Woman Crush Wednesday Special Edition #2

January 13, 2016November 18, 2016 ~ Harper220 ~ 1 Comment

Yep, Wednesday IS the best day of the week, as this lil image says! Why not set aside a day to completely and utterly share the adoration for our female foodies!? Though we are usually in the kitchen cooking away one of our honorees’ recipes (and doing a bit of wacky singing and dancing), today we are doing a recap. Why? Well, I am not home today to do it, but also I realized it has been a while since I did a review and it is always good to savor the sweetness of these totally inspiring and gorgeous gourmet gals! Since our last recap back in mid November, we have had six more infatuations, which is a lot of love being spread around the culinary world and some yummy food being made, so lets have a reminder shall we?

Ree Drummond, also known as The Pioneer Woman, embodies a wonderful American family fun essence. Her humor, her love of her cowboy hubby (along with the kids and animals on their farm) and of course her deeply satisfying food, are endearing! The pumpkin sheet cake recipe of hers was a winner, especially for Thanksgiving! Here is the link, and you too will be drooling over this delicious dessert! Not to mention you’ll fall in love with her red hair and dimples!

With all the amazing grins and utter sweetness, we had to make another week of desserts for Giada De Laurentiis. On the day, we made her famous Lemon Ricotta Cookies! Here is the link, and trust me, they are delectable. My hubby ate four cookies before I even blinked! Though Giada is an American, she was actually born in Italy. And so her ethos in the kitchen reflects that. Stunning ingredients with loads of flavor, and that passion for food makes you completely fall in love with her! Not hard to do, I mean look at that smile! With a new restaurant in Las Vegas, I think we hit the jackpot with this #WCW recipient.

We traveled back to my soul home the Emerald Isle for our tenth #WomanCrushWednesday honoree. Not only an amazing chef, but also a restauranteur, Clodagh McKenna warmed our hearts and our bellies with her lovely Butternut Squash and Coconut Soup. So light and so satisfying, and perfect for these cold winter months. Here is the link and besides wanting to recreate her soup, you might want to check out her new line of aprons. My aunt and uncle got one for me for Christmas and I absolutely love it!

Someone told me that Nigella Lawson is the Queen of Christmas. Wow, then we definitely had to do some Christmas Crushing on her and of course make her deliciously decadent Rocky Road! No joke, it was divine and a bit addictive. Here is the link to see what I’m talking about! Though Nigella hails from the U.K. she is so popular all over the globe and it’s understandable. She is the original Domestic Goddess and she makes cooking and eating beautiful, as she herself emits beauty inside and out!

Another U.K chef, Ella Woodward (aka Deliciously Ella) is a perfect advert for clean eating! She glows! So we took on her incredible carrot cake cookies. So yum! You won’t feel the slightest bit guilty! Here is the link to her special #WCW and the recipe, which you need to make! ASAP! This time of year everyone is on the straight and narrow, and Ella’s food is not only good, it’s good for you! It is a perfect New Year’s Resolution! And with her just opened Mae’s Deli, if you don’t want to make her recipes, you can pop in there for a bite and meet Ella in person!

For Little Women’s Christmas (or Nollaig na mBan in Irish) we had to honor an Irish chef, and who better to get crushed on but the adorable and accomplished chef Catherine Fulvio. As we were in the middle of Salad Scentral Week we made her Smoked Salmon and Mango Salad recipe which was heaven on a plate. Just click on the link to see how superb it looks, not to mention how scrumptious it tasted! And you can read about the fun we had on the day as we also focused on all that she has achieved. What an inspiration, as are all of our lovely ladies in the culinary world.

Now it is your turn! If you are reading this right now, think about all the women in your life who have either fed you personally, or fed your inspiration for food and cooking. Click on the comments section here and let me know who they are and why you think they should be honored. If you don’t want your comments published, no probs, just note that. But I think it would be great to make this a communal culinary admiration society. Then watch this space next week to see who gets Yankee Doodle Paddy’s spotlight. And as I have said before, it is in no way an offense to the fabulous male chefs out there. I have massive appreciation for so many that are creating food that is off the charts good. But this is a special place where each week we bring some love to the female foodies.

