Saucy Saucy Seafood Spaghetti

I love seafood, I love spaghetti, so needless to say I love this dish. I grew up in Kilkenny -a landlocked county so we didn't often eat fish as children, but we've always been a seafood loving family. Luckily for me now my parents live in Co. Waterford -so fish is always on the menu at The Willows -& I say yum yum to that! Billy Burkes is our local fish monger -with a wide variety, decent prices & a friendly service my mum is in his shop at least once a week. Calamari is optional for this dish, but do get some if you can even if it's frozen, (which mine was for this).....& please don't be afraid to tackle it in the kitchen, you just need to follow the simple rule of very short cooking time or very long & you're on a winner!

       Serves 6/8       6- generous portions   8 - smaller portions

• The calamari take about an hour to defrost in cold water -so make sure to do this on time. I also used clams & mussels - you can use tiger prawns or scallops if you can't get one of the above
• Begin by finely chopping a large onion & two large cloves of garlic
• Depending on how many people you're cooking for chop 10 juicy red vine tomatoes -be strict about your tomatoes -before you buy them pick them up & smell them & if they don't smell like tomatoes -then go elsewhere & get some that do! I used my dads fresh from the garden :-)
• Gently sautee the onion followed by the garlic, be generous with the olive oil -be careful not to burn either as it really effects the taste
• Next finely chop 1-2 birds eye chilis (depending on your own tastes) or 1-2 normal large red chilis & add to the pan
• Finely chop 1 tbsp of capers -add
• Add a glass of white wine -simmer off the alcohol
• Add your tomatoes & simmer away with the lid on for about 30 mins
• In the meantime clean your mussels under cold running water-give them a good scrub, remove any beards (the stringy bits that help the mussels cling onto rocks) If any of them don't close during this process or when you tap the shell, discard -as they are dead. In terms of quantity I used about two large soup bowls full
• Clean your clams in the same way - 1 large soup bowl full
• When you've got 15 mins left, start to bring a large pot of water to the boil
• With 10 mins left cook your spaghetti or linguine as you prefer -i used one whole packet
• Cut your defrosted calamari into rings
• With 5 mins remaining, in a large pot with about an inch of boiling water throw in your mussels & clams, -stirring every now & then, when not stirring keep the lid on.
• With about 3 mins left, on a very hot frying pan with some oil put on your calamari  (I used two large calamari) continuously stir them around for 2 mins -set a timer to avoid rubbery squid!
• Keep and eye on the pasta & when it's slightly al dente -drain it and put it into a very large ceramic bowl (it helps to warm the bowl beforehand with some hot water from the kettle)
• Drain the clams and mussels discarding any that are closed
• Season your tomato sauce with sea salt & fresh black pepper, pour over the pasta, along with your seafood and give it a good mix -reserve some of the shellfish to scatter on top
• Garnish with a generous amount of fresh parsley & a good drizzle of olive oil-enjoy with friends & family.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HigQcnUzSQY    Delizioso -a little bit of Jamie in Venice -

Meatballs with Saucy Sauce

Meatballs...well, they're just really good when you make them yourself and you can easily make a sauce with fresh or tinned tomatoes. Just try and get some good quality mince because that will really make a difference. In terms of getting your kids involved in the kitchen this is the perfect dish, as they'll love forming the polpette and what kid doesn't like to eat meatballs and spaghetti...? -even the fussy ones!

• take 500g good quality beef mince
• add an egg, finely chopped onion, some breadcrumbs, herbs & garlic
• now get your hands in & really mix it all up -this sort of tenderises the mince
• form your meatballs...bite size are best I think
• on a medium/high heat large pan pour a little oil & brown the meatballs
• add a tin of tomatoes & some tomatoe puree or a jar of passata
• salt, pepper & fresh basil leaves
• a splash of red wine -make sure to boil off the alcohol
• cook away on a simmer for at least 30 mins....but the longer the better!
• serve with spaghetti & dress with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese ...do not wear white clothes when consuming these...!

