Blog | Eating for Ireland

Hurray for Paddy’s Day!!

Posted on March 13, 2018 by Becks

St George’s Market in full Paddy’s day mode!

This is the first time in my lifetime that I remember the St Patrick’s Day parade being cancelled. With the pubs mostly closed too, it’s going to be the weirdest Paddy’s Day ever! However, that’s no reason not to celebrate our Patron Saint.. We’ll be having Irish Stew, Soda Bread and Irish Coffees as always!

St Patrick’s Day has so much going for it! In Ireland, it’s the first Bank Holiday of the year, a welcome break from Lent – that’s an Irish thing – and what often seems like a never-ending Winter.

This is my absolute favourite St Patrick’s Day cartoon! It makes me laugh every time.. :)

It’s so nice to get a break in those long days between Christmas and Easter, even if it is mid-week. Better still if the Saint’s day falls on a Friday or Monday – hey presto – a long weekend!

My darling little Mickey Mouse in full Irish mode!

As children in Dublin we went to the St Patrick’s Day Parade, green ribbons in our hair for the girls, and bunch of shamrock on coat lapels for the boys. And very cold it was too – there always seemed to a be a marching band from America, freezing to death.

Then home for Irish Stew (more of that later), and the second-last of my Mother’s Christmas puddings (the last one emerged on Easter Sunday). Hard to believe, but even as children we absolutely adored Christmas Pudding, so it was a huge treat!

There was a film on the telly for us too, usually one with an Irish theme, or starring an Irish actor. All-in-all, a pretty good day, with the promise of Winter’s end, and Easter looming.

It’s different in our house nowadays. Depending on the weather, we start with a Special Breakfast. Those of you familiar with my blog will have heard about Special Breakfasts before – it’s usually pancakes or French toast, but 17th March gets a different treatment – it’s the Full Irish, or the Ulster Fry, or both, whichever you like.

There are a couple of differences between the two – the Full Irish has bacon, eggs, sausage, sometimes fried bread, and mushrooms or fried tomato, AND Black and White pudding -and oh, I love black pudding! The Ulster fry has bacon, egg, sausage, mushrooms, tomato, plus Potato bread, fried Soda farls, and sometimes even a bought pancake.. I love potato bread and soda as well! I am a truly ecumenical breakfast eater!

Anyone mentioning baked beans should leave now.. 😉

I’m torn…so obviously I do a combination of both – potato bread, soda farls and black pudding – as long as I have a runny egg or two to dunk them in, I’m happy

My Mum used to make Potato cakes using leftover mashed potato – they are softer version of the Northern Ireland Potato Bread, but are perfect in the Full Irish along with that runny egg! Here’s the recipe:

https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/my-mothers-potato-cakes

Another great treat for St Patrick’s day is Tea Brack – here’s Mrs Halpin’s version – best eaten with lots of lovely Irish butter https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/mrs-halpins-tea-brack/

If you make a pot of tea today, and soak your fruit overnight, you’ll be impressing your friends and neighbours by the weekend!

Don’t forget some easy-as-pie Soda Bread too – I make at least 2 loaves of this traditional Irish bread every week. I like to throw in a good handful of raisins, but the plain version is delicious as well – especially with Irish Stew

https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/the-white-cottages-soda-bread/

For those of us lucky enough to have access to the accurately-named Soda Bread Flour – why not try Mrs Norah Brown’s Soda bread Bannock?

https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/mrs-browns-soda-bread-bannock/

And Soda Bread leads us nicely along to Irish Stew.. and well, here’s a bone of contention, if ever there was one..

I’m not going to say which is the true owner of this title, because it comes down to a very simple fact – whether you have beef or lamb in your Irish stew depends entirely on what your family ate when you were a child, and I for one am not going up against that number of Irish Mothers! Apart from the meat involved, the recipes are absolutely similar.

I’m going to offer both here, in the interests of peace and quiet..

