 red peppers, chopped into bitesized pieces

1 red onion, halved and sliced

2 medium eggplants, chopped into bitesized chunks

6 zucchini and or summer squash, chopped into bitesized chunks

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

handful of fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces

1 large (1lb 12oz/ 800g) can of whole tomatoes, chopped

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat the grill on medium
Heat the roasting pan on the grill and add some olive oil
Add the onion and leave to cook for approx 10 mins, stirring once
Add the eggplants, zucchini, garlic and peppers.
Cook for approx 6 minutes, stirring a few times
Add the tomatoes, half the basil, bay leaves, red wine vinegar and some pepper
Reduce the grill to low and cook for approx 30 minutes, stirring occasionally
Serve with the remaining basil tossed on top

Enjoy!

Peach and Ginger Muffins

2011-07-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

Peach and Ginger Muffins

This very seasonal recipe needs to be shared before the peaches are past their best. We are enjoying the local peaches so much in this house, that I'm on a daily search for new ways to add them to our plates. I haven't been baking much in the last month but I suffered bigtime withdrawal last week and baked these muffins and eggless brownies one evening after the kids went to bed. The eggless brownies were misnamed. If there are no eggs in the brownie; you lose the fudginess which most of us love. They turned out to be little chocolate cakes. Pleasant but nothing to write home about.

The muffins, however, were delicious. I used the muffin mix from the apple butterscotch muffins in a previous post. Its my "go to" time saver for making muffins and is a pretty healthy base to work from.

Here goes:

Peach and Ginger Muffins

makes 15 muffins

Ingredients

1 cup mashed bananas ( approx 2 bananas)

2 large eggs

1/2 cup shaken buttermilk

1/4 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 lemon, zested

3 cups muffin mix (stirred to aerate before measuring)

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 1/2 cups chopped peaches (skin on)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F/ 200°C
Lightly oil muffin tins or line with paper cups
Using a large bowl, lightly whisk the egg
Add the oil, buttermilk and bananas, lemon zest and vanilla extract and stir well
Add the ginger to the muffin mix, and whisk until incorporated muffin mix
Add the muffin mix to the wet ingredients and stir until just mixed
Gently fold in the peach
Using an ice cream scoop, fill the muffins approx 2/3 full
Place the muffin tins in the oven for 7 minutes, turn, then bake a further 7 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack just enough so they don't burn your mouth then enjoy with a cup of coffee!

Enjoy!

Summer Sides part 1: Succotash

2011-07-26T16:36:00.000-07:00

Succotash...my way

We had a busy weekend entertaining, good fun, except quite honestly, I'm a little out of practice. I can get a tasty simple dinner on the table each night, without too much fuss. However, carving out enough time for making appetizers, dinner, sides and dessert amidst being Mummy to 2 little ones, is more of a challenge to me. So in short, it was a Daddy weekend. He played, managed the tantrums, negotiated the standoffs and got just as frustrated as me when they didn't listen. I cooked and cleaned and cooked and cleaned. All worth it though. Good company and a cocktail or 2 to boot.

Highlights for me were the side dishes; succotash and ratatouille, and a dessert of mango ice cream; so it's those recipes I'll share this week.
The succotash was based on a recipe from Smitten Kitchen one of my favorite blogs. I changed up the recipe a little by grilling the corn first to amp up the flavor a notch. All credit to Deb over at smitten kitchen; the combination of bacon, sherry vinegar and garlic, well I'm sure you can imagine.

Succotash by definition, seems to be any combination of corn and shell beans such as lima. In my opinion, the quantities and ratios are totally flexible; I used frozen edamame in place of the Lima beans. I also upped the corn as I couldn't resist them looking so fresh and sweet at the market. Feel free to substitute whatever you have more or less of in your kitchen.

Succotash

adapted from a Smitten Kitchen recipe

Serves 4 (as a side dish)

Ingredients

1/2 lb shell beans (Lima, edamame, broad, butter)
1/4 lb bacon, cut into small pieces
Olive oil
1 small sweet onion such as vidalia or red, chopped
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
3/4 lb cherry or small variety tomatoes, halved kernels from 6 ears of corn, grilled until just caramelized
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (could substitute white balsamic or red wine)
1/4 cup packed basil leaves, roughly chopped
1/4 cup packed arugula leaves, roughly chopped
　
Directions

If using fresh beans, shell them, then boil in salted water until tender.
In a large pan, cook the bacon until crisp
Remove the bacon from the fat, set aside.
Pour off all but 1/2 tablespoon of the fat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan
With the heat on moderate, add the onion and cook until softened.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
Add the corn, tomatoes, and vinegar and cook until the tomatoes are just beginning to break down
Remove from the heat and gently stir in the beans and half the bacon
Let the succotash cool to room temperature then stir in the herbs and salt and pepper to taste.
Sprinkle with remaining bacon just before serving.

Notes on the recipe:

Deb from Smitten Kitchen recommends croutons but I served this with crusty bread so skipped the croutons. It paired nicely with my spatchcocked chicken marinated in lemon garlic and oregano.
If you don't feel like grilling the corn first, a quick boil would do just fine, or indeed for a winter version, good frozen corn defrosted.

Enjoy!
　
　
　

Healthier Macaroni Cheese (my way!)

2011-07-25T08:41:00.000-07:00

Macaroni cheese in a July heatwave! Yes I am nuts but here goes!

Jamie Oliver is a genius. For some time, I've been trying to find a healthier version of mac'n'cheese, that would still meet the requirements of my older daughter. I think we're finally getting somewhere. I know it may not seem like mac 'n' cheese weather; it's been a scorchy hot week here in the northeast, but the request was made and so I grinned and bore the heat (and turned the AC on!).

I have never seen my daughter eat so much food, as she did on a rare eating out venture to our local diner. She ordered mac 'n' cheese and devoured the most enormous amount. Don't get me wrong; I love to see my kids enjoy their food; but this was "out of a box" mac 'n' cheese. Honestly, I have been a little offended she has never quite matched that "competition winning scoff" with any food that I've cooked her. She still talks about it every day we drive past there.

Anyway, I don't know why I hadn't reached for one of my Jamie books on this topic before. He's excellent at a re-work of a simple recipe, just giving it a bit more interest and flavor. So his secret; using the food processor, puree fresh tomatoes, anchovies and sundried tomatoes. His recipe uses light cream but I just used 1% milk and it turned out rich enough for us. Those hidden extras really give a depth of flavor which makes me as an adult enjoy mac 'n' cheese without all that clawing, thick, gloopy, heavy, too rich sauce. Most importantly, the tomatoes make the sauce orange; a critical requirement if its to pass the kid test.

Finally, I didn't call it macaroni cheese (to my kids). In fact, I didn't use macaroni; I had some nice curly wurly pasta which I thought would work even better at getting the sauce in every nook and cranny. I find that if I pigeon hole a meal by a name, often it is rejected outright, before giving a chance. So, I generally think on my feet as I place the plate before them. This one I just called cheesy pasta.

I know it was a hit because my older daughter asked if I could make it "3 times every week". My younger just pronounced it her "favorite".

Healthier Macaroni Cheese

(adapted from Jamie Oliver; Jamie's Dinners. Tomato Macaroni Cheese)

Ingredients

12oz box macaroni (or "curly wurly" pasta as I used)
approx 7oz wholewheat breadcrumbs
1 lb fresh tomatoes (I used sweet cherry tomatoes)
1 glove garlic, peeled
2 large handfuls of fresh basil
4 oz sundried tomatoes, chopped,
2 anchovies
salt and pepper
2 cups grated Parmesan
2 1/2 cups milk
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
8 oz fresh mozzarella, chopped into small cubes
1 tablespoon chopped thyme leaves
olive oil

Directions

Preheat your oven to 400°F, 200°C
Cook the pasta until al dente; drain, but save a ladleful of the cooking water.
Using the food processor, blend the tomatoes, garlic, basil, sundried tomatoes and anchovies for appox 30 seconds.
Add the milk, vinegar, and 1 cup of the Parmesan
Blend until smooth and the season to your taste.
pour the sauce from the food processor over the drained pasta.
Add a little of the reserved cooking water in order to make the dish quite loose.
Pour the whole lot into a lightly greased baking dish and push the mozzarella cubes gently into the top.
Mix the breadcrumbs, thyme and remaining cheese, then sprinkle over the top of the casserole.
Drizzle a little olive oil over the top to get a lovely crunchy top
Place in the oven for approx 15 minutes or until bubbling and crunchy on top

Enjoy!

Chicken and Peach Salad

2011-07-14T16:00:00.000-07:00

Chicken and Peach Salad

As a child, for many years, my choice for birthday dinner was "chicken and peach bake". It wasn't only me, in fact, I seem to recall my brothers deep love for it too. It is a recipe reminiscent of the 70's; using canned peaches and packet white sauce, with crushed chips on top. Heaven! I must get busy this winter and recreate the flavors with a "from scratch" version. In the meantime, tonight's recipe is a summer take, echoing the creaminess of the sauce and the sweet savory combination.

We have been reveling knee deep in peaches this week; the season is finally here. Mean Mummy in this house has not bought peaches since last summer so the girls have been enjoying the bounty too. We've had peach ice pops and smoothies, peaches for snack and now, peaches for dinner.

Alongside my chicken salad, I served some baby new potatoes and a green salad of baby romaines. The potatoes are worth a mention (I am Irish after all!). I microwaved them for 5 minutes, then halved them, tossed in olive oil and salt and roasted in my grill. Very quick compared to the usual roasting time, so I was happy. I should explain; I rarely turn on the oven in the summer; we don't have central air conditioning so the heat from the oven is no fun. Need I explain that an overheated Mummy is a cross Mummy! Instead, I use my outdoor grill as an oven and roast my vegetables and potatoes in a roasting pan with the burners on low-medium

Chicken and Peach Salad

Ingredients

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped into bite size pieces
2 medium peaches, chopped into similar sized pieces
1/3 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup 0% Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced and mashed to a paste
salt and pepper
handful of herbs (I used mint, basil, chives and parsley)

Directions

Whisk together the sour cream, Greek yogurt, mustard, garlic and vinegar in a medium bowl
Stir in the chicken and peaches
Add the herbs either on top or stir in just before serving.

My kid friendly tip would be to leave out the herbs; mine still object to the green flecks. This said, one ate it; the other picked out the peaches and told me she was done.

Please excuse the various errors in fonts etc in this post but I'm tired waiting for my blog host Blogspot to fix their endless glitches.

Enjoy!

Fresh Apricot Cake

2011-07-05T17:14:00.000-07:00

Apricot Cake

There are a million other things that I could have productively employed myself with, the evening I made this cake. However, after the kids went to bed and with my husband working late, I turned on the oven to bake.

The quality of my baking recently had taken a nosedive. Ordinarily I can rely on my ability to produce a decent baking creation but the last 2 times I baked, have produced less than perfect results. Having considered the possible problem, I decided to firmly place the blame on the presence of my children whilst baking! Seriously though, while I desperately want them to learn to cook and bake with me; and to create happy memories of us doing so, I really find it hard to keep calm as the kitchen gets trashed!

So, I had a happy moment, ON MY OWN, with full concentration on a Clotilde recipe for fresh apricot cake. As you may remember, I'm a huge fan of her recipes. I bought some amazing fresh apricots at the market the other day which had been gently nudging me all week to find a moment to bake with them.

The cake, I'll freely admit, is hardly changed from Clotilde's original, but I couldn't resist sharing it. All I did was swapped in some whole wheat pastry flour; the rest is left, as instructed by the master. It's a great summer dessert, morning coffee cake, maybe even breakfast but definitely company friendly; I think you'll agree it's a looker! More than that though, the combination of the sweet but slightly tart fruit with the cake and a blob of Greek yogurt...well, just delicious.

Fresh Apricot Cake

(based on Clotilde's Apricot Coffee Cake)

Fresh Apricot cake

Ingredients

1 lb/450g fresh apricots, washed and sliced into 8
1 cup/ 125g all purpose flour
3/4 cup/ 90g whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
10 tablespoons/ 5oz/ 150g butter
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 cup/ 100g sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten

Topping

1 tablespoon sour cream or Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions

Preheat the oven to 360°F or 180°C
Butter a 9" springform cakepan
Place the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the food processor and pulse until mixed
Add the butter and mix again
Add the sugar then mix again
Add the egg and milk and pulse until just combined. Do not overmix.
Press the batter into the cake pan and flatten the top
Arrange the apricots on the top
then mix together the topping ingredients and pour over the cake
Bake for approx 40-45 mins or until the cake is golden on top.
Turn the oven off but leave the cake in the oven for a further 10-15 minutes
Let it cool to room temperature and dust it with confectioners (icing) sugar just before serving.
Serve at room temperature or cool from the fridge with a blob of sour cream or Greek yogurt

Enjoy!

Smokey Salmon Salad with a light buttermilk dressing

2011-06-26T06:48:00.000-07:00

Smokey Salmon

Another very pleasant morning spent at Suffern farmers market. This time my whole family hung out in the weather which held promise. We've had some crazy thunder storms and very damaging flash flooding in Rockland County in the last couple of days. But yesterday morning the sun was trying to come out and indeed did show it's happy face for a while at the market.

