Hair of the Dog

After a little over indulgence  food can be your savior the next morning. Hair of the dog means having another drink -possibly not the best plan but it comes from the idea of having a little of what you had the night before i.e. a hair from the dog that bit you. Hopefully you weren't bitten by a dog 'cause that would just make the whole situation a lot worse. Eggs usually feature somewhere for me along with copious amounts of tea. The reason we crave salty foods is because we're dehydrated, so your body wants salt because salt increases your thirst and makes you want to hydrate -clever body! It's a good idea to plan ahead so get your goods in the day before. Here are my top ten morning after the night before foods.

Baked Eggs with Haddock and Spinach
1-
A fry up -a combination of any of the following
Eggs -poached or scrambled.
Sausages -spend a bit more and get some good ones, preferably free range pork. Gubeen smokehouse
have a nice selection and they're a small Irish producer.
Mushrooms -pop them whole on a pan and cook slowly with some butter, thyme, pepper and salt.
Baked beans -I like Biona Organic baked beans -they have some spices in them. If you can't
get them just throw in some cayenne pepper and cumin to yours. Cayenne is great for getting the
blood flowing through your system.
Rashers -grilled, for that hit of salt.

2-
A sausage sambo - on sourdough bread, with plenty of ketchup and or brown sauce.

3-
Tea -a very large pot of tea with hot buttered toast. You could use a drip if you have one lying around and
are in serious need of tea therapy.

4-
Sushi -okay so this one would require a trip to the outside world, there's something about the nori maki
the raw fish, the hot wasabi and pickled ginger that just makes this one really work, for me anyway.

5-
Eggs Benedict -it's worth the effort of making your own hollandaise, again use some sourdough bread
and wilted or fresh spinach. It's quite rich -so if your feeling queasy avoid this one.

6-
A sachet of Dioralyte -this is a nifty little helper. It's a powder with electrolytes which rehydrate your
system by rebalancing the salts in your blood. Only 42cent from your local pharmacy.

7-
French Toast -if your feeling like something sweet http://eatyerwords.blogspot.ie/2012/02/french-toast-my-guilty-pleasure.html

8-
Raspberry Risen Pancakes -had these the other day and they are very moreish. Taken from Spooning
With Rosie by Rosie Lovell. Makes 10 small pancakes.
  • Whisk 1 egg add 65g of self raising flour, 50g caster sugar, pinch of salt
  • Add 150ml milk
  • Add another 65g of self raising flour and make sure there are no lumps, use a hand blender if you've got some
  • Set aside for an hour -if you can wait
  • Heat some butter in a pan and when it's hot drop in 2 tablespoons of batter or enough to make a pancake about the diameter of a wine bottle, drop some raspberries onto the batter
  • Cook until golden on each side, serve with clotted cream or Greek yoghurt
9-
Baked Eggs -also just had these the other day, it's a Jamie Oliver recipe. Makes 4.
  • Turn oven on to 180'/Gas 4
  • Wilt 500g spinach in a pan with butter -strain it and press gently in a clean tea towel or between some pieces of kitchen roll
  • Cut up 200g smoked undyed haddock, mix with the spinach, add most of 4 tbsp single cream (keep some for the end), also add some fresh grated nutmeg
  • Pop into a ramekin and crack an egg on top, grate some Parmesan over add a little extra cream and sprinkle with pepper and salt, bake in the oven for 20mins, serve with buttered toast
10-
Fizzy Pop -not something I'd drink very often, but a cold (it must be cold) can of something fizzy and sweet is like manna from heaven. My favourite is San Pellegrino Limonata.

Raspberry Risen Pancakes with Clotted Cream