Irish Lamb Stew:

https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/irish-lamb-stew-as-my-mother-used-to-make-it/

Irish Beef Stew:

https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/irish-beef-stew-as-his-mother-used-to-make-it/

Almost exactly like lamb stew, except with beef pieces, and beef stock.

Once again, the weather this Paddy’s day is promising to be cold, so pick your stew and run with it. You’ll be glad that you did

To finish off my St Patrick’s day feast, I think a few Bailey’s Truffles will be acceptable..

https://eatingforireland.com/2017/12/28/baileys-truffles/

La Feile Naomh Padraig! Happy St Patrick’s day to all!

And regardless of how we spend it this year – have a lovely day!

And here’s a picture that I took last week in Athlone – the charity shop was all decked out for St Patrick – I just love those snakes at the bottom of the window!!

Posted in Blog Tagged with: bannock, Christmas pudding, Irish Stew, parade, potato cakes, soda bread, St George's, St Patrick's day

Mother’s Day.. for your Mam/Mum/Mom

Posted on March 10, 2018 by Becks

I originally wrote this post 3 years ago, and as I re-read it this morning I realised that we’re now having a second socially-distanced Mother’s Day, followed in quick succession by another non-traditional St Patrick’s Day. There will still be a significant number of Mums and Grannies who won’t be able to go out for lunch this year. There will be some for whom it’s better if they have no visitors at all. That’s bad enough at any time, but on Mothering Sunday…

With many restaurants doing excellent do-it-yourself take-away dinners, perhaps if Mum is in your bubble, this might be a good idea? Otherwise, someone is going to have to make that lunch. Someone is going to have to produce a cake suitable for the occasion..

Could that someone – with a little help from Eating for Ireland – be YOU??

Read on and adapt to our changed circumstances..

My absolute favourite picture of Mum and me, taken in 1975. That hat of hers is Liberty fabric.. she hated hats btw..:)

What do you call your Mother?

At home in Dublin we called her Mammy, abbreviated to Mam. For some reason, it changed to Mum as we grew up. In many parts of Ireland people still refer to anyone’s mother as ‘Mam’ as in – ‘How’s your Mam doing these days?’

When we were teenagers, there was a fashion for calling Mothers ‘The Old Dear’ – behind her back obviously, unless you wanted a clip on the ear, and to be grounded for life. This, of course was the arrogance of youth aimed at a woman who might only have been in her early 40’s..

Mum, or Mummy, is still very popular. Mom, I think, remains American..

My daughter calls me ‘Ma’, which I like.

Mum and Grace on the beach at Skerries, approx 199

Mum and my daughter on the beach at Skerries..

My Mother had a great interest in how people lived in times gone by. She loved a good biography better than any work of fiction (apart from anything by the Brontës). It was she who told me about the origins of ‘Mothering Sunday’. How girls, working ‘in service’ at the Big House, got a Sunday off before Easter to go and visit their Mothers. They often brought a cake, as evidence of the skills they were learning.

Anyway, Mothering Sunday, is still celebrated every year. The basic idea is that Mums are supposed to get spoiled. Many get taken out for lunch, but if you prefer a quiet day at home while treating your Mum, here’s your chance to show off all you’ve learned on Eating for Ireland since last year! (and I won’t tell her if you don’t 😉 )

A family lunch? An afternoon tea? A High Tea? The choice is yours, always bearing in mind what the lady in question would prefer.

If it’s a buffet lunch for a family circle, a couple of savoury dishes – perhaps a beef Chilli https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/my-chilli-con-carne/ ; a family favourite pasta dish, that the kids will eat https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/family-favourite-pasta-bake/

My warm chicken salad https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/warm-spicy-chicken-and-mango-salad/ which is absolutely brilliant for a buffet crowd.

