Monday 30 September 2013

Autumn Breakfast: Homemade Brown Bread and Strawberry Jam




I can't think of a better breakfast for a lazy wet Autumn morning. I have frozen multiple unbaked batches of this bread. Take a portion out of the freezer the night before and next morning you are less than a hour away from fresh brown bread. It's a great way to get out of the habit of buying white sliced pan for that addictive but destructive toast!

Brown Bread

Ingredients

125g plain flour
1 heaped tsp bread soda
1 level tsp salt
350g whole wheat flour
30g bran
1 level tsp caster sugar
25g butter
150g natural yogurt
1 egg
Buttermilk

Method

Pre-heat the oven to Gas 7/220C/425F
Use a 2lb loaf tin lightly greased

Sieve the plain flour, bread soda and salt into a large mixing bowl.
Add the whole wheat flour, bran and sugar and mix thoroughly with your hands.
Rub in the butter.
Beat the yogurt and egg together and add enough buttermilk to make up to 425ml.
Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the milk mixture. Mix quickly with a fork.
Turn out onto a board or surface dusted with flour and knead lightly.
Shape and place into the tin and make three shallow cuts with a knife.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for 40 minutes, until risen and golden brown.
A cooked loaf will sound hollow when the bottom is tapped.

**If freezing, just prepare the bread up to stage of kneading. After this, I usually shape into a ball and put into a plastic sandwich/freezer bag and into the freezer. It can be re-shaped for the tin once defrosted**

Now that's the bread sorted, lets move onto the jam. The recipe I have chosen is from Pam Corbin's The River Cottage Preserves Handbook. It makes 4-5 340g jars.

Strawberry Jam

Ingredients

1kg strawberries with tops removed - larger ones may need to be halved or quartered
500g granulated sugar
450g jam sugar [has added pectin]
150ml lemon juice

Method

*Before you start, put a saucer in the fridge to allow to chill - this will be used to test for jam setting*

Put 200g of the strawberries in a pot with 200g of the granulated sugar
Crush to a pulp with a potato masher/fork
Place the pot on a gentle heat and when warm, add the rest of the strawberries
Gently heat to simmering point, stirring to the bottom of the pan so the fruit doesn't begin to stick
Simmer for five minutes to allow the fruit to soften a little

Add the remaining granulated sugar, and jam sugar and stir gently to prevent the sugar sticking and burning
When the sugar has dissolved, add the lemon juice
Increase the heat and when the mix has reached a full boil, boil rapidly for 8-9 minutes
Test for setting point by putting a little on the chilled saucer and pushing with your finger. If it crinkles, the jam is ready. If not, boil for a little longer, constantly checking for a set.

Remove from the heat and stir to disperse any scum that may have formed on the surface.
Pot into sterilised jars and seal. Use within twelve months.


The perfect couple....




Saturday 28 September 2013

Money Saving Tips Part 3


Even though the weather is still quite warm for the end of September, it's time to start thinking about the winter, which means fuel costs. So this weeks money saving thoughts are centered around energy.


1. Invest in heavy duty curtains, especially in the living areas of the house, and close them in all rooms at night. You could leave them closed all day in rooms that you are not using. It's all extra insulation.


2. Put draught stoppers along the base of doors. Even a rolled up towel or blanket would do.


3. Before you put on a load of washing, stop and think about what temperature you are setting the machine to. You might be in the habit of putting everything on the one setting, but do the clothes you are washing need 60 degrees of heat? Try separating your loads so you can wash some clothes on cold. It will make a big difference to your electricity bill.


4. Even if the weather isn't good enough to dry your laundry to a usable level, try to dry loads of clothes to some extent. Never put clothes straight from the washing machine to the tumble dryer. Try to let the wind do some work for you.


5. Keep your watering can outside the back door so you can pour any waste water from cooking [e.g. potatoes/veg/pasta/rice] straight in. It saves in water use, has all the tap water additives boiled out of it and contains some run off nutrients that will benefit your plants.


6. Double up on oven use so if you are doing a roast, maybe think about doing your baking on the same day so you are not preheating the oven twice.

So rethink your energy costs and soon you'll be flying high like mr monkey




Thursday 26 September 2013

What's For Dinner? 26th Sept

My meals follow the same philosophy most days - frugal (but adventurous) and healthy (but tasty). Today I had whiting fillets, pan fried in a coating of breadcrumbs, parsley and ginger, served with a mash made from sweet potato, celery and potato.