Halloumi salad with Homemade Slaw

Halloumi, halloumi, halloumi -if you've never tried it, get your hands on some of this delicious cheese. It's traditionally a Cypriot cheese made from goats and sheep's milk, it's quite salty but that's why it's so good in a salad. You can grill it or fry and it doesn't melt, it goes a little squidgy and gets a sweet golden exterior.....mmmnnnnn....Shop bought coleslaw is just wrong -but if you like it, then try making your own at home and you'll never go back!

So to make this simple salad -

• slice up the halloumi cheese & gently fry on a dry pan until golden
• grate some red cabbage, carrot & apple
• mix the grated goodness with some lemon juice, a little mayonnaise & natural yogurt
• add some raisins if you fancy, season with pepper & salt
• now assemble your leafy salad....leaves, tomato,avocado -  keep it simple
• cut up the halloumi throw into the leaves
• dress with lemon juice, olive oil & toasted pumpkin seeds

Gorse Flower & Lemon Balm Sorbet

Okay, so we haven't been having a summer 'proper' but there have been a few days of above 20' temperature! And there's no better way to enjoy something sweet and cool down than with a sorbet. There is no definitive origin for the simple sorbet, some say Marco Polo brought a recipe back from China, others say it was the Roman Emperor Nero -having his lackeys run with buckets of snow along the Appian way to his gaff, where it was mixed with honey and wine! Traditionally it is served between courses to cleanse the palate, I like to enjoy it as the finale to a meal. Gorse is a wild, hillside plant with beautiful yellow flowers that smell of coconut. The smell sort of reminds me of a 'coconutty' sun tan lotion back in the 80's -but don't let that put you off! Lemon balm is a super easy herb to grow and is well known for it's calming properties. A tea infusion can easily be made by simply steeping the leaves in hot water.

• Put 500ml of water into a saucepan
• Add  2 tbsp of gorse flowers
• Add 1 tbsp of lemon balm leaves
• Add 300g caster sugar -dissolve on a low heat
• Boil for 1 minute -allow to cool
• Add the juice of 1 lemon
• Put the mixture into the fridge -the colder it is the quicker it will freeze
• Remove the lemon balm leaves -leave the gorse flowers
• Pour into an ice-cream maker and churn until desired consistency is reached
• Pop into a container and leave in your freezer -if you didn't quite get the consistency you wanted make regular trips to the freezer and give your sorbet a stir.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BTJ_n9Oqs0     Ice Ice Baby- a la Jim Carrey....funny!

Having Good Day

How to have a good day......or at least try!

I sat down at the computer this morning and was trying to decide which blog I'd do today and then I was just thinking about food , why I love it , why it's so good for the soul etc...and I thought about writing a different kind of recipe today...one which will hopefully nourish your mind....so here goes....
We are all hyper aware of the current negativity which seems to be permeating all forms of media, dinner table discussions and general chit chat on the street. Personally I find it all rather over whelming at times. I'm often torn between  wanting to listen to the news to keep myself 'educated' and 'aware' and then not wanting to depress myself by listening! Sometimes I don't listen for weeks ....and I seem to feel better. There is a general feeling of all of this being  completely out of our control and that can be very frightening indeed. I just recently finished a book about the laws of attraction and it made me realise that all of this negative thinking, this 'national scale' negative thinking is really bad for us. We have to remember that we have the power over our own thoughts, so what can you do for yourself on a day to day basis?  Try using some of the ingredients from the recipe below and see what happens.....

• Instead of listening to the news or god forbid watching sky news first thing in the morning, put on some music that you really really love...you could even create a 'good day playlist'....smiles guaranteed at the push of a button!   Stevie Wonder -the odds were against him and look what he did http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDbyOLzEyfk

• Make sure you aren't rushing in the morning, there's nothing worse than a dose of stress hormones to set you up for a bad day. Are 10 more minutes in bed really worth a bad day?
• Eat something healthy & tasty for breakfast, for example scrambled eggs on white sourdough bread and a nice cuppa tea or a bowl of granola with berries and yoghurt
• Be nice to your housemates/ family members -smile at them, look them in the eye and tell them you love them (where appropriate!)
• Remember that time is your most precious gift -why not use 5 mins to make a list of all the things in your life you're thankful for (you might surprise yourself!)
• If you're not happy walking out the door to your job in the morning think about what you might like to do and take some steps towards investigating the possibility of changing. Remember 'if nothing changes-nothing changes'
• Avoid negative people, energy vampires, dream killers ...life is just too short.
• Make a list of daily goals
• Be inspired -watch talks on ted.com. Listen to J.R. speak on ted.com

         http://www.ted.com/talks/jr_s_ted_prize_wish_use_art_to_turn_the_world_inside_out.html

