I've Been a-Baking!

And my kitchen is still standing and the whole family is alive! Alive and well fed I might add. The husband reckons he ate 3/4 of a cheesecake all by himself! I reckon so too, as I only had two slivers and the kids weren't fans, yet there certainly appears to be no more!

Generally I am a rudimentary baker at best, sticking to old favourites that I know I won't butcher. I have been known to ruin brownie mixes I am so terrible with following recipes - thank heavens I found the foolproof One Bowl Brownie Recipe! It gets especially difficult working with American recipes and European measurements and ingredients. I'm convinced the flour here is different. I haven't quite figured out how, but I remember my Mam saying she couldn't make pastry when we lived in America, because the flour wasn't right. I think I just need to figure out which type of flour is best for what.

For whatever reason, the cosmos seemed to be working in my favour this week, as almost everything was a roaring success. I will not talk about the creme brulee which was awful, despite me normally being able to make a delectable creme brulee. The husband thinks it was the addition of kahlua to an already perfect recipe. Who knows? I just know I won't be doing it again! Despite that, I would like to share a few recipes with you. This will be a long post, but I'm sure everyone will find something they like!

Allow me to whet your appetite with a Lemon Cheesecake. I've missed cheesecake immensely since moving back to Ireland. My first cheesecake experience here was tragic. I was out for lunch in Castlebar where I worked at the time and all the girls were having dessert so I obliged and ordered the Bailey's Cheesecake. When it came out it looked ok, but when I tasted it, it was awful. I sent it back suggesting it might be old, that something was definitely off with it. He brought me back another piece that he said was cut from a fresh cake. It tasted the exact same. Naively I asked if they had forgotten to bake it. Laughter erupted from the table. "You don't bake cheesecake!" Ah-ha! Well that explained a lot. Apparently many people here can't stand baked cheesecake, and from the recipes I've seen floating around I can understand why - dense, glutinous masses. Cheesecake should be light, but it shouldn't be mousse either. This recipe is a perfect mix that both Americans and Irish should love! It's easy to make too, no bain marie, and if the surface cracks, no worries, you'll be covering it with lemon curd! This is from The Best of Dierbergs cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cups shortbread crumbs
• 3 tbsp melted butter
• 3 packages cream cheese (8oz Philadelphia in foil)
• 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp corn flour/starch
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 3 eggs
• 1 jar lemon curd
• Whipped cream, raspberries and mint to garnish (optional)

Combine the shortbread crumbs and butter and press into the bottom of a greased 9 inch spring form pan. Wrap foil around and underneath the pan. Bake at 325F/165C for eight minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

To prepare the filling, beat the cream cheese until soft. Beat in lemon juice.

In a small bowl mix lemon zest, sugar and cornstarch. Add to cream cheese mixture and beat until well blended.

Add eggs one at a time, until well incorporated. Pour filling onto baked crust.

Bake for 40-45 minutes at 325F/165C until edges are set and center is almost set.

Turn off oven, loosen the edges with a sharp knife. Allow to rest in oven with door ajar for thirty minutes.

Cool on wire rack to room temperature. Refrigerate eight hours or overnight. (I did not do this)

Cover with lemon curd. Garnish with quenelles of whipped cream, raspberries and sprigs of mint, or simply add lemon peel as I did. (How do you get that to curl??? Any tips?)

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Next up is the very simple, yet frequently requested Irish brown soda bread. This goes hand-in-hand with my smoked salmon post. Growing up we always had brown bread and soda bread, but it seems elsewhere in the world, this is called brown soda bread, so there you go! I wish I could tell you this was a recipe passed down from generation to generation, but it's not. It's just from the back of the Odlum's flour bag!Ingredients:

• 350g/12oz Coarse Ground Wholemeal
• 125g/4oz Plain Flour
• 15g/1/2 oz Wheatgerm (optional)
• 275-425ml/1/2-3/4pt Buttermilk or Sour Cream
• 1 tsp Bread (Baking) Soda
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 25g/1oz Bran (optional)

Sieve the cream flour, salt and bread soda into a bowl. Mix in the wholemeal, wheatgerm and bran, if used. Add enough milk to make a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured board. Knead until the mixture comes together smoothly. Place dough on a floured baking sheet. Cut a cross over the top.

