Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Easy peasy oaty bread

I absolutely adore bread, sourdough, soda, multiseed,batch. Bread with lashings of butter or big hunks of cheese and pickle or just plain jam is a winner winner chicken dinner for me. I remember coming home form primary school and to keep us going till supper mum would give us freshly baked homemade bread with chocolate spread hmmmmmmm.

Unfortunately bread does not like me, for two reasons. Number one is that if i eat too much wheat i am in a world of pain for several days and number two i am absolutely rubbish at baking bread. However this is all about to change because i have come across a life changing bread recipe from Valerie O'Connors latest Bread on the Table book. Her Easy Oat Bread could not be simpler and tastes amazing. It is so moist, keeps for up to a week and tastes fab. It is wheat free and if you use gluten free oats then its gluten free. I urge you to try this and can assure you you wont be disappointed.

Easy Oat Bread
Makes one 2lb loaf

175g porridge oats
175g pinhead oatmeal
120g oat bran
1 1/2 tsp bread soda sieved
1  tsp salt
600ml buttermilk
1 egg

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius

Combine all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl and mix well making sure theres no dry lumps. leave the mixture to stand for 30 minutes while preheating the oven.
Oil the loaf tin and tip the mixture into it, sprinkle some oats on top for a nice finish.
Bake for approx 1 and 1/2 hours and allow to cool completely before cutting (if you can resist.... i could'nt).


Sunday, May 25, 2014

Berries, berries galore


Lidl have amazing weekly offers and this weeks has my favourites..... Summer berries. 
Two punnets of 125g blackberries and raspberries for €3, two punnets of 250g blueberries for €3 and 300g strawberry punnets for €2. 
I bought lots and lots, have put one if each into the fridge for snacks and porridge and the rest into the freezer for endless possibilities. Actually Alison loves eating the blueberries frozen!

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Thai style broth with herby steak

I am calling this "the last supper", for the past year a great friend of mine has stayed once a week and last night was her last visit (sad face). Each week I've tried making something healthily and tasty while we chatted about her up coming nuptials, life, love and fruit of the loom.

She said that this meal was "undoubtably the best". Originally I didn't think Alison would care much for it but I should of known better because she devoured it and was kept entertained trying to slurp up the noodles. So all in all a winner winner steak dinner.

The broth

1 white onion roughly chopped
2 sticks celery roughly chopped
Knob of ginger grated
1/2 stick lemongrass finely sliced
1 clove garlic smushed
Baby sweetcorn (as much as you like)
Asparagus tips (as before)
1 Bok Choi
2handfuls sugar snap peas
Chestnut mushrooms about a handful roughly torn apart
3 spring onions
2 kafir lime leaves
1 fresh lime
1 beef or veg stock cube (I use the organic Kallo ones)
3/4 litre boiling water
1 tblsp soya sauce
1tblsp fish sauce
Noodles if your choice I used vermicelli because I had some but soba or rice would be yum too.

Gently sweat the onion, garlic, ginger and lemongrass (fresh chilli would be lovely at this point too).
Next add the stock cube and water and bring to the boil gently. I turned off the heat at this stage and added the sauces and everything else except the mushrooms and noodles. 
In a small frying lightly fry the mushrooms in some butter to give them some nice flavour. 
About five minutes before serving fish out the lime leaves, turn the heat on gently and add in the noodles and mushrooms. Give a generous squeeze of line juice and taste. You may like some more soya or fish sauce or line juice so experiment a little. Once the noodles are cooked and the veggies still have a little bite to them, slosh into bowls and sprinkle with spring onions and fresh basil. 
You will feel surprisingly full and fabulously healthy after this I can assure you.

The steak

I use 2 pieces if strip loin steak at room temperature seasoned with salt and pepper and drizzled with olive oil. 
Cook the meat to your own liking.