Our most interesting purchase yesterday was a bottle of Jin Ja from "Auntie El's" farm stand. This ginger mixer or cordial as we would call it in Ireland, has cayenne and lemon, mint and green tea in it. It's totally delish on it's own although super refreshing with selzer. But of course I had designs on it for a weekend cocktail. Much fun testing it with some watermelon juice last night. More on that when cocktail recipe is perfected.

Anyway, on to the point of today's blog; grilled salmon. I've been on a marinade kick this week and I read a great article in the latest Bon Appetit Magazine, breaking down the components of a marinade. It appealed to me and the way I organize information in my mind; they suggest all marinades basically the following; An acid, salt, an allium (someone from the onion family), a touch of sweetness, some heat (e.g. chile) and some herbs.

Using this formula, I came up with the following marinade for my salmon. I've been on a smokey flavor kick in the last few days; I read a recipe using smoked trout, that really appealed to me. However, in the absence of some smoked trout, I was drawn to the smoked paprika in my spice cabinet. So I used that as my heat, lemon juice for the acid, salt, garlic, a little maple syrup and chopped chives. I also added some extra virgin olive oil, which just seemed to marry the whole lot together nicely.

This, coupled with some new potatoes, and a farmers market salad with buttermilk dressing made for a delicious summer dinner. The added bonus, my girls ate the salmon too; less so the salad but they'd gobbled some guacamole already so I felt that checked the veggie box.

Smokey Salmon

Smokey salmon and a light buttermilk dressing

Ingredients

4 salmon fillets

1/3-1/2 cup lemon juice

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt

pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 fat garlic clove minced

2 tablespoons chopped chives

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Directions

Mix together all the ingredients and pour over the salmon
Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours.
Bring back up to room temperate before grilling
Grill on medium high until cooked to your preference; approx 3 minutes a side for us.

Light Buttermilk Dressing

I've been working on a great tasting but light buttermilk salad dressing for weeks. I have set myself the goal of no store bought dressings in the house this summer. I really love this one and it's very healthy to boot. I haven't persuaded the kids to eat it yet, but am nowhere near giving up!

Ingredients

1/2 cup low fat buttermilk

1/2 cup low or non fat greek yogurt

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 garlic clove, minced to a paste

dash of tabasco

finely chopped herbs (I use chives, basil and parsley)

Directions

Mix everything together and refridgerate for up to one week.

I served this with a salad of leaves and cucumbers alongside new potatoes.

Enjoy!

A Summer Appetizer

2011-06-21T18:15:00.000-07:00

Zucchini and Ricotta Dip

　
We visited our "parallel life" friends on fathers day; they are also a Scottish/Northern Irish couple, living in the US. In fact, they are our surrogate American family; we often spend holidays together where most other US extended families are together. Our similar backgrounds are very comforting at times and Jayne and I both love our food. I've had many a good recipe and tip from her.

Anyway, they were hosting us for lunch, so I offered cookies and a dip. Quite honestly my cookies were not my best effort, but uncharacteristically I think I did a better job of the savory part of the offering.

We're in zucchini/ courgette season here. I know a lot of people get fed up of the bounty of zucchini over the summer but I never tire of them. In their simplest form they bring me right back to my summer holidays as a child on the campsites of France. They must have been cheaper and more available in France, as that's my first memory of them; cooked in butter on the portable camping stove.

So I decided zucchinis were to be featured in the dip along with the ricotta I seemed to have bought in a job lot last week. A quick search for inspiration and Martha Stewart came up with an idea. I added garlic and lemon a simple, creamy but refreshing dip resulted.

Add this one to your summer repertoire.

Zucchini and Ricotta Dip

based on a Martha Stewart recipe http://www.marthastewart.com/335071/creamy-zucchini-and-ricotta-spread

Ingredients

2 medium zucchini
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, chopped finely or minced
2 teaspoons of chopped thyme (I used lemon thyme)
3 lemons, zested
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Grate the zucchini using a box grater or food processor
Heat the oil on medium high in a large pan and fry the zucchini and garlic
Add the thyme after a few minutes and cook until the zucchini is soft and just beginning to brown in parts
Take off the heat and cool
When cool, add the ricotta, lemon zest and juice and season.

Serve with pita chips or any other substantial chip. It's delicious with a Margarita too...

Enjoy!

A wee bit about Northern Ireland

2011-06-20T18:32:00.000-07:00

The wee beach at Portstewart

My Mum reminded me the other day, that I haven't yet waxed lyrical on my trip home to Northern Ireland. I had planned on posting a few tidbits while across the pond but it just proved too difficult to do. I did, however, bank a few thoughts on my favorite food memories of the trip. And today, the day after Rory McIlroy made it 2 in a row for Northern Ireland winning the US Open, it seemed timely to get my thoughts out onto paper, so to speak.

Despite zero hours sleep the night of our flight over, even my tired eyes could not miss the fields full of sheep, lambs and cows on our drive to my parents home, from the airport. I was amazed I had forgotten the fields are alive in Ireland! All the fuss in the US about grass fed beef, and in Northern Ireland, there is pretty much nothing else available!

We hit lamb season perfectly, so I did make sure to order it at a great little restaurant called Molly's Yard in my old University haunting ground in Belfast. I was not disappointed. I then dragged my husband down Botanic Avenue for a nostalgic stroll, to find there are only 2 storefronts that remain unchanged in the intervening 20 years (yikes) since I lived there! Now, there are numerous interesting restaurants and shops and all in all everything is much fancier that when it was my student stomping ground.

The same is true of Belfast in general, it's revitalization and transformation on the last 15-20 years is gobsmacking! There is a fantastic vibe about the city, great stores and restaurants and culture.

The Griddle Bakery

Those of you who have read my Iris's Wheaten Bread post, may recall my enthusiasm for the bakery in my childhood hometown of Portstewart; The Griddle. So we visited and devoured some amazing potato bread, scones (yes they were wheaten ones) and a few other fancies. The storefront has changed but the traditional breads and scones are as good as ever. ahhh

the scones at The Griddle

My mums fridge did not disappoint either; Coleraine Strong Cheddar; the creamiest yet strongest flavored cheddar I know of. Eggs; fresh from my Mum's friend's farm (including a feather!) and back bacon; lean and tasty.

Her tupperwares were suitably stuffed with home baking (not for long though!) Gypsy creams, chocolate broken biscuits and a tea bread style cake. Mmmmm.

Gypsy creams....so good

Ok, now that I've made your mouth water I'm leaving you hanging because I can't use these fantastic ingredients now I'm back. I will crank out the gypsy cream recipe as soon as I get the holiday overindulgence issue back under control again!

In the meantime, enjoy the view...

Scallions or leeks?

2011-06-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

Marinated Flank Steak and Grilled Scallions

Scallions or leeks? I'm embarrassed to say but honestly I had to ask the farmer at the market; the scallions, I was informed, were so huge. So I bought some. I was sure Nigel Slater; my current obsession, would have some inspiration for what to with such a huge bunch of scallions (or green onions as you may call them). Alas, he doesn't have much to say on the topic so I took to the web. It turns out Emeril is the man tonight.

I had already decided that the flank steak in the fridge was the partner for these monsters so I took a lead from Emeril and marinated the steak all day in the aforementioned scallions plus garlic, lemons and parsley. Emeril suggested limes and cilantro but I didn't have any cilantro in my garden yet, so a tweak was called for. Then he suggested I grill the scallions whole, and I added a fresh picked salad from our garden.

A couple of weeks before we left for our trip home, we planted arugula (rocket), spinach beets, parsley and sugar snap peas in our tiny veg patch. Our garden is very shaded so there's really only one patch, right at the front of the house that is veg growing friendly. We have a lot of wildlife here; deer, groundhogs, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits and chipmunks. Most sensible vegetable gardeners would fence around their patch, but as the bed is right beside the front door, aesthetics have got the better of us and we have no fence.

So, every day I'm able to harvest something from it, I count myself lucky that the furry friends have left us something. We're doing pretty good on that front for now, but unfortunately during the time we were away, the rocket and spinach bolted. so we're just harvesting the last leaves from those plants as the only new growth we're getting now are flowers. We're very new to the veg growing game so any advice appreciated! Anyway, there was enough salad for the dinner and that fills me with ridiculous but simple pleasure!

The meal was delicious, and checked off my favorite box in terms of making dinner; I was able to make most of it ahead of time. Also, in all fairness to my husband, most of our grilling is done by him. So over the summertime, I cannot take full credit for the tastiness of the food served in this house (although I will claim most of credit as I'm the brains behind the operation and the kitchen grafter!)

A side note, the girls and I had the leftovers tonight, re-purposed in a fajita fashion with peppers and zuchinni and served with crusty bread. I offered them greek yogurt and peach salsa alongside and they gobbled!

Marinated flank Steak and Grilled Scallions

(adapted from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/grilled-flank-steak-with-cebollitas-grilled-green-onions-recipe/index.html)

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb flank steak
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
zest from 2 lemons
1/4 cup lemon juice (from approx 2 lemons)
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup scallions, chopped

one bunch scallions

Directions

Place steak and all the other ingredients, except the bunch of scallions, in a ziplock bag. Seal and squish until steak is thoroughly coated.
Put the bag in the fridge all day.
20 minutes before cooking, take out the meat to bring it up to room temp.
Preheat the grill to medium high
Take the steak out of the bag and toss the marinade
Place the steak on the grill for about 5 minutes per side for medium rare.
Take it off when cooked to your preference, cover it with foil to rest.
Toss the scallions in a little olive oil (I cupped my hand and poured in 1 tablespoon, then smeared it all over the scallions)
Place the scallion bunches directly on the grill and cook for 2-3 minutes or until slightly charred and softened.
Slice the steak thinly and serve on a bed of scallions with a salad

Enjoy!

　

It's Summer cocktail time!

2011-06-11T19:06:00.000-07:00

Blackberry Cocktail

Tell me you don't want one of these! I love a cocktail and a summer cocktail is just the best. So when my cocktail making, other half returned from trader joes today with blackberries, I hatched a plan. True, it was a vague plan but it involved blackberries, ice and some booze. The rest I generally leave up to my husband.

So when we arrived home this evening, somewhat overwhelmed from our first US dance recital experience, a blackberry cocktail was all I could think of. Quickly delegating the task to my husband, I turned to my children whose dinner I'd given no thought whatsoever.

All was not lost, I did make it to the opening day of Suffern Farmers Market today. Despite some light rain (which I'm much less put off by, given my recent trip home!) we had a great time. The girls carried their shopping bags and umbrellas and spent all the cash in my purse. They colored at the kids stand and I listened to the live music and drank a cup of coffee. What pleased me most was that they asked to come back next week.

Anyway, tonight, out rolled a quick standby; whole wheat gnocchi. I paired that with my farmers market pesto, followed by some fresh strawberries, Greek yogurt and honey. So I salvaged my guilt at my selfish, 'me first' cocktail thought, by serving them some farmers market produce.

That done and a goodnight tv show on for the girls, we sampled our blackberry cocktail. Oh my! A perfectly refreshing, totally hit the spot, summer drink. Quite honestly, way too drinkable for a Mummy who needs to get up with a clear head tomorrow morning. But very very yummy.

Try it for yourselves

Blackberry Cocktail

(please excuse the slightly vague recipe, my husband was in full creating mode and not taking notes!)

Ingredients

20 blackberries
1 medium lemon, juiced
1 heaped teaspoon icing sugar
Decent glug vodka
Soda water

Directions

1. Blend the berries, lemon juice, icing sugar and vodka
2. Strain to remove the berry seeds
3. Place into 4 tall glasses
4. Add a generous amount of ice
5. Top up with soda water to your taste
6. Garnish with a slice of lemon

Enjoy!

The triple whammy dinner...

2011-06-09T17:34:00.000-07:00

By that I mean, it's super tasty, healthy and kid friendly!

It's been 5 weeks of visiting our families in Scotland and Ireland and then adjusting back to home life again. Since returning home, the distraction of a 2 year old struggling with jet lag (and simply being 2!!), a Mummy fighting a throat infection and an unfinished construction project in our bathroom made me wonder if my blogging mojo was gone forever. Now all three obstacles are removed my mind cleared and I was inspired. Don't get me wrong, I've made some tasty dinners since we got back but nothing I felt moved enough to share...until tonight that is.

I've visited 2 farmers markets since I got home. To be honest, I couldn't wait to get there. We had a great trip with our families but it was certainly nice to know we were returning to warmer weather, flowers in our garden, bountiful farmers markets and al fresco eating.

Our local farmers Market is on a Saturday but as that was when I was fighting the throat lurgy, I was forced further afield. No hardship, I headed to Nyack on Thursday and Warwick on Sunday. I had never been to the Warwick one before and what a treat! I could have dropped a serious amount of money as there were so many enticing stalls of produce and artisan products. My favorites were the rustic parmesan pepper bread and and keilbasa sausage. http://www.warwickinfo.net/farmersmarket/index.html
My girls vote was resoundingly won by a brownie they shared from Jean Claudes Artisan Bakery.