Place in a central oven position and bake in a preheated oven 400°F, 200°C, Gas 6 for approx. 40 mins. When baked the bread will have a hollow sound if tapped on the base. Cool on a wire tray. A dry tea towel wrapped around the bread at this stage helps to give a softer crust.

Source: Odlums.ie

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I know I've posted a Blueberry muffin recipe before, but it is a bit complex. This is a really easy recipe that Ella and I whipped up the other day. It is from my cooking bible The Joy of Cooking. To keep calories low, use the minimum amount of butter and skim milk. You can substitute the blueberries for other fruit or chocolate chips, or anything that takes your fancy. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (optional - I used fresh grated)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup milk/cream
• 2/3 cup sugar or packed brown sugar
• 4-8 tbsp melted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries
• cinnamon and sugar for topping

Whisk flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg together in a large bowl.

Beat eggs, milk, sugar, butter and vanilla in a separate bowl. Add to the flour mixture and lightly mix together. Batter should not be smoothed, but all dry ingredients should be wet. Fold in blueberries.

Divide into twelve muffin cases in a muffin tin. Sprinkle tops with cinnamon and sugar.

Bake at 200C/400F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.

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I will try and post again before I leave on Tuesday, but I am going to Mayo tomorrow to drop the kids off, but there is no broadband, so if you don't hear from me I should be back around July 5th.

The competition officially closes on July 1, but since I won't be back, keep the last minute entries coming. I've got some great ones so far. Remember you are welcome to enter twice and you don't have to be a blogger or a parent!!!!

Have a great week everyone and don't forget to enter the competition. Tell your friends too!

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Family Secrets

I think every family has a recipe or recipes close to it's heart. In my family's case it would probably be Christmas Dinner. Every year Mam pulls off a stuffed turkey to beat the previous year, yet each year she frets that something will go wrong. It's become almost a charade, she fusses and worries all Christmas Day that the turkey won't come out right. We remind her that she does this every year and it's always ok, yet it doesn't reassure her! I hold fast to my claim that my Mam makes the best stuffing ever. EVER!

When I got married I heard of a favourite recipe of my husbands. Sour Cream Noodle Bake. Eew! It just sounded bad to begin with and when I saw the ingredients consisted of ground beef and cottage cheese?! Double eew! However being the dutiful wife I am (hah!) I made it and I have to say I have been converted. Born again into the joys and wonders of ground beef and cottage cheese! This recipe sounds absolutely disgusting if you just read the ingredients, but I promise you - you will not be disappointed. We hadn't made this in a long time and I pulled it out last week. It was the first time the kids had tried it and what a success! Everyone ate their entire plate!

I wish I could tell you that this was a great family secret recipe, but all you would have to do is "google" it to know that this is not the case. I have made the recipe with fat free sour cream and cottage cheese, and other than being a little more watery, the overall effect was the same.

Apparently this recipe originates from the legendary St. Louis restaurant Miss Hullings, that I believe is no more. I'm not really sure of much more than that, as this recipe was passed on to me by my in-laws. Perhaps my mother-in-law will comment and shed a little more light on this! :-)

I hope you try this and enjoy it, as it really has become one of our family favourites, albeit no secret!

Ingredients:

• 1 package egg noodles, 8 ounces (or pasta)
• 1 tbsp Butter
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup tomato sauce or puree
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Garlic salt
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1 cup chopped green onions (about 2 bunches)

Yield: 6-8 servings

Cook noodles in boiling salted water. Rinse in cold water and drain.

Brown meat in butter, then add salt, pepper, garlic salt, and tomato sauce. Simmer for five minutes.

Combine cottage cheese, sour cream, chopped onions and noodles.

Alternate layers of noodle mixture and meat mixture in a 2-quart casserole, beginning with noodles and ending with meat. Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until cheese is melted and browned.

I will be submitting this to Ruth for today's Presto Pasta.

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Vodka Penne and Farmhouse Cheddar Muffins

Well I switched my menu around a little, because I didn't feel like making pasta yesterday! I will do the tortelli tomorrow. I did go ahead and make the farmhouse muffins, with the diligent help of a small person, and they were fabulous! They are very similar in taste to my famous (and I say this only because the recipe has been published) Dinner Biscuits. The husband likes them better, but I still prefer the crumbly texture of the biscuits more.