A good option for a sit-down lunch is my Bacon-wrapped Stuffed Chicken https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/stuffed-chicken-and-bacon-parcels/

A huge dish of the ever-popular Potato Gratin https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/my-easy-peasy-potato-gratin-or-to-give-it-its-official-title-scalloped-cream-potatoes-with-rosemary-and-garlic/ will go down very well.

Afternoon Tea? Get out the best china! This set was one of Mum and Dad’s wedding presents ..

An afternoon tea wouldn’t be complete without freshly-made scones https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/home-made-scones/

and a chocolate cake https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/hilarys-all-in-one-chocolate-cake/

If you’ve made some Lemon Curd to go with the scones, why not send her home with a whole pot of your home-made Lemon Curd all for herself? https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/home-made-lemon-curd/

And perhaps a few Bailey’s truffles? https://eatingforireland.com/2017/12/28/baileys-truffles/

She’s definitely going to feel spoiled with that lot!

Whatever way you choose to spend your Mother’s Day, make sure that everyone enjoys it Don’t forget that Mother’s day includes Mothers, Grandmothers, God-Mothers, Mums-to-be, People who are like a Mother to you.. With that list to cater for, you’d better get moving.. :

Once again I’m adding the easiest cake ever – Mary Berry’s Tiramisu cake – perfect for any celebration, and so, so delicious – go on, give it a go!

https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/mary-berrys-tiramisu-cake/

However you’re celebrating Mother’s Day this year, make the most of it.

Your Mum is one-in-a million, so make sure that you tell her that!

Posted in Blog Tagged with: afternoon tea, Mam, Mother's day, Mum

Sweet Potato oven chips

Posted on March 4, 2018 by Becks

I can’t believe I haven’t posted this recipe before – sweet potato chips are a lovely change from my regular homemade oven chips https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/my-home-made-crispy-oven-chips/.

And while mine are not those crispy deep-fried ones that you can get in restaurants these days, they’re much lower in fat and taste very nearly as good.

We first had Sweet Potato chips in Canada many years ago, and it took me a while to replicate them at home, but I’m happy with this little recipe.

EQUIPMENT:

A large non-stick baking tray.
A sheet of Baking parchment.
A potato/vegetable peeler (or a paring knife)
A large bowl

INGREDIENTS: for about 4 people, but truthfully, you can make as many as you like. There’ll never be any left over..

1 large or two medium/small sweet potatoes per person
Rapeseed oil
Low fat spray
plain flour – about a dessertspoonful
salt and pepper.
sweet paprika

METHOD:

Heat the oven to 180 fan.
Cut a sheet of baking parchment and leave to one side.
Put the baking tray in to heat up.
Peel the potatoes (I find a vegetable peeler best for this) Then cut off the knobbly bits at each end.

Cut each potato into even slices, then cut each slice into fat chips. Don’t cut them too finely – they can burn quite quickly at the edges.
Put a tablespoonful of the rapeseed oil into the bowl

Add the chips and, using your hands, turn them over in the oil until each chip is lightly coated.

Just turn them over with your hands until each one is shiny

Sprinkle over the flour, and again, turn over the chips until each one is lightly coated
Remove the hot tray from the oven, and pop on the sheet of baking parchment.
Empty the sweet potato chips onto the tray, and move them around until they are evenly distributed and in a single layer. If you’re doing a big batch, you’d be best using two trays.
Spray again with the low fat spray, then sprinkle over the salt and paprika.

Return the tray to the oven and give it 15 minutes or so, then turn the chips over – Careful! there’ll be a load of steam when you open the oven door! (my glasses always fog up – very inconvenient 😉 )
Return the tray to the oven and give it another 15 minutes or so – you’ll know when the chips are cooked as they’ll have shrunk a little, and when you taste one, they’ll be nice and soft, with slightly charred edges.

Serve at once. They don’t really like to be kept waiting. Of course, you can always reheat them for a couple of minutes just before serving.