But I found myself thrown by the choice of produce; for the past 4 years we have been members of a farm co-op. I haven't had to decide which seasonal produce to select, it has been done for me. All I needed to do was decide what to do with the veg. I thought it would be nice to make my own choices so I opted out this year in favor of farmers markets, but the reality threw me. Probably not helped by having my small munchkins in tow, distracting me somewhat.

Anyway, that said, I looked at my meat choice in the freezer today and the ground turkey spoke to me. That, and the mini pita bread, reminded me of my "go to" turkey burger recipe. The recipe originates from Martha Stewart Everyday Food but is endlessly tweakable. It results in a burger that is tasty and moist; a tricky twosome with a turkey burger.
I call this a hit, as my 4 year old ate 2 mini burgers and asked for more and my 2 year old ate almost every bite of hers also.

Healthy Mini Turkey Burgers in Mini Pita Breads

adapted from http://www.marthastewart.com//337340/favorite-turkey-burger

laced with ketchup and mustard as requested by my 4 year old

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground turkey

1/2 cup finely grated cheddar cheese

1 small bunch of chives finely chopped

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 cup dijon mustard

1 garlic clove minced

salt and pepper

Directions

preheat grill on high
In a medium bowl mix all the ingredients with your clean hands.
form into mini pita sized patties
oil the grill
place the patties on the grill and turn down to medium
cook for approx 4-5 minutes each side or until cooked thoroughly.
Warm the pita breads briefly on the grill
Slit open the pitas and serve "like clams" with some grilled vegetables or a salad

Freezable note:
I often make a double batch, form the patties, freeze on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper then place in a freezer bag when frozen.

Enjoy!

a couple of tasty appetizers

2011-05-02T08:04:00.000-07:00

Pea and Basil Crostini

It's 5pm; I love nothing better than sitting my children down to eat together at the kitchen island while my husband (and guests) relax with a drink and an appetizer. I'm not a "sit down at the table" type for appetizers; I like us to hang around our kitchen island sharing the drinks, food and chat.

Then we pack the kids off to bed; mine go super early, then sit down dinner without them. Bliss...
So in that vein, I'd like to share a couple of my recent appetizers. We had invited a bunch of friends to dinner a couple of weekends ago but babysitters and circumstances meant we ended up having "date night" at home together. I had planned a nice meal nevertheless, and it all started with a little pea and basil crostini. So incredibly simple and yet immensely tasty. I love bread in any way shape or form so a crostini appeals to me endlessly.

Sundried tomato and Artichoke Crostini

Staying in that mode, we had friends to stay with us over the Easter weekend, so another excuse for a bread topped appetizer. I trotted out one of my tried and true creations; based on a whole living recipe. Sundried tomato and artichoke spread. It has feta and toasted pine nuts in it which combined with the other ingredients in the food processor make for a completely delicious crostini.

Sorry I'm only getting around to writing these up today; it's been a very busy time here and I'm heading home to Ireland with the kids on wednesday. Watch this space for inspiring menus from our visit; the last time we visited home, my creative cooking got a major boost by having a break from cooking everyday. We stay with family when we're at home and most are excellent cooks, so I find it very inspiring for my own cooking.

The kids and I will be over there for almost a month and my husband will bring up the rear in a couple of weeks time. Then we'll all head to Scotland to see his family and attend his sister's wedding. All good! I hope to post some interesting bits, here and there, from our travels and give a few plugs for my favorite eateries along the way.

In the meantime try these out.

I make my costini with whatever bread I have on hand. I tend to buy and freeze french breads and ciabattas with these in mind. Then I slice the bread approx 1/2 thick, brush a little olive oil on both sides and toast in a 350°F oven for 20 minutes, turning the toasts over halfway.

Pea and Basil Crostini

Pea and Basil Crostini (a big hit with my kids)

Ingredients

1 bag of frozen peas

a handful of basil (or mint) leaves

a small glug of olive oil (approx 2 teaspoons)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Bring a small pot of water to the boil and cook the peas for approx 2 minutes
Drain the peas and place in the food processor with the basil and olive oil
Pulse until almost smooth
Add salt and pepper to taste
Smear on the crostinis

Sundried Tomato and Artichoke Crostini

(based on a whole living recipe: http://www.wholeliving.com/recipe/sun-dried-tomato-and-artichoke-dip?backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/best-snacks-for-work)

Sundried tomato and Artichoke Crostini

Ingredients

1 9 oz box of frozen artichokes (defrosted)

1/2 cup low fat feta

1 garlic clove

the zest of 1 lemon

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 cup sundried tomatoes (oil packed)

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/2 cup basil leaves

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Place everything except the pine nuts in the food processor and pulse until still a bit lumpy; it's nice the be able to distinguish the different ingredients in each bite.
Stir in the pine nuts and season.
Smear on the crostini

I have made this a day ahead of time for a party and it worked out perfectly

Enjoy!!!

"Yummy in my tummy Mummy"

2011-04-17T17:11:00.000-07:00

Apple Butterscotch Muffins

"Mmmmmmm, these are so yummy! Mummy, you have to put these on your blog". My heart melted and I was somewhat shocked my 4 year old had taken in my blog chat in recent weeks. To put this in context, I've been struggling in the last week to get a reaction like that from any food I have put before my kids. I had really become quite despondent by yet another screwed up face, 2 days ago at dinner. So the timing was great. I'll be honest, as I perused the aisles in the supermarket yesterday, I considered buying some ready made, kid friendly meals for them. It's takes a lot for me to that!

Anyway, my confidence and resolve to feed them healthy home-made food has been restored. Last night I made the simplest chicken dinner; an old fashioned Sunday Dinner in fact (even though it was Saturday night), with whole roast chicken, roast potatoes and asparagus. The munchkins gobbled up the chicken and potatoes heartily, but the asparagus was a bridge too far. A major step in the right direction I decided.

While I didn't take photos, I do think the recipe is well worth a mention. I was inspired by a Delia Smith recipe Roast Chicken recipe in her How to Cook Book 2. And as usual she came up trumps big style.

Simply put, I smeared the inside of my whole chicken with a tablespoon of softened butter, mixed with a few cloves of minced garlic and a couple tablespoons of chopped rosemary. Then I cut a lemon in half, chopped it into 4 wedges and stuffed them in too. Roasted the bird at 450°F for 54 mins then dropped it to 400° until the internal temperature hit 165°F. Then I removed the bird to rest, tented it with foil, and put the roasting pan on a burner with the lemons from the inside of the chicken. I added about a glass of white wine to the drippings, stirred up the tasty bits on the bottom and simmered the lot until gravy consistency.

All in all it was totally simple and delicious Roast Chicken, particularly with the gravy. Try it!

Anyway, back to the reason my daughter wanted me to write up my blog tonight; Apple Butterscotch Muffins. I've been experimenting for a few weeks with Lorna Sass's muffin recipe. She has the bright idea of making up a big batch of the dry ingredients for muffins, and storing in the fridge for quick muffins anytime. I'm all over the idea, and really like her base of wholewheat flour and oats. However, I've been testing out how little fat I can get away with and still have them taste good. Also, what combination of "add ins" we like best in this house has been under debate. By far the best received to date, has been today's combination of apple and butterscotch chips.

Muffin Mix

(based on a recipe in Lorna Sass' book Whole Grains for Busy People)

Ingredients

5 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 cups old fashioned oats

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

Mix the flour, oats, sugar and salt together in a bowl then sift in the baking powder and soda. Mix well and store in a large box or ziplock bag in the fridge for up to 4 months.

Note: Don't be put off by the volume of mix this makes; if the apple butterscotch muffins don't appeal to you, this mix is still well worth making up as I will be using it for more healthy muffin recipes in time.

Apple Butterscotch Muffins

Makes approx 16 muffins

Ingredients

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk, well shaken

1/4 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups muffin mix (stirred the lighten before measuring)

1 cup peeled, chopped apples

1/4 cup butterscotch chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F
Oil the muffins tins well (these tend to stick in my tins if not oiled carefully)
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, then whisk in the buttermilk, oil and vanilla.
Stir in the flour mix until just incorporated then fold in the apples and butterscotch chips
Using an ice cream scoop, fill the muffins cups approx 2/3 full
Place the muffins tins in the oven.
Bake for approx 7 mins then rotate the tin and bake a further 6 or 7 minutes (until a tester comes out clean)
Carefully remove the muffins from the pan; they may stick a little so run a palette knife all the way around them before easing them out.
Cool on a wire rack or eat right away!!

Enjoy!

Time for Birthday Cake!

2011-04-07T17:38:00.000-07:00

Each time there is any sort of a celebration in our house, be it a festive holiday or a birthday, I habitually pull out my Nigella books. It's really a pleasure to have an excuse to browse through them again and "Feast" is invariably the winner when it comes to celebrations. I do love that book and quite honestly most of Nigellas recipes in general. I won't say it's a problem, but she's obviously not as driven to take the healthy option as me, so her recipes spell indulgence. All the more fun.

Anyway, my husband just caught up with me; he was 40 a couple of days ago. So I left out "Feast" for him to peruse and choose his cake. My strong pointers were the chocolate guinness cake or the chocolate orange (again that theme!). It's lucky he's a fan of chocolate too, or maybe we would not be a match!

Anyway, he chose the chocolate orange, which pleased me, not only because I adore the combination, but the cake has a very unusual composition as you'll see. I suppose it could be argued there's a nod to the healthy here; the cake has no butter or regular flour, but's it still a cake and tastes very decadent.

This cake suits my lifestyle very well; as I've mentioned before, I'm a planner, so the fact that the orange needs cooked for 2 hours and cooled, suited me fine. I did it the day before and kept it in the fridge. One less step on the big day. I also made my own ground almonds, as I was so outraged at the cost of pre-ground almonds in my supermarket. I just whizzed them up in the food processor with a little sugar which apparantly helps absorb the oil and they are then less likely to turn into almond butter.

As you'll see from the photos, the girls loved it too; my 4 year old actually requested it for her birthday too (although it's likely that request will be replaced many times in the next 6 months!).

Chocolate Orange Cake

adapted from a recipe by Nigella Lawson, Feast

Chocolate Orange Cake (with 2 year old hovering dangerously close)

Ingredients

2 small or 1 large, thin skinned orange

6 eggs

1 heaped teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups/ 200g ground almonds

1 1/4 cups/ 250g superfine or caster sugar

1/2 cup/ 50g unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

Directions

Place the orange(s) in a pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer for 2 hours or until they are soft.
Drain the the orange and cool it. When the orange is cool, preheat the oven to 350°F
Butter an 8" springform pan, then line it with parchment paper.
Cut the orange in half to remove the seeds, and pulse the whole orange in the food processor.
To the orange, add the eggs, baking powder, baking soda, ground almonds, sugar and cocoa. Pulse until it is mixed thoroughly.
Pour the batter into the pan and place in the center of the oven for approximately 1 hour or until the tester comes out clean.
I loosely covered mine in foil for the last 20 minutes as it seemed to be cooking too quickly. (Nigella's tip)
Let the cake cool in the pan and when cold remove and decorate.

Now, here's the surprising thing, Nigella recommends just a few orange peels on top, but my children (and I quite frankly) objected. Just not birthday-ish enough. So I made a quick cream cheese frosting (low fat cream cheese and confectioner sugar) then added some zested orange. Smeared it all over and all good except we couldn't get a candle to stay upright, hence the candle in the orange.

Enjoy!

A Seriously Tasty Dinner

2011-04-06T07:44:00.000-07:00

Syrupy Chicken with Cauliflower and Chestnut Gratin

I may have outdone myself; I made the tastiest dinner tonight and tomorrow night is my husband's birthday. Honestly, it's going to be hard for me to something more delicious tomorrow night when tonight's yumminess will be so fresh in our memory. Oh well, that's tomorrow's problem. In the meantime lets get on to sharing the love.

I had been pondering how to dress up my 2 cauilflowers and chicken thighs which were waiting in the line to be given the treatment. I have been craving a cauliflower gratin, it has to be said, but it isn't exactly the healthiest side dish, so I had to get creative. I've been experimenting with an "eating well" magazine version of the gratin and today decided to use that as a base and add a few chestnuts which were needing used up also. Cauliflower and chestnut gratin was the result.

Since the cauliflower has mustard flavoring it, I wanted to echo those flavors with the chicken. I opened an Ellie Krieger book for inspiration and there sprung some maple mustard chicken thighs. With my 2 year old at my side, I got to work. We're having to carve out a new routine in our house at the moment; naps are a thing of the past, sadly. On the up side, my 2 year old is very interested in helping in the kitchen, so it looks like that's going to be our replacement activity.

The chicken recipe could not be quicker or easier and since it uses chicken thighs, is very forgiving to the forgetful Mum who may leave it in the oven a little longer than strictly necessary. The reason I'm particularly excited to share this recipe is because both of my girls (who seem to be going through a particularly picky phase) LOVED it! So much so, we decided to have a naming ceremony for the chicken; Syrupy Chicken was decided upon.

Hope it goes down so well at your table.