These are surprisingly light for muffins with cheddar in them and even my small helper enjoyed them despite the presence of "yucky onions." I tried to reason with her that she did indeed like onions since she ate them in the muffins, but apparently that's different because they "disappeared!" When will I learn that you can't reason with a three year old? Again, this recipe is from Just a Matter of Thyme. It's really a lovely classic book if you can get hold of it. Good down home cooking, as they say!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup, shredded cheddar
• 1/2 cup chopped onion, sauteed in 2 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley or 1-2 tbsp dill (I used half parsley, half chives)

Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, paprika and sugar. Add egg, milk, sour cream, butter and cheese. Stir until just blended. Fold in onions and herbs.

Bake at 200C/400F in greased muffin tin for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 1 dozen.

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Since I switched days, I ended up making Vodka Penne. Kitchen Madonna requested the recipe and I just wish I were a better photographer, because this was phenomenal! I really stink at normal photography, never mind food photography, but what can I do? Someday I'll get my SLR camera and learn, but in the meantime you're stuck with the below!

This recipe was really simple and everyone loved it. Of course it came with the husband cracking the usual "calling social services" jokes, since I was "serving the kids vodka!" If that's a concern, it shouldn't be. The alcohol cooks off almost right away leaving behind a tangy earthy taste. He also told Ella to tell the kids at pre-school that Mommy gives her Vodka. Thank hon! ;-)

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, diced
  
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  
• 2 1/2 cups cream
• 5.5 oz can tomato paste (or weigh it from a tube)
  
• 1/4 cup vodka
• 2 tsp sugar
• salt and pepper to season
  
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  
• 1 package penne
• extra Parmesan to garnish

Cook the penne according to package directions and make the sauce while it's cooking.

Saute the onion in the olive oil until caramelized. Add the garlic and saute quickly until fragrant.

Add cream, tomato paste, sugar and vodka. Allow to simmer for about ten minutes.

As pasta drains, add Parmesan, stir to dissolve and season to taste.

Toss the pasta in the sauce and serve immediately garnished with extra Parmesan.

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An Irish food blog note, we have a new foodie among us. Say hello to Robert over at One Voice in Cyberspace. His South African (such varied real estate in food blog land!) styled BBQ monkfish sounds divine and I hope there'll be plenty more recipes like his Stuffed Cabbage Rolls soon! The food blogs are really growing over here! Someone better tell Damien that we need a food blog category next year for the Irish Blog Awards! :-)

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Menu Plan Monday and Deviled Eggs

Well I took out some of my old favourite cookbooks and decided we were going to have a good home cooking week! My husband has a really light work week this week before we leave for Mallorca next week and it will be nice to be able to sit down together for meals each day. We did have a nice breakfast for Father's Day yesterday. I made some Apple Cinnamon pancakes (usingMixed Spice in place of cinnamon which was amazing!) before he headed for work and the girls gave him a big card they had made. Ella was so proud of herself for using all the stamps Grandma sent. I know you read this Grandma, so had to let you know how much fun we've been having with the stamps - the floor enjoys them too! ;-)

Anyways, on to the menu. I haven't indicated lunch, as we'll probably be eating Grilled Cheese (our lunch staple) or leftovers or both!

Monday: Meatloaf with White Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes and Asparagus*

Tuesday: Homemade Spinach and Ricotta Tortelli** with Farmhouse Cheddar Muffins***

Wednesday: Schoolhouse Chicken Pot Pie followed by Lemon Lovers Cheescake*

Thursday: Vodka Penne with Garlic Bread

Friday: Chicken Enchiladas*** with Cornbread

Saturday: Spicy Thai Chicken Pasta*

Sunday: Beef Tenderloin Napoleon with Wild Mushroom and Red Wine Sauce followed by White Russian Creme Brulee*

* - These recipes are from The Best of Dierbergs cookbook. Dierbergs is an upmarket supermarket in St. Louis, MO and the book was a gift from my mother-in-law. I used to use it all the time, but for some reason it's been on the back shelf for the last year, so time to pull it out again. It's a wonderful cookbook - clear concise with a plethora of recipes of varying ethnic and cultural backgrounds. It also features some incredible desserts and BBQ recipes. I can't find it on Amazon so I think you might have to get it direct from Dierbergs.

