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Posts Tagged ‘Irish Food Blog’

Mad for Mars Bar Biscuits

Posted in Kids' Activities, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 15/05/2013| 9 Comments »

DSC_0428When you live in a home with three women, no day is complete until something a little sweet is served. It doesn’t have to be a fancy treat – like a slice of roulade or carrot cake. It just has to be satisfying.

I love the ease with which today’s recipe, Mars Bars Biscuits, can be made. Four ingredients, one pot on the hob (stove), and a tin for pressing these absolutely delicious bars into…that’s all it takes. There’s no baking and no fuss. In fact, this recipe is so simple, it’s ideal for making with children.

Technically these could be classified as an Irish tray bake. Interestingly, I’ve learned the term “tray bake” is more often used in Northern Ireland than in the Republic (the rest of Ireland). Biscuits, bars, tray bake…whatever you call them…they’ve been made famous in my neck of the woods by the very fashionable style emporium that is known as Avoca Handweavers. Any time I come home from Avoca my girls greet me at the door with “Did you bring home Rice Krispie treats?”.

DSC_0411These may seem a lot like Rice Krispie Squares, made with marshmallows, or Rice Krispie buns, made with chocolate, but they are entirely different. The Mars Bars (or Milky Way bars, if you live in America) give this treat the perfect chewiness and crunch that the other two lack. Assuming you like chocolate, I have no doubt you will enjoy these.

Mars Bar Biscuits

Makes about 12 large biscuits

Ingredients

390g/6-7 Mars Bars (Milky Way bars)

200g/13 tablespoons butter

200g/6 cups Rice Krispie cereal

300g good quality milk chocolate (or a combination of milk and dark chocolate)

Recipe

1. Line a 9″x 13″ or a 30cm x 20cm baking tin with parchment paper.

2. Cut the Mars Bars and butter into small pieces and place in a saucepan. Put over low heat and stir with a small balloon whisk until melted and well mixed.

3. Add the Mars Bars and butter mixture to the Rice Krispie cereal in a large bowl. Stir until ingredients are combined.

4. Spoon into the lined baking tin and press mixture with the back of the spoon to firm up shape.

5. Melt good quality chocolate over a saucepan of simmering water. Pour over the rice cereal, spread evenly with a palate knife, and allow to set.

6. When chocolate has set, and rice cereal has cooled, lift the content of the tin to a cutting board and slice into squares.

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Guinness Bread

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 10/05/2013| 2 Comments »

Photo Credit: Wikimedia.org

Photo Credit: Wikimedia.org

Guinness: rich, gorgeous, creamy, the national drink of Ireland, available in over 100 countries, dark ruby-red (not black), better served in Ireland than anywhere else in the world…oh, how I’ve tried to like Guinness. Sadly, it’s just never happened. In twenty-plus years of living in Ireland, I have never enjoyed a pint or a glass of The Black Stuff.

But before you break out the tiny violins and tell me to stop whinging (whining), there is one exception to this no Guinness life. Hand me a slice of dark, rich, sweet Guinness bread and I’ll ask you for seconds before you’ve had a chance to slice off a piece for yourself and say, “Cheers!”

Mmmmm…Guinness Bread. It’s dense and packed with flavour and from the very first time I tasted it I was hooked.

DSC_0376And here’s the good news for you, my Dear Reader: you don’t have to live in Ireland to get a bit of this traditional Irish treat for yourself. And, what’s even better, is you don’t have to spend a day in the kitchen making it. Guinness bread is a “quick bread”, which means there’s no rising time. Just like soda bread or brown bread, Guinness bread can be mixed and baked in one hour.

It’s the perfect side to a hearty stew, a thick homemade vegetable soup or a toasted cheese and tomato sambo (sandwich). Sure, it’s even a great elevenses (morning snack) when served with a slathering of {Kerrygold} butter and a cup of tea.

The recipe I use comes from The Guinness Storehouse. Enjoy!

