Bread and Butter Pudding - Good Old-fashioned Comfort Food

Traditional old-fashioned bread and butter pudding is one of my all time favourite foods.

It's a true comfort food, especially at this time of year. Both my Mother and my grandmother used to make it - perfectly !

Yesterday I had wanted to go for another walk to see the floods on the other side of me - but the clouds were dark and low in the sky, and it rained on and off all day. In a word it was dreary and nasty.

OK that's two words...

So

I stayed in and made bread and butter pudding.

Bread & Butter Pudding

8 slices white Bread (you can leave the crusts on as long as they aren't too hard)
Butter
2 ozs Sultanas
3 Eggs
2.5 ozs Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 pint Milk

1. Butter the slices of bread on one side.

2. Cut the bread into fingers.

3. Place the fingers in layers into a well greased ovenproof dish. After each layer sprinkle some sultanas before putting the next layer on.



It will look like this when you have them all in the dish.

4. Next heat the milk to boiling point.

5. In a bowl beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract together well.

6. When the milk is just boiling, pour it over the beaten egg mixture and beat it in well.

The beaten mixture will look like this.

7. Pour the hot mixture gently onto the bread fingers, as evenly as you can.

8. Leave it to soak right in for at least 30 minutes.

Have a cup of tea...

9. Once it has soaked in it will look something like this, and it is ready to be cooked.

10. Bake in a moderately hot oven at 180C - 350F - Gas mark 4 for about 40 minutes, or until set. The top should be a medium brown colour. Nice.

11. Remove it from the oven, serve and eat.

A Walk to the East To See The Floods

How about this for diversity - one farmer likes his well trimmed and the other likes his wild and loose...

Part of the swamp at the back of my place - luckily its a nature conservation area

This was just amazing - this is cloud just rolling over the top of one part of the Burren

Incredible cloud formation on the Burren

So still - so tranquil - after such storms for 2 whole weeks

The scale of the flooding in unprecedented - yet beautiful

This was my way out !! Good job I have plenty food in...

The Kinvara - Gort road - or it was......

Running flood water

Floods

Flood waters

This was still frozen at 2pm

Equine communications...

Hello there !

A donkey - there were 3 in the field

This is what some people around here do..... There is very little respect or care for the environment from some people

Distant flood waters

Ferns in the hedge

Ivy in flower - masses of flowers on it this year

Pink shrub flowers - I'm looking the name up with add it tomorrow !

More pink flowers

This is one road in - the flood water washed away the road and the council have quickly filled it with stone to that its drivable

These were the clouds today...

Hello...

The World's Healthiest Meal - An Anti Cancer Curry

I was recently browsing around news sites and newspapers, and especially the health, food and medical news, doing my usual thing and getting lost in time...

After a lot of reading bits here and there, I found an article in the Telegraph talking about an Anglo Indian chef who was fanatical about finding the perfect curry - a superfood - superspice curry.

My interest was piqued !

Gurpareet Bains is an English born Anglo Indian cook and nutritional therapist, who has an incredible passion for what he is interested in - and it happens to be extremely healthy food which tastes incredible !


He has developed - designed - invented - whatever you want to call it - The Ultimate Cancer Fighting Curry - which also happens to be incredibly healthy in many other respects.

It is in fact a chicken and blueberry curry, with goji berry pilau rice. Gurpareet says that it can help fight off carcinogenic cells. But it also contains many traditional ingredients like ginger, turmeric, chilli and garlic, which are all in their own right a superfood. And all are antiviral and antibacterial.

Every portion of this incredible curry contains the same nutrition as 49 helpings of spinach, 23 bunches of grapes or 9 helpings of broccoli. The article explains that experts have agreed that it contains up to 20 times as much nutrition as any specially formulated 'healthy' meal.

Gurpareet says that you need only eat this once a week to help deal with the prevention of cancers and many other illnesses such as Alzheimers.

So - what is in this incredible meal ?

I emailed Gurpareet and asked him if he would mind if I included his recipe on my blog. His reply was enthusiastic and he was kind enough to agree.

So here it is...