** - This recipe is from my latest cookbook purchase, Angela Hartnett's Cucina: Three Generations of Italian Family Cooking. I am in love with this book and a review is forthcoming. If you want a cookbook with down to earth, simple Italian inspired cooking, this is the one for you!

*** - These recipes are from another gift from my mother-in-law, but this time to her son when he moved out. Just a Matter of Thyme is written by three friends and is an extremely American book with some fabulous dessert and bread recipes in it. It also has some wonderful cooking advice and tricks that have changed the way I do things. It is my first stop if hubby is feeling homesick and wants some "down home cooking!"

Now for a quick and easy recipe that the Kitchen Madonna has me hankering for. This will be very familiar to my American readers, but maybe not so much for my Irish readers. I've catered a few parties here and made Deviled Eggs and people did more looking at them than eating them! At one party I had to send my Dad and hubby in to start eating them and once others saw this they took off and we were asked for the recipe by many! These are such a delicious light lunch or party hors d'oeuvre and ridiculously easy to make. You probably have everything in your fridge already! You can also change this recipe up to suit your tastes. For a fancy crowd I would always pipe the filling in, but here I just spooned it in. And yes, I do actually own a dish specifically made for these. My Mom owns two AND a cookbook about nothing BUT devilled eggs! We're pretty sad! ;-)

P.S. Check out Kitchen Madonna's lovely aprons! There's one on it's way to me - how excited am I? So go on over and treat yourself or your Mom or wife or Grandma - they are quite stunning! She's also having a competition right now if you want to win one of the plainer ones - so tell your friends, animals and neighbours and check it out!

Ingredients:
(makes 12)

• 1/2 dozen free range eggs
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise* or creme fraiche
  
• 1 tso honey
• 1 heaped teaspoon curry powder
• 1 tbsp snipped fresh chives
• 1/2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper to season
• parsley and curry powder for garnish

Boil the eggs until cooked through. I put the eggs in a pot and cover them with cold water. I bring it up to a boil and turn the heat off. I put a lid on and let them sit for about ten minutes and they turn out perfect every time. For this recipe, it's ok if you over cook them, but do not under cook! Val also has a neat trick for perfect boiled eggs!

Shell the eggs and slice them in half. Remove the yolk from each half and place in a bowl. Make sure the remaining whites are clean of yolk. Set aside.

Mash the yolks and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix thoroughly until creamy. Season generously, as you are seasoning the whites by using the mixture as well.

Either use a piping bag and pipe the yellow mixture back into the whites, or gently spoon it in.

Garnish with some additional parsley and curry powder.

*Try making your own mayonnaise. It's cheap, easy and very yummy!

Variations:

• Use pesto instead of mayonnaise and leave out the curry. Use basil and toasted pine nuts to garnish.
• Make Indian eggs by using garam masala instead of the curry and cilantro instead of the chives.
• Mix in diced peppers or scallions
• spinach and crumbled bacon also make a good addition, without curry
• You can really add any flavours you want, so be creative. Post your ideas or variations in the comments and forum!
  

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Smoked Salmon Linguine - Two ways!

I often get emails from folks in America asking for traditional Irish recipes they could cook at home. Since they can't get real ham over there and we don't actually eat corned beef and cabbage I usually end up suggesting Irish smoked salmon with Brown Soda bread. This is something you will usually find as an appetizer or hors d'oeuvre in many Irish homes. You can get fancy with it by using boursin cheese, chives or walnut soda bread, or you can, as I prefer, use some wonderful Kerrygold butter to lather the bread and top with salmon. If you are in North America, many Irish smokehouses will deliver proper salmon and the soda bread is easily made at home. If you prefer to take a simpler route, Food Ireland will supply it all! The butter really is superior. When I was in the states I always paid ridiculous prices to get French or Irish butter, but I had a real job then, so didn't feel guilty!