Cauliflower and Chestnut Gratin

( based on an eating well magazine recipe: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/skillet_cauliflower_gratin.html )

My healthy version of Cauliflower Gratin (before broiling)

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower cut into small florets
2 cloves of garlic, smashed and peeled
2 1/4 cups/ 530 ml non fat or 1% milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups whole wheat breadcrumbs
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (I used a Stonewall kitchen maple mustard...mmm)
1/2 cup cooked chestnuts, chopped
pepper to taste

Directions

Place the cauliflower, garlic, salt and 2 cups /470ml of milk in a large pot over a medium heat.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer for approx 5 minutes
Meanwhile mix together in a bowl the breadcrumbs and 1/2 cup cheese
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup/ 60ml milk, mustard, and flour, until smooth
Using a slotted spoon or spider, remove the cauliflower from the pot and whisk in the flour muxture
Stir until thickened and smooth then add the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and chives. Then stir back in the cauliflower and chives
Preheat the broiler to high
Place the cauliflower mixture in an ovenproof dish and top with the chestnuts, breadcumbs and cheese
Broil until the top is golden and crispy

In the interests of cooking once and eating twice, I made double batch of the cauliflower gratin and used half of the cauliflower from step 6 to make cauliflower soup. I just added some vegetable broth (although chicken broth would be lovely with this). Then I used the hand blender to puree the soup. Delicious.

Serve with Syrupy Chicken...

Syrupy Chicken

based on an Ellie Krieger recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/maple-mustard-chicken-thighs-recipe/index.html

Syrupy Chicken

Ingredients

8 chicken thighs (bone in or not)

1/2 cup grainy mustard

1 clove of garlic, minced finely to a paste

3/4 teaspoon ground coriander

3 tablespoons maple syrup

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°F
Mix together the mustard, garlic, coriander and maple syrup
Smear on top of each chicken thigh
Roast for approx 30-45 minutes

Enjoy!

Kat's "in 5 minutes flat" meals...

2011-03-31T17:00:00.000-07:00

Leftover Fritatta

It's been a rough week here, hence the radio silence from kat ate that. I'm knee deep in a stroppy toddler and an intense preschooler. Both have been challenging their Mummy beyond my capacities this week, not helped by my husband being out of town and some other perfect storm circumstances.

Nevertheless, we still haven't eaten junk food or prepackaged dinners or even eaten out. So, I thought, therein lies my blog topic. I've been pondering for some time, how to write about the meals that I pull together in a snap. Lets face it, there are some days when we just don't have the time or inclination to plan and prepare earlier in the day. So I thought it might be interesting to start a series of my "in 5 minutes flat" meals. This is not rocket science, but we all run out of ideas sometimes so I thought putting some of this down might help both me and any readers in a similar position.

My typical week of meals involves, maybe, 3 complete "from scratch" meals, and the rest of the week I will use some of the leftovers as a base for a different meal, make one of my "in 5 minutes flat" meals or defrost a tasty something I've made a few weeks before.

I tend to cook as though I'm feeding a family of 8; when I roast up vegetables I will fill my (tiny) oven to the brim and use the leftover vegetables the following lunch or evening for something. Same for any meat, then I'll chop up the leftovers in any number of ways the following night. I generally cook extra rice or other grains when I make them and use them the next day in some way.

So today I'm offering a couple of my most trusty "go to" meals; Tortilla Pizza and Leftovers Fritatta. The "pizza" below was served with edamame before as I had no suitable vegetables at the ready. My fritatta was composed of leftover potato, broccoli and a few last crumbles of low fat feta. Anything goes!

I'm somewhat embarrassed to write these up as a recipe, but here goes. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts and ideas. I'm all ears!

Tortilla Pizza

Tortilla Pizza is always well received by the munchkins

Ingredients

Wholewheat tortillas (or flatbread, naan bread or pitta bread)

Pizza sauce (I frequently use pesto, but have been known to use bruschetta topping, tapenade, or whatever I have left in the fridge needing used)

Cheese (I have used fresh mozzarella, goats cheese, feta, cheddar, whatever I have)

leftover veg (roasted broccoli, corn, zucchini)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F
Assemble the "pizzas" on a baking sheet
Cook for approx 8-10 minutes until crispy on the bottom.

If I have no suitable leftover vegetables I will serve either carrot sticks or edamame as an appetizer.

All good.

Leftovers Fritatta

Serves 4

Ingredients

4-5 eggs
1/4 cup of low fat or non fat greek yogurt or low fat sour cream
salt and pepper
2 cups leftovers (vegetables, potatoes, cooked meat)
1/4 cup feta cheese or cheese of your choice
chopped herbs of your choice

Directions

Beat the eggs and yogurt until combined well and season
Stir in the other ingredients
Preheat a small ovenproof skillet on medium and add a little oil
Pour in the egg mixture and move around in the pan for a few minutes until the fritatta starts to set
When the fritatta is well cooked on the bottom transfer the skillet to the broiler and broil until the top of the fritatta is fully cooked also.
Serve with a salad or any other leftover vegetables

Enjoy!

A Risotto that hits all the right spots

2011-03-22T18:07:00.000-07:00

Can you tell what's different?

We're still both tantalising close and yet months away from warm weather here; Spring in the Northeast can be a cruel, hope crusher. Last week, we donned shorts and teeshirts, slapped on some suncream and even trotted out the patio furniture. This week, we've already had snow and more is in the forecast for tomorrow. Humph.

All this leaves me very confused as to what to buy in my weekly supermarket sweep, and then what to cook on any given day. One day I feel like a salad and grilled food, the next, risotto. Today, with snow on the horizon again, it's the latter. I've intended on posting a version of this for a while; Mark Bittman turned the light on for me that, brown rice can also be used for risotto. Until I realised that, eating risotto for me was a guilty pleasure, but not now. I love the texture and nutty flavor the brown rice lends to risotto; it's a different dish for sure, but equally tasty and significantlt more nutritious.

I have to say, I've been a touch intimidated regarding the posting of a risotto. In my family, there are a number of foodies; to name a couple, my brother is "in the business" and knows his way around a kitchen in a more expert way than I for sure (check him out: http://thecoffeeboys.com/blog/).

My cousin, of guest post fame, is no slouch in the kitchen either; they recently told me of their plan for a "risotto off". The basic premise; both contestants feel very sure that no-one can surpass their "epic" risottos, so they'll cook them on the same night and have some "impartial" tasters rate them. They love a good bit of competition; I do not, so I immediately withdrew my interest and went quiet on my recipe.

A little time has passed and I had some asparagus and baby bella mushrooms waiting patiently to be put to good use and what better than a wholesome brown rice risotto. Ok, I'll enter the family risotto arena I thought. Here goes:

Brown Rice Risotto

Brown Rice Risotto

Ingredients

2 cups/400g short grain rice
approx 1quart/1 litre chicken broth
1 cup/ 250 ml white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 small onion chopped finely
1 clove garlic, finely chopped or minced
roasted veg of your choice (I used asparagus and baby bella mushrooms, chopped into bitesize pieces)
2 oz/ 50g finely grated parmesan
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoon finely chopped herbs of your choice (I used thyme and sage)

Directions

Bring a medium pot of water up to the boil, add the rice and boil for 12 minutes.
Drain the rice and set aside (I often do this part earlier in the day and refrigerate the rice until ready to assemble the risotto)
Place the vegetables you are using on a rasting pan, drizzle with olive oil, season and roast at 400°C for approx 15 minutes.
Remove and set aside.
Heat the butter or oil on medium high, in a large heavy bottomed pot, and fry the onions until softened; 2-3 minutes. Then add the garlic and cook a further 1 minute
Meanwhile heat the broth and wine together in a medium pot
Add the rice to the onions mixture and stir around for a few minutes until coated with the oils and flavors.
Turn the heat down to low and add enough of the warmed liquid to just cover the rice.
Stir until the liquid is all absorbed, then do the same again. Stir stir stir...
This process will take approx 35 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed. Add more if it needs it.
When the rice is cooked, add the roasted vegetables, cheese and herbs.
Stir to combine and serve immediately.

A couple of notes on the recipe:

great vegetable substitutes are roasted butternut squash and sage or pea and mint or basil. Anything goes really.
As I was stirring tonight (a rare 30 undisturbed minutes for me, thanks to Tigger and Poo), I actually really enjoyed the simple pleasure of standing at the stove. However, I'm under no illusion that many of us can't commit that time to a risotto on a week night, so I got out my Delia Smith cookbooks. Delia has a couple of fantastic risotto recipes in her "How to Cook" books which are oven baked. If it works with arborio rice I strongly suspect it will work with the precooked brown, so I''ll test that and post an add on to this if it is worth doing.
Oh and my 4 year old ate this (after a gentle nudge), the 2 year old ate only 1 bite. I won't give up trying!

Enjoy!

A versatile and tasty Quinoa Paella

2011-03-20T09:12:00.000-07:00

It's been a tricky week for my food blog inspiration. As I publicly proclaimed in my last post, I've had it up to here with being just slightly over my "fighting weight". Actually the bits that are over are my love handles on my jeans.

Anyway, this week also coincided with St. Patricks Day (for those of you who live in a bubble), so I instantly fell off the wagon and made Irish Tea Bread. I blame my Mum; she emailed my the recipe just in time. Plus, I couldn't send my daughter to school on St. Patrick's day with an all American muffin or granola bar; just not traditional Irish enough. So off she went with her tea bread, fully prepped to educate her teachers and class on what it was called, how it was made (she helped me).

However, sorry to disappoint, but I just can't bring myself to post that recipe yet. I need to be true to my word and give you the healthy options only; at least for the next week or 2 anyway! And I honestly didn't eat that much of the tea bread!

So, I am continuing to love love love Lorna Sass's fabulous book; Wholegrains for Busy People. Honestly, I can't find a recipe in there that does not appeal to me. Lorna manages to make cooking with wholegrains both appetizing and attainable without using a lot of obscure "healthy" ingredients.

So I've been working on a tweak of one of her recipes; a one pot quinoa dish based loosely on paella. It started with me looking for a reason to use smoked paprika. I dream about that spice! I just love it's complexity; when I add it to a dish it tastes like I've blended a whole bunch of spices in a fancy chef like way!

Notes on the recipe:

I'm presenting this recipe as I cooked it last night, but feel free to add more or less peas or substitute with another crunchy green vegetable such as broccoli, green beans or even seasonal (did I mention it's Spring!) asparagus. You could use fresh or roasted red peppers, and more or less chorizo. I'm sure you get my drift; it's a flexible recipe.

Quinoa Paella

Serves 6-8 (plenty for leftover lunch the next day)

Ingredients

1 lb/450g chicken or shrimp (chicken cut into approx 1" pieces)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons smoked spanish paprika

2 garlic cloves (minced or finely chopped)

pinch of red pepper flakes (or more to taste)

11/2 quarts/ 1500ml chicken broth

1 rounded tablespoon tomato paste

3 cups/ 18 oz/ 510g quinoa

1 1/2 cups/ 6oz/ 170g chopped chorizo

2 cups/ 8oz/ 225g frozen peas

1 cup/ 8oz/ 225g roasted red peppers (chopped)

1 teaspoon sweet chili sauce (or more to taste)

Directions

Heat a large deep pan or skillet, on medium high and add the olive oil. When hot add the chicken or shrimp.
Cook for about 2-3 minutes (or until cooked through) then remove
Add the chorizo, paprika, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook a further 2-3 minutes
Add the chicken broth, stir up the bottom to release the tasty bits, then add the tomato paste
Add the quinoa and simmer for approx 12 minutes
Add the chicken or shrimp and cook a further 2 minutes
Finally add the peas and peppers
Serve

This is the double whammy; healthy comfort food.

A last hurrah for overindulgence...

2011-03-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

ahhh...chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies

I've come to the conclusion, after years and years of trying to lose a few pounds after the holidays, that it's impossible to address tubbiness, until March at the earliest. I find myself firmly in comfort mode until the first signs of Spring.

Well woo hoo, Spring has sprung in the north east of America. We have sightings of crocus (-i?) in our front garden, all the snow is gone and finally we seem both alarmingly and tantalizingly close to the skimpy clothes of summer time. Skimpy is all relative mind you; I am 40 now after all!

Speaking of which, this past weekend was the official celebration of my husband's and my 40th! We're like The Queen, you know, we have a real birthday and an official birthday (to celebrate with the masses). So some of our oldest friends and family kindly came over/up/across to help us celebrate. Such fun! Enough said; no details required! If you read my cousin's guest post at the weekend, you'll know there were good food and drinks involved (and a babysitter!)

So time to get serious with the healthy eating to really make a difference to the scales. I publicly declared last night that I'd had enough with the extra 5-7 lbs which have been hanging around like a bad smell for the last year. Huh? You're wondering; doesn't she always make healthy food? Mostly yes, but my love of food makes portion control difficult and I have a borderline addiction to chocolate and ice cream! Actually these pesky pounds mostly crept on, in a monumentally greedy 6 weeks over a year ago. I've just not been disciplined enough with my portion control since then, to kick them to touch.

So here's my last hurrah from the weekend past, then the decadence of the winter must be put in check.

This recipe, to be honest, is the first recipe I thought of putting on my blog. Every time I bake these cookies, they are eaten with such gusto and lip smacking that, without fail, the recipe is asked for. The recipe is a Martha Stewart one and largely unchanged. All I've added are a few extra tips as they can be a little bit tricky at times.They really are so worth the attention to detail though. Read on...