I hope you are having a great Wednesday. Look at it this way, those that follow me on snapchat (username: blissbakery) are getting an auditory respite from my bad singing while we do a look back at what a fun day this popular Woman Crush Wednesday has become! Thanks to all of you for the support!

Massive Love!

YDP

Recipe: Salad Scentral Week Summed Up

January 12, 2016November 18, 2016 ~ Harper220

Salad Scentral was a success my friends! What a great week it was sharing different salads everyday. Starting with Monday’s selection of four different salads. Then on Tuesday trying a warm salad to heat our insides for the winter. Then incorporating the salad theme with our famous Woman Crush Wednesday. Having a little fun with a Musical Mexican Themed Salad on Thursday. And even going on a mini Foodie Fieldtrip Friday after our ‘free of everything’ ABC salad! Here they are just to recap…

Monday: A Quad of Salads consisting of Irish Strawberry Salad, Papaya Boat stuffed with Turkey Salad, Courgette and Carrot Salad, Apple and Grape Mixed Leaf Salad

Tuesday: I Feel Good Salad which was packed with superfoods kale and Brussels sprouts and served warm.

Wednesday: Smoked Salmon and Mango Salad recipe from Catherine Fulvio was so flavorful and healthy with watercress too!

Thursday: Musical Fruit Salad packed with watermelon (and even served in one), corn and black beans (aka our musical part of the salad) but oh so tasty!

Friday: ABC Salad which is as easy as 123! Free from everything, meaning no dairy, no sugar, no wheat, no meat, no onions or garlic. But one thing it isn’t free from is taste. It is beyond satisfying with the Avocado, Beets and Citrus.

On Monday though I had four salads on offer for the snapchat tutorial (username: blissbakery), I only posted the one Irish strawberry salad recipe. So I wanted to give you the recipe for the amazing Courgette and Carrot Salad. It is super easy to make and looks beautiful on a platter at a buffet, or in a bowl on the table. Or quite simply on your plate for lunch or dinner! It can be jazzed up with some cheese of your choice and some seeds or nuts, as I have done in this picture. The key is having either a mandoline (on my wish list for one day) or else you can use what I do which is a veg/potato peeler that is flat. My son gave me the one I have and it is quite old, but they look like this one here.

Courgette and Carrot Salad

Serves 6

2-3 medium courgettes, thinly sliced*

200 g (7 oz) carrots, peeled and thinly sliced*

1 Tbsp (15 ml) red wine vinegar or lemon juice

3 Tbsp (45 ml) Extra virgin olive oil

1-2 Tbsp freshly chopped flat leaf parsley

2 Tbsp (10 ml) honey

salt and ground pepper to taste

Prepare the dressing by placing the last five ingredients in a screw top jar and shaking well to combine .

Place the courgettes and carrots in a large salad bowl. Drizzle with the dressing and serve.

You may wish to add chopped nuts such as cashews for a bit of crunch or even a bit of crumbled cheese (such as feta) as well.

*It is important to slice with either a mandolin or a wide peeler and peel lengthwise to make long ribbons

It was great to receive messages from the other snap chatters saying they were inspired with the salads this week and actually sent pics of their re-creations. It does help to feel that “we’re in it together” and have the support to do so. It can be overwhelming, especially this time of year, with all the eating plans, workout routines, and detoxes. However, just a basic but important change of adding more salads into the week can help. In fact, Hubby even thanked me Friday night for a week of salads. He admitted he felt lighter and more energetic as a result. As I said before he isn’t really into salads normally. But with a few bits and bobs added like seeds, nuts, cheese and a protein for instance, and he will even go for seconds! I had a lovely cookery student who once told me she never really ate salads until she attended my classes. After tasting some of mine, she too began to play around with all the fun ways you can create a myriad of salads with just a little invention.