Smoked salmon to me is the quintessential Irish food. You will find it almost any menu in this country from the rustic rural pub to the five start Dublin restaurant. It has really become a staple of life. Smoked salmon can be traced back to many ancient civilizations, but it is not clear where it originated from. What is not in question however, are the numerous health benefits it offers. Salmon is excellent for the heart due to it's substantial amounts of Omega 3 Oil. It is also high in Vitamin E, a cancer fighting antioxidant. For anyone watching their carb intake, some varieties have no carbs and most are extremely low. And did I mention the taste???

There is however a lot of controversy regarding salmon of late. Wild stocks are being depleted and governments have only begun reacting recently. Consumers are being asked to purchased farmed or organic salmon to let the wild stock replenish. Having lived in Ballina, one of Ireland's premier salmon fishing sites, for a year and a half, I can attest to the wonderful taste of wild salmon. So out of curiosity and a desire to replenish wild stocks of salmon, I did a random tasting comparing wild and organic farmed salmon. It was a blindfold test and I picked the organic salmon as better! This happened with some other fish varieties on last season of Gordon Ramsay's The F Word. In order to preserve the natural species it's really really important that we eat farmed fish for a few years, and I promise you won't notice a difference in taste, at least for the worst! If saving money is a priority, Aldi is now selling small packages of organic Irish smoked salmon. It's good quality and compared to other manufacturers, very reasonable at €3.99. If money is not an issue I strongly recommend Ummera or Clarkes in Ballina (who, if you are in the area, will even smoke any fish you've caught yourself!)

Now onto to lovely smoked salmon recipes. As promised, one is a low fat dish (sure beats resorting to hoodia!), the other not so much, although if you are lucky enough to be able to get fat free creme fraiche or sour cream, you could substitute that for the cream, which would substantially reduce the fat. This is a real storecupboard recipe. It will take you less than fifteen minutes to cook - no excuses people! :-)



Ingredients:
(serves 2)

• 1 package chestnut (baby portabello) mushrooms (~8oz)
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp olive oil
  
• 1 200g package organic smoked salmon
• 1 small tub cream
• 1 tsp crushed pink peppercorns
• salt
  
• 1 package of linguine
• 1 tbsp parsley/chives, chopped
  

Cook the pasta according to directions.

Saute the onion in the butter and olive oil. When just soft add the mushrooms and saute until soft. Add in the cream, salmon, peppercorns, salt and cook until salmon just cooks through. Stir in parsley and serve on top of pasta. Garnish with more parsley or chives and a wedge of lemon.

Variations:
Switch out the mushrooms for asparagus, green beans or broccoli
Chop and de-seed a small red chili and add in for heat

Ingredients: (serves 1)

• 50g smoked salmon
• 100g (cooked weight) pasta
• 6-7 spears asparagus, chopped diagonally
• 1 red onion, sliced
• Cooking spray
• Pinch celery salt
• Pinch garlic powder
• 1 tbsp fat free yoghurt/sour cream/creme fraiche
  
• Salt and pepper to season
• 1 tbsp snipped fresh chives
  

Cook the pasta and asparagus in a large pot of salted boiling water. Remove asparagus when just under al-dente.

Spray cooking spray in a skillet and sauté the onion until soft. Toss in asparagus, smoked salmon, pasta, sour cream and seasonings. Garnish with chives. Serve immediately.

Calories: 261 Fat: 3g Protein: 20g Carbohydrate: 41g Fibre: 4g

I will be submitting these to Ruth for Presto Pasta.

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Menu Plan Monday and News

Well it's time for menu planning again. I am really trying to be strict about this as it cuts my grocery bill in half - that and some other tips and tricks I use! Here goes:

Monday
Lunch: Spanish Sausage and Rice Wraps
Dinner: BBQ - Burgers, salad, and garlic baked potatoes

Tuesday
Lunch: Beans and Toast
Dinner: Pork and Mango Meatballs

Wednesday
Lunch: Grilled ham and Cheese Sandwiches and fruit
Dinner: Lasagna

Thursday
Lunch: Leftover Lasagna
Dinner: Chicken Tikka Masala

Friday
Lunch: Shepherd's Pie
Dinner: ??? It's our fifth anniversary, so I am going to cook something special. Not sure what yet, but open to suggestions. He loves his beef, so thinking along the lines of beef tenderloin / tornedos / chateubriand etc.