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

adapted from http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/chewy-chocolate-gingerbread-cookies

makes approx 20 cookies

Ingredients

7 oz bittersweet chocolate chips (I use ghirardelli 60%)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

8 tablespoons (1/2 cup/ 4 oz) unsalted butter, softened

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup unsulfured molasses

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup granulated sugar

Directions

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
Sift together the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cocoa, in a medium bowl
Using an electric mixer, with the paddle attached, beat the butter and grated ginger until they turn a light cream color.
Add the brown sugar, beat to combine and then add the molasses. Beat again until combined
Combine the baking soda with 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water and stir to dissolve. Mine never dissolves completely so don't worry.
With the mixer on low, add half of the flour mixture, then mix slowly to combine.
Then add the baking soda mixture, mix again.
Then add the remainder of the flour and mix again until combined.
Finally add the chocolate and mix one last time until just combined.
At any of these points only mix until combined. Over mixing will produce a tough cookie.
Scrape the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap and flatten into a disc approx 2" thick.
Wrap up and place in the refrigerator for approx 2 hours or until firm. Sometimes I throw it in the freezer to speed up this process.
Heat the oven to 325°F
Take the dough out of the refrigerator and roll into balls of approx 1 1/2"
Place them on a cookie sheet and cool again in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.
Put the sugar in a cereal sized bowl and roll the balls in it until completely covered.
Put them in the oven as soon as quickly as possible; if the dough is too warm it will spread and burn more easily.
Bake for approx 11 minutes or until the surface just begins to crack. They will still be very soft when you take them out of the oven.
Let them cool on the baking tray for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. If you move them too quickly they will fall apart.
Watch these cookies closely; they burn easily due to the molasses and dark brown sugar. It's 2 minutes between a perfectly baked cookie and a burnt bottom.

We made ice cream sandwiches with these last weekend, using vanilla ice cream. They were obscenely good!!

A couple more notes:

I keep my fresh ginger in the freezer and grate it frozen. If you're doing that, add more than a tablespoon of ginger as it seems to grate up with more volume when frozen.
Measure your molasses and boiling water very carefully for this recipe; if you overdo either your cookie will spread too much and burn easily.
I use the Barefoot Contessa's (http://www.barefootcontessa.com/) method of measuring flour usually; I stir up the flour to lighten it and then scoop out the necessary amount. I use the handle of my spoon to scrape off the excess.

Enjoy!

A little bit of visiting Irish appetizer and an apperitif

2011-03-12T09:48:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, this is kat ate that's cousin and friend, visiting the U S of A all the way from Northern Ireland (best place in the world for anyone who's never visited and that's not just because I'm paid to say that - check it out for yourself http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/).

Anyway, with a little coercion, I've persuaded kat to allow me to guest blog (am very excited) and share with you all my pre dinner concoctions from last night (a specified pre-trip kat instruction - no such thing as a free holiday anymore).

I'd also like to take the opportunity to introduce you to Delia Smith - the godmother of British celebrity chefs - all great recipes start with a touch of Delia and in my experience following her recipes you can never go wrong. My version of Frijolemole is based on one of Delia's recipes; its a variation on a hummus type dip and in the spirit of "kat ate that" I have:

a) tried to be healthy-ish (go easy on the chips); and,
b) improvised (which to be fair wasn't actually by choice; "she" didn't buy me all my ingredients)

So here goes....

My Frijolemole

based on (http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/cuisine/exotic/mexican/frijolemole.html),

Ingredients

1 tin chickpeas/ garbanzo beans (440g)

1 medium white onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

juice of 1 lime

1 fresh chilli

a few drops of tobasco sauce

fresh chopped coriander (cilantro for you American readers)

2 tablespoons soured cream (low fat

salt and pepper

1 red pepper finely diced

Directions

Fry the onion and garlic in a little oil for about 10 minutes until soft (do not brown)
Drain the tin of chickpeas and put in the food processor with some salt and pepper
Add the fried onion and garlic and the juice of the lime and blend to a smoothish paste (yesterday I added a splash of milk and a drizzle of olive oil while blending to soften)
Empty the puree into a bowl and add the chilli, tobasco, coriander, sour cream and salt and pepper to taste
Finally add the red pepper (the original recipe does not include red pepper but adds a chopped fresh tomato and 3 spring onions - however, as I said kat didn't shop properly so I improvised with a red pepper which actually was very tasty)

Serve with warm pitta bread (for health) and corn chips (for tastiness) - de-licious!

And then flavour with........

Boozeberry Fizz

Last week at home I was introduced to Boozeberries Irish Liquer - I will never look back and therefore feel is my duty to convert as many boozeberries virgins as possible - http://www.boozeberries.com/.

I (kindly) brought a bottle of the wild cranberry flavour with me under my oxter*. Last night we combined it with prosecco to create a (new to me) taste sensation (Joyce, you'd love it!). Clearly, no recipe required.

Enjoy!

* colloquial Northern Irish for armpit

Real Food for St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-06T17:06:00.000-08:00

I have something to get off my chest about St. Patrick's Day in America. We Irish people do not eat corned beef and cabbage on St. Patricks Day, or any other day for that matter. Nor was it a tradition to do so in years gone by. One of the most traditional meals eaten is "bacon and cabbage" but the corned beef was substituted when the Irish emigrated to America and (like me) could not readily locate or afford back bacon.

And another thing; the soda bread masquerading in your local Supermarket as Irish, is nothing like real soda bread. To me it tastes like a huge, stale, oversweetened scone. Eucchh! Real soda bread is not sweet and rarely has raisins in it. It's a simple bread made of flour, baking soda, buttermilk and salt. Thats it! There, I feel better now!

So, in honor of these facts, I am offering a few alternatives that really are Irish. I have been poring over Darina Allen's book, Irish Traditional Cooking and Malachi McCormick's, Irish Country cooking. Straight bacon and cabbage is just not my favorite, but if you want a good authentic recipe here's a great link to the Winner of the Best Irish Food Blog 2010; Donal Skehan and his version of the classic:

http://www.donalskehan.com/beta/2010/03/good-auld-bacon-and-cabbage/

I also would encourage you to refer to my posts on Iris's Wheaten Bread or Irish Lasagna .

As usual my obsession with baking got the better of me, so my contribution to your St. Patrick's Day, is a Brown Soda Bread recipe. I just couldn't bring myself to use all white flour or all purpose flour so I made the wholegrain or brown soda bread. I should add though, that the brown soda bread is equally authentic. I also learned from Darina Allen, that traditionally the bread would have been cooked in a pot oven, called a bastible, beside an open fire.

I realise, after researching the food of Ireland a little more, that my love of simple, unpretentious food is in my genes. I hadn't thought of it this way before, but Irish food relies on good quality, fresh ingredients. Historically, however, there was not a huge variety of ingredients available. Sometimes too, basics were scarce; even flour at times was scarce. Hence the love of the versatile potato; making it into breads, soups and everything in between.

Anyway, this bread is a prime example of simplicity. 4 ingredients and 10 minutes are all that is needed to get a tasty wholesome bread in the oven. Be warned, do not over handle this dough; it needs a light hand and as soon as it pulls together, get it in the oven. Overworking it will surely give you a tough bread.

Brown Soda Bread

adapted from Darina Allen's book Irish Traditional Cooking

random note: notice our snow is finally almost gone!!! It's been over 2 months since we've seen grass here. This week, the girls and I have been searching the garden, for evidence of the Spring fairy, in vain yet.

The recipe yields 2 loaves as seen.

Ingredients

4 cups wholewheat flour
4 cups all purpose flour
3 heaping teaspoons salt
2 heaping teaspoons baking soda
3- 3 1/4 cups sour milk

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450°F
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Make a well in the center and add most of the buttermilk.
With clean hands, mix the dough together, starting from the center.
Add more milk as needed to achieve a dough that is soft but not sticky.
On a floured board or using cleaned, then floured hands, form the dough into 2 flattened discs about 2" thick. Don't be too concerned if it's not completely mixed together; if you overhandle it the result will be tough bread. Just blob it together and plop on the cookie sheet.
Place the dough on the cookie sheet with a little space between them for growing
Take a large knife and cut a cross almost through to the bottom of the dough
Place in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes then reduce the heat to 400°F for a further 25 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
Enjoy this bread warm with butter and jam; ours was gobbled up at snacktime today by 2 hungry monsters and their parents.

A couple of notes:

This is a very flexible recipe; traditional wholewheat flour in Ireland is coarser than ours in the US so feel free to add a bit more fiber; perhaps wheat germ, bran, oat bran, or ground flax seed.
You could also make these into scones by simply patting the discs to 1" and cutting out wedges. Bake for less time.

Enjoy!

The Best Granola Bars Ever

2011-03-05T11:32:00.000-08:00

At last I've cracked it! With the help of "the wholegrain gourmet", I have found a recipe for granola bars that doesn't taste like it's good for you. What I'm trying to say if these granola bars are super tasty. As you may have read before, I've been searching and testing granola bar recipes for a while. I object to buying granola bars filled with unpronounceable ingredients that aren't good for us, not to mention the expense.

The wholegrain gourmet website has a lot of good recipes; well worth a look at. This recipe is a adaptation of their Coconut Almond Granola Bar recipe. I like it because it has minimal sweeteners, lots and lots of wholegrains, for a longer energy boost and it uses coconut oil (but not much) as the fat. This could be replaced by canola oil if you don't have.

I tested my latest attempt on a few friends, as well as the family and they got a resounding 2 thumbs up. The only refuser is my 4 year old on the grounds of visible nuts. "I'll soon fix that" I thought. Grind them longer in the food processor or in fact leaving them out altogether is a possibility too.

These really are easy to prepare; I recommend making a double batch and freezing what you can't eat in 3 days. Wrap them in plastic wrap and then into a freezer bag. They really freeze beautifully.

The Best Granola Bars Ever

adapted from http://www.wholegraingourmet.com/recipes/57/52.html

Yields one 9x13" pan

Ingredients

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 cup 10 grain cereal (I used Bob's red mill but any multigrain cereal for making into hot cereal would do)

1/2 cup wheat germ (or oat bran, wheat bran or ground flax seeds)

1 1/2 cups almonds

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

1/2 cup honey or 1/3 cup agave nectar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tablespoons virgin coconut oil (usually solid when you purchase it)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup dried fruit of your choice (I used apricots and cherries)

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup shredded coconut (I used sweetened, if you have unsweetened, increase the honey a little)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F
Lightly grease the pan with coconut oil
Place the almonds in the food processor and pulse until the size you like. Be careful not to over pulse or you will have almond butter!
Remove the almonds and place the dried fruit in the processor. Pulse until finely chopped.
In a large bowl, mix the oats, cereal, wheat germ, almonds, sesame seeds and shredded coconut. Then place this mixture on a large rimmed baking sheet and put in the oven for approx 15 minutes to toast up. Stir 2 or 3 times during the toasting time.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine the coconut oil, honey/ agave, vanilla and salt and warm on a medium low heat until melted and combined; for about 5 minutes.
Remove the cereal mixture from the oven, reduce the heat to 300°F and mix the cereal with the honey/oil mixture. Stir to combine well and add the dried fruit. Stir to combine and finally add the chocolate. Stir quickly as the chocolate will melt.
Working quickly, pour the mixture into the baking pan and press firmly down using the back of a spatula (or your clean hands)
Bake for 25 minutes.
Slice the granola bars after 5 minutes cooling in the pan. Then leave to cool completely in the pan
You will need to slice again and be careful not to break up the bars as you slice. I held down the mixture with one hand and sliced with the other. I also cut mine into squares as it seemed easier not to break them up by doing that (not to mention they look more like cookies that way!)
If you are going to freeze them make sure they are completely cool before doing so

Enjoy!

A couple of notes:

I haven't yet tried the nut free version for my 4 year old, but I plan on increasing the rest of the dry ingredients to replace the lost volume of nuts. When I test this I will add a comment to this recipe.

Pork Extravaganza Part 2 : Healthy Fried Rice and Pork Tacos

2011-02-28T11:20:00.000-08:00

It's all about the selling pitch, I find; I'm talking about whether my kids will eat what is prepared for them or push the plate away (arggghh!). This blog may primarily be about family friendly food, but be under no illusions, I do not have perfect eaters in this house and neither am I the perfect Mum. I have to use all the strategies under the sun to "sell" the food I prepare, but then I try not to hover or force them to eat it. There is a general rule, eat it or go hungry until the next meal (unless they are sick).

Anyway, hence the pink sauce. Having 2 young girls in the house, we are living the pink years. So I work it to my advantage, whenever possible. The sauce is actually salmon colored, thanks to smoked paprika, but my pitch seemed to excite the girls into taking at least their first bite. Then they realised their dinner was tasty.

If you read my previous Pork Post, you'll know it all started with a roasted stuffed pork loin. I didn't get my act together in time that night, to present that to my kids, as dinner. That night they had wholewheat gnocchi, pesto and corn. Point proven; not the perfect Mum.