Chicken Curry with Blueberries & Goji Berry Pilau Rice
(serves 4)

20g chopped Coriander
200g fresh or frozen Blueberries
2 tablespoons freshly grated Ginger
Sea Salt
500g low fat Greek Yogurt
4 cloves Garlic - chopped
5 tablespoons extra virgin Olive Oil
2 teaspoons ground Turmeric
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon Chilli powder
500g uncooked Chicken breast
1 teaspoon Garam Masala
Fresh Coriander leaves
2 teaspoons Cumin seeds
1 small Onion - sliced
1 Carrot - grated
1 & 3/4 cups of Water
1 cup Basmati Rice
50g Goji Berries
Handful of peas (fresh or frozen)

The Curry


1. Blend 20g of chopped coriander, the blueberries, the grated ginger and 3/4 of a teaspoon of salt with the low fat Greek yogurt. Once well blended put this to one side.

2. Put the chopped fresh garlic into a saucepan with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Heat on a low-medium heat until the garlic starts to brown. Just 1 or 2 minutes.

3. Add 1 teaspoon of turmeric and mix it in well. Heat for 20 seconds.

4. Mix in the ground cinnamon and the chilli powder. Cook this for another 20 seconds.

5. Add 500g of uncooked chicken breast meat, which has been cut into bite sized pieces.

6. Seal the meat, stirring frequently. This should take no more than 5 minutes.

7. Next slowly pour the yogurt mixture (that you prepared above) into the saucepan with the meat.

8. Bring this to a simmer on a low heat.

9. Simmer for 10 minutes. Do not cover. Stir it from time to time.

10. Then stir through the Garam Masala.

11. The curry is made. Garnish with some fresh coriander leaves.

The Rice

12. Place the cumin seeds and 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a saucepan.

13. Heat on a low to medium heat until the seeds begin to pop. This should take no more than 3 minutes.

14. Add the sliced onion and cook until it is soft.

15. Add 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder. Stir it in and heat for 20 seconds.

16. Add the grated carrot and cook for 2 minutes.

17. Boil 1 and 3/4 cups of water.

18. Place the onion mixture, 1 cup of basmati rice, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the boiling water into a large microwavable bowl. Mix well with a fork.

19. Cook, uncovered, in the microwave for 4 mins (700W), 3.5 mins (800W), 3 mins (900W).

20. Mix it well again.

21. Cook again, uncovered, for 4 mins (700W), 3.5 mins (800W), 3 mins (900W).

22. Now cover the bowl (clingfilm if no lid) and cook for 4 mins (700W), 3.5 mins (800W), 3 mins (900W).

23. Remove from the microwave and add the Goji berries and the peas. Fork them in.

24. Re-cover the bowl and let it stand for 10 minutes.

25. Fluff the pilau rice up with a fork and serve with the curry.

Gupareet Bains website is at www.gupareetbains.co.uk Please take a look - he has some amazing ideas.

Irish Atlantic Salmon with Baby Pasta, Tomato Pesto & Mascarpone

Hi again - I just wanted to share something that I whipped together quickly to take to this evening's party. It's easy to make, although I just threw the stuff in - so adjust the quantities to your taste !

Irish Salmon Darns with Baby Pasta, Tomato Pesto & Mascarpone

4 Salmon Darns (fresh, boneless & skinless strips)
Baby pasta (this is very miniature short tubes)
1 cup or mug Tomato Pesto
2 heaped tablespoons Mascarpone (triple cream cheese made from creme fraiche which is denatured with the whey removed)
Freshly ground Pepper
Sea Salt

1. Poach, steam or bake (covered) the salmon. Put to one side.

2. Cook the pasta as per the packet. When cooked, drain it and rinse under a cold tap to get rid of the starchy residue.

3. Flake the salmon into a bowl.

4. Add the salt, pepper, pasta, tomato pesto and mascarpone. Mix gently but well until evenly distributed.

5. Taste (best bit) and add more salt and pepper to taste.

Serve cold as a buffet / side dish, alternatively you can serve it hot as a main meal.

If you don't have baby pasta, normal will do. But be very careful not to swamp the heavenly salmon, pesto and mascarpone with the big lumps of pasta.

Belgian Chocolates - Homemade

Tonight I am going to a house-warming party at the house of a dear friend. She has moved into my area from away and it's lovely to have her so close again (we lived in the same town a good few years ago).

I'm going to make a bowl - plate of something for all to share which is how we do these things, but I also want to take them a small gift to say welcome to the area !