Saturday
Lunch: Leftover Shepherd's Pie
Dinner: Pork with Ginger and Fresh Plum Sauce

Sunday
Lunch: Sicilian Bonata
Dinner: Leftovers

On to the news. You may have noticed there is a button up top now that directs you to a forum. This is basically a place where you can chat, ask questions, post recipes etc. with other readers. I get so many cool question via email and thought it would be fun if everyone could see them and reply. Feel free to take part - it should be fun!

On a personal note, we received some rather shocking, but exciting news the other night. We will be moving to Tullamore. This was very unexpected and my husbands new job starts effective July 1. We will be in Spain from the 25th of this month to July 3rd and will then start getting into the nitty gritty of moving, so if I'm not as active on here, please forgive me. I'm quite excited about the move, as we will be in a much bigger town, which means brighter culinary exploits. Here we've got a few chippers, a Chinese takeaway or two and a pizza place. Very exciting! I also suspect the supermarkets will carry other fresh herbs than just parsley! ;-)
Right, well I'll be back later today with some recipes - have to go write up my shopping list now! I have one healthy recipe and one not necessarily unhealthy, but a real Irish hearty one! :-)

Healthy Recipe Series: Couscous stuffed Baked Tomatoes

It seems as if people are open to checking out some more healthy recipes, so I figured I'd start out with my new favourite lunch. This is such a wholesome recipe, but doesn't lack in taste. In fact, this is the third time I've made them and even the husband enjoyed them last night. Personally I am not a big fan of couscous, as I find it rather bland, but this is a great way to liven it up. This recipe was inspired by a recipe in Rosemary Conley's current Diet and Fitness magazine. Sure beats resorting to hoodia! Ingredients:

• 4 vine-ripe tomatoes
• 50g CousCous
• 100ml chicken/vegetable stock
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 50g ricotta cheese
• 4-5 basil leaves, chopped
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• zest of one lemon
• sea salt and black pepper to season

Place the couscous in a mixing bowl and add the hot chicken stock. Allow to stand until absorbed and then fluff up a bit with a fork.

Slice the top of the tomatoes and reserve. Scoop out the insides of the tomatoes and discard. Chop the tops of the tomatoes finely and add to the couscous.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Season to your taste.

Place the filling inside the tomatoes and bake at 200C/400F for 10-15 minutes, until tomatoes are soft, but still holding their shape. Garnish with basil and more lemon zest if desired.

Nutritional Information per Tomato*
Calories: 84
Fat: 2g
Carbs: 14g
Protein: 4g
Fiber: 2g

* - I used the FitDay software to calculate this, but it will vary according to the size tomatoes you use, but should be around this amount.

I am submitting this recipe to this month's Heart of the Matter event hosted by Joanna's Food. This is a great event that anyone wishing to eat healthier should look at. Last months theme was pasta and some of the recipes are incredible. I know I will be trying them out. I think I'm finally beginning to believe it's possible for low-fat food to actually taste good. I also want to try Joanna's fake fudge!

Here's to some more healthy eating! I need to find a healthy way to snack! Guess I should buy an air popcorn machine!

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I'm alive... swap, meme and a recipe

I am so sorry not to have been online lately. Wouldn't you know our broadband went down last week and due to the typical Irish customer service, or rather lack thereof, I was not reconnected until yesterday. God forbid they even give us a credit for the six days we were without phone or broadband... GRRRR! But I digress. All is well I am fine and I am deeply touched by all the emails I've received asking if everything is ok, from people I've never even met! Thank you everyone, and I apologise for the delay in getting recipes online!

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I received my package for Frannie's Swap on Tuesday which contained a wonderful Tapas cook book from Alissa in Canada. I absolutely love Tapas as I've mentioned time and time again, and which also might have some influence on our my decision to go to Spain in 18 days!!! Can you tell I'm excited? There I go again... back to Alissa! It's an absolutely wonderful book with delights ranging from tortillas (like Spanish omelets) to chorizo baked in bread (YUM!) to various fruit and Serrano concoctions. I will have a LOT of fun with this book. I will be having people over for hors d'oeuvres and cocktails in mid-July and something tells me this book will have a big play in the menu plan! Alissa's blog is a very amusing account of mothering two toddlers, as my two are just a few months older than hers, I can relate to much of their antics! Thank you so much Alissa- it's perfect!!!