NOTES:

It’s important to realise that these will never be crispy chips – they’d need to be deep-fried for that. But they do taste very good indeed.
A drizzle of maple syrup towards the end of cooking will give the chips a lovely caramelized flavour.
In recent times, I’ve used this recipe (without the flour) to make Celeriac chips too – they’re delicious!

Posted in Latest Recipe

French Onion Soup..

Posted on March 3, 2018 by Becks

When we were teenagers, there was a restaurant on Grafton Street called Thunderbirds that did an amazing French Onion soup. The ‘crouton’ on top was actually the top half of a burger bap, toasted and smothered with cheese. I absolutely loved it, and have been optimistically ordering French Onion Soup ever since. Nothing has ever come up to my memory of the Thunderbirds’ version though..

Also, and I’ll admit this freely, I’m not blessed with a huge amount of patience, so the slow-cooking part of this recipe has always been a bit of a trial for me.. However, at the Friends of the Hospital Book Fair this week I got a copy of Delia Smith’s Soup book for £2, and there’s a recipe for French Onion Soup in it. So on this cold, wintery, snowy day I thought I’d give it a go.. the good thing about it, is that it doesn’t require a lot of minding, so you can do other stuff while it’s cooking away by itself.

Let’s see how we get on..

EQUIPMENT:

A deep, heavy-bottomed pan or casserole.
a sharp knife
a liquid measuring jug
use of an oven and a grill.

INGREDIENTS:

700g white onions – that’s about 5 medium-large onions – peeled and finely sliced

50g butter
2 tablespoonful Olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon of granulated sugar
1.2l of good beef stock – hot
250mls dry white wine (see NOTES)
2 tablespoons Cognac
Salt, and black pepper.
See below for the croutons..

METHOD:

Put the butter and oil into the pan on a high heat and when it’s hissing loudly, throw in the onions, the garlic and the sugar.

Stir them around rapidly until every piece of onion is coated
Continue to fry them, on the high heat, a for about 10 minutes until they soften and start to colour at the edges.
Now reduce the heat to med-low, and leave the onions for about 30 minutes, until they’ve reduced in volume and are a nice caramelized colour

Measure the Beef stock, wine and cognac into a measuring jug

When you’re happy that the onions are nicely reduced and soft, add the liquid contents and combine well – make sure you scrape the bottom of the pan for any stuck-on bits.
Increase the heat and bring it to a simmer; then turn down the heat and leave it, uncovered, for about an hour to cook very gently. After it’s been simmering for about 20 minutes, it actually starts to look like French Onion Soup.

CROUTONS:

While the soup is having its gentle cooking, you can start on the croutons. You’ll need:

a French baguette or some sourdough, cut into thick diagonal slices
1 tablespoonful of Olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed.
200g Gruyere cheese, grated

METHOD:

Mix the crushed garlic with the oil

Place the slices on a baking tray, then drizzle the oil/garlic mix over.

Pop into a hot oven (180fan) for 5-10 minutes until they’ve crisped up nicely.
Remove and allow to cool. then replace the slices on the tray and sprinkle the cheese generously over each one

When you’re ready to serve, heat the grill to it’s hottest setting, then place the baking tray under and watch carefully until the cheese melts but doesn’t burn. See NOTES..
Ladle the soup into warmed bowls, and float a cheesy crouton on top of the soup

NOTES:

I had no white wine – someone drank it all, apparently.. 😉 – so I used Cider. I thought it added an interesting flavour, and quite pleasant too.
Use good quality beef stock; as good as you can find, or even make it yourself..
It’s a good idea to make sure that the croutons are well dried out before you toast them – it saves them getting too soggy when they float on the soup.
If you don’t have a grill, the cheese melts and the croutons crisp up really well after 5-7 minutes in a hot oven.

Posted in recipes

Cold weather food..

Posted on February 28, 2018 by Becks

Red, Amber, Yellow…all sorts of weather alerts have been coming our way this past few days. If there was ever a time for the comfort food vibe, this is it.

