Blackberry, Apple and Chia seed jam (no sugar!)

It's coming into the Autumn time and the blackberries are out! I picked loads this year and made some jam and an apple pie.This time I decided to make it completely natural and sugar free jam.
Make sure when you pick the berries that they don't come off the stem too easily or are too difficult to pull off. It means they are not good enough to eat or aren't ripe enough yet. Soak the berries in water over night while changing the water a few times if you can to make sure they are extra clean.

Ingredients:
-Blackberries
-Cooking apples
-Honey
-Chia Seeds

So first I peeled and stewed the apples with the blackberries. (roughly x3 apples to x200g of berries)I then let it simmer for 15 minutes. Add a few table spoons of honey.
Blackberries can be quite bitter so the honey takes this away making it more sweet.
Take off the heat. A few table spoons of Chia Seeds depending on how much you Have made. The Chia Seeds help set the jam as there is no sugar in it to make it set.

So enjoy this tasty Sugar Free jam without feeling guilty! It's yummy in yoghurt, porridge, bread, scones,!
If you want to have dairy free cream with it, whip up some coconut milk ;)


Holly
Xox

Dutch Style Apple and Blackberry Pie

I've always wanted to make a Dutch Style Apple so I gave it a shot the other day. This specific type of pie is known from or its lattice designed n on top. I have searched high and low to find out did it mean anything but I couldn't find anything to explain this. Now I was warned by my friend Aisling how difficult it was to actually do the lattice but there was no stopping me at that stage! So since its coming into late September,I picked blackberries and let them soak over night while changing the water a few times to make sure they were extra clean!

What you will need:
A circular pie dish where you can push up the end

For the Pastry:
-280gr of flour
-168gr of butter or margarine
-168gr of castor sugar
-1 egg
(Flour for dusting)

For the Filling:
- 3-4 cooking apples
-60g of sugar (or less/more depending on your sweet tooth)
-Cinnamon (to taste)
-Blackberries
- Flour
To make the pastry:
-Leave the butter at room temperature until soft. Cut into small pieces and add it in a bowl with the flour and castor sugar.
-Rub the mix together until it turns into a crumb texture. Rub with only using the tops of your fingers or else the temperature of the mix will ruined if you use your hands.
When I first started rubbing pastry my fingers used to always hurt and my patience was really going through the roof but believe me , it really does pay off.

Teaching my little sister Eve how to rub the mix

-When it is a crumb mixture , quickly crack your egg into a SEPERATE bowl  and mix it. Add to the crumb mixture bit by bit. Not all of it because you might need to use all of it! So fold the wet mix in the bowl and keep working it for a while until it comes to a ball of pastry. If it's too dry add more of the egg in.
Note: It will be sticky if it's too wet

-Dust your clean work space with flour and put the ball of dough on top. Dust the pastry with flour. ---Rub flour around your rolling pin to stop the pastry from sticking to it
-Roll out your pastry. Never ever turn the pastry upside down. When you've rolled out on section , rotate it and roll out.
-This pastry can be a bit tricky to work with as you want it half a centimetre thick and need to get it into the pastry dish. It is the type of pastry where if it does break you can patch in some pieces and make it stick together!
-Grease your pie dish and pop the pastry in . Dock it with a fork.

For the filling: 
Cut up the apples and let them soften in a pit with the blackberries. I only like my apples soft the twist they just stew and lose shape in the tart. Add a pinch of cinnamon and sugar. Taste and add more sugar if you like it sweeter. Take it off the heat and add flour just to coat all the mix. This help stops all the juices running out and making the pie wet and soggy !!!
Put the filling into the dish and now you can start your lattice design

Roll out the leftover pastry and cut strips out of it . Literally overlap and underlap each strip. This has to be quick work because the pastry will begin to fall apart  !
Brush with egg wash and bake for 1 hour at 150c.

