New Cookbooks!

One of my birthday presents this year was new cookbooks. Brian gave me Honey and Co. food from the Middle East and The food of Morocco. It's like a gift to himself really!

I have been reading through them all evening. The Moroccan book is a beautiful publication with beautiful colour photographs. It takes you around Morocco and is more than a cookbook really. There are so many delicious recipes in this book that I want to make. I may start with something nice and easy like preserving lemons.

I am obsessed with Morocco. I have only been in Tangiers but I loved it. I love the food, the narrow winding streets, balconies that are only a centimetre away from the house in front. It feels like the city is collapsing in on top of you and I can't get enough of it. The Middle Eastern book is also excellent. There is a section on pickles and preserves, mezzes, breads, dips, salads, light dinners, slow cooked meals, vegetarian, desserts and drinks. There are also some other sections that I wasn't too sure how to classify here.

Anytime Brian travels to the Middle East he always returns with a recipe request for me. I really enjoy this type of cooking and eating. I may begin with some of the pickles, breads and light dinners.

Afternoon tea in the Shelbourne Hotel

Today is my birthday and, as a surprise, Brian booked afternoon tea for me in the Shelbourne Hotel. He told me about it a week in advance though. Phew! I had time to make sure I was looking presentable and not like an addled cat lady who lives in a cave. I love the Shelbourne Hotel. There's nothing I enjoy more than a cocktail in the bar there after shopping. We had lunch in The Saddle Room after we registered our marriage. The food is excellent and very reasonably priced in the set menu. I have always admired the Egyptian style statues outside. The hotel is tastefully decorated and not over the top at all. The staff are well trained and attentive. It is actually one of my favourite places in Dublin.

We were given a choice of champagne first. I ordered a glass of the Veuve Clicquot rose.

We then went on to choose from their array of teas. I went with my old favourite Earl Grey (he has helped me through many a crisis!). The tea is loose leaf and the pot is refreshed frequently so that it doesn't stew too much.

A platter of sandwiches was then brought out. Dainty sandwiches always taste nicer. Everything about them was delicate and delicious.

There were more than two sandwiches. Unfortunately, I had scoffed most of them before I remembered to take a photo. Finally, the sweets were brought out. On the bottom layer there was fruit cake and scones. These were served with jam and clotted cream. The top layer was an elaborate affair! My favourite had merrangues, a creme anglaise and a jelly made of Veuve Clicquot rose (my Chivers jellies just look shabby now). It was fresh and light. There was a coconut pearl and a pistachio and raspberry concoction. There was also a heavy dark chocolate and raspberry affair but that was a little too much for me in the end.

It was a most enjoyable way to pass the afternoon. When we had finished they came over with a special plate just for me. I was a little over-excited and may have been a little over-the-top in my enthusiasm!

I had a fantastic day. When we got home I had to put on some loose trousers and relax. It is past 7pm now and I am still so stuffed!

I always grind my own pepper corns. You can buy coarse ground black pepper but I find it tasteless. Once a week I hand grind black peppercorns in my pestle and mortar. It's a bit of hard work but the taste payoff is massive. It also helps to rid you of any unwanted aggression you may be harbouring.

Patatas Pobres

These

are delicious. Absolutely delicious. I like to use the Magimix slicing attachment to slice the potatoes super finely. You

need a baking tray, olive oil, garlic, potatoes, salt and pepper.

I brush the baking tray with olive oil and add a layer of sliced potatoes. I crush a clove of garlic onto them and add salt and pepper.

I continue adding layers of potatoes and repeat the process until all the potatoes are gone. I bake it in a preheated oven at 200 degrees for an hour.

It is crispy, delicious and addictive! I usually serve these with a nice medium rare filket steak and steamed green vegetables.

Sausages in tomatoes

This is my go-to, easy recipe for when I'm completely exhausted. It's also my husband's favourite meal. I think it was originally a Jamie Oliver recipe but has been passed along so many times it has changed. I ate it at my aunts house and then modified it and tweaked it until it was just perfect for me. All I have to buy for this is two or three tubs of cherry tomatoes, garlic and some Superquin sausages. I have all the other ingredients in my garden. I will only eat Superquin sausages now. Once you have them you can't go back. Put the cherry tomatoes and some cloves of garlic in an oven proof dish. Put in some fresh rosemary, thyme and bay leaf.

Place the sausages on top. Drizzle with olive oil and a few splashes of balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper.

Put in an oven heated to 200 degrees for an hour. I usually serve this with a rustic baguette but boiled potatoes or chips are equally as good with it.

Facial at Seoid Spa in Dunboyne Castle

Today Brian booked me in for a facial. Facials are my all time favourite treatments. I love the glow that they give. I am obsessed with skin care so sometimes I feel a bit let down after a facial but not this time! I had the Ultimate Aromatherapy Associates Facial. It's an hour and a half long and costs 95euro. It was worth every penny! I went early so I could use the hydrotherapy suite. People were a little careless there and had left empty water cups around. I had to fish one out of the hot tub and it had a chewing gum inside (gag). Another complaint is that the other customers don't seem to know that the relaxation room is for relaxing quietly. I was surrounded by loud conversations. During a previous visit a woman had a full-blown telephone conversation in there. However, the treatments transcend the customers thankfully.

My beauty therapist was called Suzanne and I cannot recommend her highly enough. She was AMAZING! I floated through an hour and a half of heaven. She began by washing my feet with a heated towel. There was a lot of massage to the facial. My face, scalp, arms, hands and shoulders were massaged. She put a deep conditioning oil through my hair. The aromatherapy was really effective and each product used smelled amazing. She managed to work through some knots in my shoulders. At the end of the treatment she put warmed slippers on my feet. It was a nice touch! Afterwards I retreated to the, now quieter, relaxation room for some Voya herbal teas. I felt relaxed, pampered and glowing. I still feel like that! I highly recommend the treatments at Seoid Spa, I have never been disappointed by a treatment there. If it were possible I would recommend visiting on a weekday when the spa is a bit quieter.

