So this morning I found myself trying to russle up brekky for myself and the girls which would be quite easy on a normal morning, except this morning I was running extremely low on the Bainne. 

But to my delight there in the fridge was a golden coloured carton of buttermilk to me that only means one thing, and that's pancakes.

For this fruity selection of  buttermilk pancakes you will need...

1 cup of plain flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

2 egg

1 cup of buttermilk

1 tablespoon of poppyseeds

1/2 the juice and zest of a lemon

1 strawberry per pancake 

Vanilla bean infused sugar

5 blueberries per pancake

Icing sugar

So firstly make your bubbly pancake mix then, heat your pan then drizzle with a little oil one that is flavourless. Next dollop your batter onto the pan, I usually make 2 pancakes at a time.

Once your pancakes are on the pan start adding your fruit, for the strawberry pancakes I like to thinly slice the strawberries but only use one per pancake as they are so juicy you don't want to make a soggy pancake ;) once your pancakes are all cooked then lightly sprinkle them with your vanilla bean infused sugar...a match made in heaven.

For the blueberry pancakes once the pancakes are in the pan I like to scatter the blueberries evenly over the batter but again after much "testing" I find 5 is plenty especially for the juniors in the house you don't want to overwhelm them with flavour. Once you flip them that's when the berries go from a beautiful blue to a gorgeous deep purple. Dust with icing sugar then serve.

Lastly on my colourful crusade are my lemon and poppyseed pancakes I will literally use this flavour combination where ever I can and today it was in pancakes. 

With the batter left over I sprinkled in the poppyseeds then added the zest + and some of the juice of the 1/2 lemon. When I turned the pancakes in the pan I squeezed the rest of the juice over et voila c'est manifique...

From this recipe I made 2 pancakes of each fruity flavour 

Enjoy

Rebecca x

Seville orange + lemongrass{optional}Marmalade

Well it's definitely that time of year again...Seville orange marmalade time that is, and like an obsessive foodie that I am Iv been looking forward to this since the end of the summer last year .

Myself and my blogging buddy laura {we are 2girlswithafoodblog.com} decided that instead of going on the razzle  like normal humans we'd stay at home on a Saturday night have a few glasses of the vino {very important} and make way to much marmalade, in the end we made 20 jars of the sticky stuff between us.

And I don't mind bragging that it felt so satisfying to have made my years supply from scratch and to my delight it tastes so more'ish and indulgent that the shop bought marmalade.

So this recipe will make you 10 jars enough for yourself and friends and family and maybe the teacher lol.

I also added 1 stick of fresh lemongrass to one of my pots {so say half your batch} to kick the lemon flavour to another level and it is amazing the marmalade is very aromatic  but without been to tart and zingy if you get my drift ;)

For this recipe you will need:

{this recipe makes 10 jars}

9 Seville oranges

3.6 kilos of golden unrefined sugar

2 lemons

7 litres if water

A nob of butter

2 large pots

Muslin clothes

Firstly cut all your oranges and lemons in half and squeeze the juice out into your pot you will use to boil the oranges in. Once that delightful task is complete scrape out all the pulp including any pips you come across and tie them all up in a muslin clothe. 

Next with a sharpe knife cut your peel into long thin shreds and divide that into your pots along with the water, orange juice and the pulp in the muslin clothes. Bring this to the boil then reduce to a gentle boil for aprox 2 hours.

When you come to the last half hour of boiling you will gently heat your sugar in the oven do this by spreading the sugar on baking paper on a tray then heat through for 7-10 minutes on a low heat.

Once the 2 hours are up take the pots off the heat and remove the muslin let them cool then give them a good squeeze into the pots this will release the pectin into the juice. 

Next pour in your sugar and continuesly stir until the sugar has dissolved then bring them back up to the boil. This is when I bruised a long stick of lemon grass and added it to one of the pots. Add the butter at this stage it will reduce the froth that could appear when boiling.

We had to rely on the old fashioned method of testing the marmalade . You do this by putting a saucer in the fridge for a few minutes to chill. Take it out and spread a small thin amount of the marmalade across it, wait a moment then touch it to see if it has set. If it has the marmalade is ready if not boil a little longer.

Meanwhile you will wash your jars and then pop them in the oven @110" for 10 minutes to sterilize them. 

Next is the tricky bit if you do not have a funnel to pour your marmalade into the jars use a jug like we did. Once all the jars are sealed give yourself a high five you have just made yummy marmalade well done you...

This will definitely be an annual event for myself and laura...

