Sticky Whiskey Marinaded Chicken Thighs

Marinades are a great way to treat a piece of meat and you can get really creative with your mixes. Dig around your cupboards to find ingredients that are collecting dust. For me, it was whiskey and balsamic vinegar, neither of which I use very often. I complimented with contrasting flavours to balance out the harshness of the alcohol and vinegar. The best way to soak the meat is to use a sealable plastic freezer bag. In any case, always use a nonreactive container, plastic or glass.

Sticky Whiskey Marinaded Chicken Thighs

Ingredients

6 free range chicken thighs
3 garlic cloves minced
1 TSP ground ginger

Equal amounts (I used half a cup measure) of:

Whiskey
Brown sugar
Olive oil

Half that amount of:

Balsamic vinegar or\and soy sauce

Method

Combine all the ingredients in a plastic zip lock bag and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to Gas 6\200°C\400°F

Place the chicken thighs in a roasting tin, with a little of the marinade.





Roast for 30 minutes

To make a glaze, cook the reminder of the marinade on the hob. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and cook over a medium flame until it reduces by half into a sticky sauce.

I ate mine with simple spuds and veg but you could equally just tear into it with your bare hands like the beast that you are.

Banana And Chocolate Muffins

These luscious muffins are a sticky gooey unhealthy treat, not for everyday eating. The ingredients are minimal and are common kitchen stock. These little cakes are a great way to use up over-ripe bananas. They are best served warm when the chocolate is still melted.

Ingredients makes 12

2 eggs

90ml milk

150g butter melted

225g plain white flour

1 tsp baking powder

150g golden caster sugar

150g chocolate broken into chunks

2 ripe bananas mashed

Method

Pre heat the oven to gas mark 6\200°C\400°F

Line a muffin tin with 12 cases

In a jug, mix the eggs, milk and melted butter until thoroughly combined.

Sift together the flour and baking powder into a separate bowl. Add the sugar, chocolate and bananas to the flour mix.

Stir gently to combine, gradually stirring in the milk mixture, but do not beat it.

Spoon the mixture into the cases.

Bake for 20 minutes until risen and golden.

Allow to stand for 5 minutes and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Beetroot, Apple and Onion Soup

This exciting soup is a perfect way to use up the fruits of Autumn. Don't be put off by the adventurous ingredients; my beetroot hating, cooked apple avoiding boyfriend positively loved it. It's pink, hearty and slightly sweet with a zing! to finish.

I was inspired to try this recipe as I had a bag of windfall cookers to use and wanted to do something other than baking. I wasn't fortunate to have raw beetroot to use but the cooked stuff made my job easier.

Ingredients

15g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2 decent sized cooking apples, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, peeled and diced
1 tbsp curry powder
250g cooked beetroot, chopped
500ml vegetable stock

Method

Heat the butter and oil and saute the apple and onion over a medium heat for ten minutes, until mushy

Add the curry powder, mix well and cook for five more minutes

Add the beetroot and cook until the whole mix is heated through

Add half the stock and whiz using a hand blender

When well blended, add the remaining stock and mix evenly

Serve and enjoy!

Brussels Sprouts Tops - Bonus Food!

My veg garden is looking miserable. Apart from some spinach that bolted a long time ago, the only usable vegetables I have available are two Brussels sprouts plants, which in fairness to them are producing a fine amount of sprouts.

Like last year, the first sprout will be sampled on Christmas Day BUT to my delight it recently dawned on me that the sprouts are not the only part of the plant that can benefit my plate. The plant tops look like cabbage and taste like cabbage. I can't believe I wasted these fine leafy tops last year and today I sampled them for the first time in a stir fry. They are sweet and tasty, and even if you find the sprout to be bitter (although those of us in the know appreciate that if cooked properly, sprouts are delicate and sweet tasting and not in the slightest way bitter), you are sure to enjoy the bonus treat of the plant top.

Tips on growing Brussels Sprouts

Like other leafy green vegetables, sprouts like a lot of Nitrogen so plant them out in the same soil that you have grown your peas or beans, whose crops should be finished when the sprouts are ready to be planted out. The reason for this perfect partnership is that legumes have the ability to take Nitrogen from the atmosphere and fix it into the soil. This year, I planted my sprouts where Broad Beans had previously stood.