I added the ginger and parsley by mixing into the egg that I used to bind the bread crumbs with the fish.




Submerge the fillets in the egg mixture and coat with bread crumbs. Shallow fry on a low heat for three minutes on each side.



You could use any white fish you can get your hands on. I personally don't bother removing the skin. Cherry tomatoes on the side give a nice touch of sweetness and who can resist the fresh hit of a spring onion?

Wednesday 25 September 2013

Homemade Biodegradable Seed Pots





This simple idea of pots made from old newspaper is not only money saving but it allows you to pot on seedlings without disturbing them. The newspaper will quickly rot down in the soil, allowing the seedling to acclimatise nicely to it's new surroundings.


You will need:



1 bottle - wine bottle would be perfect
Newspaper
Scissors are optional as the paper is easy to rip

Method:



Tear off a strip of paper for the pot, about twice the height of the actual pot size you want. Wrap it around the bottle to shape the pot.



Fold the end of the paper around the base of the bottle to form the bottom of the pot.




This may take a few attempts to get the paper nicely wrapped together.



Stand the bottle up and press down to firm the base into place



Remove the bottle and voila! you have your pot.

Tuesday 24 September 2013

Simple and Delicious Seafood Chowder




Chowder is a great way to introduce someone to eating fish. Loaded with potatoes and vegetables in a creamy sauce, it is heart warming and rich. The following recipe is very versatile and you can substitute for any type of fish or vegetables you wish.

Ingredients [to serve 6]


1 tbsp olive oil
3 rashers diced
2 large onions peeled and diced
3 stalks celery diced
2 carrots peeled and diced
2 tbsp flour

800ml fish stock [I use 2 Knorr Stock Pots]

5 potatoes peeled and diced
Handful chopped fresh parsley
400ml milk
600g white fish [I used Ling and Whiting], skinned, deboned and cut into bite sized pieces
200g smoked mackerel torn up roughly

150ml single cream


Method


Heat the oil in a large pot and add the rashers
When nicely browned, add the onions, celery and carrots and gently fry for 5 minutes
Add the flour and coat the whole mix
Add the stock gradually
Add the potatoes, milk and parsley and simmer for 5 minutes
Check that potatoes are cooked and add the fish
Simmer for 4 minutes and add the cream
Cook for another few minutes and serve

If you're like me, make double and freeze half!





Monday 23 September 2013

Money Saving Tips Part 2

Leading on from Part 1 here, these are some more of my money saving tips.

1. Join the library

Not rocket science but if you are a book lover like me, buying books can be addictive and costly. You'd be surprised what your local library is stocking and it's a chance to take a risk on books without reaping the expenses and building up clutter. My philosophy now is to rent or borrow fiction books and if I am going to invest in a book, it's usually for reference. Some reference books are invaluable to have in the home, especially if they teach you a skill or how to avoid paying someone else for a job you can easily learn to do.

If you are going to buy a book, think SECOND HAND before you wander into Waterstones or Easons. Such is the quality of some second hand books, that I would not be embarrassed to give them as gifts. Online, I find play.com to be the best source of second hand material and I have never been disappointed with the physical state of the books. And it's free shipping!

2. Barter

Look at those around you, family, colleagues and neighbours and identify what skills you can trade. The easiest way to approach this is the to be the first to offer a favour to someone and most times, they will remember it and repay you in some way. I started bringing excess freshly caught fish to work to offer to colleagues and I have since received fresh rabbit, pheasant and baked goods in return. Which brings me on to my next tip....

3. Take up fishing

You do not need a licence to sea fish in Ireland, and during the summer any fool with a cheap rod can catch a bounty from the shoals of mackerel that migrate towards land. It's a delicious, healthy, oily fish that almost wants to be caught and it's not unusual to through out a line with six hooks and to fill the whole line in a matter of seconds. Once you catch your first mackerel, you'd be hard pushed to pay the price they are charging for measly fillets in supermarkets.

4. Keep shopping bags in the boot of your car

Small savings to be had but at 22c each, not to mention the waste, it's a good practice to keep a stock of shopping bags in your vehicle. They don't weigh anything so no harm carrying them around. On that note, if you have a roof rack on your vehicle that never gets used, take it down. It is wasting fuel.