I've taken some artistic licence with the tacos; the consistency is not what you'd expect but I wanted to disguise the vegetables. My youngest is going through a picky vegetable phase so the squash was my choice. Corn, tomatoes, peppers (roasted or not), even peas would work nicely/ nicer here.

Anyway, here are my 2 leftovers options:

Pork Tacos with Pink Sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients for the Pink Sauce

approx 1 cup reduced fat sour cream

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

approx 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (approx 1 lime)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Ingredients for the Tacos

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 teaspoon jalapeno pepper, diced finely (or some chilli powder, flakes or hot sauce, to taste)

2 cloves of garlic, diced finely or minced

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 lb leftover meat (diced finely)

1 package frozen winter squash, defrosted (substitute roasted peppers, cherry tomatoes or corn)

1 cup vegetable broth (or chicken if you have it)

1 can black beans (rinsed thoroughly to remove some sodium)

8-10 small 6" tortillas (I always prefer wholewheat to corn)

Directions

Whisk together the pink sauce ingredients and set aside
Heat the oil in a deep sided pot on medium high.
Add the onion and fry for 3-5 minutes until softened
Add the jalapeno, garlic and spices and cook for a further 3 minutes until fragrant
Add the meat and cook a further 2-3 minutes then add then add the squash and broth.
Add the beans, stir gently to combine and add more broth if it needs it, to gain the consistency you like for your filling
Heat the tortillas in the microwave, wrapped in a paper towel, on high for 2 minutes
Serve with the pink sauce and either guacamole or simply avaocado on the side

Enjoy!

Healthy Fried Rice

(sorry no photo!)

Serves 4

Sauce Ingredients

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

3 tablespoons mustard (I used a garlic mustard)

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon garlic (I omitted, as garlic mustard used)

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)

3 tablespoons water

Ingredients

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1-2 cloves garlic chopped finely or minced

4-5 cups chopped raw veg of your choice (I used carrots and corn; it was all I had left!)

2 cups cooked grains (I used brown rice but Lorna suggests barley or quinoa)

1-2 cups cooked meat (or scrambled egg)

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

Directions

Mix together the sauce ingredients and set aside (this will be too much but will keep for a month in the refrigerator)
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a wok or a large pot and add the onion and garlic. Fry for 2-3 minutes until softened then add 1/4 cup water and the remaining veg.
Cover the pot and steam the veg for approx 3-5 minutes depending on the vegetables you are using.
Add the rice, meat and ginger. Stir to combine and heat through
Add enough of the sauce to coat everything.

Enjoy!

Pork Extravaganza

2011-02-27T17:44:00.000-08:00

I've been pondering on how to make my dinners more exciting for the blog; but then I remembered, that's the whole point. They're family dinners! They're supposed to tasty, nutritious and quick to prepare, not Michelin star worthy. So I thought I'd give an example of dinner in our house for last 3 nights.

This story starts with a lowly 2lb pork loin. I have a bunch of good tenderloin recipes but I didn't have a recipe I loved for pork loin, so I took advice from Martha Stewart, Everyday Food. Pork Loin with Dried Fruit and Chestnut Stuffing. http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/pork-loin-with-dried-fruit-and-chestnut-stuffing

This one is definitely a keeper. I didn't change it much and its actually dinner party worthy. The pork is stuffed with cooked chestnuts and dried fruit. I used apricots and cherries and it was really delicious. I served it with roasted potatoes and I defrosted a tupperware of sweet and sour red cabbage, that I had made a huge batch of, a while back.

Needless to say there were lots of leftovers, so come night 2 I reached for my usual leftover pork idea; fried rice. Except this time, I used the "Whole Grains for Busy People" book, by Lorna Sass. I can't get enough of this book, at the moment. I've actually borrowed it from our library and renewed it twice; I just can't bear to give it back. Time to fork over some money at Borders I think. Anyway, I was intrigued by her take on fried rice; she doesn't use egg but her sauce looked and indeed turned out to be, totally mouth watering.

Finally, tonight, there was still pork leftover and another starred recipe in Lorna Sass's book got the treatment; tacos. I took a lot of artistic license with her recipe, but was drawn to it by the smoked paprika sour cream. It's supposed to have ground chicken as the meat and cherry tomatoes, however I had leftover pork and cherry tomatoes do not darken the door of our house until they're in season.

I added black beans, frozen pureed winter squash and changed up the spices a bit but all good. The tacos were wolfed down by my 4 year old and eaten via the "pulling everything apart to check what it is" method, by my 2 year old. My husband and I loved them too.

All in all 3 easy, tasty and yet different meals out of one base ingredient. Part 1 is below, I'll publish part 2 and 3 during the course of this week.

Pork Loin stuffed with Chestnuts and Fruit

Ingredients

1 boneless pork loin (I used a 2 lb one, bigger would work just fine)

approx 1/2 cup cooked chestnuts, chopped

approx 1/2 cup dried fruit of your choice, chopped

salt and freshly cracked pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons ground coriander or 1 tablespoon freshly cracked coriander seeds

Gravy Ingredients

3/4 cup dry white wine

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

approx 14fl oz chicken broth (low sodium)

1 tablespoon butter

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450°F
Place the pork on a chopping board and slice lengthwise, parallel to the work surface. Do not cut right through; you should have one large rectangular piece of pork.
place 4 or 4 pieces of kitchen string underneath the pork ready to roll and tie it back together after the stuffing is in place.
Mix together the chestnuts and fruit and place them mixture on top of the pork. Push it gently to adhere and make it easier to roll.
Roll up the pork, overlapping slightly and tie it together.
Rub the pork in oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and coriander
This can be made ahead to this point and refrigerated for up to a day.
Place it in the oven for approx 40 minutes or until a thermometer reads 145°
Cover the meat with foil for 10 minutes while you make the gravy
Place the roasting pan on the stove and add the wine. Stir to get the tasty bits released and reduce the wine a little for 5 minutes.
Add the mustard, broth and reduce for another 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat and add the butter.
Drizzle over the meat

Watch this space for Healthy Fried Rice and Pork Tacos with Pink Sour Cream.

Recipes will be posted this week

Enjoy!!

Scottish Oatcakes

2011-02-22T17:48:00.000-08:00

More on the snacks theme;
I am beyond excited! I've just made real oatcakes and they're delicious! Ahhh, oatcakes, strong cheddar and a good chutney or pepper jelly or oatcakes, smoked salmon, a squeeze of lemon juice and fresh cracked black pepper, ahh, oatcakes and pate. A glass of your favorite red wine and you have a perfect appetizer, snack, lunch, dinner. Need I go on? Probably yes, if you're not British or haven't spent much time there.

Oatcakes are robust crunchy crackers made, quite simply, of oats, wholegrain flour, water, butter and baking soda. Traditionally, actually, they are made with lard but I just can't bring myself to do that. They are not sweet, although as I was researching recipes I did find sweetened versions. For me though, the taste has always been a savoury one. Don't expect a the sweetness of a wheat thin, or you'll be sorely dissapointed.

As long as I've lived in the US, I've had visitors from home bring over some oatcakes; it's the food from home that I miss most. I have intended on baking them for years, but procrastination sometimes gets the better of me.

In explanation, my husband is Scottish and I lived in Scotland for about 7 years. I also spent many a summer in Scotland as a child and my Mum's sister and family have lived there all my life. Have I justified my connection yet?

A word about this recipe; I based it on one from a website called undiscoveredscotland

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usrecipes/oatcakes/index.html

and the recipe calls for medium oats. If my memory serves me right, these are a little smaller than the typical old fashioned rolled oats in the US stores. So I pulsed mine in the processor about 10-15 times. Here's what they looked like after pulsing:

Scottish Oatcakes

Yields approx 24

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups/ 8oz/ 230g medium oatmeal

1 3/4 cups/ 8oz/ 230g wholewheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons/ 1/4 cup/ 2 oz butter (melted)

1 1/2 cup 50ml boiling water

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 °F/ 200°C
Line a cookie sheet/ baking tray with parchment paper
Melt the butter over a low heat, in a small pan
With clean hands, mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl
Add the butter and boiling water and stir together until a dough forms
Firmly form the dough into a 4 balls, before rolling, so it did not crack too much upon rolling.
Roll out each ball to 1/2cm/ 1/4" thick, on a surface with oatmeal scattered on top (as you would with flour when rolling cookie dough)
Cut out the shapes and place on the tray.
Re-form the off cuts and roll out into cookies also. I hand shaped some of mine at the end to get the most of my dough.
Bake for approx 20 minutes or until golden and and crisp
Cool on a wire rack.

In a word, these are exceptionally easy and therapeutic to make. Any rustic recipe like this is a great one for the kids to help; the rolling out and shape cutting is all fun, although if I'm in a time pinch next time I intend to just roll into a circle and cut wedges instead of circles. Less scraps to deal with that way.

Crack open the wine, get out the cheese and Enjoy!

Snacks...

2011-02-21T13:21:00.000-08:00

We are big snackers in this house; I'm afraid I have inflicted the need for regular snacks on my children. Having said that, modern thinking is we should be eating 4-6 small meals a day so perhaps they won't throw that up at me, as childhood baggage, in 20 years time.

Anyway, I have long been perplexed by feeding my kids "kid snacks". Here in the US, there are so many foods marketed to kids with nothing close to real food in the ingredients. Apart from fruit, we eat a lot of crackers and granola bars for snacks. Finding a good recipe for a granola bar, has long been on my research list, but to date I have nothing that I'm particularly proud of, so nothing to share on that front today.

However, I've made it my mission in the next few months to share some really great snack recipes. I will continue to work on the granola bar and good cracker recipes, but in the meantime; I have a healthy muffin recipe to share.

You may notice there's a strong theme in my baking. My first inclination is always to seek out a way to "choclify" a recipe. The recipe below started as a blueberry muffin recipe, but I've justified a way to add chocolate by significantly reducing the sugar, adding orange juice and zest and increasing the whole grains.

I've been considering a chocolate orange muffin for a couple of months; I made a delicious attempt a few weeks ago, but I was not content with the amount of butter in them. So here's a healthier version which still reminds me of the original chocolate orange combination in my life; Terry's Chocolate Orange. Green and Blacks Maya Gold eat your heart out!

All in all, a very pleasing muffin according to my husband and kids. Sufficiently sweet for a instand lift but followed up with enough wholegrains to keep everyone going until the next meal.

Chocolate Orange Muffins

Yields approx 24 muffins

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups/ 6oz/ 170g all purpose flour

1 1/4 cups/ 5.5 oz/ 155g whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup/ 3.2oz/ 90g quick cooking oats (not instant) or place old fashioned oats in the processor for 10-15 pulses

1/2 cup/ 3.5 oz/ 100g granulated sugar

1 tablespoon (yes!) baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups/ 480ml low fat plain yogurt or buttermilk

1/2 cup/ 120ml orange juice (preferably freshly squeezed)

zest from 2 oranges

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 large egg, beaten

3/4 cup chocolate chips (bittersweet, 60% or higher cacao)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°C/ 200°F
Grease or line 2 twelve cup muffin tins
Measure the first 7 dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine well. I actually used my clean hands to lightly mix because the oats make it more difficult to combine.
In another mixing bowl whisk together the buttermilk or yogurt, orange juice, zest and egg.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined. Do not overstir!
Fold in the chocolate chips.
Using an ice cream scoop, fill the muffins tins to approx 2/3 full.
Place in the oven and bake for approx 15 minutes or until just turning golden on top.
Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes then remove to a cooling rack.

Enjoy!!

Notes on the recipe:

Tasty additions would be a 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and a 1/4 of nutmeg. I will try this next time and report back.
A word about flour when baking; 90% of the time you can substitute at least 1/2 whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour. I tend to use whole wheat pastry flour which is made from white wholewheat flour. The "white" does not mean that the flour has been stripped of it's "whole grain" quality, it's just a different variety of wheat. It makes a more tender baked product but still has the same amount of fiber. If you can't get that flour, feel free to replace with regular wholewheat flour, the result may just be slightly denser.
A word about chocolate and chocolate chips; I always use bittersweet chocolate in my baked goods, unless otherwise specified. I usually buy the ghirardelli 60% chips and when they're on sale buys them in bulk!

Mini Sticky Chocolate Cakes

2011-02-16T10:14:00.000-08:00

It was my (uh um) 40th birthday yesterday. 2 reasons I'm writing about that; cake and photography. For all those of you who have been offended by my amateurish photography to date; take heart. My girls got me a tripod and a book on food photography for my birthday. So hang on in there while I read up and all should improve!

Cake; well, my husband was totally at a loss as to what to do about cake. While he can cook, he really doesn't bake, so making one wasn't an option. Also, knowing my active membership in the "nasty ingredient police", he was nervous to buy one. A birthday cake filled with trans fat and artificial flavors is not my idea of a celebration.

So, no cake. I planned on making my own actually, call me nuts, but I'd have been happy to if I'd had a moment. Instead, I spent the afternoon with my kids at the merry go round and in the Disney store. When they're happy, I'm happy!

Anyway, I'll admit I have been thinking of cake rather a lot recently, and I have a chocolate and zucchini recipe for sticky chocolate cake, that I've been meaning to try for months.

http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2009/05/sticky_chocolate_cake.php

Clotilde's recipes are amazing and always a little different. Check out her blog if you haven't before.