I did the lattice design the hard way. But there is an alternative faster way such as using a lattice cutter or using a pizza cutter!! Next time I will try this way and see if it works better. 

The pie turned out fantastic for my first attempt and tasted lovely as well. Well so my friends and family told me anyway !! Goes perfect with some ice cream and a cup of tea !!perfect for cosy Autumn evenings.  

Holly
Xox

Baked Hake and Blue cheese spiced tomatoe sauce

Oooohhh it's been awhile since I've had fish, especially Hake! Got these gorgeous massive pieces in O Connels in the English Market this morning. I didn't have a clue and did not plan what I was going to put with it so I had to rummage through the cupboards to try make something nice.

 To cook the hake.

I first put a pan on  with a good squeeze of oil in it until it's just about smoking hot. I then place the hake in, skin side down and leave sizzle for a few minutes. I seasoned it with cracked black pepper! After a while (until the skin is nice and Crispy). I turned the fish for two minutes. I then placed the fish into tin foil with some butter and a squeeze of lemon and out into the oven u til cooked through. This will depend on the size! 

The sauce..

So basically whatever I found in the cupboard and fridge that I thought would go together.I got a tin of chopped tomatoes, chickpeas, onions, olives, spices ( cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, paprika, cayenne)  I toasted the spices first and fried off the onions. Added the blue cheese in last. ( cashel Blue Is best blue cheese to get here which is sourced locally. Aaahhh so tasty! I had to put it in. The best part is when it starts to melt and you an see all the stringy bits!) let it simmer for ten minutes and serve over the Hake. 

This dish was gluten free and full of protein from the fish and chickpeas. How ever it was not Dairy free.  Goats cheese and feta cheese are perfect alternatives if you wanted to add them.

I didn't do so bad for making the most out of what I had at home. Usually I'd spend forever going out and trying to get every ingredient to make something. Goes to show you don't know what you could come up by using what's there :-) 

Fishy Fishy | Kinsale | Cork

So i presume most of ye have all heard of Fishy Fishy and if you haven't and like fish then you will love this place ! In the heart of Kinsale by the sea, Fishy Fishy will promise you a lovely meal and spacious setting. We hadn't made a reservation but only a short wait of ten minutes and we were seated. They had a good selection on the menu and had a specials menu too. Not to fear for those of you who don't like fish!! They had steak and pork belly on the menu too! Fishy fishy is renowned for its food and owner Martin Shanahan. He sources the fresh fish locally and has received many reward including Best Seafood Experience in Ireland. It was time I came here and witnessed it myself. My friend Aisling and I (two chefs and like little spies) sitting down watching and taking everything in. The menu, the funky oversized fishy decorations on the wall, peaking into the kitchen looking at Martin and his team, the view of outside and of course making sneaky glances at our neighbouring tables seeing the food they had ordered.

To begin I got the mussels start with followed by the fish and chips. The mussels were served in a creamy basil pesto sauce. The fish was haddock and definitely one of the best Fish and Chips I've ever had. I really loved the presentation and the oyster used to hold the Tartare sauce. We were stuffed after our food and could not possibly fit dessert in. But we did make sure we got a peep of what they had. Here I am regretting not getting dessert... I will definitely make room for it the next time. I can't wait to come here again. If you are a fish lover I could not recommend Fishy Fishy anymore ! 

Mussels

Fish and Chips

Gorgeous view from the Old Head of Kinsale 

Check out more on their website 

Greenes | Mc Curtain Street | Cork

I'm On Friday night I went for a meal with my family to Greenes, Cork. The first thing you will notice when entering Greens is the amazing waterfall which by far made the setting of the whole meal. White cloths, the best silvers and of course the black and white server uniforms . Head chef Bryan Mc Carthy is the brains behind Greenes menu. He is well known and has also received Best chef in cork 2015. I felt like I was missing out so it was definitly time for me to visit here!

