irish soda bread

For as long as I can remember I have loved cooking shows. I remember sitting in front of the television mesmerized as a child and loving how each little bowl in front of the chef had the right amount in it for the recipe. It always looked so organized and perfect. I used to scribble down the notes, run to the kitchen put all the right amounts into a bowl, making sure everything was perfect and then pretending I had a cooking show. Then cooking or baking away. Never mind that every single bowl in the house was dirty after a simple chocolate cake.

Over the years its been a constant to sit down and enjoy a great cooking show. Picking up tips and tricks as well as great recipes. Trying them out and then adapting them to become my own.

This recipe is one of those. I was watching the Barefoot Contessa and simply loved the sound of this bread as it requires no kneading and is very little fuss, yet it is delicious and very more some bread. So true to my childhood I jotted it down and rushed into the kitchen. The only thing that has changed is that I use less bowls now!

serves: 6

ingredients: 

  • 4 cups of flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 55g butter
  • 1 3/4 buttermilk
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp orange zest
  • 1 cup dried raisins

Instructions:

Preheat your oven at 190°c

Grease a flat baking tray and leave aside ready for dough.

Sieve the dry ingredients into your mixing bowl.

Add the butter and mix when electronic mixer using the whisk attachment. Once the better is the size of peas, stop mixing.

Add your orange zest and wet ingredients and mix using your dough hook. Don’t over mix the dough.

Once everything is mixed add the cup of raisins and beat again. Don’t ever beat. Stop when the raisins are evenly mixed into the dough.

The dough will be a very wet dough.

Empty the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pull in together, the flip it over so that you are left with a neat round ball.

Take a sharp knife and make a cross on top of the dough.

Place the dough on the baking tray.

Bake for 45-55 minutes or until you tap the top of the bread and it sounds hallow.

wild mushroom soup

They say time you enjoy wasting, is not wasted time. I have to agree.

Winter is starting to come around for its yearly visit and I can't say I am much impressed. I truly could of done with another month of summer. I suppose the best I can do in light of my disgruntled view of winter is embrace in my cooking and all that comes with it.

I must admit no one is grumpy at the thought of a piping hot chocolate or soup in front of a fireplace, wrapped in a blanket and playing board games with a loved one.

If the thought of lazy days cuddled under a blanket and a good book appeal to you, then so will this recipe. Nothing as good as the earthiness of mushrooms coupled with the taste explosion that is truffle oil.

Take your time building the flavours of this wholesome soup. Have a glass of wine while staying warm in front of your stovetop and definitely above all else, share it with loved ones.

serves: 4

ingredients:

  • 2 brown onions
  • olive oil
  • 3 tsp crushed garlic
  • 5 twigs thyme
  • 350g wild mushrooms (variety)
  • 3 potatoes
  • 1 sweet potato
  • 2 vegetable stock concentrate sachets or roast chicken stock sachets
  • boiling water to top up
  • salt pepper
  • 2 Tbsp truffle oil
  • 250ml cream

instructions:

To start boil the kettle.

Dice your onions and put them in a pot with your olive oil over a medium heat.

Sweat your onions down and add your garlic. Make sure to stir continuously as you don't want it to burn and give a bitter taste in your soup

Wipe down our mushrooms and chop them into chunky large pieces. Don’t make them too small or else when you cook them they will shrink into nothing.

Add them to your onions and turn up the heat slightly. Keep stirring.

At this stage take your thyme off the twigs and add it to the pot. I enjoy fresh herbs so you can even add extra to taste-depending on what you love.

Peel and dice the potatoes. I dice them small, as I want them to cook into the soup and not remain chunky.

Add the potatoes to the pot.

Add the vegetable stock to the soup. If you want you can use roast chicken stock concentrate depending on if you are serving to vegetarians.

Add your boiling water until you fill the pot to the top. Bring to boil and leave to boil checking every 20 minutes. As it reduces top up again with more boiling water.

Never add cold water to something that is boiling. i repeat for about two hours letting all the flavours develop.

Once you have reached the two-hour mark and the pot is 3/4 full with the mushroom soup add 250ml of cream and your salt and pepper to taste.

Let simmer for a further 20 minutes.

Just before serving fold in the truffle oil. 2 Tbsp. is usually a great starting point but again, do this to your palette, as you taste your soup along the way.

Serve with croutons and while its hot.

-Melissa