Enjoy Rebecca x

White chocolate, cranberry + crystallised ginger cookies{gluten free}

I recently posted this yummy recipe on my other blog I share with my bestie laura we are taking the month of Feb to share some gorgeous gluten free recipes that we love ourselves. The blog is called www.2girlswithafoodblog.com 

These are an amazing chewy more'ish cookie + unlike some gluten free goodies you can buy in the shops these taste fantastic.

For this recipe you will need:

1 cup of butter

1 cup of unrefined caster sugar

2 egg

1 cup of ground almond

1 cup of dove gluten free flour

1 teaspoon of gluten free baking powder

2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste

1 cup of chopped white chocolate

1 cup of chopped cranberries

1/4 cup of chopped crystallised ginger 

Firstly Cream together your butter and sugar until pale in colour. Next add in your eggs one at a time making sure they are thorouly mixed through then add your vanilla bean paste.

In a separate bowl add in all your dry ingrediants and gently whisk them together, then combine them into your wet mixture.

Lastly add in all your yummy flavours and mix together until you feel everything is evenly incorporated. You should easily get 20 cookies out of this recipe. Spoon out your mixture onto your baking trays that you've lined with grease proof paper, leaving enough space between each cookie as they will expand. 

Bake in your preheated oven at 160" for 15minutes, they will be quite gooey when they come out but leave them cool on the trays for a few minutes before transferring to the cooling rack....

This flavour combination is gorgeous the crystallized ginger is definitly a welcome addition to your cookie works ha...

Enjoy

Rebecca x

My jazzed up panettone bread + butter pud...

This dessert is an oldy but definetly a goody my granny "Nanos" made a fab bread+ butter pud. And as a consequence my dad is obsessed with the dish I told him I would make this for him over crimbo + he said "now make sure you add plenty of raisins"..

Iv jazzed up this oldy a touch, check it out.

For this dish you will need...

880mls of creamy warm custard

1 large panettone loaf 

1 cup of cranberries

1 cup of raisins

1/2 cup of sliced almonds

1/3 cup of caster sugar

You can either bake one large bread pudding or do what I did + make two Puds in two 2lb loaf tins!!!

Firstly cut the panettone into long slices + then cut them in half. Next start placing them in your tin {which I lined with loaf tin liners} around the sides to begin with and then in the centre.

Once all the panettone is tucked in snuggly in the tins sprinkle in your raisins, cranberries + almond slivers all over the the panettone { don't be to concerned about sprinkling the raisins etc between the slices as the panettone has raisins in it already...

Now it's time to pour over your warm creamy custard, onced it's all covered don't be afraid to squish it all down to make sure all the panettone soaks up the custard...

Pop the loaf tins in a pre heated oven and bake for 55mins @160" and not a minute more...

This is my last blog for 2013 and also the last dessert iv eaten for 2013... Happy New Years my lovelies...roll on 2014

Wonder what my first blog if the year will be....

Enjoy

Rebecca xx

160 55mins

Buttermilk chocolate chip waffles

Anyone that has been to America or Canada over the years will have experienced "the diner". With their gigantic laminated menus, and everything on the menu comes with a side of bacon or can whipped cream.

For me it's always a toss up between the all American pancake or the whopper sized waffles {topped with freakily glazed strawberries and cream}. My obsession with waffles started way back when I watched this movie called Don't tell mom the babysitters dead {I love odd movies}.

So iv been on the hunt for a waffle iron for the past year and to my surprise I couldn't find one..and then two months ago lidl had them for sale JACKPOT..

For this recipe you will need:

A waffle iron lol

1 cup of plain flour

1 cup of buttermilk

1 teaspoon of bicarbonate soda 

1 free range egg

1/4 cup of plain choc chips

1 teaspoon of vanilla paste

In your bowl beat your egg and pour in the buttermilk and vanilla paste. Next sift in the four and bicarbonate soda. Once your batter is smooth and frothy.

Slowly ladle in a small amount of the batter into each waffle section and close the iron down. When its ready the light will go off on your iron, I was able to get six waffles from this mixture which is amazing and extremely cost effective!!!

I dusted these bad boys with some icing sugar...DELISH...

Enjoy

Rebecca x

Lottie's favorite cookies

When it comes to your children you automatically wantfi  the best in life for them and that includes nutritionally too. My eldest Lottie-daisy is not big on sweets or crisps (thank god) but she does have a soft spot for cookies, iv mentioned this in past blogs. This is her little treat she loves to go to the press take out the cookie tin then ask for a cookie + now her mini me Lillie-b does the same (il have to find a better hiding place).

Now I have no problem with cookies as a treat everything in moderation but its frightening when you actually look at the back of the pack + see the amount of "ingredients" that go into a little chocolate chip cookie or a custard cream. 