They require very little attention but it is worth picking off any yellowing leaves to encourage air circulation and prevent sprouts from rotting.

Planting Garlic in Ireland

Garlic is a crop that any vegetable gardener should be growing. It is planted (ideally) in October - December when there is nothing much else going on in the garden. It is low maintenance and stores well. Garlic is a staple in most kitchens and can be eaten young and fresh or mature and dried. It looks lovely hanging in your kitchen too - see above!

The first year I grew garlic I planted supermarket bought cloves, which produced small bulbs which I ate fresh. I now realise that this is not recommended as the garlic may be treated to prevent sprouting. Since then, I've purchased seed garlic. I seem to have trouble finding it at local garden centres so I buy online from Irish sellers.

Purchased from quickcrop.ie.

General Information

You can get two main types of garlic - soft neck and hard neck. Soft varieties are better for storage, hard will need to be used more quickly but are said to have a superior flavour. Hard neck will also send up edible flower stalks called garlic scapes that should be removed to help the main bulb to swell. The scapes can be used in various ways including pestos, soups and stir fries.

Planting Guidelines

Plant in autumn for a June/July harvest or in spring for a later crop(dependant on the variety). Some varieties are "earlies" so plant and harvest these first. If the ground is too wet and cold, the cloves can rot so planting in modules in autumn/winter for planting out in spring is an option.

Break the bulb into cloves and plant each one separately.

Prefers a light, free-draining soil in full sun. Certain varieties have a tendency to push up through the soil so plant these a few inches deep.

Harvesting and Preserving Garlic

Garlic should be lifted when the stem starts to turn yellow. It is best to lift early than too late as the bulbs can shatter and may start sprouting.

Handle carefully as it can bruise, which leads to rot in storage.

Allow to completely dry in the sun before storing. A good rule of thumb is to wait until the outer skins are totally dry and will slip off easily - usually two-three weeks. If there is a risk of rain, hang under cover - an unheated greenhouse will suffice.

Store hanging in bunches or plaited. Before plaiting, moisten the stem to make it more flexible.

If storing in wooden boxes, cut the stem down to 2 inches.


Here is one of my bulbs which has shattered - still perfectly edible but gone beyond its best:

I'll hang it anywhere I can:

Breakfast Muffins

Breakfast can be a temperamental meal for many people, especially if you have to leave the house first thing in the morning. You're sick of breakfast cereal but there's not enough time to cook something decent, it's too early to eat, you're not hungry yet... which inevitably leads to eating out which can be expensive and unhealthy. Such are the reasons I am always on the lookout for tasty, healthy, portable breakfasts and the following muffins fulfill all three requirements. They are also a good way to use up some possibly forgotten ingredients in your cupboard including honey, apple sauce and porridge oats.

• Sugar free
• Butter free
• Wholemeal flour

Makes 12

Ingredients



Wet

2 eggs beaten
150ml natural yogurt
50ml olive oil
100g applesauce
1 ripe banana mashed
4 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla essence

Dry

200g wholemeal flour
50g porridge oats with a bit extra for topping
1.5 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1.5 tsp cinnamon
100g dried fruit [I used cranberry, sultanas, raisins and goji berries]
2 tbsp mixed seeds [I used pumpkin and sunflower]


Method

Preheat the oven to Gas 4/180C/350F

Mix the wet ingredients in a jug




Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl




Pour in the wet ingredients, combine but don't overmix




Pour into twelve muffin cases and sprinkle the seeds and oats on top










Bake for 30 minutes and once baked, allow to cool on a wire rack and enjoy!



These will freeze well.

Handsfree Breastfeeding with a Woven Wrap Sling

It can be done as I've just discovered today. I ordered two slings, a Didymos and a Hoppediz, to rent for two weeks from the brilliant sling library on the babywearingireland website, and they arrived today. After half an hour of playing around with the Hoppediz, and using this video [it's in Spanish but easy to follow], I managed to comfortably attach my three week old baby to me, where he has been happily feeding/snoozing for the last half hour. The slings come with instructions, and the Hoppediz supplies a great choice of holds, but none to compete with the youtube video for a hold suitable for nursing.

I'm so happy. I can finally get things done!