While it's resting take a chopping board and smushed a clove of garlic with some salt and oil on the board. Next finely chop  a handful if fresh herbs. I used basil, purple sage, thyme and oregano. Spread this mixture around the board with some more olive oil. 
Slice the meat as thick/thin as you like and coat with the herby deliciousness, pile high and dig in.

Serving suggestion

2 bowls of broth, 2 plates and lots of slurping. Just dig in.

Friday, May 9, 2014

Coconutty rice pud with stewed rhubarb

I absolutely love everything coconutty.... I think it reminds me of summers gone past.
So here i combined my two loves coconut milk and rice pudding. An added bonus of course is that its dairy free and the sharpness of the rhubarb compliments it perfectly. You could also use fresh or even better grilled peaches or nectarines. Just quarter them, remove the stones and grill on a hot griddle pan for a minute or two on all sides.

Coconutty rice pud
Dairy free

100g pudding rice
50g sugar or if your being refined sugar conscious then 40g coconut palm sugar
400ml coconut milk (the full fat one for all its delicious creaminess)
400ml water
1/2 vanilla pod split lengthwise or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celcius. Lightly grease a shallow oven proof dish about 20cm diameter with some flavourless oil.
Combine the pudding rice, sugar, milk, water and vanilla paste/extract and pour into the ovenproof dish. Drop the vanilla bean in at this point if using one. Bake for 1 and 3/4 hours, give maybe 3-4 stirs throughout the time.

The pudding can be served hot or cold but its important that if it is not being served immediately (within an hour) that it is allowed to cool and is refrigerated as quickly as possible. If rice is left standing at room temperature bacteria grows and multiplys which can lead to upset tummies. It is perfectly safe once cooled completely and refrigerated within the hour and can then be enjoyed the day after also.

For the rhubarb roughly wash and roughly chop 3-4 stalks, place into an oven proof dish sprinkle with sugar to taste, i add very little (1 tablespoon) as it depends on the rhubarb and how sweet you like it. More sugar can always be added after its been cooked and is still warm. Squeeze half an orange and cover with tin foil. Place in the oven along with the rice pudding and cook for 15-20 minutes or until a sharp knife inserts easily into the fruit.






A Vitamin C boost roasted pepper and tomato soup

The reason for this soup was two fold. I don't know about anyone else but the "changeable" weather is playing havoc with my little munchkin's immune system. Sixteen plus degrees last week making this week feel baltic and damp. So this soup is a vitamin C boost and also i over did it with the veggies in last weeks grocery shop so this also acts as a veg box clear out.

I have made a very quick and basic vegetable stock but of course you could use a low salt stock cube or bouillon and it doesn't have to be vegetable.

Roasted pepper and tomato soup
Vegetarian and gluten free
Suitable for freezing

For the stock (basically whatever vegetables were in the fridge)
3 shallots or 1 white onion
2 carrots halved
1 garlic clove
2 sticks celery
Broccoli stalk
1/2 turnip
Fresh thyme
Fresh oregano
4-5 mushroom stalks
5 black peppercorns

Roughly chop the shallots/onion and garlic. Heat a little oil in a large saucepan and very gently sweat off the onion and garlic. Then add the rest of the ingredients and just cover with water, put the lid on and gently bring to the boil. Once boiling reduce to a simmer and leave for at least 20-30 mins. Then strain through a fine sieve and it is ready to use it can also be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen in batches for further use.

For the soup base
1/2 red, yellow and orange pepper
3-4 plum tomatoes
Twist cracked black pepper
Splosh olive or rapeseed oil



Pop these into the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for around 20-30 minutes or until they are nice and soft with some slightly charred parts which will give the nice roasted taste.
When out of the oven immediately place into a zip-loc bag or a bowl and cover with cling film. Leave for at least ten minutes and the skins will slide off easily.
Roughly chop and set aside.

