Apparently simnel cake is traditionally eaten on Mothering Sunday. I have to say I never remember eating simnel cake then, but it always featured on our Easter table as I was growing up. Technically simnel cake is a similar mixture to a Christmas cake, and has some of the same flavours. However unlike Christmas cake, …
I’ve come over a bit romantic and have been revisiting my favourite recipes just in time for Valentine’s Day. This is not sugar-free, gluten-free or fat-free. This is a whole sugar, fat, wheat in your face kind of dessert that is perfect with a spoon of whipped cream or even eaten warm with a scoop …
This morning a mist rolled down from the Mourne Mountains to the sea and enveloped our town in swirls of myth. I was half expecting to see Queen Maeve and her warriors charge past the front door as we piled into the car to get to school. It was the kind of mist that deadens …
In my last blogpost I shared a vlog of my own journey of getting fitter and losing weight. I am depending on nobody else to lose weight for me, or to help me get fit. It does help though that there is somebody else working alongside me, towards a similar goal. My husband and I …
A couple of weeks ago I was invited to a tasting with Barry’s Tea and their master blender Denis Daly. I didn’t need to be asked twice. If there’s tea involved, I’m there with bells on. We were treated to tea based cocktails, iced tea and got to see some vintage stamps, order books and …
The 5 year old had his first ever school tour last week. So I made him some lemon muffins for his lunchbox as an extra special treat. Chocolate and nuts are banned in his school so I often make him treats based on fruit flavours instead. To be honest I think he prefers them. I’ve …
Have you ever wondered by Mother’s Day falls on a different day each year? There’s a very good reason for that and believe it or not Mother’s Day never started out as a holiday to celebrate your mother at all.
I baked this crumble tart for St Patrick’s Day. I’m not a gourmet kind of a cook but I know how to weave a bit of magic with some ingredients with minimal fuss. The town I live in now is not the town I grew up in but over the years we have become so …
Today, Sunday, is a dampy rainy kind of a day. The sort of a day that makes me want to pull the duvet back over my head and pretend it never started. Today calls for comfort food. This is a traditional, old style, stick-to-your-ribs semolina pudding, it’s frugal and easy to make with just 3 …
As today is an important day to me, I figured it was time to celebrate. The thing is though I’m a bit “caked out” at the moment for reasons that will become apparent in the future. I’ve made some coconut cookies instead, as a favour to myself.
I mentioned on Saturday that I was making gur cake. I really didn’t expect the response I would get on all my social media channels from Dubs (people from Dublin), Corkonians (who call it chester cake) and Deise natives (from Waterford, who call it donkey gudge cake apparently). This is a cake that has huge …
Baking in this house requires organisation because the 2 year old understands when I’ve something baking. He likes to sit in front of the oven and demand instant results. His naps are beginning to shorten too so if I want to bake I need to be able to lash a cake batter together rapidly and …