Simple HandscrubThis is the kind of gift that a small child can make, and actually they’d probably love the feeling of squishing the oil and other ingredients together. We used organic ingredients because we’d rather use them where we have the option. Read More
One of the issues with my long days in work is finding time to snack. On Tuesday I went from my porridge at 6.30am at the desk with nothing until a meal at 3.30pm when I got home from work. That’s daft carry on altogether and I have nobody to blame but myself. So when Potato.ie – Potatoes More Than A Bit On The Side challenged me to come up with a new recipe I knew that it was an opportunity to make the most of my suppers in the evening and design a recipe that is perfect for an evening meal and matures into a delicious lunch that travels well.
The beauty of this recipe is that by cutting the potatoes into small cubes, you can speed up the cooking time for the tasty bites. If you’re not a fan of bacon, then switch things up by using feta cheese (or Irish cheddar) instead and add a tablespoon of decent olive oil to the dressing recipe. I don’t season this dish at all because there is enough salt from the bacon, but I do think some minced garlic would be a great addition to the salad dressing. 
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Hooray for Irish tomatoes being in season! My tomatoes in the polytunnel are nearly ready but you should be seeing Irish tomatoes in the supermarket at this stage. There is nothing like the flavour of a warm sun-ripened tomato picked straight from the vine. This easy tomato tart recipe is uncomplicated, in fact it’s nearly too easy to call it a recipe! Don’t let the small number of ingredients listed here limit your options. I make this tart with chorizo, fresh basil (thyme, oregano, and sage also work well), peppers, courgette, onions, the list goes on.
As a bonus, to go along with the recipe I’ve another simple video for you to follow! Read More
It’s National Potato Day in Ireland today and when I was asked to develop a new recipe especially for the celebration I found it hard to say no. If you ask me, everyday is a potato day! There’s a reason why I don’t grow potatoes at the allotment. I certainly could if I wanted to, it’s just that we have so many fantastic local potato producers close to home that I prefer to support them instead. In fact, the local potato growers are so supportive of what we do at the allotments, there is a particular farmer who supplies us with potatoes for the pigs! Every couple of weeks a meitheal of syndicate members gets together and we shift a tonne of potatoes from a trailer into storage boxes for the pigs. They’re then boiled daily for the pigs’ main meal. Read More
During the school year I try to get the kids to have their dinner by 5.30pm at the latest. It stops too much snacking when they get home from school and it means that they get hot food on cold days (not that we’ve had many of those recently). All three of the kids have conspired against me these past few weeks and each finished at a different time. That will change very soon thank goodness! These flatbreads are the perfect meal to prepare in advance. I can mix up the dough in the morning, cover and forget about it. I can also make the filling well before I need to serve it up.
The kids would happily set up camp beside me in the kitchen and eat the bits that I make as they come straight out of the cooker/pan. Yesterday I baked a loaf of bread, and once sliced, they each made sandwiches out of it. When a dear friend arrived and I gave the end of the loaf to her to try as I value her opinion, they all gave out yards that I give away their food. Honestly, they don’t know how flipping lucky they are!
All I can say is ‘roll on next week’ when I can have unlimited opportunities to sort socks in peace* Read More
The beauty of this simple chicken traybake is that once it’s assembled you just bake it in the oven and wait while the delicious smells fill the house. Read More
This vegetarian tart is so easy to make thanks to the pre-rolled puff pastry. There really isn’t much to do apart from bake the pastry, then fill it a quarter of an hour before serving, then cooking for the final few minutes. It’s the ultimate make-ahead party food, and you’ll look like an absolute genius to produce something so pretty from your kitchen at the last minute. What makes it more incredible is that you only need 5 ingredients to make it! Read More
My frying pan gets used at least every second day, pancakes on a Sunday are a regular treat, and I like to use it to add colour (and flavour) to meat before cooking in the oven. The beauty of this pancake recipe is that it doesn’t take long to put together, you don’t need to wait for the batter to get smooth, it contains very few ingredients, and it becomes a balanced meal once we have some fruit on the side. Mind you there’s nothing stopping you making this a savoury dish. I suppose we’ve become used to this as a sweet treat. The sweetness is all in the extras, not from the ingredients.
I’ve been asked a few times recently for instructions on how to make pancakes – the quick and easy way. Nothing too stressful, that requires very little skill in the kitchen.
To me, fast food is a meal that I can get to the table in less than 30 minutes. These pancakes start making their way to the table in the first 15 minutes of whipping up the batter, then it’s a rhythm of spooning, flipping, and serving to make sure that everybody is satisfied. The ingredients that I use are always in my store cupboard, so I always have a fast food option to cook. This is a budget recipe; the ingredients for these pancakes (that feed 5) come to just over 82c, which is a cost of just under 17c per portion; fruit and any other spreads/syrups are extra.*
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Whenever I want an easy lunch I always make double quantities for dinner the night before. What easier way to make up a lunch than to grab out a tray of prepared roasted vegetables and my lunch is ready in minutes. Why not try making this bulgur salad with roasted vegetables?
It’s never a hardship to prepare extra vegetables when I’m in a food preparation groove at the sink. More often than not I’ll have a couple of extra hands at the sink who are willing to help out with peeling anyway so why not make the most of them? Read More
I’m under-selling this recipe by describing it simply by its ingredients and method of cooking, but I can’t really call it “eat with a spoon pork dish that will warm you from the inside out”, can I? It is however the perfect antidote to Storm Rachel.
I first made a variation of meat cooked in an apple sauce when I was 14. We had a French Appreciation Day in school and I volunteered to cook a dish to serve to students and staff. After doing some research, I decided to cook Poulet A La Normande which meant I got to raid the drinks cabinet for calvados and use cider in the sauce as well. The original recipe is quite complicated, so I’ve simplified how I cook this dish to reflect the great ingredients we have grown, prepared, and raised. 