I did a semi-serious shop the other day, and we have enough milk to see us through, so all’s well. I wasn’t one of those people clearing the bread shelves though – forced confinement indoors is a perfect excuse to try making some of my own – I’m starting myself off easily with some traditional Irish Wheaten bread – https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/jonnys-nannys-wheaten-bread/

Yum! Goes perfectly with stew!

Cold weather is also a good opportunity to see what you have in your freezer, and start clearing yourself some space. I have a couple of good old standbys lurking in there – basic Bolognaise sauce – suitable for my pasta bake https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/family-favourite-pasta-bake/

My Chilli chicken ( just needs pasta and Mascarpone) https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/my-chilli-and-mascarpone-chicken-pasta/ and of course some meatballs https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/italian-meatballs-with-mozarella/, from my last meatball-making session. I may not have the Mozzarella to hand, but they taste just as good without it.

As usual I have the standard packet-of-four- chicken breasts in the fridge, so given the wind-chill factor, my Big Red Chicken Stew is probably my dinner of choice this evening: Big, because we’ll need lots of it; Red -to go with the weather alert 😉 Chicken: ‘cos it’s there, and Stew, because it’s definitely stew weather! The addition of a little chilli, for when it gets chilly, and some warming spicy Chorizo will keep us cosy.

So, keep warm; look after the oldies on their own, and spend a happy half hour checking out the recipes on Eating for Ireland – they were mostly written for this very weather!

Posted in Blog

Pancake Tuesday!

Posted on February 8, 2018 by Becks

My Mother-in-Law’s Pancakes

My Mum’s Crepes :)

As children, Pancake Tuesday was one of our favourite days in the year.

Historically of course, it was the day before the start of Lent (actually, I think you’ll find that it still is ;)) and was the last chance to use up all the eggs, butter and sugar before 40 days of plain living which only ended on Easter Sunday. As every child of my generation knew, the best two days of Lent were Pancake Tuesday and Easter Sunday – the bit in between wasn’t quite as much fun In New Orleans it’s called Mardi Gras, or ‘Fat Tuesday’, for the same reason.

I believe that the Irish are allowed a day off their Lenten penance to celebrate St Patrick’s Day, but that could just be a rumour..

In our house, Mum would stand at the cooker making paper-thin crepe after crepe for us, from the time we came home from school, until 6pm when we heard Dad’s key in the latch; then she made some for herself and Dad – he loved pancakes! Somehow, she had a seemingly endless supply of batter, sugar and lemons.. What great memories!

Here’s the link to Mum’s Crepes –

https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/crepes/

Mr Saturday Night’s Mother, the famous Lily Mitchell, made traditional Northern Ireland Pancakes – the small stackable type made with buttermilk – which Mr SN loved so much that he used to get his knuckles rapped for swiping them as they came hot off the traditional griddle she used.. here’s the link to Lily’s Pancakes – https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/my-fluffy-american-style-pancakes/

Travel to various parts of the world has introduced many of us to the IHOP*, pancake stacks, crispy bacon and maple syrup. All of which are now standard items on breakfast menus in every part of Ireland. Well, they say travel broadens the mind..

Maple syrup is still fairly expensive but worth it, I think. They have fabulous Organic Grade A Canadian Maple Syrup reduced to £4 in Dunne’s this week – It’s in their Simply Better range, and I couldn’t resist it today. (and no, Dunne’s are not paying me to say that!)

Apart from the traditional Sugar and lemon – still my personal favourite – you can have any topping you like. Chocolate sauce, Nutella (or a non-nut version) is simply made for spreading on pancakes. Interestingly, Nutella, mini marshmallows and golden syrup were all cleverly grouped together in the supermarket today, along with the ubiquitous Jif squeezy lemon.. an old Irish tradition!