If I could sum up Salad Scentral week in one word it would be color (or colour if you are on this side of the world). Looking back at all the pictures, not only of my own creations, but the ones at Ottolenghi and the beautiful salad made from Catherine Fulvio’s Woman Crush Wednesday, they all capture the eye. Like a rainbow on a plate! And the saying goes that you eat with your eyes first. So many times I have seen a salad with iceberg lettuce, a tomato or two and some white creamy processed dressing from a bottle. Not very exciting, or healthy for that matter. I only just discovered this link here that elaborates on the important health advantages of eating different colors, and what each color in our various fruits and veg can do to help our bodies work better.

So I hope you too are inspired to try out some salads. Mix and match flavors and textures. Add some fruit, along with the veg and maybe some beans or lentils. Try serving your salad in a hollowed out melon, or papaya (as I did on Monday with the turkey salad). In the winter months heat your bodies on the insides with a warm salad. Enjoy making, serving and indeed eating salads and you too will reap many health benefits from them. My mentor Darina Allen has a mixed leaf salad with every dinner. She eats it after her main meal, as they do in France, as it is believed to aid digestion. Darina is gorgeous, energetic and youthful even at sixty-seven years young. That right there confirmed my belief in the power of some good, real, clean and tasty food such as salads!

Colorful Love,

YDP

P.S. Though many people only know me for my baking and sweet treats (yes that’s me I love my goodies) I adore salads of any description. I guess I don’t feel as guilty with the odd splurge when I’ve been good having my healthy doses of salads! So don’t fear, even if you jump on the Salad Scentral Express, with the odd treat every now and again, you too will have the stamina to stay the course!

Recipe: ABC Salad with a side of Foodie Fieldrip Friday

January 8, 2016November 18, 2016 ~ Harper220 ~ 1 Comment

It is an ABC salad because it has avocado, beets and citrus!

Just because today was the last day of the Salad Scentral Week didn’t mean that I had to forget about Foodie Fieldtrip Friday! It just ended up being a jam packed day is all! And even if the weather didn’t help with the grey and rainy skies, it was a sunny day indoors with a bright and colorful salad!

This salad was actually the first all week that had no dairy, no nuts or seeds, no meat and no onions or garlic (it is amazing all the various allergies people can have). I was being especially cognizant of that because normally I would have some cheese (like goats cheese) and some toasted nuts and seeds on this salad. And in lieu of a dressing (the one I usually do for this is a coriander and lime but it has garlic) I just drizzled the salad with Avocado Oil. Though olive oil works well too, it is just that if it is available to purchase easily and not too pricey, it is worth the extra health benefits.

Avocado, Beet and Citrus Salad

Serves 4

2 Ripe Avocados, peeled, cored and sliced

2 regular size Beetroots sliced (if using raw, then wrap in foil and roast in an oven for 1 hour at 200c/400F until soft, then peel off the skin when it has cooled) or you can use 12 baby beetroots unsliced as I have here

2 Oranges, peeled and sliced

2 Clementines, peeled and segmented

1 Grapefruit, peeled and segmented

1 Handful of fresh mint leaves (picked from the stems) and sliced thinly or you can use chopped coriander/cilantro

Avocado Oil or Olive Oil (to drizzle)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Optional: Mixed salad greens, goat’s cheese and a mixture of toasted seeds and nuts

Arrange all the citrus, avocado and beets on a platter. Sprinkle with the sliced mint. Season with the salt and pepper and drizzle with the oil.

If desired you can also serve with some mixed green salad leaves and a bit of goat’s cheese and a mixture of toasted nuts and seeds (which is how I prepared my own plate for the tasting).

Hubby thought these were “beet balls” and that I made them with a melon baller kitchen gizmo. But I actually bought them, as the supermarket sold baby beets. But I like his thinking!

I know I call it ABC because of the avocado, beets and citrus, but seriously making this is so easy to do, like saying your ABC’s! It is super healthy, the avocado is known for its female fertility boost, beets are known for improving blood flow, and citrus not only helps prevent diabetes, it is just what we all need to ward off winter colds. Vitamin C without having to take a tablet, just the real McCoy! I really love my healthy fruits and veg, and even find hearts in them when I prepared them for the salad. But with all that citrusy goodness aroma wafting through the house, Stella came running!