Guinness Bread

Makes One Loaf

Ingredients

4 cups/600g wholemeal flour

1 cup/150g self-raising flour

1/2 cup/75g porridge oats (rolled oats)

2 1/2 teaspoons bread soda (baking soda)

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons brown sugar (optional)

16oz/500ml buttermilk

6oz/200ml treacle (black strap molasses, if outside Ireland)

1 cup/1/2 pint Guinness

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 170°C/325°F. Lightly oil a bread pan and line with parchment paper.

2. Mix flours together with the oats, bread soda, salt and brown sugar. Be sure to smooth out any lumps with your fingers.

3. Make a well in the centre and add buttermilk, treacle and Guinness.

4. Mix together until all flour is incorporated: the consistency will be sloppy without being too wet.

5. Bake for 45 minutes or until done. Remove from bread pan, tap the bottom to check for doneness. If it sounds hollow, the bread is fully cooked. If not, place back in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes or so.

Related Articles:

Irish Beer Guide at http://www.today.com/id/23612523/ns/today-food/t/stout-ale-or-porter-essential-irish-beer-guide/

Guinness Cocktails at: http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/cleanplatecharlie/2013/03/guinness_cocktails_beginners_guide.php

Grilled Ham & Cheese Sandwich at http://www.theblackpeppercorn.com/2012/04/grilled-ham-and-cheese-on-guinness-bread/

Frequently Asked Guinness Questions at: http://www.guinness.com/en-row/faqs.html

Frothy Facts About Guinness at: http://www.curiousread.com/2010/03/10-frothy-facts-about-guinness-st.html

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Rhubarb Margaritas…Happy Cinco de Mayo

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , , on 06/05/2013| 2 Comments »

Rhubarb Margaritas (17)Today’s post is a collision of two good things: Cinco de Mayo and the plethora of rhubarb growing in our garden. Yep, that’s right, in this Irish home we made Rhubarb Margaritas tonight and they were amazing. Forget that rhubarb is choc full of Vitamin C, high in fibre, and a good source of calcium…forget it altogether. The only thing you need to know about Rhubarb Margaritas is they are soooo good.

If you are of legal drinking age and you like margaritas…this recipe is one you need to try. I’d even go so far as to say that even if you don’t like rhubarb, you should try this.

The internet has oodles of strawberry rhubarb margarita recipes but truly I’d keep it simple and give the strawberries a miss. We’ll find another use for them.

So, that’s it Dear Readers. Today’s post is short and sweet. ¡Olé!

Rhubarb Margaritas

Makes 4 Drinks

Ingredients

1 cup Rhubarb simple syrup

1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 8 limes)

1/2 cup tequila

1/2 cup Grand Marnier

Ice, crushed or whole

Directions

1. In a pitcher mix the first four ingredients and stir well.

2. Run one of the squeezed limes around the rim of four glasses. Dip each rim in sugar.

3. Fill glasses with ice and the rhubarb mix. If you decide to make frozen rhubarb margaritas, blend one to two cups of ice with the rhubarb mix.

4. Garnish with a slice of lime.

Rhubarb Margaritas (8)Rhubarb Simple Syrup

Makes About 3 Cups/24oz

Ingredients

1 lb rhubarb, chopped in small pieces

2 cups/16oz sugar

2 cups/1 pint water

Directions

1. Add rhubarb, sugar and water in a non-reactive pan.

2. Heat on medium heat and simmer until rhubarb is soft.

3. Place sterilised cheesecloth over a strainer, propped over a bowl. Pour rhubarb into cheesecloth and let drip through for about an hour. Let cool and keep in the fridge until ready to use.

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Darina Allen Joins Blogosphere

Posted in Share the Joy, Trips/Holidays, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 30/04/2013| 1 Comment »

Darina Allen by Koster Photography.jpgI don’t know how I missed it!

Every now and again for the past year, I’ve been googling “Darina Allen” looking for a blog. Surely Ireland’s most celebrated cookery writer and founder of the Ballymaloe Cookery School would have one. Then, last month, I noticed a comment about Darina Allen and her relatively new blog whilst looking at the Irish Food Bloggers Association website.