Perhaps some fresh cream as a topping, and the nicest berries you can find? – defrosted Summer Fruits from the freezer section are an excellent alternative to the slightly dodgy soft fruit that you sometimes get when they’re not in season here. Sliced banana is delicious with pancakes and Maple syrup too..

Crispy bacon has to be just that – crispy. This is why I use thinly sliced streaky bacon to accompany my pancakes. I grill it, but have to watch it like a hawk, because it burns in a heartbeat. I usually grill the bacon first, before I make any pancakes; then it’s out of the way, keeping warm in a low oven, ready to serve when the pancakes are.

Whichever pancake/crepe you prefer, give my home-made ones a go this year – they won’t be perfectly round, or all the same size, but you might find that you enjoy making them, and they’ll certainly be much appreciated by your grateful friends and family!

Happy Pancake Tuesday/Shrove Tuesday/ Mardi Gras!

*IHOP: International House of Pancakes (what a time to be alive!)

Posted in Blog Tagged with: caster sugar, crepes, Easter Sunday, Lemon, Lent, Maple syrup, Pancake Tuesday, pancakes

Simple Lamb Tagine..

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Becks

The original recipe for this tasty Lamb dish came from our long-time neighbour Theresa. It was served at one of her merry gatherings several years ago, and has been a favourite ever since. A rather neglected favourite in recent times I fear, through no fault of it’s own, so with a pack of lamb pieces needing to be used, and not really fancying Irish Stew today, I decided to revive this great little dish. It’s cooking away gently in the oven as I write, so it will be a race to see which gets finished first! The quantities I’m using today would feed 4 hungry people, and of course it is a perfect recipe for doubling up for parties.

Most people know that a Tagine is just a description of the shape of dish that this was first cooked it, but I’m just using my trusty old cast-iron casserole today, and unless you have masses of cupboard space to hold a pot that you’ll use one in a blue moon, I suggest you do as I do!

EQUIPMENT:

A large casserole suitable for use on the hob and in the oven, or a deep frying pan and a casserole dish.

INGREDIENTS: for 4-6

450g lamb pieces – because I’m bone idle I used leg of lamb pieces today. #thankyoumrsainsbury
2 large onions, cut into crescents
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated.
pinch of Saffron stamens in a tablespoon or so of cold water
1/2 (half) a teaspoon of cayenne pepper (careful, it’s spicy!)
1-2 teaspoons of sweet paprika
1-2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
450mls hot Chicken stock
Tin of chopped tomatoes
75g each of semi-dried apricots and raisins
75g of Pistachios ( optional – we’re a nut-free household so we don’t bother)
Rapeseed oil
Salt, to taste
Basmati or Pilau Rice and Naan bread, to serve.

METHOD:

Put the saffron on to soak in a tablespoon of water.
Heat 1-2 tablespoonfuls of oil in the casserole to a medium-hot heat
add the lamb pieces, and stir around to allow them to brown a little ( about 5-10 minutes)
Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions. Stir in and allow them to soften but not brown.
Add the garlic and ginger.

Add the spices, the saffron and it’s soaking water, and the stock.

Saffron just put into the water to soak..

Gloriously golden after about 20 minutes soaking

Stir all well to combine

add the chopped tomatoes, and stir in.
Season with salt to taste.
Add the apricots, raisins and nuts, if using.

Give it all one last stir, then cover with a close-fitting lid and put into the oven at 160 degrees
Give it about an hour – the leg of lamb pieces will cook fairly quickly, but shoulder or other cuts will take a little longer.
If you think it’s drying out, add a little more water and return to the oven at a reduced heat (about 120-140) for the final cooking of about 30 minutes.
It’s ready to eat as soon as the lamb is cooked – you’ll have to taste a bit to see,
I serve this really simply with basmati rice and Naan or flatbread.

