Halloween table setting

Halloween is my absolute favourite time of year. I love the weather, the colours and the trick or treating. Fancy dress parties are my favourite kind of parties. In the winter months I use an oilcloth instead of a table cloth. It's too difficult to launder my regular tablecloths when I can't dry them on the line. I was ordering things from Zara Home so I thought I'd order a new oilcloth too as mine was looking tired. I love this blue paisley pattern. It's also hemmed so it looks much smarter than my previous one. We eat a lot of turmeric so I'm hoping any permanent staining won't show up on this one.

. My toddler picked the autumn leaves for me. He is really proud to see them as the centrepiece of the table. I put them in a tall glass inside a copper bowl. I love them!

we haven't carved our pumpkins yet but I think they still look good. It was my first time setting a Halloween table and I'm so happy with it that I'm just confused as to why I never did it before!

My favourite summer dessert

I love fruit for dessert all year round. In summer I love fresh strawberries and cream. In Ireland summer strawberries are delicious! I whip cream with the seeds of a vanilla pod (or vanilla extract). This adds a subtle sweetness. I also like to add blueberries to break up the solid colour.

Table setting

I love my fresh new table setting. I haven't used a white cloth in a while. I picked up these silver (imitation) chargers in T.K. Maxx recently. I'd been looking for some for two years.

I love my vegetable garden!

Yesterday I was very hungry and very lazy. I had no food in the fridge and no desire to go to the supermarket. My toddler and my dog were amusing themselves digging up potatoes in the raised bed in the garden. It's messy but it keeps them quiet! I grabbed some potatoes and I picked some beans. I was able to make a delicious and healthy Niçoise salad. Boiled potatoes, boiled egg, green beans, a tomato and a tin of tuna. For dressing I just used olive oil and balsamic vinegar as I was so low on ingredients. I didn't take a photo as my toddler and I ate it so fast! I only have a small garden but I love growing vegetables in it. My husband does most of the work on it and he really enjoys it. It's his little hobby.

French Toast Casserole

I LOVE French toast!!!! Unfortunately, I'm not a morning person. I googled loads of French toast casseroles but they all seemed really unhealthy and sugary so I just made up my own. It's very easy and Saturday mornings are now a delicious breeze. I use brioche rolls. I slice them in half and arrange them in a casserole dish. In the middle I add a punnet of raspberrys.

This adds sweetness and a lovely tart note. I add a second layer of brioche and sprinkle with cinnamon.

I make a custard. I beat three eggs with a teaspoon of vanilla extract (I didn't have any today and it still tasted amazing). I add three quarters of a cup of whole milk (you can add some cream if you want to make it richer).

I pour this over the brioche and wrap it tightly in cling film.

This goes into the fridge overnight. The next morning I remove the cling film and cover it in tin foil. Make sure you cut a cross into the foil to let the steam escape. I put it in the oven at 200 degrees for half an hour. I then remove the tin foil and bake it for another ten minutes.

Then I put a punnet of fresh raspberries and blueberries on top. It looks fantastic.

We ate ours outside in the shade as it was a beautiful day with a side of watermelon.

For the last two weeks I have been gradually transforming the house (in organisational terms). I organise a drawer completely every single day. This involves taking EVERYTHING out. No short cuts! I am focusing on the kitchen and my bedroom to start. I line each drawer with wrapping paper or wallpaper. When the drawer looks super cute I'm hoping that I won't want to mess it up.

Super easy lamb tagine

This one is ridiculously easy! I made it when I had hardly any food in the house and was forced to become inventive.

I dry fry lamb pieces. Add a tablespoon or two of honey. Add a sliced onion and a minced clove of garlic. I brown that for a bit. Then I add my spices! Two teaspoons each of cumin, ground coriander and cinnamon. I add a drained and rinsed can of chickpeas. Finally I add two tins of plum tomatoes. I let it bubble away and reduce down at a medium heat for around half an hour. I usually go off and do a few jobs around the house. I serve it with couscous.

It's incredibly tasty given how little effort it takes. Toddler also adores it.

Table setting relief!

I had a painter in the house for the last two weeks and things have been in total disarray to say the least! Everything from the kitchen was piled onto my table and we were eating surrounded by junk for a week. It was miserable! I was cooking great food but the experience of eating it was awful. I started putting things to rights today as all the work was done. It felt great to set the table. My mother is coming over tonight so I'm happy it looks so good.

My top tip for table setting is to use large mats in addition to a table cloth. It really cuts down on stains!

Getting Organised

I started reading a blog called www.iheartorganising.com. I am SO motivated now! I have been trying to organise a drawer or a cupboard every day. This is what I was working on yesterday. I didn't take any before photos because I don't need to embarrass myself on the internet. Ta da!

This is my snack cupboard. I added baskets. It makes it easier to categorise things and stop things from falling over.

