Chorizo & goats cheese stuffed potato skins

I would be the first person to admit that I am a bit of a glutton. I have only finished one meal and I am thinking what am I going to have for my next. I just love food. I love the planning, shopping, cooking and most of all the consuming of it. I don't like rushing at meal times and I hate wasting calories on boring sandwiches or ready meals. Almost everything we eat here is made from scratch and I love being in control of my children's diets. There are so many overweight children these days it really saddens me and without a doubt fast food & convenience meals are to be blamed. It's so easy to throw a healthy meal together in a matter of minutes so there is no excuse for not doing it. If children are not taught basic skills such as this from an early age there is not much hope for future generations.
Anyway enough of my ranting and on to today's lunch for myself and the little woman. I love baked potatoes and even better again is the delicious stuffed potato, completely delicious and filling enough to keep you going till dinner time.

For two servings you will need;

2 baking potatoes
100g chorizo
75g goats cheese
Handful of peas

Bake the potatoes in the oven for an hour or until they yield when squeezed.
Fry the chorizo in a pan, no need to add any oil as there is enough in the chorizo.
Cut the cooked potatoes in half and scoop out the flesh, add to the chorizo. Return the skins to the oven.
Add the peas and the majority of the goats cheese to the potato filling and stir well to combine.
Remove skins from oven and fill with the chorizo mixture. Top with remaining goats cheese and serve on a bed of rocket.
Simple, delicious, filling & far from boring!

Coffee & walnut bundt!

I should really call this a twice baked bundt as it had two bakes in the oven following a soggy bottom and liquid centre incident! Always hard to get the timings spot on when you are using a new cake tin for the first time. This recipe is ridiculously easy and comes from the always reliable Odlums Ireland website. One mixing bowl is all you need and it can be done by hand or in your mixer.

You will need;

175g self raising flour
175g margarine, room temperature
175g caster sugar
3 eggs
4tbsp of cooled fresh coffee
50g chopped walnuts

To ice;
100g icing sugar sieved, mixed with1-2tbsp of cooled fresh coffee until required consistency is achieved.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Grease and flour a bundt tin, make sure to shake away excess flour.
Place all ingredients for the cake into the bowl and mix.
Pour into the tin and bang gently on counter top to even out.
Place in oven for 30 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the tin before turning out.
Place on a serving dish before drizzling with the coffee icing.
Slice, serve and enjoy.

Warm fig salad

When I spotted some lonely looking figs in the fruit & vegetable section in work last night I couldn't leave them after me. I love all types of figs but a fresh one is hard to beat. Irresistible when baked with some honey in the oven, if you haven't tasted that yet, you haven't lived.

Simple lunch for one

2 figs
Drizzle of honey
2 slices of parma ham
Handful of walnuts, crushed
50g goats cheese
Handful of rocket

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Cut a cross in the top of each fig and wrap it in parma ham.
Drizzle the inside of fig with a little honey.
Place in oven for 20 minutes or until fig has softened.
Place some rocket on the plate and put the figs on top. Arrange the goats cheese and sprinkle the walnuts over the dish.
Finish with a drizzle of honey & balsamic vinegar.
Perfect for a lunch for one or as a starter for a dinner party.

Rainy days & Mondays.....

The 4 year old is finding his new school regime a bit tiring. It didn't help that this morning was dark, dreary, wet and Monday! 9:20am till 2pm seems a long time to be away from his mammy, his sister and his toys. He has a packed lunch at school and when he comes home he loves a piece of fruit, a biscuit and a glass of milk. When I went through my macaron making phase he adored the pink ones and keeps asking when am I going to make them again! I haven't the heart to say "never" to him but hopefully these little rose syrup cookies will keep him happy!

This is a handy little recipe and one of the few that I have memorised in my head. It's originally from the bible according to Darina, The Ballymaloe Cookery Course. It makes 12 shortbread cookies which you can leave plain or top with whatever you fancy. Feel free to add in lemon/orange zest, chocolate chips, raisins etc.

2oz caster sugar
4oz butter, softened
6oz plain flour

Preheat oven to 160 degrees.
Line a baking tray with grease proof paper.
Cream the butter and sugar together.
Add the flour to form a dough.
Roll into 12 individual balls and flatten them down onto the baking tray.
Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until golden.

To ice today's batch I used some icing sugar made into a paste with some rose syrup. Rose syrup is a handy little syrup to have in the cupboard, great drizzled over ice cream, in cocktails, added to whipped cream or stewed fruit also.

One of the best things about Isaac going to school is his little face lighting up in the school yard when he spots me at home time. All the tea in china wouldn't make me as happy. Such a shame that these little people have to grow up so fast.

What little treats do your children enjoy after school?

Butternut squash, sweet potato & chorizo soup!

When I was out running this morning I noticed that autumn was upon us! The heating will be soon switched on, the heavier coats taken out of the wardrobe and stews and casseroles on the dinner menu. I have always loved autumn, memories of long walks in St Anne's park kicking up hundreds of burnished fallen leaves and then home to a pot of soup springs to mind.
I love making soup and having a pot of it ready on the hob always makes me feel very virtuous, even if the reality is far from that! I find it best to just use two types of vegetables as otherwise there is no distinct flavour.
To make this lovely warming soup you will need;

1 butternut squash, no need to peel just deseed and cut into chunks
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, diced
Drizzle of rapeseed oil
500ml of chicken stock
75g chorizo, fried until crispy

Drizzle a large saucepan with the rapeseed oil and place over a medium heat.
Add the garlic & onion and gently cook until translucent.
Add the butternut, sweet potato and stock and bring to boiling point.
Allow to simmer for twenty minutes or until the vegetables are softened.
Take off the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes before blending.
Pour into warmed bowls and sprinkle the chorizo on top.
Enjoy!

Limoncello loaf

I love a nice simple lemon loaf and this morning I set out to do my usual recipe which you will find here:

http://paulaskitchentable.blogspot.ie/2012/04/old-fashioned-lemon-loaf.html

However I couldn't resist the bottle of limoncello looking out at me from the cupboard. It seemed a little early to be drinking liqueur so I simply replaced the lemon juice with a tablespoon of limoncello. I used icing sugar mixed with limoncello to decorate it and a sprinkling of lemon zest. Perfect!

Happy Birthday Mr Ryan!

Wonderful husband, wonderful dad, wonderful man. Count my blessings everyday. He has put up with a lot over the last 15 years and still manages to love me. Happy birthday Raymond!

This is Raymond's favourite thing in the world to eat! Not wildly exotic but traditional and a little bit naughty, quite similar to his wife really!

http://paulaskitchentable.blogspot.ie/2012/01/paula-prodigious-pavlova.html