Spring is finally here :)

Spring is finally here & nobody is more thrilled than our lovely Coco!

Let's all take a leaf out of her book & take a few minutes just to chill out...

Bliss...

Blueberry & Bran Breakfast Muffins

There is a multitude of cookbooks in our house. One of my favourites has to be Bill Grangers 'Bills Sydney Food'. It is full of quick and relatively easy meals, and it reminds me of the amazing time I spent in Sydney many moons ago.

One of the things I loved about Sydney, besides the wonderful weather and outdoor lifestyle, was the great breakfast culture there...Going out for breakfast or a long lazy brunch was as common place was going for lunch or dinner.

Beautiful Bondi on a Stormy Day! 

Sadly, with a busy life, it is always not possible to give breakfast the time it deserves. But here is one of Bill's great recipes for a healthy & tasty breakfast on-the-go! Make a batch, and fling some in the freezer. Then defrost the night before an upcoming hectic day. 

I've tried this recipe twice...once without measuring cups...not a good idea! I wasted so much time looking up conversion measurements etc & got a wee bit cranky... Not a good idea to bake when cranky...the food needs love :) So I invested in a set of lovely ceramic measuring cups from Fab.com before trying again! Check them out...pretty cool I think!

I've gone off the point a bit. Sorry! Here are the ingredients: 

30g/1oz Butter

3/4 cup (6fl oz) Honey

1/2 cup (4 fl oz) Vegetable Oil

1/2 cup (4 fl oz) Milk

3 Free Range Eggs

3 cups Plain Flour

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 cup Bran Flakes

1 & 1/2 teaspoons ground Cinnamon 

1 Apple, grated

2 Bananas, mashed

8 oz Blueberries

6- 12 Strawberries

The above amounts make 12 muffins, or 24 small buns!

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, or about 170 for a fan  assisted oven. Set out 2 six-hole muffin tins or 2 twelve-hole bun tins, with paper baking cases.

Place the butter and honey in a small saucepan, & cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes or until caramelised slightly. 

Place milk, eggs and oil in a bowl & whisk. 

Put flour, baking powder cinnamon & bran in a bowl & mix. Next stir the apple, bananas & blueberries through the flour etc. Add the milk mixture & stir until the dry ingredients are moistened. Then fold in the melted butter & honey, until just combined. Do not over mix.

Spoon muffin batter into each cup of the muffin tin. Top each muffin with half a strawberry half. Bake in oven for 30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Take at least 2 minutes to enjoy with a fresh cup of coffee.

Cockles & 'Muscles' ?!

Another brief (ish) sabbatical...Definately back for a while now!

What a great Christmas and New Year I had!
The eating over the festive season was nonsensical but unbelievably enjoyable! :) 

After family time at Christmas, and a wild wedding of a great friend, my better half & I left for a bit of R & R in the wilds of Brandon, Co.Kerry with some friends.
Rest and Relaxation wasn't quite what we got...there was lots more eating (and a little more drinking) to be done.

We were treated to a lovely roast dinner on New Years Eve compliments of our hosts & a fab fish pie on New Years Day. 
Being spoiled with wining & dining wasn't going to last forever, so the next day was our day to cook. We got everybody to flex their muscles & lend a hand when preparing the starter!
We handpicked some cockles at a nearby strand, and everyone from the baby to the dogs got stuck in! 

Once we had enough gathered to feed 8 people (approx 25 cockles each), we rinsed them in sea water, put them in a bucket & covered them in more sea water. This helps to get rid of some of the sand inside the shell.

It was chilly& thirsty work, and while the cockles were busy 'de-sanding', we retired to the cosy Murphy's Bar on Brandon Pier for a drop of Guinness and to toast our toes by the fire.
With pep in our step once again, myself and himself headed back to the house to get the dinner on.

Making a tasty starter, or even main meal, with cockles is so easy. We took inspiration from how the locals  in the Algarve, in Portugal, cook clams. The recipe serves a starter portion to 3-4 people.

Ingredients:
4 cloves of Garlic, sliced
2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 glass White Wine
1 bunch of Corriander, chopped
100 (approx) Cockles/Clams
Lemon wedges
Crusty Bread

You will need:
A large, deep wok/pan and a lid

Method:
Heat the oil in the pan over a high heat. Add the garlic & fry for about 30 seconds. Then add the clams. Mix around so the garlic doesn't burn at the bottom of the pan. Almost straight away after, add the wine & cover the pan with the lid. Turn the heat down slightly, and leave to cook until all/the majority of the cockles have opened. (This should take about 5 minutes)
Sprinkle with the corriander & serve with some crusty bread & a lemon wedge.