• Make an 'I want' list but also make an 'I don't want' list.
• Only worry about the things you can do something about ...and then do something about them.
• Anger can be toxic -there are other ways to react to situations. Realise the effect your anger has on yourself and the people around you. 
• Don't be ruled by your ego, your ego is not your friend -see the next point.
• Go out today and buy a copy of 'A New Earth' by Eckhart Tolle -it will change your life for the better.
• Reward yourself -sometimes you just need to ask yourself  'What is the most loving thing I can do for myself right now?'   and if that means coffee and a croissant -do it!
• Smile at people you don't know (not in a psycho way) and never miss an opportunity to do a good deed.
• Realise that everyone comes into your life for a reason.
• Realise you can't be happy every minute of everyday and be okay with that.

Simple simple salad -Beetroot, Mackerel & Avocado

a simple salad of avocado & mackerel with beetroot chutney....

Who doesn't love fish? Yes, you are out there, you poor people who don't like fish, okay some of you have allergies but some of you just don't like 'fish'.... this may have stemmed from a traumatic fish incident when you were a child and that's such a pity. Maybe you could go speak to a professional and they will help you like fish again. Fish = Possibilities.....many. And we live on an island..... Island = fish.......!!

I used a very good quality Italian mackerel from a jar for this and actually I think that it probably worked better than fresh fish ...oh and there were no bones!  (I was in Italy so there was no chance of having mackerel from Irish waters)

• take some freshly cooked or jarred mackerel
• put into a bowl and smother with beetroot chutney (it has to be beetroot)
• prepare your salad leaves...baby leaves = good
• cut up some pieces of a ripe avocado
• cut some cherry tomatoes in half
• combine all of the above, gently season with pepper, salt  & olive oil
• toast some pumpkin seeds, sprinkle over the top
• eat and enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVMBhaSIcao     a fishy song by Mr. Scruff

Eat your heart out -Artichoke Risotto

This a fabulously summery risotto, creamy lemony......yummy! I really wanted to cook calamari yesterday but alas none were to be found in F&B and I didn't have the energy to go to Kish. I had a poke around the art installation that is the vegetable display in F&B and my sensory memory was taken back to last year when my very good Italian friend had cooked an artichoke risotto -so I picked up 3 globe artichokes and headed home trying to remember as much as I could about how he had prepared it. I couldn't remember exactly but the result was as they say molto buono. So follow me through the magic artichoke door......

Like risotto people are sort of fearful about the artichoke and yes it is a fiddly vegetable, somewhat like the fairy tale Rapunzel you have to break through a lot of armaments but eventually you reach the treasure and it is so worth it! Okay so you can either take all the inedible parts off the vegetable first and slice the heart into water with lemon to stop it going brown...but unless you really know the anatomy of artichokes this can be confusing ....so do as I did

• remove some of the outer leaves the ones that have nothing to offer your stomach 
• put into a large pot of boiling water with a quartered lemon
• simmer for 35/45 mins depending on size
• remove from the pot when you can squeeze the stalk
• allow to cool while you make a start on the basic risotto recipe as:

      /theopendoorsupperclub/2011/01/fearless-risottoa-new-alliance.html

• back to the cooled artichokes -peel off the outer leaves set aside
• slice up the heart and add to the risotto when it is almost finished cooking
• add the juice of a lemon and half the zest
• melt some butter add pepper and some lemon juice -drizzle over the artichoke leaves
• dish up the risotto finishing with some lemon zest and grated parmigiano
• enjoy with a nice glass of prosecco or white wine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh44QPT1mPE

A fitting song ....Neil Young -Heart of Gold