Barbara from Praying for Grace, Prayerful Beads and a new food oriented blog Bless Us O Lord, has tagged me on a meme to reveal 8 random facts about myself. Skip through for the recipe, but otherwise here we go!

1. I have this weird phobia about the volume on the radio/tv/etc. that it HAS to be on an even number or a divisible of five. The husband gets great fun out of putting it on odd numbers and watching me try and hold myself back. I know... crazy, but I am what I am!

2. I LOVE Irish weather! It seems all my fellow Irish food bloggers have been complaining about the miserable weather we had last week. I love it! I love the temperate climate, the cool rain, the resulting beautiful countryside. When I lived in the states and visited Seattle I felt the same way, it's a very similar climate and I felt right at home there. No extremes, that's what I like!

3. I hated high school. Probably because I was the fat kid, but I hated it, couldn't wait for it to be done, couldn't stand the people, couldn't stand the school, all of it. YUCK!

4. I am overly sensitive. I take everything personally. The most innocent comment I take the wrong way. It's something I have to work on, as I don't think the whole world is out to get me... or are you?

5. I am pretty conservative for today's world and wish I was born forty years earlier! I have so much trouble watching the news and believing what's considered normal in today's society. I can't get over the fact that very few people in Ireland get married anymore, that casual sex is the social norm, that people don't let the lady with the stroller and toddler in tow cross the street, and that children are starting puberty before their teens. It's a scary world we live in, one I didn't even see for what it was and probably was an active participant in, until I had children.

6. I am the most impatient person in the world. MORE so even than my three year old. This makes me a real treat for the in-laws who all take their time saying what they are trying to say. SPIT IT OUT says me! :-) Of course my impatience does not stop with my own mouth often making me say things I regret... it's a fine line my friends!

7. My senior year in high school I had the title role in Mame. My Grandfather had died the night before the finale and I was more than a little bit stressed. At one point I had about a thirty second slot to change from a riding outfit into a big Southern ball gown. The sound crew, who I later learned had been imbibing since well before the show began, forgot to turn off my body mic. I had about three girls helping me with the costume change and I was cursing and effing and blinding the dress and what not, and wouldn't you know it? The audience heard every word! I had no idea until intermission when my Dad rushed in saying how ashamed he was. I'll never live that one down! Not one of my finer moments...

8. I love old school role playing computer games like King's Quest, Curse of Monkey Island and Oregon Trail! Sad, but true!

Tags? Hmmm... how about Goofy Girl, Beccy and Lisa? And anyone else who wants to play, go for it!

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Ingredients:

• 1 package baby spinach*
• 1 tbsp butter
  
• 1 250g tub mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
  
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• 2 packages (8oz each) chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 16 oz dry pasta
• sea salt and pepper, to season
  

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside.

Saute the spinach in the butter using a lid to cover in order to steam the spinach a bit as well. Once wilted remove from heat and drain. Chop roughly and add to the mascarpone with half the Parmesan cheese. Mix to form a thick sauce.

Tip the sauce and half of the remaining Parmesan cheese over the still warm pasta and mix to combine.

Saute the mushrooms in the olive oil until softened and liquid has been released. Add the garlic and stir for about a minute until softened.

Tip the mushrooms into an oven-proof dish and top with the pasta. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan on top. Bake at 200C/400F for about fifteen minutes or until bubbling and parmesan is browned.

Serve with garlic bread and a green salad. I will be submitting this to Ruth for Presto Pasta night this week. It's been a while since I had one in there!

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And now for something completely different... I've been eating low fat and low GI lately, so haven't been cooking my usual buttery creamy olive oil laden creations. I would be happy to post some low-fat recipes, but only if there is an interest. Leave a comment and let me know if you would like to see some. I have to say I am NOT a fan of healthy food, but I have been pleasantly surprising myself. I've been pushing the boat out trying to find healthy recipes that actually taste good... that don't suggest you replace cream with yogurt! AS IF! ;-)

Ok, well that's all for now... let me know!

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