The next post I will give a full recap of the week with some more salad and salad dressing recipes. But for now I just wanted to finish this post with a brief overview of the mini Foodie Fieldtrip Friday that I took this afternoon with my Snapchat friends after I finished my tutorial of the salad. Since I have received an amazing and massive surge in my snapchat followers this week, I decided to bring them along for the fun to some places I have visited before. Well, not these exact locations, but these two business favs of mine. And how did I get there, well I had to take the Tube to F cubed (my nickname for Foodie Fieldtrip Friday), and do a bit of arts and crafts on my snaps along the way! Only thing is that it was pretty dark when we arrived.

First I went to the Biscuiteers in Notting Hill (yep, there is a famous movie of the same name). I did a master class in Icing Biscuits at the Biscuiteers branch in Northcote, but wanted to check out this location. If you want to read about and see photos of my first Biscuiteers outing, which was on a Tues (hence Tuesday Treat) you can click here. They were nearly closing, so I had to be quick. But it is a great concept of handmade and decorated biscuits that can be shipped anywhere in the world. They also have decorating classes and host children’s, hen’s, and corporate parties. So fun!

But since we are doing a salad scentral week, I next headed out to the mecca of salads. If you have been following me for any time at all you know I have a ton of love for Ottolenghi. It has not only featured in one of my Foodie Fieldtrip Friday outings but I take everyone who comes to visit me to one of their four deli locations (they have five food establishments including their sit-down restaurant NOPI). One look at their plentiful salad bowls and platters overflowing with inventive and tasty salads and you will understand.

However, since we are winding down on salad scentral week (though I hope it has become a good habit in your household) I thought a little pop into one of their smaller and cozier locations would be fun. It was a bit quiet compared to all the other Ottolenghi’s I have been to before, but that was probably better for me as I had the snapchat in full effect (my username: blissbakery). They were busting with large platters of gorgeously colorful salads! I was being very good and didn’t even give the dessert display a second glance. Which was the first time I have left there without some decadent gooey treat! That is tough to do considering they have one of the best reputations for sweets and pastries! It is important to me to show the snapchatters as well how tempting and beautiful the salads looked, so that I could resist the sugar temptation. Inspiration is the name of the game to keep our momentum going!

I hope you all had a super Friday! So many folks were dreading this week and look see we made it!

Citrusy love!

YDP

Recipe: Musical Fruit Salad

January 7, 2016November 18, 2016 ~ Harper220

Well it is day four of our Salad Scentral week. So far so good getting the New Year off to a great start! It feels wonderful being healthy and incorporating more fresh fruit and veg into our lives. It is the clean food our bodies need after all the holiday time indulging. But instead of strapping ourselves with boring “diet” food, which loads of people do for January, we are having “live it” foods! No wonder people fall off the bandwagon so easily when they experience such depravation. And many of the so called “diet foods” are in fact quite processed. I read in the book “The Daniel Plan” (I am not on the plan, just enjoy the book and recipes) that if something comes from a plant then it is good to eat. But if it was made in a plant, then leave it on the shelf!

Well today’s salad is actually one of my favorites. It is packed with different flavors and textures, and it reminds me of Los Angeles. Though it has a Mexican vibe, as I have shared before on here, living in L.A. for so many years I was able to enjoy some of the best Mexican food in the world outside of Mexico itself (due to the large number of Mexican immigrants). In fact, I often serve this particular salad as a side when I am having other “South of the Border” foods like tacos or enchiladas. It is a sturdy salad too. What I mean by that is that it keeps well. Most salads get wilted once you put the dressing on them. But this one stays nice and crunchy and the flavors actually improve!

Mexican Fruit Salad (aka Musical Fruit Salad)

Serves 6

1 tin 200 g sweet corn, drained

1 tin 400 g black beans, drained and rinsed

1 small red onion thinly sliced

6 Peppadew Peppers (or one cucumber) thinly sliced

Watermelon (750 g) peeled, seeded and diced into cubes

6 Tbsp chopped fresh coriander or fresh mint

Mexican cheese or Feta Cheese (as much as you like, to crumble on top)

Dressing:

1 clove garlic, minced

Juice of 2 fresh limes

2 Tbsp avocado oil (or olive oil if you don’t have avocado oil)

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp chili flakes

salt and ground pepper to taste

Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing. Pour over the beans, corn, peppers/cucumbers and onions in a large bowl. Cover and leave to macerate in the refrigerator for one hour.