Konmari method

Today I tried the konmari method of tidying a drawer. It takes a bit of time to begin with but is supposed to make your life easier after that. It involves folding everything into small, manageable rectangles. So far I am very impressed. I do like that I can see everything so clearly. I'll just have to wait and see if it works out for me. I haven't bought the konmari book but I am definitely thinking of it! Here is my before photo:

And here is the after photo:

Brazilian pizza

This is an amended Brazilian pizza. I first had Brazilian pizza in a Brazilian person's house and then tried to recreate it at home. I think my recreation has been a great success!

I usually use an Avoca recipe for the dough but I had no honey tonight so I used this recipe For

the tomato sauce I fry one clove of garlic with four or five tomatoes, salt and pepper. The toppings I used were ham, onion, leek, lumps of cream cheese and grated mozzarella.

It is the nicest pizza I have ever had! Yummy!

Granola

Granola is my staple breakfast. I love it with Greek yoghurt and a banana chopped over it. It fills me up, I can eat it quickly and it keeps me going until lunch. I love making my own as I don't have to pick out bits I don't like - dried banana...yuck!

The recipe I use is simple. It uses American cup measures which makes it easier in my opinion. I use 3 cups of porridge, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/3 cup of honey (I try to use Irish honey as much as possible to help our bees), 1/4 cup of coconut oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, a mixture of raisins, nuts and seeds. Heat the oven to 150 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients. Melt the wet ingredients together, pour over the dry ingredients and mix well. Spread a thin layer of the mixture on a baking sheet with edges. Bake for 15 minutes. Take it out toss it about a bit and then bake for a further 5 to 15 mins.

When it has cooled add in the raisins, nuts and seeds. I use a mixture of almonds, raisins, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flaxseed and linseed.

Yummy!

Brian whipped up one of his delicious crumbles today. He used rhubarb from the garden and two apples that had fallen from our tree. His secret is to boil the rhubarb with port and to put chopped walnuts in the crumble topping. I actually hated rhubarb crumble until I had his. I have been converted!!!

Out and about in... the Phoenix Park!

This morning we ventured out to the Phoenix Park as it was a beautiful day. We walked as far as the Phoenix Cafe in the Interpretive Centre and stopped there for coffee and a scone. The scone was DELICIOUS! It was still warm and the blackcurrant jam it came with tasted homemade. Yummy!

In total we walked for an hour and forty minutes. A great start to the day! The weather was beautiful and it was lovely and quiet.

I thought this pond looked like the Death of Ophelia by Millais. I love the Pre-Raphaelites!

Breakfast pancakes

These are my favourite weekend breakfast. I saw the recipe on a T.V. show that I can't even remember the name of. I think it was about a journey around the world looking at spices. I have amended the recipe a bit since I first started making them.

Ingredients: 250g ricotta cheese, 2 eggs separated, 125 ml milk, 100g plain flour sieved, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp ground cinnamon. I whisk the egg whites in a blender. I mix together the ricotta, egg yolks and milk. I add the flour, cinnamon and baking powder to that. Finally I fold in the whisked egg whites making sure that the mixture is light and fluffy. I fry them in a hot pan with oil. To serve I drizzle with honey, give a generous amount of greek yoghurt and berries. They are so gorgeous!!! The page thay are on in my recipe book is almost destroyed with use.

This grubby hardback notebook is where I have been storing my recipes since 2001. I test any recipes I come accross and if they are a success I add them to my book. I don't know what I would do if I lost that book. It's precious!!!

A new dish

It being a bank holiday I decided that it was a great time to experiment with a new dish. I used a Rachel Allen recipe. The recipe is available here It was very easy to follow and tasted amazing! Toasting and grinding the spices really helped to make it unbelievably flavoursome.

As it was a vegetarian dish I made a few sides to accompany it. I made barbeque chicken drumsticks (ketchup, honey and soy sauce mixed together and poured over chicken and oven baked for an hour at 200 degrees), beetroot salad (roasted beetroot, goat's cheese, toasted pinenuts in a wholegrain mustard and balsamic dressing) and flat bread (Jamie Oliver Recipe http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/bread-recipes/easy-flatbreads/#T4tzwHereHZrHyaP.97 )

Out and about at...the Hellfire Club!

Today we went for a really nice walk to the Hellfire Club. It was pretty tough going pushing the buggy uphill but we took turns at letting the dog pull us.

I have actually always wanted to go there. I have a healthy interest in eighteenth century libertinism and periwigs! I love periwigs! Here is the Wikipedia page if you're interested. I think that the next time we go we'll bring a picnic and some water. I was famished by the time we got to the top and it would have been lovely to eat while trying to pinpoint where our house was in the view below.

The Summer Harvest

This morning we dug up some of our potato crop. I LOVE growing our own potatoes. They are unbelievably delicious when compared to what you get in a supermarket. Unfortunately, we mixed up all of our lates and earlies this year so it has been a bit of a guessing game when it comes to picking them.

I love that I don't need to buy potatoes. I feel very self-sufficient going out to my shed to get some for the dinner. I am hoping to not buy potatoes all summer! Brian does all of the digging and planting. I am sure that it makes him feel very manly indeed!

There are loads more potatoes for another day! We cut down a lot on what we grow this year and just focused on what was working well for us. We also grow brocolli, cauliflower, rhubarb, tomatoes, basil, coriander, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, curry leaf, chives, chillies, fennel and camomile.