NOTES:

Naturally this will taste even better if you leave it until tomorrow, so it’s perfect for preparing ahead.
Some people don’t like Lamb, so I think skinless and boneless chicken thighs might be worth a shot in this sauce. Reduce the cooking time if you’re using Chicken thighs.
I removed this from the oven about 15-20 minutes before I served it. I think that slight cooling enhances the flavours.
We had this next door one time, served with a Moroccan-style couscous, it was very good too.

Posted in Latest Recipe, recipes Tagged with: apricots, basmati, lamb, Raisins, saffron, tagine

Spaghetti with Cauliflower and cheese..

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Becks

I spotted this little recipe in the Sainsbury’s magazine recently, and thought ‘I think I’d like that’. There was a little left-over ham hanging about in the fridge, so I added that. But of course that made it NOT a vegetarian dinner..

EQUIPMENT:

Biggish saucepan
frying pan

INGREDIENTS: These quantities would feed 4 comfortably.

a small Cauliflower, with the inner leaves reserved, cut into very small florets
enough spaghetti for 3-4 people
freshly ground black pepper, a teaspoon or so.
50g Parmesan cheese, grated (or vegetarian alternative)

20g salted butter (or some oil, for your vegans)
diced cooked ham – completely optional – I’m only using it because it’s there..
Really nice Olive Oil to finish (I got some for Christmas , so I’m just showing off 😉 )

METHOD:

Bring the saucepan to the boil
Melt 20g butter in the frying pan until it’s frothing.
Toss the cauliflower pieces in, reduce to a medium heat for 10 minutes until golden. Add the ham after a minute or two.

Next time I do this, I’ll cut the florets smaller I think..

Put the spaghetti on to cook, (shortly after starting the cauliflower florets), adding the leaves about 2-3 minutes before the pasta is fully cooked.

Drain the spaghetti , keeping some of the boiling water back. Return the spaghettis to the warm saucepan
toss the cauliflower florets and the black pepper into the spaghetti

Stir through until it’s well distributed. If it looks dry, add a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water
Mix through the Parmesan
Drizzle some of your lovely Olive oil over.

Pour into warmed pasta bowls
Add some garlicy bread if you feel like it, and some extra Parmesan too.

NOTES:

I made this for the first time this evening, and we’ve just had it for dinner. We both enjoyed it. We didn’t bother with the garlic bread today, and didn’t miss it.
The next time I make it, I think I’ll cut the cauliflower a little smaller – I think you should be able to take a forkful of cauliflower and some pasta all in one go!
The ham was good with it, but it is supposed to be a vegetarian dish, and we all know how handy it is to have something tasty to throw together for our favourite vegetarians I think a little finely chopped chilli would be a good addition, and perhaps a tiny squeeze of lemon, just before serving.
Mr Saturday Night suggested adding some Truffle oil instead of the Olive oil, and that’s a good idea too.
It’s a little tricky to get the cauliflower cooked at the same time as the spaghetti, but I think if you did what I did, and put the cauliflower on first, immediately followed by the pasta, then you won’t go far wrong.
It’s a good plan too, to have the pepper ground, and the cheese grated before you start.

Posted in Latest Recipe Tagged with: cauliflower, olive oil, parmesan, vegetarian

The joys of a wet Sunday..

Posted on January 21, 2018 by Becks

Every parent will know the feeling of dismay when faced with that scary combination – a band of youngsters and a wet Sunday. I think it was a particular dread of parents in the era before 24 hour TV, but honestly it’s probably no easier these days either.

If it’s any help, my coping mechanism was to state clearly and loudly that we couldn’t possibly go out that day. Then we had a choice of activities – reading, painting (cover the kitchen table with something waterproof); sometimes followed by baking; then eating the products of that baking whilst watching an old favourite on TV in front of the fire. The trick was not to rush any of it. Turns out it was fairly easy to fill a day doing this sort of stuff..

A wet Sunday is a different animal when you’ve only got grown-ups to deal with. Don’t get me wrong, if I thought for a minute that all I was ever going to get was wet Sundays, I’d lose the plot, but now I look on them as an opportunity to do things that I might not have the time or inclination to do otherwise.