It really is a lovely, light & tasty way to start a meal. And very satisfying knowing exactly where it came from & that we had picked it ourselves.

We followed on with some delicious Swordfish steaks, in a light tomato sauce & some Affogato's for dessert...but I'll tell you about them another day! :)

Search for the Perfect Carrot Cake!

I'm back! Eventually... The summer just flew by & didn't seem to have a minute to myself to Waffle.
Sorry about that folks, but I'm sure you just about coped without me :)

I made this Carrot Cake a few weeks back. I have been looking for some time for the perfect Carrot Cake recipe... to make one like Patsy used to (Kinsale people will know the amazing cakes Patsy's Corner used to have) 
Following the success of the Avoca scones and Avoca banana bread, I hoped their carrot cake recipe would end the search! 
And while it tasted lovely, it didn't really live up to my expectations... it wasn't quite 'carrot cake-y' enough if that makes sense. It lacked some of the flavour that the best carrot cakes have. 
Never-the-less, I did enjoy it and himself was delighted with it. 

You will need 2 900g/2lb loaf tins for this recipe.

Ingredients: (Makes 2 loaves) 

440g/14oz Caster Sugar
400ml/14fl oz Sunflower Oil
400g/14oz Self-Raising Flower
4 Eggs
1 teaspoon Mixed Spice
1 teaspoon Salt
400g/14oz Carrots, grated
1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

Topping:
175g/6oz full fat Cream Cheese
50g/2oz Unsalted Butter
Juice and grated zest of 1/2 a Lemon
350g/12oz Icing Sugar
Handful of Walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius/ Gas Mark 3. Line the 2 loaf tins with baking parchment. 
Whisk the Sugar, Eggs and Oil together until thick and pale. Then whisk in the Flour, Mixed Spice and Salt. Next, stir in the Carrots and Vanilla Essence. Divide the mixture equally between the 2 loaf tins, and bake in the preheated oven for approx. one hour.
Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, and then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely. 
To make the topping, beat the Cream Cheese, Butter & Lemon juice and zest together, and then beat in the icing sugar. Spread over the cooled cakes, and sprinkle with chopped walnuts to finish. 

The recipe was very easy to follow, easy to make, & very tasty...just not the perfect Carrot Cake recipe! 
Anybody out there got the yummiest Carrot Cake recipe of all??? 

Cocktails, Stir-frys &.... Westlife!!!

Saturday 23rd of June... A date we had long been waiting for! Westlife's final concert & a trip to the Big Smoke for the girls. The excitement was paramount in the days proceeding, and we could hardly contain ourselves when the morning arrived.
We struck off to Dublin nice & early, all went smoothly & after a quick turnabout at the hotel, we were ready for action!
We had booked into Saba, on Clarendon Street, not too far from Grafton Street.

http://www.sabadublin.com
 
It is a large restaurant & cocktail bar, that specialises in Thai & Vietnamese food, and most importantly... Cocktails :)
There was a lively atmosphere & a great buzz about the place when we arrived. The staff were friendly & efficient from the get-go, and we did not want for anything for the duration!
The 5 of us were seated in a booth, which was comfy with plenty room, and it was nice to have a bit of privacy. 
We started off with a round of cocktails to whet our appetites... Grapefruit Cosmos & Daiquiri's set us up nicely.
For a starter, I had Sweet Potato & Corn Fritters with a sweet chilli & peanut dip. It was delicious - really light & just enough of it. The others had Hoisin Duck Rolls with leek & cucumber & a hoisin sauce, and Chicken Wings with a soya, honey and sesame glaze & a tamarind dip. Everyone was very happy after that nibble & the mood was jovial to put it mildly.


Wine was next... (having cocktails with dinner would really have been pushing it) 
Saba has a great & extensive wine list. We settled on a carafe of Pinot Grigio & a carafe of Malbec. Thumbs up all round again.
Our main courses arrived soon after our starters were cleared, probably a tad too soon. We would have liked just another few minutes, but I am being a little fussy here.
Our main courses were as delicious as our starters. I had a gorgeous veggie stir fry, with cashew nuts, red chilli & sweet basil. 2 of the girls also had this, one with prawns & the other with beef. And the non-spicy lovers of the group had a mild Massaman Chicken Curry with potato, onions, shallots & peanuts. All main courses were served with steamed rice. Everyone, without exception, really enjoyed the meal... but unfortunately, nobody had room for dessert! 