So as my blogging buddy Laura always encourages us all to do I decided to get the girls involved in making their own cookies. And what's a bomb proof cookie that everyone can't resist  a chocolate chip cookies, the chewy gooey jammed full of chocolate chips kind!!!!

For this recipe you will need:

2 1/2 cups of plain flour

1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

1 cup of butter

1/2 cup of caster sugar

3/4 cup of light muscavado sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips(1/2 dark, 1/2 white)

Firstly cream the butter and sugar together until light in colour next add in the vanilla bean paste and when combined add your eggs one by one.

In a separate bowl sift together your dry ingredients add the chocolate chips then mix into your wet bowl, it's a good idea to add the chocolate chips to the flour as it coats them and prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the mixture. 

Once the mixture is ready lay out some baking parchment onto your baking trays and one by one scoop out the cookie dough with two small spoons and plop them down on the trays. I spaced them 4 down and 3 apart as they ooze out when in the oven.

Now pop your trays in the oven and bake @160" for 10 minutes they need to be soft to the touch when they come out and left ALONE to cool completely other wise they will fall apart, as Lottie found out. 

This recipe will easily make 32-36 cookies and they freeze really well but also keep fantastically in the fridge or even sandwiched around a blob of Ice-cream lol

Enjoy

Rebecca x

Scones glorious scones

 What is it about scones that gets people excited. Is it because they're bordering on a cake but its fully acceptable to have them for breakfast!!!!

Iv always had a soft spot for the little things and often tweet pics of gorgeous scones I come across, Kilashee Hotel been one scone Mecca that iv gushed about in the past. Their scones are so god dam good they are always so so fresh and have that lovely short crumbly taste to them. And just to tip you over the edge they arrive to your table with little pots of butter, jam and freshly whipped cream.

It's those little touches that make me come back time and time again. Unfortunately this is where some establishments fail to focus on, Fresh is always best!!!!

So last week as I made my recipe to do list scones were up there amongst other delectable ideas. Over the next few blogs there are some fantastic flavor combos

Firstly is my sultana + cranberry scone, for this recipe you will need:

230g of plain flour

45g of sugar

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1 egg

3 tablespoons of milk

75g of real butter at room temp

40g of sultanas

40g of dried cranberries

Pre heat your oven @220'

In a bowl add all your dry ingredients and combine well with a whisk {this makes sure there are no lumps and everything is thoroughly mixed}. 

Next add in your butter and crumble together with your fingers and thumbs like you would if you were making short crust pastry. 

Once the butter has intermingled{HA} with the dry ingredients pour in your whisked egg + milk then with your hand fold it altogether then sprinkle in your dried fruit folding them in also.

Flour your surface a empty your scone mixture out sprinkle lightly with flour then gently and briefly roll out {the less you handle the mixture the nicer the outcome} try to keep the scone mixture quite thick. Cut out your scones and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper, lastly paint on a beaten egg + sprinkle with sugar.

These only need to be baked for 15 minutes, the smell will be glorious so be strong and try not to eat them all the minute you take them out, I popped a few in the freezer to have on such a gloomy day as today!!!

Enjoy

Rebecca xx

Wicklow farmhouse cheese

A few weeks ago I got imvited to a cheese making day in one of Ireland's successful cheese makers the Wicklow farmhouse cheese. I automatically accepted as a prior foodie day out had gone so successfully and really got me fired up 

Then reality kicks in Rebecca aren't you slightly afraid of cheese, stinky mouldy ones to be precise. I felt maybe this wasn't the right day out for me but then I thought no this is ideal for you, go and educate yourself on cheese get out of your comfort zone and do it. I think I even described it to one of the bloggers as my version of I'm a celebrity get me out of here{slightly dramatic don't you think}

So on the bus we got and headed off to Clodagh McKennas new restaurant in Blackrock where we all got to catch up with familiar faces and got aquatinted with new colleagues. And what a treat it was stepping in to Chlodaghs restaurant was refreshing it was bright and airy but with a very welcoming feel. There was so many little private areas where you could escape to with friends or family and sit for hours indulging on her seasonally well thought out dishes.

I chose the crab cakes for my main which were jam packed with crab meat which was refreshing as it  is common for a fish cake of any kind to be bulked up with potato. This was accompanied by an amazing chili spiked guacamole, for me chili and seafood is a match made in heaven. All in all that dish was divine.

After a relaxed chatty lunch we bid fair well to Chlodagh and  headed on our way to Arklow where the family farm was. 

