Category: Recipes

  • Home-made bread: is it worth it?

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    julie
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    Irish mammies are masters of multi-tasking, as we know. From speaking with a mouthful of pins on the phone on their shoulder  to turning off and on a faulty computer as they boil a chicken. It’s all go. The one thing they’re really good at is making brown bread when the oven is on. I’ve…

  • Recipe: Sausage and cannellini stew

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    peter
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    On gloomy dark damp days like we have had recently, comfort food smashes down your front door with an axe, gently seals it up again, covers you with a nice blanket beside the fire in front of something like Coronation Street, and hands you a lovely bowl of hot stew and a cup of tea.…

  • Recipe: Creamy Macaroni Bake with Salami and Chilli

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    julie
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    Irish-born Katie Quinn Davies has done really well with her blog www.whatkatieate.com and award-winning book “What Katie Ate”. She’s also my partner in crime from school. All of her stuff is drool-worthy but I asked her what her most popular easy dinner recipe is. She said this gets the best feedback  by a mile. It…

  • Recipe for Kids: Bea's Biscuits

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    julie
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    I call these Bea’s biscuits because they’re so easy my seven year old, Bea, can make them. It’s a good task to give kids after school or on the weekends.  You can weigh out the ingredients with them and let them take over as if it’s playdough.  Except you eat it instead of forcing it…

  • Home-made Ice Pops – a sweet summer treat

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    Jean
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    Is there anything nicer than an ice pop in the summer time? Nope. There is not.  I’ve always hankered after water ices more than ice-cream, delicious as it is – they’re so much more refreshing.  Making them at home is the ultimate cheap eat, plus you can make them with quite healthy ingredients, and can…

  • Recipe: Gooseberry Chutney

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    julie
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    Do you remember that story about the selfish giant who hated having children in his garden and he’d shout and swing for them until one day he opened up his heart and realized it wasn’t so bad having them around? I’m like that with gooseberries. I have happy childhood memories of picking little wild gooseberries…

  • Recipe: Murphy's Sea Salt Ice Cream

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    julie
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    Ice cream machines often appear in Aldi or Lidl at this time of year. They make the process easier, but, even without one, it’s a very rewarding thing to do and not that difficult as ice cream is basically frozen custard. I heard Kieran Murphy from Murphy’s Ice Cream on the radio a couple of times recently.…

  • Recipe: Carrot Salad

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    julie
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    Carrots are the work of the devil’s boring brother-in-law who he hates getting stuck with at family parties.  As I child I didn’t like them in round slices (ok, I still don’t) and would cunningly hide squelchy carrot and parsnip mash under my cutlery.  Working in an old folks’ home as a student  involved weekends…

  • Recipe: Julie's Nettle Pesto

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    julie
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    Our favourite evil genius Julie is back, with a recipe that she promises will ‘give you the hair and bladder of Gwyneth Paltrow’. Argh! – Jean One of my children came in crying the other day after being stung by a nettle. This made me both sad and happy as I realized I’ve loads of…

  • Recipe: Aoife's Amazing Sticky Chicken

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    Jean
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    My pal Aoife McLysaght gave me this recipe and frankly, the English language is inadequate to describe just how delicious it is.  I’m going to have to learn Russian or something.  As well as being very tasty, it’s also extremely simple to make, and very affordable to put together. Hurray! I am struggling to find…