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Tea Biscotti & Teaology
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 other items inside. I was particularly taken with these: We ventured into the main room and Mr Daly turned into a tea tasting and teaology machine. It was a lovely evening and I went home with a bag of specially blended tea from the master himself.What do you do with a bag of specially blended…
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Lemon Muffins
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 moved my desk upstairs in the house now that the two boys are sharing a room. It means that I don’t use the computer in our living space in the evening and that there’s a clear separation between home and work life. Having an office space is brilliant. The only thing is that I’m less…
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Chocolate Banana Cake
If, by chance, you have any chocolate left over after the excesses of last Sunday, you might want to consider making this chocolate banana cake. It’s cake, not banana bread, and will freeze for up to 2 months if wrapped well. Not that you’re going to want it to last that long!
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Raspberry Poke Cake
Don’t worry, this raspberry poke cake isn’t a technical bake, it’s more of a crumbly gooey fun cake to make and enjoy. It won’t take you too long, and the most arduous part of this cake is the fact that you have to wait until it’s completely cool to enjoy it.
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Mothering Buns
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.
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Crumble Tart
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 embedded in the area I can’t imagine living anywhere else. On St Patrick’s Day we get to walk a mere 10 minutes down the road to enjoy everything that a country parade has to offer. There were tractors galore which the kids loved.
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Semolina Pudding
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 core ingredients.
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Coconut Cookies
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.
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Gur Cake
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 heritage, and yet comes from a very humble beginning.
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Lemon And Lime Cake
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 have it cooked and cooling by the time he wakes up.
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Blueberry Slice
I buy fresh berries in bulk and then freeze them to use over the winter. Berries go into smoothies, baking, jellies, salads and sometimes into something that is so decadent you won’t want to share. In fact you’ll want to eat this blueberry slice right out of the baking tray.
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Chewy Fruit Flapjacks
I realised yesterday that I hadn’t baked so far this year. Yes I know, that’s crazy talk coming from me. Normally I’m cranking up the oven at least 3 times a week to bake treats for the boys or the weekend. There are no excuses for this type of behaviour and of course I had to fix it. After consulting with a few readers on the Facebook page, I made these chewy fruit flapjacks.
