I was in Geant Casino yesterday and was looking at their fresh cakes. As I do not like creme patisserie, I was looking at the list of ingredients to see if they did contain some apart from the ordinary cream. I was horrified by the number of ingredients, a lot of which I had never heard of. They seemed very simple cakes!! It reminded me of one time my son was here and brought some packets of tortillas with him not knowing you can buy them here. They are just a form of flat bread and I was looking at the list of ingredients wondering if they were easy to make and again, I was horrified at all the e-numbers and countless unknown additives. So I decided to post a recipe for some soda bread. Since I found this recipe, I have regularly made it as I find it is delicious, good for you, and unlike a lot of Irish soda breads, keeps quite well for a few days. And no e-numbers or additives!!
OATY SODA BREAD
100g porridge oats
250ml water
30g butter
300g wholemeal flour (I use flour with seeds)
1.5 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
.75 level tsp salt
1.5 level tbsp brown sugar
100ml yoghurt/fromage frais
Bring oats, water and butter to the boil and leave to cool. In a bowl mix the rest of the ingredients. Add the oats and mix well, adding more water if necessary to obtain a dropping consistency. Grease a 18-20cm square tin and line the base with baking parchment. Add mixture , cover with foil and bake at 200 degrees for 45minutes, removing foil after 30 minutes.
Sunday, 24 July 2011
Friday, 22 July 2011
A GOOD RECIPE FOR COURGETTES
After all my good intentions starting my blog entries again, I find it has been more than 2 weeks since my last post, I have had a lot of problems the last couple of days being able to access my blog.
A massive hail storm last week played havoc in my vegetable garden. The leaves of the chard, rhubarb, squash, melon and haricot beans have been shredded. Most of the skins of the tomatoes, butternuts, melons and cougettes have been damaged which means they will gradually rot and insects etc get in the damaged areas and nibble away! In desperation to save my 4 melons and 4 butternuts, I have painted the damaged bits of skin with clear nail varnish to keep the pests out. I have no idea if it will work!
I still have loads of courgettes from my 2 plants if a bit damaged and I dug out this recipe from a Good Housekeeping vegetarian cookbook I have had for years. I have made this recipe loads of times before but when it's been a while since I made it, its always a nice surprise how good it is, especially the sauce, which I could just eat by the spoonful!!
LASAGNETTE WITH COURGETTES AND SUN-DRIED TOMATOES Serves 4
250g dried lasagnette/tagliatelli/linguini
6 small thin courgettes
1 tbsp olive oil
8 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, cut into strips
zest of 1 lemon
6 large basil leaves shredded
SAUCE
50g sun-dried tomatoes in oil
1 tomato
2 crushed garlic cloves
50g pine nuts
50g freshly grated parmesan
2 tbsp olive oil
juice 1 lemon
2 tsp grated horseradish (I use creamed horseradish from a jar, Aldi sell it)
1-2 tsp soft brown sugar
2 tbsp water
Pare the courgettes into long ribbons using a swivel vegetable peeler. To make the sauce, drain the sun-dried tomatos reserving 2 tbsp of the oil. Place in a blender or food processor with the fresh tomato and garlic and work to a puree. Add the remaining ingredients until blended. Season to taste.
Cook the chosen pasta until al dente. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan and quickly stir fry the courgettes in batches for 2-3 minutes until al dente. Remove from heat and add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes and lemon zest.
Drain the pasta well and toss with the cougettes and basil. Serve with the delicious sauce spooned over.
A massive hail storm last week played havoc in my vegetable garden. The leaves of the chard, rhubarb, squash, melon and haricot beans have been shredded. Most of the skins of the tomatoes, butternuts, melons and cougettes have been damaged which means they will gradually rot and insects etc get in the damaged areas and nibble away! In desperation to save my 4 melons and 4 butternuts, I have painted the damaged bits of skin with clear nail varnish to keep the pests out. I have no idea if it will work!
I still have loads of courgettes from my 2 plants if a bit damaged and I dug out this recipe from a Good Housekeeping vegetarian cookbook I have had for years. I have made this recipe loads of times before but when it's been a while since I made it, its always a nice surprise how good it is, especially the sauce, which I could just eat by the spoonful!!