Stirring.. very restful..

You only need to use a little bit of your brain to scrub fruit – you can let the rest of it run free..

Yesterday was my first foray into the world of Marmalade making. A reasonable success, I think; not too bad for a first attempt anyhow. However, the important thing was that I really enjoyed it. As I sat, radio on in the background, calmly cutting up orange rind as thinly as I could, I had time to think. It occurred to me that we don’t get a huge amount of time these days to sit and think. We’re always encouraged to be doing something, which is ironic, when you think about it. We have all these labour-saving devices which take everyday chores away from us (I’ve got the washing machine and the dishwasher on as I write) but what do we do with the time saved?

‘Putting the washing on’ was a two-hour chore for my Mother – pulling the old twin-tub into the middle of the kitchen floor, laboriously filling the machine via the hot-water tap, etc. However, it had perhaps become an automatic activity that gave her time to ponder. In other words, she was doing something that was giving her time to think.

It dawned on me recently that perhaps this is why I enjoy cooking; a lot of cooking and baking consists of fairly repetitive activities – slicing onions, sifting flour, folding in, stirring – you can pay attention with one part of your brain and think about other things with the rest of it. Of course on the other hand, this may be exactly why my Marmalade turned out delicious, but rather runny..

Either way, I think it’s a good thing to give ourselves a little time to do very little; to give our brains a chance to make sense of all the information that pours at us from every direction (and I’m including blogs here too!)

Certainly I feel the benefit of taking time on a wet Sunday to take time off from frenetic activity, to listen properly to a piece of music, to allow that cat to take a snooze on your lap, or to sit in front of the fire with that book that you’ve been trying to finish.. I give you my full permission to do any or all of the above!

You can never read Persuasion too many times !

Happy Wet Sunday!

Posted in Blog Tagged with: rain, relax, Sunday, time, wet

January days..

Posted on January 13, 2018 by Becks

That wet and windy day saw us scurry homeward after a short but sociable trip to St George’s Market this morning. The market was full of bemused French people wondering what on earth could persuade people to live in such a dull and dreary place. They were all here for the rugby at Ravenhill this afternoon, where no doubt they’ll learn the true definitions of ‘Baltic’, lashing’ and ‘foundered’ – you have to feel sorry for them!

It was so dark outside that all the lights were on this morning!

Home for us then, with some Armagh Bramleys – Mr Redmond tells me that this is the last of them and that the rhubarb will be coming soon. I love how the changing of the seasons is reflected in one stall – the first of the Rhubarb, strawberries, flowers and apples all make their appearance in their turn on this stall at St George’s.

The ‘Lady from Armagh’s’ stall at St George’s in the summer time!

I buy their Apple juices for my Mulled Cider at Christmas time..

So, Apple crumble, I think; or maybe Apple and Raspberry, as I have some frozen Raspberries from last summer.

https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/apple-and-raspberry-crumble/

I also got some beautiful lemons this morning, so lemon curd is on the cards too – we’ll have it with some scones tomorrow afternoon with any luck, and if any of you want to call in!

https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/home-made-lemon-curd/

Finished product!

Raw ingredients for lemon Curd

On my wanderings through this site (you do realise that I cook from my own website, don’t you?) I also spotted an Apple Cake recipe, which, from memory was a success too. If I don’t start soon, I’ll run out of time..

https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/apple-and-sultana-cake/

Keep warm during these January days! And remember – Rhubarb is coming!

Posted in Blog Tagged with: apples, Cold, dreary, January, lemons

Hurray for Paddy’s Day!!

Mother’s Day.. for your Mam/Mum/Mom

Sweet Potato oven chips

French Onion Soup..

Cold weather food..

Pancake Tuesday!

Simple Lamb Tagine..

Spaghetti with Cauliflower and cheese..

The joys of a wet Sunday..

January days..

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