I have decided to make my homemade Belgian chocolates, as they seem to always disappear fast and they look real cute when decorated and packaged...

Here what I am using today, although this varies hugely depending what's in my cupboard at the time -

Homemade Belgian Chocolates

Callebaut Belgian milk chocolate drops (brought from Belgium courtesy of Ryan Air by more dear friends of mine as they know I'm a devil for making chocolates!)

Glacé Cherries

Hazelnuts (gathered locally last winter)

Walnut halves

Dried Apricots (cut in half lengthwise)

Marzipan (rolled into balls and squashed flat to make circles)

Almond slithers (sliced almonds)

Pine Nuts

1. First melt as much chocolate as required in a glass bowl sat over a small saucepan of boiling water. Be very careful not to get a single drop of water in the chocolate as this will turn it hard and lumpy.

2. Remove the glass bowl from the saucepan.

3. Using 2 forks coat the various nuts, cherries, apricots and marzipan with the chocolate. This is most efficient on chocolate if you pass the coated nut from 1 fork to the other, letting the real excess chocolate drip off.

4. Place each chocolate straight onto a tray with a sheet of greaseproof paper on it.

5. I put an almond slither on the marzipan chocolates and a pine nut on the apricot halves.

6. Place the tray of wet chocolates in a cool dry place, and let them dry and set naturally. This usually takes 2 or 3 hours. You will know when they are dry and the shine disappears.

7. When they are set you can package them as you wise. Sometimes if I make a large tray full for a party etc, I simply use a very elegant tray and place several doilies on it. Put the chocs on top and sprinkle lightly first with cocoa powder and then with icing sugar. Et voila !

Alternately you can put them carefully in pretty boxes and tie with ribbons etc for gifts.

Vanilla, Chocolate & Walnut Fudge

This is a great fudge to make for Christmas presents, and everyone always loves homemade pressies.

If you can find pretty boxes or baskets to put it in, even better. Ribbons and tissue paper add to the luxury feeling if you can find those too.

I have loads of fudge, chocolates and other sweet recipes, and I will post a few in the run up to Christmas in case anyone wants to save money and make gorgeous presents for family and friends.

Vanilla, Chocolate and Walnut Fudge

1.5 lbs granulated white Sugar
2 ozs Butter
1 tin Condensed Milk (a 397g tin)
150 ml Water
2 tablespoons grated Milk Chocolate
2 tablespoons very finely chopped Walnuts
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1. Prepare a tin for the fudge by greasing it with butter (not the 2ozs for the fudge). A 6" or 6.5" square tin is perfect.

2. Put the water, the condensed milk, the butter and the sugar into a saucepan.

3. Heat this on a low heat, gently, and remember to keep stirring it. Keep at this until the sugar is all dissolved and the butter has melted in.

4. Turn the heat up to about medium. Bring the mixture to the boil, still stirring all the time.

5. Boil it until it reaches the 'soft ball' stage (detailed below).

6. Remove the fudge from the heat when it reaches this stage.

7. Add the grated chocolate, the walnuts bits and the vanilla extract to the fudge mix.

8. Beat this in hard until the mixture becomes a bit grainy (thick and creamy).

9. At this point pour the fudge into the tin. Leave it to cool somewhere safe.

10. When it is almost cold, cut the fudge into squares. Then leave it to finish getting cold.

11. Once it is totally cold you can remove it from the tin.

Either enjoy and eat it ! Or give it away as pressies !

It will last about 3 weeks easily.

Leek & Bacon Gratin (or just Leek Gratin)

This is a favourite 'throw it all together' dish of mine, and I have had to concentrate to work out the quantities so that I can share it with you !

You can make it with bacon or without, so it is great for both carnivores or vegetarians... everyone's happy !

I often make it as a main meal as I am a leek freak, but it also makes a great vegetable side dish for a roast dinner or any main meal really.

