The Irish Heritage Cookbook

This cookbook is only 96 pages and offers recipes that are contributed and inspired by a long list of the author's family members in Ireland. There are plenty recipes to choose from and the nine chapters bring a taste of the emerald isle into your home. This cookbook may be small however it gives a no fuss, straightforward, here are the recipes approach; which makes finding a recipe very efficient. 

If you do celebrate or if you do not celebrate St. Patrick's Day this bread recipe will add something a little different to your breakfast, lunch or dinner. 

Mercedes' Guinness Bread (an adaption of the popular beer bread)

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2 packages od dry yeast

1/2 cup of warm water

1 tablespoon sugar

1 bottle of Guinness stout (6.3 oz)

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

2 teaspoons salt 

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 1/2 cups unsifted white flour

1 teaspoon ginger

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 375º

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water and 1 tablespoon of sugar; set aside for 5 minutes.

Heat stout, honey and margarine until warm. Add stout mix to the dissolved yeast and stir into 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in the remaining flour, ginger and caraway seeds to make a soft dough.

Shape into a ball. Knead on a floured board until smooth, about 3 minutes. Form into a round loaf and with floured knife make a cross through centre of the bread. Place in a greased 8 inch round cake tin. Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour. Bake at 375º for 30 minutes or until done. Remove from pan and brush with butter. Cool on rack. 

Avocado Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

I diligently made these cupcakes this morning. I was very curious to see and mostly to taste, if using avocado in replace of butter was going to make that much of a difference. I can honestly say it does not. The batter... yes I had to sneak a taste because to me that is the true test. What the batter tastes like is a precurser to the end result. Remember licking the beaters, the wooden spoon and running your finger along the inside of the mixing bowl as a child? If there was baking to be done and when all was said and done then there certainly were beaters to be licked! 

The recipe came from Avocado Central. It is a great website that has many recipes dedicated to avocados. I urge you to give this recipe if for nothing else other than to see how easily avocados may replace butter. For this recipe, Avocado Red Velvet Cupcakes click *here*  They taste virtually the same as if made with butter or oil. 

This is what they looked like when they came out of the oven. A lovely reddy brown colour and spongy cake like texture.

All dressed up and ready to be eaten. I did not make the Honey Avocado Icing as suggested instead I made a Cream Cheese one.

Surprise dessert time! I am sure these will be gobbled up in no time. As I did with mine. 

- JW 

My Big Greek Salad

I know it is Thursday and I can hardly say this is a throwback Thursday because I always eat salads. This was my dinner last night, my version of a greek salad. Mixed herbed greens with chunks of cucumber, red onion, crisp green peppers, slices of radishes and quartered juicy hothouse tomatoes. Topped with fried Halloumi cheese and a homemade herb dressing. I chopped a reasonable amount of veggies which means there are leftovers for lunch today.  I do have some avocados kicking around so I will have my salad with additional slices of buttery avocados.  Hope your Thursday isn't too much of a throwback! - JW   

Applesauce, and Avocado Oil Banana Bread

I decided to make banana bread and play around with the ingredients a bit. I wanted to cut some of the fat, add healthy fat and keep it moist as ever. I omitted vegetable oil and used avocado oil and applesauce instead. By doing this it has accomplished all three. I usually add or should I say requested to add chocolate chips to any banana bread I am making. However this time I wanted to appreciate the flavour of the avocado oil. Even if it was minimal. Regardless, banana bread is generally sweet enough. The texture of this loaf is light, spongy, and very moist. I am quite pleased with my efforts in transforming this classic recipe.          

Applesauce, and Avocado Oil Banana Bread

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3 -4  ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

1/3 cup avocado oil

1/3 cup applesauce

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

3/4 caster sugar

1 cup  unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon mixed spice

pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Then grease or line, with parchment paper, a deep loaf tin. 

In a separate bowl blend the flour, baking soda and mixed spice. Set aside.