Anyway, lets talk more about the key to the stickiness; prunes, or to give them their "post rehab" name, dried plums! For those US readers, please read on. Give prunes another try. They are not only good for "getting things moving", if you know what I mean. They have an amazing depth of flavor which goes perfectly with chocolate, and when you use them you can invariably cut down the fat and sugar in the baked product. Quite honestly I love them on their own. They do not need to be dressed up, but dressed up they are, in the following recipe.

Many years ago, Delia Smith, (the UK's answer to Julia Child), introduced me to the pairing of chocolate and prunes, with her Chocolate Prune Brownies. Her "How to cook: Book 2" has a whole section on the pairing. The recipe became my "go to" brownie recipe of my 20's. Shortly after starting a new job here in NYC, I brought in a batch for a birthday celebration in work. I was so proud of my delicious brownies and they went down a storm in the office.

Then, I was asked what was my secret? Prunes, I innocently replied, unaware of the stigma attached to the prune in the US. Well, suffice to say, I went home with the rest of the brownies. My boss was most perturbed, as he had had 3 by this point; how to impress a new boss! They were all under the impression you should only eat prunes if your Doctor had recommended them! I can assure you, nobody's afternoon was ruined by too many prunes.

I have been amused in recent years here, to see the prune producers, changing their marketing strategy to "dried plums", in an effort to fool the US market into eating them again.

Anyway, my daughters were both at preschool this morning, so I ignored the housework and errands needing attention and made cakes. I suppose they're really muffins but they really are quite light and cake-like. Plus, since it's my birthday season, I just have to call them cakes!

As usual, I couldn't stick to the recipe; Clotilde recommends steeping the prunes in your favorite brandy; I used cranberry juice for my kids sake. I substituted half of the flour for whole wheat pastry and added molasses instead of maple syrup. I also used dark brown sugar instead of light, all in the hope of achieving a dark and delicious looking cake.

The cakes are totally delicious as they are, but I plan to build on this recipe in future. They would be amazing with chocolate ganache on top, and/or (nod to Delia) chocolate dipped prunes on top.
I also think they could accommodate more cocoa powder to good effect. When I try any of these ideas, I will add on to this post to share the love!

Mini Sticky Chocolate Cakes

Yields 12 muffins/ mini cakes

Ingredients

8 oz/ 230g prunes (dried plums), pitted

1/3 cup/ 80 ml cranberry juice (substitute brandy, pomegranate juice, black tea)

1/2 cup/ 120ml buttermilk or plain yogurt

1 egg lightly beaten

6 tablespoons/ 75 g dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons/ molasses (substitute maple syrup or treacle)

1/2 cup/ 60g all purpose flour

1/2 cup/ 60g whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (sifted after measuring)

4 oz/ 115g bittersweet chocolate chips or chopped from a bar.

Directions

Place half of the prunes in the soaking liquid of choice and warm slightly. Leave to cool and soak. (Honestly, overnight would be best, but I didn't have the time)
Preheat the oven to 350°F/ 180°C
Grease the muffin pan
Place the remaining half of prunes and the buttermilk in the food processor and process until smooth
Transfer the prunes and buttermilk to a large mixing bowl and whisk in the eggs, then the sugar, then the molasses.
Cut the soaked prunes in half with scissors and set aside. Discard the remaining liquid.
In another mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa, baking powder, soda, and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined. No not overstir.
Finally fold in the chocolate chips
Using an ice cream scoop, fill the muffin tins to about 2/3 full. Then squish a few prune halves in on the top of the batter.
Bake in the center of the oven for 15-18 minutes or until a tester comes out clean

Enjoy!

p.s. I have just kicked these up a notch by smearing the tops with melted chocolate and a dollop of sour cream. Then I plopped another half prune on the top. Amazing.

Here's what they looked like

My husband's tasty pancakes

2011-02-12T07:21:00.000-08:00

My first post. I’m Kat’s husband.

After being on 10 different planes in the past four weeks I am home for a while and my cousin “Auntie Ticktoria” is visiting.

I’ve been addicted to the statistics of the blog while I’ve been away; I knew that if a new recipe was posted I was receiving a sign that all was well, back at the ranch. 1,065 page views to date… I could bore you with all sorts of other stuff like the fact that people from Spain and Scandinavia have viewed the blog…..but I’ll stop.

This morning the girls were very excited about the prospect of breakfast with "Auntie Ticktoria". We agreed to make pancakes, rather than my usual trip to get bagels with the girls while Kat has a lie in, I found this recipe on the net a while ago and it was much better than any previous pancake recipe or mix I have ever used.

Consistent with the other recipes on this blog, I've made it a bit healthier than the original recipe. I make the batter with whole-wheat flour rather than regular flour. I think this started because the first time I made the recipe I couldn’t find any white flour in the house, (doesn’t mean there wasn’t any, just that I couldn’t find it….). Although butter is not the healthiest part if the recipe, it’s a worthwhile addition of flavor that can’t be replaced by oil or nonstick sprays. The caramelized banana is one of the best things about these pancakes and the butter really helps that flavor.

So here goes.

First of all make sure you have made your cup of coffee or whatever else gets you going in the morning.

Saturday morning pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup/ 4oz/ 110g wholewheat flour

1/2 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

1 cup/ 240 ml buttermilk

1 egg, lightly beaten
1 banana, sliced thinly

Directions

Turn the oven on low to keep the pancakes warm
Measure out the dry ingredients and whisk them together in a mixing bowl.
Add the eggs and the buttermilk and stir with a wooden spoon until you have a smooth batter. This morning my batter was a bit too thick, probably because the air is very dry at the moment, so I added some more buttermilk.
Put the skillet on the stove on medium put a knob of butter on to melt.
Don’t forget to put the exhaust fan on, so the kitchen is filled with the smell of pancakes and not the fumes of cooking.
Chop up the banana while the skillet warms up and then add some butter to the pan.
Pour some pancake batter onto the skillet, then place the sliced banana on top.
Cook for about 2 minutes on each side. This will vary depending on how hot your pan is, but if it’s too hot there will be smoke and the middle of the pancakes will be raw. If the pan it too cold the pancakes will just take forever and the banana will not caramelize.
Each of the pancakes will absorb some butter so keep an eye on how much is in the pan and add a small amount before starting a new pancake if necessary.

I made double the recipe (pancakes freeze apparently) and we ate about 2/3 of the pancakes between three adults and the two kids.

Where can you go wrong? Just don’t forget to wash the dishes after you are finished cooking.

A couple of tips:

This is a great recipe to get the kids involved in stirring
To freeze the pancakes, place a piece of parchment paper between each pancake and place the pancakes in a ziplock bag. To defrost, lightly toast.
The banana can obviously be substituted for another fruit such as blueberries, strawberries, apples or pears

Luxurious Leek and Potato soup

2011-02-09T13:40:00.000-08:00

Despite the massive interest in my last chocolatey post, it seemed time for a shift in gear. After the excess of the past weekend, I've been working on perfecting a leek and potato soup.

The last day I made leek and potato soup, a friend coincidentally asked me for a good recipe. I was embarrassed and frustrated to say I couldn't give her one because I was really unenamoured with my creation that day.

I had a couple of problems; it pains me to peel a potato. Not only do I resent the time, but, as each piece drops away, I imagine the nutrition from the potato doing the same. So, I made my last leek and potato soup with the peel on. Needless to say, I just could not get the texture smooth enough for my liking.

The other problem is, most recipes will instruct you not to brown the leeks or potatoes, in favor of the lightest colored, aesthetically pleasing soup. Now as a rule I will always favor taste over beauty, when cooking, but with the last soup, I followed the directions and didn't brown.

Bottom line, the soup was bland and " bitty". Research began, then testing and here we go.

I'm afraid it comes back to my Irish roots; everything is better with bacon! However this time, I had some pancetta in the fridge (that's the American influence) and I decided to start off the soup with that as my flavor base. A few cloves of garlic, fresh thyme and the crispy pancetta on top for serving. All good.

So, Jen Peterson, this one's for you!

Luxurious leek and Potato Soup

Ingredients

4 oz/ 110g pancetta or bacon (diced into small pieces)
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 large leeks (approx 1 lb/ 450g or 8 cups) halved lengthways and thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, diced or minced
2 lb/ 900g potatoes, peeled and diced
6 cups/ 1420ml of low sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon fresh thyme (chopped)
Salt and pepper

Directions

Heat a large, heavy based, deep pan on medium high. Add the pancetta and fry until crispy
Remove the pancetta and set aside. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the fat rendered
Add the olive oil to the pan and when hot, add the leeks and garlic
Cook until softened; about 10 minutes.
Add the potatoes and cook a further 5 minutes.
Add the stock and stir well to scrape up the tasty bits at the bottom of your pot.
Bring up to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked.
Add the thyme and puree using the hand blender
Taste and adjust the seasoning
Serve with the reserved pancetta crumbled on top.

Mmmmmmm....

A couple of tips

Leeks are best washed after chopping finely. Place them in a large bowl of cold water and agitate. Let the dirt settle to the bottom of the water, then scoop them out from the top of the water.
Dried thyme would make a fine substitute too, or another fresh herb such as parsley, chives or even sage

Enjoy!

An Excuse for Double Chocolate....

2011-02-06T17:23:00.000-08:00

Time to celebrate; my husband is home! Yippee! Single parenting is over for another day (yes he's away again tomorrow night). So bring on the cupcakes!

Actually truth be known, I mustn't steal the thunder from my friend Tammi; it's her birthday. It didn't seem fair to me that she hosts her own birthday/Super Bowl party, so the least I could do is bring her some birthday cakes!

I toyed with many different ideas for today's recipe, but it all comes back to a tried and tested chocolate cupcake recipe that I have made repeatedly for birthdays. These cupcakes are relatively light and keep well if you need to make them a day ahead. I produced 70 or so for my daughters' joint birthday party in the fall; not to mention sending them to school and making them for their actual birthdays! My point is, it's a well tested recipe! The base recipe comes from the Cooking Light, Quick Baking , 2010 issue, although as usual is given the "Kat ate that" treatment.

I had a peaceful morning on my own baking; that's the ultimate relaxation for me. My husband had taken the kids off campus, for a chunk of time, for me to "be" in my kitchen. After a leisurely breakfast without getting up and down 10 times to refill milk, mop up spills, etc. etc., I embarked on the cupcakes.

My only caution with this recipe is, that it only makes 10 cupcakes. I doubled the recipe for the Superbowl party this afternoon and scraped out only 21 cupcakes from the recipe. Fine for a normal day, but not enough for the party.

So, with an empty house, I realised I had the perfect opportunity to try out one of the boys at "Baked Explorations" creations; Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake with cream cheese frosting. Does that not sound fabulous? I like to be on my own when trying out their recipes. I feel to do them justice, I don't want to manage the two tikes and where their fingers are, while baking a new and special recipe.

It's an interesting one; the oatmeal and butter are soaked/melted together with boiling water and left to stand for 30 minutes. Then they are added to the rest of the ingredients. The cake effectively turns into a cross between a blondie and and oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. Divine!! I reduced the sugar, didn't add the suggested liquor (very unlike me!) and substituted some wholewheat flour. The Baked boys suggest a cream cheese frosting, although in my opinion it really makes the whole thing almost too sweet because there are a lot of chocolate chips in there. All a matter of taste though, and far be from me to criticise the Gods of baking.

Anyway, on to the results

Chocolate Cupcakes

Yields 10

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup/ 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup low fat buttermilk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F
Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners
Spoon and level flour into the measuring cup and sift over a large bowl with the cocoa, baking soda and salt. Then whisk the ingredients to mix lightly
Beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer for about 3 minutes
Add the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla. Beat until well combined
With the mixer on low and starting and ending with the flour, alternate adding the flour and buttermilk to the mixer bowl
Mix until just combined; over mixing will make a tough cupcake
Using an ice cream scoop, fill the muffin pan and bake for approximately 18 minutes or until a tester comes out clean
Cool in the pan for a couple of minutes then take the cupcakes out and cool completely on a wire rack

These are a fantastic vehicle for your favorite frosting; I love cream cheese (see below) but I have also gone the simple route in the past and dusted them with confectioner sugar; they looked just lovely.

Enjoy!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake

based on a recipe in "Baked Explorations, classic American desserts reinvented"

http://bakednyc.com/

Yields one 9x13" pan

Ingredients

8 oz chocolate chips

1 cup plus 2 tablepoons all purpose flour

1/2 cup wholewheat pastry flour

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup/ 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small cubes (cold or softened)

1 1/4 cup boiling water

2 eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Ingredients for the Cream Cheese Frosting

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

5 1/2 oz cream cheese, softened

2 cups sifted confectioner sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°F
Butter a 9 x 13 " baking dish. The Baked boys recommend a glass one but mine has a frozen sausage and bean casserole in it right now, so I baked in a regular metal baking pan
Soak the oatmeal and butter in the boiling water. Leave for 30 seconds before stirring then stir until the butter has melted. Set aside to cool for 30 minutes
Toss the chocolate chips in a bowl with the 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour (this prevents the chips from sinking when baked)
When the oatmeal mixture has cooled, whisk together by hand, the eggs, then add the sugars, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon until combined
Fold in the cooled oatmeal mixture and then the flours
Finally, gently fold in the chocolate chips
Pour the batter into the baking pan
Bake for 40-45 minutes, turning gently, halfway through cooking. When done, a toothpick should come out clean

Directions to make the Frosting

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth
Add the cream cheese and beat on high until well combined
Sift in the confectioner sugar and beat until smooth
Refridgerate, covered, for 30 minutes prior to using

A note on the frosting; make sure the butter and cream cheese are at room temperature as they will not become smooth if too cold.