Leek and Bacon Gratin / Leek Gratin

4 large Leeks (and I mean large - if not huge then use a lot more to make up - the leeks are important!)
10 slices unsmoked Back Bacon (rashers in Ireland and bacon in the UK - I haven't a clue what you call it in the states)
4 ozs (1 cup) grated Cheddar Cheese
1/2 pint (1.25 cups) Milk
1 Egg (beaten)
1/4 pint (150ml or 2/3 cup) single Cream (light or pouring cream)
1 tablespoon English Mustard (ready made)
Sea Salt & fresh ground Black Pepper

1. Chop the leeks into good sized pieces, about an inch each roughly.

2. Poach the leeks in the milk with salt and pepper to taste (place both in a pan, boil and then simmer for 15 minutes).

3. Remove the leeks from the liquid (but keep the milk for later). Put the leeks in a shallow oven proof dish (a lasagne style dish is perfect). Make sure the dish is well buttered.

4. Miss this bit out if you are vegetarian. Slice the bacon into strips and fry gently until the fat runs out of them. Once that has happened, fry on a hotter heat until they are nice and crispy.

5. Place the bacon strips on top of the cooked leeks and mix in a bit.

6. In a bowl, beat together the egg, the single cream and the mustard.

7. Add the beaten mixture to the left over milk in the saucepan, and mix in well.

8. Heat this gently. DO NOT let it boil please. Just let it thicken a bit.

9. Pour this sauce over the leeks.

10. Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the top. (If you have one) slice a fresh tomato and lie the slices over the top to decorate.

11. Place in the oven at 180c for about 20 minutes, or until the top starts to colour. Alternatively for more speed, you can just brown it under a grill.

As a variation you can sprinkle fresh ground nutmeg on the top before putting it in the oven.

Christmas Cake

This recipe makes a cake about 8 inches in diameter.

You will need additional brandy for dripping in the cake between now and Xmas !

It's important that you make the cake now - at least a month before it's required, as the flavours need to mature and blend.... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Christmas Cake Recipe

2 lbs mixed Dried Fruit (sultanas, raisins, currants etc)
2 ozs sliced Almonds
2 ozs finely chopped Walnuts
4 ozs Glacé Cherries (candied) (cut in halves)
4 ozs chopped Mixed Peel (candied)
2 teaspoons mixed spice
8 ozs Plain Flour (all purpose)
8 ozs Butter (soft)
8 ozs soft dark brown Sugar
Pinch of Salt
1 tablespoon Black Treacle (molasses)
Rind of 1 Orange (finely grated)
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
4 large Eggs
1/4 pint of Brandy

1. Put the sifted flour and mixed spice in a mixing bowl.

2. In another bowl put the dried fruit, almond slices, chopped walnuts, cherry halves, and mixed peel. Mix it all up. Add 1 tablespoon of the flour from the first bowl and mix it in well to cover all the fruit etc.

3. In a third large bowl cream the butter and soft brown sugar until it is all light and fluffy.

4. Add the black treacle, orange rind and vanilla extract to the 3rd bowl with the butter and sugar. Mix it all well, in fact you can beat it.

5. Still using the 3rd bowl, add the eggs one at a time, each time adding a little of the flour from the 1st bowl to stop it curdling. Beat it well after each egg is added.

6. Add the fruit and remaining flour gently to the 3rd bowl, folding it in, adding 3 tablespoons of the brandy at the same time.

7. Mix it all well.

8. Use an 8 inch diameter round tin, or a 7 inch square tin. Use a loosed based baking tin if at all possible. Line it with 3 layers of greaseproof paper (sides and bottom) and leave 2 inches of paper above the tin all round.

9. VERY IMPORTANT - Around the outside of the tin tie a thick band of folded newspaper or brown paper. Tie this securely with string.

10. Put the cake mixture into the prepared tin. Smooth the surface down well, nice and flat, and then make a bit of a slight hollow in the middle.

The cake is now ready for baking. You can leave it like this overnight if you don't have time to bake it the same day.

11. Heat the oven to 160c (325f or Gas 3).

12. Place the cake in the centre of the oven and cook for about 1.5 hours, or until it is just starting to brown.

13. Reduce the heat to 150c (300f or Gas 2) and cook for another 3 hours or until cooked.

14. Protect the top of the cake from burning or over browning by covering it with tin foil or brown paper when appropriate (not before).

15. When it is cooked, the top will feel springy and when you poke a thin skewer all the way in it will come out clean.

16. Leave the cake until totally cold before removing all the papers and turning out of the tin.

17. Turn the cake upside down. Using a skewer, poke holes in the bottom of the cake. Pour the remaining brandy into the holes and let it soak in.

18. When it is soaked in, wrap the cake in greaseproof paper and then a layer of tin foil. Store in an airtight container.