1 medium white onion or 2-3 shallots finely diced
1 garlic clove smashed/crushed
1/2 courgette finely diced
1 stick celery finely diced
1/2 leek finely sliced
2 handfuls of red lentils
2 teaspoons tomato puree
1 teaspoon of fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried herbs such as thyme or oregano

Meanwhile sweat the onions, garlic, courgette,, celery and leek gently, once nice and translucent throw in the lentils and puree and cook out for 2 minutes stirring all the time. Add the roasted peppers, tomatoes and herbs stir so everything is mixed together and cover with the stock, if your a little short of stock just top up with some boiling water. Cover and allow to simmer for 20 minutes approximately or until the lentils are soft but not total mush. Blitz with a hand blender or in a food processor, if its too thick you can let it down with some more stock or water.

For older kids/adults sweat off some fresh chillies along with the soup base and season with salt or more herbs (better for you).

To posh to dip the bread so we had to have it broken up into spoon-able pieces.....

Friday, May 2, 2014

Mighty Minestrone

I have called this mighty minestrone soup/stew/hotpot. It's kind of a happy mix of all three. Mine is packed with veggies, buckwheat and chorizo. Lidl are stocking Buckwheat at the moment (Kasza gryczana) and i cant find the recent but im pretty sure it was around the €1.25-1.60 price range.

Buckwheat despite its name is gluten free and is high in protein and B vitamins. It is also rich in phosphorus, potassium, iron, calcium and lysine. It is a great source of fiber and helps to lower cholesterol, so beneficial for the whole family not just hungry babas.  In one box there are four 100g cook in bag pouches which means it's also good value as it bulks up when cooked, a little goes a long way.

Mighty Minestrone 
Gluten Free
Suitable for freezing

1 white onion or 2-3 shallots
2 cloves garlic
2 carrots
1\2 courgettes
1\2 aubergine
2 sticks celery
1 parsnip
1\4 yellow, red and orange pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tin chopped tinned tomatoes
300mls chicken or vegetable stock
100g buckwheat
150g chorizo sausage, remove the skin and cube
Fresh or dried herbs such as oregano, thyme and or flat leaf parsley
Cracked black pepper

Dice the vegetables (except the onion and garlic) into cubes as large or small as you wish and depending on the size of mouths/teeth your catering for. The smaller the cubes the quicker the soup will cook however if too small it might turn to mush. Somewhere around the 1/2 centimeter mark.

Finely dice or slice the onion and crush the garlic. In a large wide based pot  heat a little oil and gently fry the cubed chorizo, when slightly crispy remove and toss in the onion. Turn the heat down and allow to sweat before adding the garlic and a good twist of pepper. They'll soak up all the lovely chorizo oils giving extra mightyness to the soup. Toss in the veggies and stir thoroughly. Add the tomato paste and cook through for a minute or two to cook out any bitterness.

Next add the buckwheat, stock and chopped tomatoes you may need to add some just boiled water to bring the level of liquid to just above the soup mix. You may of come across the term "bouquet garni" before. This is basically a little parcel of herbs, submerged into the mix for the duration of the cooking releasing all their loveliness and then discarded once cooked. Fresh herbs are brilliant when cooking for small ones as they give loads of flavour and therefore a great substitute for salt.
To make the bouquet garni take a small piece of muslin cloth and place your herbs in the centre. If using parsley just use the stalks and keep the leaves for the sprinkling on the finished product (very cheffy). Wrap the muslin into a little parcel and secure with string, and that is it. However it is absolutely perfect to use dried or chopped fresh herb so don't let that stop you.

Cover with a lid and allow to simmer very gently for 20-30 minutes stirring and testing the softness of the vegetables and buckwheat occasionally. If you prefer and more soupy consistency just add more stock or water. Take off the heat and remove the bouquet garni and add the crispy chorizo. Serve in a bowl with grated Parmesan or creme fraiche sprinkled with chopped parsley or chives. Also yummy with garlic bread to mop up the juices at the end.