In a large bowl mash the bananas. Then add the avocado oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Stir together until blended. Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Pour in the sugar. Stir until all is blended. 

Add the dry ingredients all at once to the wet ingredients and blend together. Once the batter has come all together pour into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until the top is nicely brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack. 

Notes: I have a loaf pan that is a bit longer than a regular loaf pan and deep so I used that. You can use regular all purpose flour. I just like to use unbleached.

Applesauce Scones

That big jar of applesauce in the refrigerator was starting to call out to me. I found this recipe from a cookbook I have called, Apples, Apples, Apples. The recipe is a bit different... more cake like in texture. And no eggs! 

Applesauce Scones

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1 cup (250ml) all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons (20ml) baking powder

1/2 teaspoon (2ml) salt

2 tablespoons (25ml) white sugar

1/4 teaspoon (1ml) cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon (1/2ml) nutmeg

2 tablespoons (25ml) butter

1 tablespoon (15ml) currants

1/2 cup (125ml) cold, thick applesauce

1. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, 1 tablespoon (15ml) sugar, and spices into a medium bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs.

2. Add currants. Stir in applesauce. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly. Pat dough into a buttered glass 9-inch (22.5cm) pie plate. Score lightly with a knife into 6 wedges. Sprinkle with remaining sugar.

3. Bake at 375ºF (190ºC) for 15 to 18 minutes. Serve hot with butter and cheese.  

Notes: I used a square non-stick tin because I did not have a glass pie plate. 

- JW   

Let Them Eat Cake!

I have a couple of little souls who need cheering up so I made this delicious carrot cake. It was only intended to be one layer however I cut it in half, sandwiched the cream cheese icing between the layer and made this a double decker cream cheese carrot cake! I didn't want to carry the icing all the way around. I quite enjoy the raw, roughness of the cake with loose lashings of icing. Sometimes there can be a heavy hand where icing is concerned. Where ultimately the cake becomes forgotten. With a simple sweet icing such as this, less is more.

Cream cheese icing may be a bit tricky. I have tried many recipes only to have them look and taste less desirable than imagined. Here is the recipe I stumbled upon...

Cream Cheese Icing

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1/4 cup (60ml) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup (60ml) butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon (2ml) vanilla

1 - 1/2 (375ml) icing sugar

In a bowl beat the cream cheese with the butter; beat in the vanilla. Beat in the icing sugar in two additions until smooth.  

Have a good weekend everyone! - JW 

Broccoli Cheese Risotto

Serving up something cheesy always has it's advantages. This risotto is easy and comforting, to say the least. To make this simple yet satisfying dish you will need the following...

1 white onion, diced

a crown of broccoli, raw and chopped

2/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1/4 cup asiago cheese, grated

1/2 cup old farmer's cheddar cheese, grated

3 tablespoons of olive oil

2/3 cup dry white wine

3 cups low sodium vegetable stock

1-3/4 cups risotto rice (Italian or arborio)

   

First you want to heat the olive oil in the saucepan. Add the onion and cook over low to medium heat. Stir occasionally for about 10 minutes or until soft. Then add the broccoli and cook for a few minutes.  

When the broccoli has turned a nice bright green colour, stir in the rice. Stir and cook for at least 1 minute or until the rice is translucent. Whatever remaining oil that is left in the pan will coat the rice.  

Pour in the wine and simmer for 1 minute, stirring until all the wine has been absorbed. Gradually adding the stock. You do not have to pour all the stock in at once... gradually and slowly. Reserving half of the stock until most of the liquid is absorbed from the first addition. Add the remaining stock. Increase the heat so that the liquid simmers. Simmering for about 15-20 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed. You want the rice to be creamy however firm to the bite. With this recipe the rice should not be mushy.

Once all the stock has been absorbed remove from heat and add the cheese. Gently stir until all the rice has been coated. You may season with salt and pepper if you wish. Serve immediately. 

Hope everyone is having a good week! - JW