It seems Darina started blogging on 14th June last year. In her own words, “it was a rough start initially” but in the last eight months she’s really taken off…literally. Darina’s blog reads more like a journal of food travels than recipes. To date she’s taken us to such places as Cambodia, New York, Sri Lanka, Mexico and, of course, all around Ireland in search of discovering food trends.

For those who don’t know her, Darina is to Ireland what Alice Waters is to America. She is credited with starting up the first Irish farmers market a decade ago. There are now over 150 of them across Ireland. Three years ago, she and Waters put forward an idea that lead to the Slow Movement’s Annual Grandmother’s Day, with the hope that grandmother’s Forgotten Skillscould help end child obesity by teaching their grandchildren to plant and cook dishes made with fresh local ingredients. She is author of 16 books, including Forgotten Skills of Ireland, Ballymaloe Cookery Course and, an old standby, Simply Delicious.

I had the good fortune of meeting Darina while attending the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Shangarry, County Cork many years ago. She’s a quick wit, a wonderful teacher, and a food activist in Ireland and beyond. Ballymaloe is one of the only cooking schools in the world located on an entirely organic farm. In fact, it was my time spent at Ballymaloe which led to me developing organic kitchen gardens at our home in Ireland and in America.

If you visit Ireland and have an interest in cooking, consider a trip to Ballymaloe…there is a 12 week certificate course, over 60 shorter courses, and many afternoon classes to enjoy. And, if you’re just a fan and want to know what Darina’s getting up to, check out her blog.

And, if by chance you’re visiting the Cork area this weekend, Darina is hosting the first ever Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine at the Grain Store, Ballymaloe House and Ballymaloe Cookery School.

BallymaloeLitFestFoodWine250[1]There will be an incredible line-up of over 40 speakers including: Alice Waters, Madhur Jaffery, Claudia Roden, Bill Yosses (The American White House Pastry Chef) Stephanie Alexander (from Australia), Claus Meyer, Camilla Plus, Rowley Leigh, and David Thompson. Jancis Robinson MW and her husband Nick Lander are coming over from the U.K., as are Joanna Blythman, and some of the new young voices in food: Thomasina Miers, Stevie Parle, Alys Flowler, and Claire Ptak. And, that’s just the beginning. This international cast will be matched by a strong Irish presence. You’ll have to look at the Litfest.ie website to get the whole picture. It’s quite a tempting line-up!

Happy reading and cooking.

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Brown Soda Bread Recipe #1

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 26/07/2011| 2 Comments »

Bread baking has long been part of Ireland’s culinary heritage.  The earliest breads were little more than thin oatcakes baked over the fire on an iron plate or placed directly on embers. In the mid-1800’s bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) was introduced and the birth of soda bread, as it is known in Ireland today, was born.

My first introduction to Brown Soda Bread was at the kitchen table of my mother-in-law.  Every week she made a loaf from scratch.  She worked quickly and efficiently, as only a woman who raised twelve children can do, and when the bread came out of the oven the smell was just delicious!

Both nourishing and comforting, Irish Soda Bread is perfect in the morning for breakfast, as part of a sandwich at lunchtime or served with a hearty homemade soup or a green salad fresh from the garden in the evening.

Brown Soda Bread

Makes One Loaf

225g self raising flour

225g extra coarse wholemeal

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon salt

about 450ml buttermilk

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 180C. Put a little vegetable oil into a bread tin and put the tin into the oven to warm.  When the oil is warm, use a pastry brush to get it all over the inside of the tin.  Set aside.

2.  Sieve the two flours, the soda and salt in a large bowl.

3.  Make a well in the centre and pour in most of the buttermilk.

4.  Using a wooden spoon or your hand, stir the liquid into the flour.  The dough should be soft but not sticky.  If needed, add more buttermilk to get the right consistency.

5.  Put the mixture into the bread tin and bake for one hour in the center of the oven.  Ease the loaf from the tin and tap the bottom.  If it sounds hollow when tapped it is cooked.  If not, put it back into the oven for another 5-10 minutes.  There’s no need to put the loaf into the bread tin for this, just place it right on the rack in the oven.

6.  When baked completely, cool on a wire rack.

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