Overall, our experience in Saba was fantastic. The food is very reasonable, as were the cocktails. We did think the wine was a bit pricey - €21.50 for a carafe. It was delicious though to be fair ;) and had we chosen a house wine, it would have been about €16.50.
I'd highly recommend it & we'll definately be heading back!


After our long & boozy lunch, we headed for Croke Park in a horse and cart...don't ask :) 
And the night continued on with the excessive laughter & mighty craic that had begun in Saba.  
And I'm sure you will be thrilled to hear that Westlife were even more amazing than the lunch... Hurray! 

Banana Bread...

Oh Wafflers... I've been neglecting you! I do apologise. Things have been fairly hectic... holidays, new job, & have all over country for some reason.
I have had a little time for baking, and after the success of the Avoca Scones, I just had to give the Avoca Banana Bread a go! And I was not disappointed!
You will need one 2lb loaf tin for this recipe, or two 1lb tins. This recipe makes one large loaf or 2 small.


Ingredients:
225g/8oz Plain Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1 heaped teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1 Egg, beaten
75ml/3fl oz Sunflower Oil
A few drops of Vanilla Essence
65g/2.5oz Pecan Nuts, chopped
4 medium ripe Bananas, mashed


Method:
Sift the flour, salt, baking powder & cinnamon into a bowl & stir in the sugar. Mix in the egg, sunflower oil & vanilla essence but do not beat. Fold in the pecans & mashed bananas, using a fork. Again do not beat. Spoon into a lined 2lb/900g loaf tin (or two 1lb tins). Bake in a preheated oven at 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for 50-60 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown, and springs back when prodded gently with your finger. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.


It is delicious on it's own, but I served with some hot raspberries! Yum Yum!
It also freezes well, if you want to make a few at a time. 

Guilt-free Pizza... well nearly!

Homemade Pizza! Yummy! I bloody Love it! I'll say no more... just DO IT! DO IT!!!
The recipe below makes enough dough for 2 large pizzas & enough sauce for 3-4 pizzas. 
I took the dough recipe from Sophie Grigson's 'First Time Cook' - a really great book for all the basics! While it may look very long winded, and a lot of work, it really isn't. The dough & sauce can be made in advance, & just put together when needed.


Dough Ingredients:
400g Strong White Flour
1 tsp Salt
7g Yeast (granulated)
2 tbsp Olive Oil
250mls - 300mls Tepid water.


Method:
Sieve the Flour & Salt into a bowl. Stir in the granulated Yeast & make a well in the centre. Pour the olive oil into the well. Add approx 100mls of the water to the well. With a pallet knife or a rounded kitchen knife, stir the liquid into the flour mixture gently. Then use your hands to mix it further. Add some more water, just enough to make a soft & slightly sticky dough. Place on a floured surface & gently knead until smooth, for a good 10 minutes. Roll into a ball & place in a clean, large mixing bowl. Cover the bowl with cling film, and leave the dough to rise in a warm place, until it has doubled in size. This can take an hour or so.


In the meantime, you can make your pizza sauce...and preheat the oven to about 200 - 220 degrees (depending on how crispy you like your pizza base)


Sauce Ingredients:
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
Pinch of Sugar
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 small Onion, chopped
1/2 mild Red Chilli
1 Bay leaf
Small bunch Parlsey
1 sprig Thyme
Salt & Pepper (to taste)


Method:
Place all the ingredients in a saucepan, and place over a low heat for 20 - 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the thyme & the bay leaf, and blend quickly with a hand-held blender. Easy peasy!


When the dough has doubled in size, place on a floured surface once again. And then the fun part... literally punch all the air out of it! Once you have relieved all your frustration on the dough, knead again for about 5 minutes. Cut the dough into 2 even sized pieces, and roll with a rolling pin until nice and flat. Place on a baking tray or pizza tray, and spread some of your pizza sauce on top. Then add whatever toppings you fancy... top with fresh mozzarella & pop in the oven for about 10 minutes.


I promise you will not be disappointed! A delicious, healthy snack or dinner.