A frosted cake will keep up to 3 days if refridgerated.

Enjoy!

Warm Crab Dip

2011-02-05T11:39:00.000-08:00

It's the end of a long week in this house. The snow and ice have been endlessly annoying and have cramped our social life significantly, but, as promised, the crab dip is here. The kids are perched in front of the latest Disney movie and I have a moment to write up.

I first made this, ridiculously simple, dip for Thanksgiving, when I trotted out a bunch of appetizers during the course of the day, prior to the main event. It was well received by all and so I hit repeat for Christmas. If I remember correctly, even most of the kids ate it too.

The base recipe is from epicurious:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Baked-Crab-Dip-360830

however I healthied it up a little more by substituting some low fat (or in my case 0% fat) greek yogurt instead of some of the mayo. I do not like a lot of mayo in my food so will generally cut it with some plain yogurt, low fat sour cream, lemon juice or vinegar depending on what I'm making. I changed up the herbs and used roasted peppers instead of fresh.

All in all, a tasty, easy and somewhat healthy dip.

Warm Crab Dip

Ingredients

6 oz/ 170g fresh (or canned) crab meat, well drained

1/2 cup/ 75g diced red pepper (I use roasted sometimes)

1/2 cup/ 25 g finely chopped fresh parsley or basil

1/4 cup/ 60 ml mayonnaise

1/4 cup/ 60 ml reduced fat greek yogurt or sour cream

4 oz/ 115g low fat cream cheese

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp hot sauce

1/4 cup/ 25 g breadcrumbs

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°F/ 220°C/ gas mark 7
Mix together all the ingredients except for the breadcrumbs and lemon zest.
Taste and season or add more hot sauce as necessary
Mix the breadcrumbs and lemon zest together.
Transfer to a small baking dish or 2 medium sized ramekins and sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture on top
Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes until golden on top
Serve warm with dippers such as crudites, pita chips, rye toasts or crostinis.

Enjoy!

Gingersnap Scones anyone?

2011-02-02T14:38:00.000-08:00

Despite promising a game day themed week of recipes, I just have to squeeze in an little something extra. We're onto our 2nd straight snow day, school closure here. Like a lot of the US, we are in the middle of an snow and ice storm. Before I lived in the US, I'd never even heard of an ice storm, much less witnessed one, now they seem all too familiar. What a brutal winter!

So, in an effort to raise spirits, my mind wandered to muffins. My husband is away again; bring on the treats. I'm going to be the size of a house if this weather continues to require so much comfort food. The only problem was I just could not decide which to do; Pear ginger? Chocolate expresso? or maybe even Ginger Snap Scones? Ahhhh, my mouth watered so much with the last one I had to give in! I realised that I bought ginger snaps a couple of weeks ago, after reading the recipe, but forgot to follow through. Seize the moment!

Being Irish, I should be able to make scones with my hands tied behind my back, but they weren't really in my Mum's (quite large) baking repetoire when I was growing up so I've only become adept at them in recent years. I usually make Clotilde's yogurt scone recipe with some add ins:

http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2004/02/yogurt_scones.php

It's significantly healthier than a typical scone recipe but just as tasty. However this time I was drawn to a recipe in a Cooking Light, Quick Baking issue (2010), which used crumbled gingersnaps. I'm a sucker for ginger, particularly in winter so I was sold! I changed it up by substituting in some wholewheat pastry flour and I omited the glaze. I'm an impatient person; I even hate the wait until a cupcake is frosted.

Gingersnap Scones

Uhoh, we're in trouble; there's only 3 of us here and 2 are under 5...

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup crushed gingersnap cookies
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chilled butter cut into small pieces
1/2 cup low fat buttermilk
1 large egg, beaten

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a making sheet with a sheet of parchment paper
Spoon and level the flours into the measuring cups and then into a large bowl
Add the next 5 dry ingredients to the bowl and whisk well to mix
Add the butter and using either a pastry cutter or your fingers, rub in the butter until there are hardly any lumps left.
Mix the buttermilk and beaten egg together and add to the dry ingredients.
Stir until just moist then get your fingers in and knead lightly a few times on a floured board. You will still be able to see some lumps and bits of flour.
Transfer onto the baking sheet and shape into a roughly 10" circle
Using a large knife, cut the dough into 8 or 10 wedges, but DO NOT separate.
Place in the middle of the oven for approx 15 mins until golden.
The wedges will come apart easily once baked.
Enjoy warm; we had ours plain but they'd be delicious with butter and apricot jam.

Apologies for no metric conversion; short on time. If anyone really needs it let me know and I'll do it.

Enjoy!

Super Bowl Food: Chili and Dip

2011-02-01T17:16:00.000-08:00

Spinach Artichoke Dip

If there is one main theme of my blog, it would be that tasty food can pretty much always be pulled together without a special trip to the store.

On that note; I promised game day food this week and I shall deliver. However, Trader Joes were all out of sundried tomatoes (very rarely will I write anything negative about that store) so slight change of plan. I am serving spinach artichoke dip instead of the artichoke sundried tomato spread.

I love the concept of the flavors in spinach artichoke dip, but the traditional recipes are just too heavy and fat laden for me to enjoy. I've been making this version for a few years; Ellie Kreiger from the Food Network provided the base recipe; I usually like her approach to healthier eating.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/warm-spinach-and-artichoke-dip-recipe/index.html

However, it did need a little more cheese, greek yogurt and a touch of nutmeg to make it feel a bit less "healthy". It's a fine balance, after all it's still gotta taste good!

My other offering for today's Game Day planning is Chili. It's largely based on one of Jamie Oliver's versions that pulled of the Food network site years ago; the recipe is no longer listed. Anyway, I added a few more veggies, less chili pepper and I used ground turkey this time. The original uses ground chuck.

I always get asked about the chili when someone else tastes it and I think it's due to unusual ingredients and method; it's got a cinnamon stick and sundried tomatoes in it and he recommends you cut up your veggies etc in the food processor. Altogether this gives a smoother texture, which I like and an interesting depth of flavor. I also added more veggies and wine; notice the theme? I believe one cancels the other out, but it's a step in the right direction!

The Chili is freezable for about 3 months; I usually make a double batch (see photo) and feeze in family sized portions.

Spinach and Artichoke dip

My 2 year old digging in

This yields a lot; enough for 10-12

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped or minced
1 (9 oz/ 255g) package of frozen artichokes, defrosted
1 (10 oz/ 283g) package of frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed of excess liquid
1 cup/ 250ml reduced fat or non fat sour cream or greek yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 cup/ 4 oz/ 115g reduced fat cream cheese
4 oz/ 115g shredded/ grated part skim mozzarella (or whatever good melting cheese you have)
1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°F/ 190°C
Saute the onions, over a medium heat, for approx 4-5 mins. Add the garlic and cook for a further 3-4 mins.
While the onions are cooling, put the remaining ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the onions and pulse a further 4-5 times to mix.
Transfer to a lightly greased baking dish (I used 4 large ramekins, or you could use one large 8" square baking dish)
Bake for 15/20 mins until heated through but not browning on top.

This is delicious served with pita chips, or carrot sticks.

Enjoy!

Kat's Chili

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 medium onions

2 garlic cloves

olive oil

1/2 lb/ 225g carrots (washed not peeled)

2 teasponns chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

sea salt and pepper

1 lb/ 455 g ground chuck (I used ground turkey this time)

7 oz/ 200g sundried tomatoes in olive oil

1 fresh red chile, deseeded (optional, swap in milder chile or omit)

2 (14oz/ 400g ) cans chopped tomatoes

1/2 cinnamon stick

1 glass red wine

2 (14oz/ 400g) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed well

Directions

Place the onions and garlic and carrots in the food processor and chop.
Using a deep heavy pan or dutch oven, fry up the onions, garlic and carrots in some olive oil until softened.
Stir in the chili powder and cumin and cook for a further 2 mins.
Add the meat and break up well. Cook until lightly browned
Food process the sundried tomatoes (without the oil) and chile and add to the pan
Add the tomatoes, cinnamon stick and wine.
Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1 hour before adding the beans.
Simmer for a further 1/2 hour then allow to sit and develop more flavor.
Test and season as necessary at the end; depending on your tomatoes and beans, there may already be enough salt without adding more.

Enjoy with the usual toppings, rice, cornbread, tacos etc etc etc!

Kat's Super Bowl Food

2011-01-30T14:17:00.000-08:00

I don't know the first thing about football, in fact as far as I'm aware they play with a spherical ball, right? Ok, actually I'm equally clueless about soccer. However, I always get a little pulse race as the Super Bowl nears. Why? The food of course! I love an excuse to research what is traditionally eaten, try out new recipes or roll out old favorites.

So, in honor of traditional game day food, I'm going to post a series of my favorites this week.

Guacamole
Hot Crab Dip
Sundried Tomato and Artichoke Spread
Jamie Oliver's Chili
　
First is my guacamole; I'm sure everyone has made guacamole, but it's one of my signature recipes. Anyone who has ever hung out with us for any length of time will have had a bowl of it placed before them.
My youngest adores it and just last week, after 4 years of exposure and refusal, my 4-year old declared it "deeelishuusss".

For me it's all about the texture. I do not like smooth guacamole; it should have a few lumps in it, but the avocados should be sufficiently ripe to give easily when pressed gently. I buy the bags of avocados from Trader Joe's, let them ripen in the fruit bowl, then move to the fridge to keep for a few days until I use them all.

Also, you've got to taste and change it as needed. Sometimes, I have an extra juicy lime, a very strong onion or a bland pepper, so add more or less to suit your palate.

Kat's Guac

Ingredients
　
2 avocados
1 lime
1/2 jalapeno pepper, chopped finely
1/4 medium onion, chopped finely
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Halve the avocados, take out stone, slice and chop the flesh whilst still in the avocado skin, then scoop out the chopped flesh with a dessert spoon.
Mash the flesh gently with a potato masher.
Halve the lime and squeeze the juice over the avocado, add the onion and pepper.
Stir everything together until it is 50% smooth, 50% small lumps.
Taste and then add salt and pepper as needed.
Serve with your favorite tortilla chips.

A great one to get the kids involved in making.
Watch this space for the rest of my Super Bowl series this week.

Enjoy!

Sausage and Bean Casserole

2011-01-28T12:12:00.000-08:00

Perhaps I should explain for the Brits reading this; we're on to our umpteenth snow storm this month, it's completely baltic outside and it's just plain January for goodness sake! That's why there's so much comfort food on my blog so far, but I promise you, I do have more than comfort food in my bag of tasty treats.

Having said that, I just have to share one of my all time favorites; Sausage and Bean Casserole. I've been making this in various ways for years now but this is the tastiest. My family love it, my friends love it (it's my go to for a new and weary Mum) and most importantly I love it

The original recipe comes from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food:

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/sausage-and-bean-casserole

However, as usual I decided to pack in more vegetables and fiber, and reduce the fat. The result is 2 meals for us; one for tonight and one goes in the freezer for a lazy or crazy day, depending on your definitions of the two.

If you're going to freeze it, leave off the breadcrumb topping until you bake it. It will take approx 1 hour and 15 minutes to cook from frozen.

Sausage and Bean Casserole

Serves 8

Ingredients

4 cups of fresh wholewheat breadcrumbs (from about 10 slices)

2 lb / 900g lean sausage (I used chicken sausage from Trader Joe's)

2 large onions, chopped

8-10 garlic cloves, chopped

1 lb / 450g carrots peeled and chopped quite small

2 celery stalks, chopped

1/2 cup / approx 6 oz /170g tomato paste

15 oz /400ml reduced sodium chicken broth

2 cups / 400 ml water

1 cup / 250 ml red wine

1 10 oz /284g package of frozen winter squash, defrosted

1 teaspoon dried thyme

4 cans (each 14.5 oz / 400g) white beans, rinsed and drained

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°F or 190°C
Take the sausage out of the casings and break up into small pieces.
Place a large, deep, heavy bottom pan, on a medium heat and cook the sausage, onions and garlic for approx 15 minutes or until sausage is starting to brown.
Add the carrots and celery and cook for a further 5 minutes
Add the tomato paste, winter squash, broth, water, wine and thyme and bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer, add the beans and cook for a further 10 minutes
Stir in 2 cups of breadcrumbs
Pour the mixture into 2 medium sized (approx 3 quart) dishes and top with the remaining breadcumbs.
Bake for 30 minutes until bubbling and golden on the top

This is great served alone but a fresh crusty bread, and green salad are delicious alongside.

Enjoy!