5. Buy your hobby magazines in second hand shops

If you are not fussy about keeping up to date, there is no reason to spend the usual €5-€6 that hobby magazines cost. If you like arts and crafts or cooking, you'll hardly notice if the magazine is recent or from three months ago.


I'm sure I'll be back in a few weeks with some more tips I've thought off.

Saturday 21 September 2013

Haw Ketchup





Another seasonal recipe using the bright red berries of the Hawthorn tree that are weighing down the trees at this time of year. The berries are not appetising in their own right (although I often see birds bite them off the tree and adeptly spit out the inner stone) but they can be used to make some worthy sauces and jams. The following ketchup recipe comes from this book:




And reads as follows:




Beautiful Haws:




Not so pretty after I'd finished with them:




The sauce is sweet with a spicy kick that comes as an after taste. Serve it with hot rich meats such as venison or pork belly.

Carrageen Moss Pudding


Carrageen moss is seaweed that can be found growing on rocks in low Spring tides on the Western and Southern shores of Ireland. Dried carrageen may be available at Caribbean shops. Traditionally it is used in the West Indies to make an aphrodisiac of spiced milkshake. It is full of natural gelatine so don't overuse it. It can be used to set liquids or to enrich stews, soups and jams. The following is a recipe for a milky pudding that goes well with fresh fruit compote or whipped cream. I picked up the recipe at the foraging course in Ballymaloe, that I have written about here.





Ingredients

Serves 6

7g dried carrageen moss
900ml whole milk
1 vanilla pod or 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 free range egg
1tbsp caster sugar

Method

Soak the moss in some tepid water for 10 minutes - it will increase in size

Strain off the water and put the moss into a saucepan with the milk and vanilla pod, if using

Bring to the boil, cover and simmer very gently for 20 minutes

Now separate the egg, put the yolk into a bowl, add the sugar and vanilla extract, if using, and whisk together for a few seconds.

Then add the milk and moss mixture, through a strainer, whisking all the time

The moss remaining in the strainer will be leaking jelly and you need to add as much of this as possible to the egg and milk mixture

Test the entire mix for setting by putting a little on a chilled saucer and checking if it wrinkles when pushed with your finger. The wrinkles indicate a set.

Whisk the egg white stiffly and fold it in to the mix. It will rise to the top.

Serve chilled with brown sugar and cream or a fresh fruit compote





Tuesday 10 September 2013

My Experiment: Earning Money Online

So as I am on a budgeting buzz these days I am looking for all sorts of ingenious ways to make money, find freebies, get samples. It's alot of work for so very little but in the last few weeks I have:

Received free samples of Wheatgrass supplements and Vichy face cream [so exciting getting them through the post!]. I am also waiting on free tea.

Joined Swagbucks to earn online money which can be converted into vouchers for many websites, including Amazon. £5GBP on Amazon costs 849 swagbucks and I've made 300 in the last three days by just messing around on the site, doing one survey and watching some videos. You gain points from using their search engine, playing games and other little tasks. If I can make the £5 by the weekend, I'll be very pleased. 

Joined an Irish online survey company called Irish Opinions who send you surveys to complete, based on your profile. I've made €3 by doing three surveys [and missed out on two more because I couldn't access the site at work]. When you reach €10, you can convert into a voucher for Tesco or Boots.

It might be a short lived buzz but it's proving quite addictive so far!

Monday 9 September 2013

Banana Bread


This sweet, moist loaf is extremely easy to make and a great way to use up over-ripened bananas. It is taken from the Ballymaloe Bread Book.


Ingredients

225g self raising flour
1/2 level teaspoon salt
110g butter
170g caster sugar
110g sultanas
25g chopped walnuts
100g glaze cherries halved
2 eggs
450g very ripe [black skinned] bananas


Method

Preheat the oven to gas 4/180C/350F
Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin
In a large mixing bowl, sieve the flour and salt.
Rub in the butter [I grate it in and then crumble with my fingers]
Stir in sugar, sultanas, walnuts and cherries
In a separate bowl, mash the bananas, add eggs, mix well and add to main bowl
Mix everything well until the consistency is soft and slightly runny


image


Pour into the tin and spread evenly

Bake for 1.5 hours in the centre of the oven.

DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR DURING THE COOKING TIME OR THE BREAD WILL COLLAPSE. 