LASAGNETTE WITH COURGETTES AND SUN-DRIED TOMATOES Serves 4
250g dried lasagnette/tagliatelli/linguini
6 small thin courgettes
1 tbsp olive oil
8 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, cut into strips
zest of 1 lemon
6 large basil leaves shredded
SAUCE
50g sun-dried tomatoes in oil
1 tomato
2 crushed garlic cloves
50g pine nuts
50g freshly grated parmesan
2 tbsp olive oil
juice 1 lemon
2 tsp grated horseradish (I use creamed horseradish from a jar, Aldi sell it)
1-2 tsp soft brown sugar
2 tbsp water
Pare the courgettes into long ribbons using a swivel vegetable peeler. To make the sauce, drain the sun-dried tomatos reserving 2 tbsp of the oil. Place in a blender or food processor with the fresh tomato and garlic and work to a puree. Add the remaining ingredients until blended. Season to taste.
Cook the chosen pasta until al dente. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan and quickly stir fry the courgettes in batches for 2-3 minutes until al dente. Remove from heat and add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes and lemon zest.
Drain the pasta well and toss with the cougettes and basil. Serve with the delicious sauce spooned over.
Monday, 4 July 2011
CATCHING UP
After not posting anything for one and a half years, I have been persuaded to resume. Most of my posts will be recipes, which gives me a good excuse to go through my many cookbooks seeking out some old favourites. But hope to find some other topics to write about too!
We went to a BBQ at friends Isabel and Brians on Sunday, good company, good food and good weather, a winning combination. I took along a dessert which seemed to be popular so am making the recipe for that my 1st post. It came from the July issue of Good Food but I tweaked it a bit. The original used blueberries but as I have loads in the garden right now, I used raspberries.
ICED RASPBERRY & LIME CHEESECAKE
Serves at least 12
3 limes
50g caster sugar
250g raspberries
FOR THE CHEESECAKE
3 egg whites
140g icing sugar
250g mascarpone
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional-I don't like it!)
300ml double cream
FOR THE BASE
250g box soft amaretti biscuits
50g butter
Line the base of a large cake tin with cling film. Finely grate the rind from limes. Sqeeze the juice and put into pan with sugar. Heat gently to dissolve the sugar then boil until syrupy. Fold in the raspberries and spoon into tin. Whisk egg whites until stiff, then gradually whisk in the icing sugar. Beat the mascarpone with zest and vanilla. Whip the cream until it just holds its shape then fold into marscapone. Fold in meringue using the whisk blades. Spoon into tin, using the back of a spoon to level the top. Break up the amaretti biscuits into crumbs. Melt butter and add to crumbs then spoon over mixture in tin, pressing lighly with your hands. Freeze the cheesecake for at least 4 hours or overnight is better. Transfer the cheesecake to the fridge for 30 mins. Turn out on to a flat serving dish and remove the cling film.
If anybody makes any of my posted recipes, I would love to hear your comments!
After not posting anything for one and a half years, I have been persuaded to resume. Most of my posts will be recipes, which gives me a good excuse to go through my many cookbooks seeking out some old favourites. But hope to find some other topics to write about too!
We went to a BBQ at friends Isabel and Brians on Sunday, good company, good food and good weather, a winning combination. I took along a dessert which seemed to be popular so am making the recipe for that my 1st post. It came from the July issue of Good Food but I tweaked it a bit. The original used blueberries but as I have loads in the garden right now, I used raspberries.
ICED RASPBERRY & LIME CHEESECAKE
Serves at least 12
3 limes
50g caster sugar
250g raspberries
FOR THE CHEESECAKE
3 egg whites
140g icing sugar
250g mascarpone
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional-I don't like it!)
300ml double cream
FOR THE BASE
250g box soft amaretti biscuits
50g butter
Line the base of a large cake tin with cling film. Finely grate the rind from limes. Sqeeze the juice and put into pan with sugar. Heat gently to dissolve the sugar then boil until syrupy. Fold in the raspberries and spoon into tin. Whisk egg whites until stiff, then gradually whisk in the icing sugar. Beat the mascarpone with zest and vanilla. Whip the cream until it just holds its shape then fold into marscapone. Fold in meringue using the whisk blades. Spoon into tin, using the back of a spoon to level the top. Break up the amaretti biscuits into crumbs. Melt butter and add to crumbs then spoon over mixture in tin, pressing lighly with your hands. Freeze the cheesecake for at least 4 hours or overnight is better. Transfer the cheesecake to the fridge for 30 mins. Turn out on to a flat serving dish and remove the cling film.
If anybody makes any of my posted recipes, I would love to hear your comments!
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