We took forever to order but we got there in the end. It was my first time my family and I experienced fancy foams, gels and sous vide techniques. It was a completely different type of dining we had ever experienced. My little sister Eve was calling it "robot" and "space food". She's 12 and she even noticed and appreciated the effort and skill that had gone into the prep and presentation of the food. We all eventually ordered and the meal began briskly!

First, we were presented with a Lime foam appetiser. It was light and what I think could've almost been a pallet cleanser. They were served in cute glass jars and on a doily leaf!

Lime Foam Appetiser

Our starters arrived. I went for the Scallops with cauliflower textures, elderflower and vinegar gel. By the far one of the most colourful dish I have ever had. I'd love to of seen them dress this plate and I'd love to know did they use a tweezers to get it so perfect on the plate!

Scallops, cauliflower textures, elderflower and vinegar gel 

My mum got oysters which were served on a simple but effective bed of sea salt. They were perfect and delicate size for the mouth.

For the mains. I got Wagu Rump steak. Little Eve got the feather blade of beef and my dad got the special of the day, which was Brill. The meat was sous vide the waitress explained to us.

Feather blade of beef

Wagyu Rump Steak

For dessert, we got a Berry Frangipane Tart and Black Forest Gateaux.The colours were amazing and the juice it's strawberries I ever had. I was absolutely crazy about the flavours of the Berry Frangipane Tart.

Berry Frangipane Tart and Black Forest Gateaux

It was quite an experience having this type of food for the first time, I look forward to trying it again! Check out more about Greene's on their website here

Bombay Palace | Cook Street | Cork City

So I have been here loads of times before but it's been quite a time ago I was here last. I decided to treat myself to some Indian food and boy was it good! The surroundings in here have a very Indian feel to the place. The Indian music was very relaxing and almost therapeutic for me I felt like Julia Roberts in Eat Pray Love. I order a lamb kebab and chicken tandoori with pilau rice. The staff were friendly and efficient. 

After I ordered my food, the waiter brought out chutneys and Raita with poppadoms. The red onion chutney is to die for and the raita! I filled myself up completely with these. I couldn't stop!

Raita and Chutneys

My starters was a lamb kebab. To be honest, the kebab was only okay. The chutneys and raita made it work. The onions were cooked in spices and they were gorgeous. I think I would go for something different the next time. Looking at other peoples starters around me, I definitely would've went for theirs!

Lamb Kebab

The mains... The sizzling Tandoori chicken. I mean sizzling. It came out and made a scene it was so loud but it did create an ambience, I was like whoa ! And so were the other customers! The chicken was juicy and tender.i ordered pilau rice and tandoori sauce came with this too. I was so stuffed I had to get the rest for take away. It did not go to waste though. My friend Aisling called over to mine later that night and we we devoured it all ! 

Sizzling Tandoori Chicken

My starters, main course + pilau rice and a coke came to €25.55. They do an Early Bird menu for €18.95 which you can see online. Check out their full website here

Summer Cod salad

Today's salad is : Pan fried Cod, mixed leaves, peas, peaches, green beans, red onion, pickled cucumber, chickpeas and lemon & poppy dressing. 

Its been a while since I wrote my last post but fear not I have not given up just yet! I've been a busy bee in the kitchen and feel utterly guilty for abandoning my blog page. I have so much to write about! I am back with a bang ! :)

So we all know Summer is about salads and luckily for me I get to come up with my own salad of the day when I am setting up the kitchen.  Gluten free, dairy free and full of nutritious ingredients! :)

Getting creative with food is what I love and knowing I am trying to accomadate wheat free and dairy free customers. My knowledge of nutrition has grown so much from this daily task. At the start it was pretty hard coming up with a salad. It was like an impending doom fearing which ingredients go with what. Chefs dilemma pacing the veg fridge , spoilt with choice! But after awhile I got the hang of it and try better myself every day. Sometimes the best ideas come at the spur of a moment! So here is my healthy I've put together :)