Cool before removing from the tin and ENJOY


Apple and Cranberry Muffins

I was gifted a muffin recipe book for Christmas and it lay there unloved until recently, when I finally gave it some attention. I had fallen into the bad habit lately of buying a scone for my breakfast at Nash 19 in Cork city, and even though they are one of the best scones I've ever tasted, it was totaling almost €7 a week and was going against my do-it-yourself-as-much-as-possible ethos. So I paid particular attention to the breakfast muffins chapter of the book and tried out the following recipe. The result was a lovely moist and sticky cake that tasted great even after freezing and thawing:

Apple and Cranberry Muffins


image

Ingredients [makes 6 mini loaves]:
1 egg
50g butter melted
100g caster sugar
Grated rind of one large orange
Juice of that orange
140g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/5 tsp ground cinnamon
1/5 tsp grated nutmeg
1/5 tsp ground allspice
Pinch ground ginger
Pinch salt
2 small eating apples peeled, cored and finely chopped
170g cranberries [I used dried]
55g chopped walnuts


Method

Preheat the oven to Gas 4/180/350 and grease and line muffin tin
In a bowl, whisk the egg with the melted butter. Add sugar,orange rind and juice. Whisk to blend and set aside.
In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and spices and salt.
Make a well in centre and add the egg mixture, and softly blend with a spoon.
Add the apples, cranberries and walnuts and mix lightly.


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Three quarter fill your tins

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Bake for 30 mins or until golden brown, and leave to cool before removing. Enjoy!


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Homemade Wooden Floor Cleaner


I tried out this simple potion and it worked wonders for my wooden floor [albeit cheap laminate].


image    image


Mix:

500g washing soda
100g baking soda
Small squirt washing up liquid
200ml vinegar
7 litres of very hot water.

Don't get worried when it starts to fizz - it won't explode! You could add some scented essence to give it a nice smell.

Before

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After

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Friday 6 September 2013

The Wonders of Owning a Chest Freezer

Looming motherhood in two months has awoken my organisational skills and all of a sudden I had to have a chest freezer! How have I lived so long without one!?? Well we do have a freezer but not one that allows much more than the obligatory fish fingers, ice pops, frozen veg and random pieces of meat.

So empty freezer at hand, we begin to fill it.

A butchered whole lamb is purchased which will keep us in meat for a long time. Not baaad.
I spend a few days cooking up the following:


Chicken and Sausage Casserole with lots of lovely leeks

image


Chili Con Carne

image


Red Thai Curry

image


Giant fish casserole

image
Other goodies made are:

Beautiful rhubarb scones taken from this recipe

image

Buttermilk pancakes with cranberries and sultanas

Double chocolate cookies from here

Bolognese using this lovely slow cook recipe - I didn't use nearly as much salt.

Im so glad I got a chest freezer. Im almost emotional. Sniff.

Money Saving Tips Part 1




With bambino on the way in four weeks, I have gone into budgeting overdrive. I've always been good with my money but by writing down all expenditures for the last few days, it's incredible how easily even a money conscious person can make un-necessary purchases.
Here are my top tips for saving money:







1Use your freezer to the max and invest in a chest freezer if possible

We have saved a fortune the last few months by being ultra organised with meals and always thinking "what's in the freezer?" before making any purchases. If you have a contact, buy a whole butchered animal. We have bought a whole lamb for the last three years running. I reckon what we paid for the full animal would only cover the price of the chops if we were still buying lamb in the shop.

Freeze left over wine in ice cube trays to use for cooking.

When you buy herbs/ginger/garlic and other cooking accompaniments that you probably will not use in full, freeze a percentage immediately. You'll always end up throwing out a half mouldy lump of ginger root otherwise!

When you have the spare time, make up batches of bread dough and freeze uncooked. Imagine taking out the dough the night before and next day you're only 30 minutes away from freshly baked bread. In fact, make extra of everything and freeze the excess. Pretty soon you'll have a huge choice of food to chose from.


2. Grow your own salad vegetables

Even if you are not into gardening, it is worth everybody's time to grow lettuce, tomatoes and herbs. These are some of the most expensive vegetables to buy. I put alot of time and labour into growing vegetables like potatoes, carrots and onions but apart from the satisfaction, freshness, superior taste and lack of chemicals (okay they are all really good reasons!), I don't save much money by doing so. However, by having a crop of salad leaves in the garden, I have saved at least €3 per week [€156 per year!] by not buying bags of mixed leaves in the supermarket (which deteriorate in quality rapidly once the bag is opened). I recommend everyone to grow spinach. The baby leaves are tender petals of gorgeousness and the older leaves add to almost any savoury dish you can think of. Plus you can cut and cut and cut those leaves and the plant will keep on giving.