19. Each week, unwrap it, make a few more hole in the top and bottom (alternate weeks) and pour in more brandy.

20. If you wish to almond paste and ice the cake, you don't do this until 2 weeks before Christmas.

Almond paste and icing will be in a later post.

Very Simple Walnut Fairy Cakes

At the end of last week I was making some simple fairy sponge cakes for a friend who liked them made with sultanas in them, but I had run out of sultanas.

I looked around my kitchen shelves for something else I could put in them, to add interest and for it not to be just plain sponge...

The best I could find that the friend also liked was walnuts !

So - here is my walnut fairy cake recipe, which I'm including here as they turned out to be really yummy and nutty. Nothing fancy, no icing etc, just yummy cake in small portions.

Simple Walnut Fairy Sponge Cakes

4 ozs Butter
4 ozs Self Raising Flour
4 ozs Castor Sugar
2 Eggs
3 ozs Walnuts (very finely chopped)
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon heaped of Baking Powder

1. Put the butter and the sugar into a bowl and beat them together until the mix is creamy, soft and almost fluffy.

2. Beat the 2 eggs well in a mug or a cup.

3. Add the eggs to the mix, just a little at a time with a tablespoon of the flour each time. Beat them into the mixture. You add the flour to ensure that the eggs and the mix don't curdle.

4. Add the remaining flour, the baking powder, the vanilla extract and the chopped walnuts and fold them gently into the mixture.

5. Place small paper cake cases into the holes in a muffin tin, or if you only have baking trays, spread them out on the tray.

6. Put a large teaspoon of the mixture into each paper cake case.

7. Cook in a pre heated oven at 190C for just 10 to 15 minutes. Don't let them get too brown, so you may need to watch them.

You can cool them on wires racks... if you can wait that long !

Sloe Jelly

This is a very old traditional recipe and makes the most delicious tart jelly which has a multitude of uses, not least with your turkey for Christmas dinner or Thanksgiving if you live in the states.

The recipe below has a ratio of 4lb apples to 3/4lb of Sloes, and this is quite heavy on the apples as many people find sloes hard to find. This year, in the west of Ireland, they are almost impossible to find as for some reason it has been a terrible year for them (the apple crop is also very poor).

I have various other Sloe Jelly recipes which have varying proportions of apples to sloes. They range from 1lb apples to 3lbs sloes, to the 4lb apples 3/4lb sloes one below, with various combinations in between.

I don't think it matters as all will work, just use what you have available and obviously which combination is mostly to your personal taste.

I even have one which uses crab apples instead of normal apples.

In all cases you just chop the apples. Don't peel them and don't core them, just use all of the apple.

Sloe Jelly Recipe

3/4 lb of Sloes
4lb Apples
White Sugar (you can also use Jam Sugar for an easier set)
2 Lemons

1. Wash all the fruit.

2. Chop the apples and lemons into chunks. I always use organic lemons as they do not have the wax coating that non organic ones always have. I don't want chemical wax in my food !

3. Put the apples and lemons into a largish pan, and cover them with enough water to just about cover them, no more.

4. Bring the pan to the boil and then simmer for about 1.5 hours, until the fruit is completely like pulp.

5. Put the sloes in another pan, just about cover with water and bring to the boil. Simmer them also until they are very pulpy and mushy.

6. Set up a jelly bag, or muslin cloth, over a large bowl or food grade plastic bin.

7. Once both pans of fruit are in a state of mush (I like that word), put the mush, pulp and all the contents of the 2 pans into the jelly bag/muslin cloth over the bowl.

8. Leave this for several hours, or even overnight, to drip through gently. Don't be tempted to hurry it and squeeze the bag, as you will just get cloudy yukky jelly.

9. Put the resulting fruit juice into a big clean pan.

10. Add 1lb of sugar for every 1 pint of juice (imperial pints UK, not US pints).

11. Heat this gently until all the sugar is dissolved.

12. Once the sugar is dissolved, bring the mix to a boil. Keep it boiling for 10 minutes and then test to see if it is setting.

13. Once setting point has been reached, allow it to cool for 10 minutes and then pour it into sterilised glass jars and seal them immediately whilst hot.

This, as usual, will keep for at least a year in a cool, dark place. It's best kept in the fridge once opened though.