After some time we pulled into the dairy farm which has been run by John and his family for decades. John took over the farm from his dad in '73 when his dad became ill it was then and there he decided to reclaim the surrounding land which in time had to be developed and drained. John realized quickly that this was going to be a full time job.

They decided to focus on one thing and do it well, milk was the answer but unfortunately financially it was paying bad and certain companies were solely in control of 1/3 of the milk in Ireland.

Not afraid to look outside the box John decided to approach the Enterprise board where they mentored and work with him. He went on to do a start your own business course with them which helped him realize their was a niche in the market for farm cheese. Wicklow did not have anything like this so it was perfect and there the Wicklow blue was born.

They Initially started with farmers markets where they basically made the cheese to order, there they learned from the customers what people wanted from a cheese.

But the only way to grow the business was to go to the supermarkets. Which worked out for the better, this company has grown organically and has gone from strength to strength. They have 9 employees in the factory and the farm.

Mary Johns daughter took charge of making the cheese and over looks the quality for the past two years and John was pleased to tell us that thanks to Mary they received their BRCA grade last week which is a huge accomplishment for a small cheese company. Samples of the cheese are taken away every 5 to 6 weeks but in Johns factory they do positive release everytime, which means no cheese is released without the all clear.

From now until the end of November they are making cheese for Christmas. You can find their amazing cheeses inTesco, Dunnes , Aldi and Petits Supervalue.

We were lucky enough to be able to sample some cheeses at the end of the day and after listening and seeing what goes into the cheeses I can tell you as a novice I felt confident to sample the different flavors they had. 

My fave was a tie between the seaweed infused cheddar{ the seaweed comes from Mayo} 

and the tomato and basil mature cheddar. Amazing flavors that melt in your mouth, and a wee tip for you a good cheddar should always melt in your mouth. 

So the next time your out shopping restrain yourself from picking up the easy singles and go for a home grown creation like the Wicklow farmhouse cheeses.

My Pumkin pie

It's official when it comes to festivities I'm your only man for as long as I can remember  I just love the celebrations at the end of seasons...like HALLOWEEN.

When we moved to Canada earlier this year the thing that excited me was the thought of Fall all the gorgeous leaves in those multitude of jewelled shades. Then there's the pumpkin picking where you actually go and pick your own in Pumpkin farms not just from a giant box in Lidl {that still excites me by the way}

I had visions of my new front porch filled with all kinds of pumpkins in there crazy shapes and sizes. Anyway we are back home in good old Ireland + thanks to my obsession iv also found a pumpkin picking farm we can go to not far from ours so happy days.

So here we are in October so it's obvious this cake girl is gonna bake a pumpkin pie, for this recipe you will need:

9 inch short crust pie blind baked {in my blog}

1 can of Libby pumpkin purée

1/2 cup light muscavado sugar

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon of ginger

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 tablespoon of flour

2 organic eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste

1 cup of condensed milk

In a large bowl add your pumpkin purée, sugars, salt , flour + spices then mix together. Next beat in your two eggs + vanilla paste. Then lastly mix in the thick condensed milk, at this point the smells are making you salivate but hang on in there my lovelies in less than an hours you'll be tucking in :).

By now your pie crust will baked so pull out the shelf in the oven + simply pour in the pumpkin filling making sure not to flood it.

Bake for 15 minutes @200' then turn down to 170' for 30 minutes, this will be gorgeous with vanilla infused whipped cream or even some yummy ice cream

Enjoy

Rebecca

L'officina @ Kildare village

This week after dropping Lottie-daisy off to Montessori I decided that I was in need of some self Indulgence. But not just anything would hit the spot, my mé féin moment had to be chocolate + of the highest quality.

So seeing as Kildare village is only minutes from our home it would be down right rude to pass it by...

Right in the corner of the "village" by the fountain homes Dunne + Crescenzi's gorgeous Italian eatery L'officina which in Italian means workshop just incase you needed to brush up on your Italian.

With their high wood clad ceilings + large chalk board menus it is quite easy to be transported to a different time + place where quality + flavor is paramount.

Iv eaten here on many occasions with family or even for a quick coffee fix with my friends + I can honestly say iv been pleased with my dish every time. So this time round it was still early in the day + with two wee children I needed a coffee fix but when I studied the morning menu there was no way I could pass up a "dense" Italian hot chocolate + even though it was €4 for a hot chocolate I said feck it go wild.

And I'm so happy I lived life on the edge that morning because what came out was what I can only describe as chocolate soup it was glorious completely over the top but that's what I needed at that point in time. I don't know why I'm evening telling you this but I might have even been spotted dipping pieces of my pain au chocolat in it...don't judge I've been eating carrot sticks ever since to try balance out this devilish delight HA