If you want to branch out, peas and beans are also a lovely easy crop. Mangetout just gives gives gives and is easy to freeze [steam for a few mins, plunge in icy water to cool, freeze on a tray and bag when hard]. Plus those little salad bags of podded peas are quite expensive in shops.


3. Consider re-usables instead of disposables

Not only are you saving money but the landfill will thank you for it.

My guilty pleasure is kitchen roll [paper towels] but I'll have to discipline myself into sticking to cloths.

The cloth nappy library of Ireland allows you to rent high quality cloth nappies to try out before you buy. Huge savings can be made on these nappies which will last a child from birth to toddler. Most people will be saving money after six months. Also, if you are using re-usables, it is not as painful to pay the extra for eco friendly disposables when needed.
Consider a silicon menstrual cup instead of buying sanitary products every month. At €30, the Moon Cup would start saving you money after a few months.


4. Consider installing a wood burning stove to replace your open fire

I always loved our open fire and was hesitant when the landlord wanted to install a stove but once we figured out the knack of using it, I realised it was one of the best improvements made to the house.

It's more heat and fuel efficient. By using mainly wood, they produce less ash than the open fire and is much easier to clean out as everything falls into a removable tray. We use a little bit of coal to establish the fire and top up only with wood, which we bought in bulk for very cheap. Last winter, we used a fraction of the amount of coal used in previous years. There is plenty of fallen wood to be found in any forest. I also saved in firelighters by melting the ends of candles and soaking cotton pads in the melted wax. A great way to make use of those candle ends that amass around the house.


5. Always carry a bottle of water/juice from home
Buying fluids when out and about is a major money drainer. Its a simple habit to get into.


Last but not least...

6. Write down all expenditures
This makes you aware of where your money is going and soon you'll find yourself getting a kick out of making it through the day with spending as little as possible. Making shopping lists used to give me pleasure but it also turns spending into a hobby. I still make sure I buy everything I need, and treat myself but Im not going to find myself €5 less at the end of the week because I somehow bought a bottle of water on three separate occassions, water I might not even have drank in full.


Read Part 2 of my best money saving tips HERE

Sunday 1 September 2013

Cheap, Easy and Nutritious Lunches: Part 1

Save time and money on your lunch break by either bringing your leftover dinner or making up something in advance. I personally hate sandwiches [especially those pathetic excuses for food consisting of packet deli meat between two slices of white convenience sliced pan which is just junk food in my eyes] so a bit more effort is required, but not much more.


My first favourite lunch to bang together is:


COLD PASTA SALAD


You can add anything you like but my key ingredients are:

Cold cooked pasta

Cold boiled egg

Tomato

Spring onion

Salad leaves




Today we a selection from the garden including beetroot leaves, peppery nasturtium leaves and young spinach. Get experimental with your leaves people!! There's more to life than iceberg lettuce and those expensive mixed supermarket packets.

Mayonnaise

Salad Cream

Chop and mix everything together!









Make double the amount needed because you will eat half of it without realising..

Seasonal Pie: Rhubarb and Blackberry


Following the fabulous summer we had, fruit harvests are bountiful and beautiful and if you know the right people, there are plenty of freebies to be had from people with a glut of produce. So I've had plenty of rhubarb given to me to compliment the blackberries that can be found almost anywhere.


image




So today I made a pie.

Pastry

225g butter
50g castor sugar
2 eggs
300g white flour

Cream the sugar and butter by hand. Add the eggs and beat together for a few minutes. Add the flour and combine until you have a nice ball of firm pastry. Chill in the fridge for at least two hours.

Filling

As much blackberries and chopped rhubarb as you can fit!

Sugar [completely personal choice - I prefer a tart taste so added about 150g]

Pie

Preheat the oven to 180C/370F/Gas 4

Divide your chilled pastry in half, and line your pie tin with one rolled half and fill with fruit


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Sprinkle with sugar


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Roll the second half and cover your pie


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Rub a dash of milk on top, sprinkle with sugar and cook for 45 mins - 1 hour


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EAT ALL THE PIE!!!!!!!