This is where I keep pasta, rice and grains. I already had most things in jars but i added a little shelf as space was tight. I also lined both drawers with kids wallpaper that I bought in IKEA. I keep opening them to look at my work. I'm so proud!!!

Father's day breakfast picnic

For father's day I planned a beautiful breakfast picnic. I had my picnic basket and blankets ready to go and a lot of food prepared the night before. I woke up and it was raining. A lot. Alas and welaway! My breakfast picnic was now just breakfast.

I had planned the food in terms of portability. I made breakfast muffins

French toast casserole

And fruit salad

With tea, freshly made apple juice and Prosecco. I am devastated that my breakfast picnic didn't go ahead but it was still a delicious normal, indoor breakfast. I opened the French doors beside the table so it would feel a bit like outside.

Samphire

Today in the fishmonger I saw this. It is only available for six weeks in the whole year in Ireland. It is a type of seaweed and is very good for you.You can eat it raw or lightly sautée it with garlic and butter. This is a beautiful accompaniment to a fish dish. It would also be lovely with an aperitif along with olives and capers.

Table setting

I love to set the table very nicely once a week. I just have to maintain it all week which is easy enough. It makes dinner more special and helps to ensure that it doesn't feel like a rushed chore. I try to remember to light the candles every night too although I do forget more often than not. To protect against the toddler I just lift up his corner while we eat. I have an oil cloth underneath. When we finish eating I wipe it up and put the tablecloth back down.

I love Pimms!

Homemade multi-surface spray

I decided to make my own multi-surface cleaner. I saw a recipe on the kitchen.co. so I decided to give that a go. I put 2 cups of vinegar in a jar. I peeled the rind off two lemons with a potato peeler and put that into the jar. I picked a bunch of thyme from the garden and I put that into the jar. I sealed it up and I put it on the windowsill to infuse for two weeks. It worked out great! I diluted it with water and decanted it into a spray bottle after sieving it. It doesn't smell too vinegar it cleans very well.

Fennel fish bake

This is incredibly easy but tastes like you worked really hard. First slice the fennel bulb and an onion. Put them in an oven dish with some rapeseed oil and black pepper.

Bake at 200 degrees for half an hour. The onion should be lovely and crispy now.

Put in two handfuls of cherry tomatoes and place some fish on top. Sprinkle with black pepper and some more rapeseed oil. I used hake as it holds together well in the oven.

Put it back in the oven at 200 degrees for half an hour. Dinner is ready!

I have served this with boiled baby potatoes, quinoa or some really nice crusty bread.

Heirloom tomato salad

Heirloom tomatoes, good extra virgen olive oil, salt, basil.

Roasted rainbow carrots

Purple, yellow, orange.

Brown sugar scrub

I was in the spa a few weeks ago and they had samples of a scrub that was on sale for thirty euro. It was beautiful. It smelled great and it felt great. I knew it would be possible to make at home.

I searched Pinterest for a while and I found some really great natural skincare recipes. I used a recipe from the praire homestead and I ammended it to suit what was available to me.

I used 35g cocoa butter, 56g coconut oil, 56g sunflower oil, 1 and a half cups of dark brown sugar and the seeds of a vanilla pod. I melted the cocoa butter and coconut oil in a bain Marie. Then I just mixed everything together and poured it into jars. The next time I make it I won't use the vanilla seeds as they stay on the skin after I rinse. I feel great and I smell amazing! Unfortunately, it is cold and all the oils solidified at the top of the jar.

I filled the sink with some hot water and put the jar in while I got ready for my shower. By the time I got in it had melted again. It is SO moisturising on the skin.

Lamb tagine with peas and preserved lemons

Today I thought I would make a dish from one of my favourite cookbooks, The Food of Morocco.

I decided to make a lamb tagine with peas and preserved lemons. It takes an hour and forty minutes to cook but only about ten minutes to prepare. I love dishes where you sit around for most of the time but they taste like you've slaved over them. These are the ingredients

This is the method

This is how my one turned out.

Tomato and preserved lemon salad

This is delicious! Put tomatoes, diced red onion and the washed rind of a preserved lemon (sliced) into a bowl. For the dressing mix 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, pinch of pepper, half a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of paprika. Pour over the salad, cover with cling film and set aside for half an hour. Before serving add chopped coriander and parsley and toss together.

Kibbeh

Today Brian suggested that I try making kibbeh. He's very helpful! It was so easy and so delicious. I put 2/3 of a cup of bulgur wheat (covered with water) into the microwave for two minutes.

I blended a cup of mint leaves and an onion into a paste.

I mixed this into the bulgur wheat. I added a teaspoon of cumin, a teaspoon of allspice, a teaspoon of salt and a half teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.

I added this to minced lamb.

I shaped the mixture into croquette shapes.

I fried them at a high heat.

I served them with pitta bread, Greek yogurt and a tomato and preserved lemon salad.

Brian said that they tasted just like the kibbeh he has had in the Middle East so I am thrilled!