Just before I put on the dressing and popped this into the fridge, I had to take a pic. I mean look at the gorgeous colors!

2. To serve, add the watermelon and fresh coriander to the bowl of beans/corn mixture and gently stir. Arrange on a large platter, serving bowl or a hallowed out watermelon. Sprinkle with the Mexican or feta cheese.

I often like to serve food in food. Does that make sense? For instance when I make my Spinach Dip I like to serve it in a hollowed out cabbage, or bell pepper, etc. It makes it appealing if you are entertaining. A WOW factor. And one less bowl to wash! So with this salad, I like to put it in a hallowed out watermelon, since HELLO it has watermelon it in. The only thing is you have to slice off a bit off the bottom of the melon so it will stay stable.

Now you might be wondering why I call it a Musical Fruit Salad when it is technically a Mexican Fruit Salad. Well, I explained it like this to my cookery class students in Dublin when I made this for a Mexican themed brunch demonstration:

“Beans, beans the musical fruit, the more you eat the more you toot. The more you toot the better you’ll feel, so eat your beans at every meal!”

If you could have seen their faces! I’ll never forget it. So that is why today when I did the tutorial on Snapchat (username: blissbakery) I had to share that ditty with them too. But then again, I was wearing a sombrero and dancing to “Livin’ La Vida Loca” so they probably weren’t as shocked!

I tried to dress like the guys from the song “Macarena” that way we would look like the Three Amigos when I danced to their song!

Adiós y amar a mis amigos!

YDP

P.S. I love to listen to music while I cook, as I have mentioned before, and even though I am a bad singer and a bad dancer (with some good recipes), I still get to burn off calories moving around! Move more, eat less is a good healthy motto for the New Year!

Just having some fun with my melon head on Snapchat!

Recipe: Woman Crush Wednesday

January 6, 2016November 18, 2016 ~ Harper220

Today, my friends, it is not only Woman Crush Wednesday but it is also Nollaig na mBan (for my non Irish speakers that is Women’s Little Christmas). This is my perfect day with all the stars and moon aligned! January 6th is the Feast of the Epiphany and traditionally the end of the Christmas Season. But in Ireland, tradition states that on this day the women would get a day to relax and men would do the housework. Some people might also refer to this day simply as Little Christmas (or Nollaig Bheag) but I’m thinking since it’s our #WCW day, we will stick with the more festive female title. Which means that we had to choose an amazing female foodie to infatuate over for the occasion! And our lucky lady is the beautiful and talented Irish chef, award winning cookery book writer and well known television star Catherine Fulvio!!!

Catherine was born and raised in County Wicklow, Ireland and is part of the Ballyknocken House and Cookery School family. Though less than 30 miles south of Dublin, this well respected Victorian House (and almost 300 acres of farmland) is a holiday retreat for anyone wanting a great Irish experience of delicious food and warm hospitality. Catherine is involved of course, but also busy raising a family of her own with her Italian born husband. And she travels the globe doing cooking demos, promoting Irish brands and filming fabulous television programs. Plus all the exploring gives great inspiration for her cookbooks.

I met Catherine personally at the Ballymaloe Lit Fest back in 2014. She is what you would expect and more. Absolutely stunning, and truly the nicest person ever! I attended a cookery demo she did with Martin Shanahan (of Fishy Fishy) and Paul Flynn (of the Tannery). They are all presenters for RTE television and you would think it was for cooking AND comedy. I have never laughed so hard at a cooking demo. Yet they all take their food seriously.

Catherine is so calm, nurturing, caring and detailed when she demonstrates a recipe. After the demo I asked her to sign one of her cookery books that I bought as a gift for my daughter. She was very sweet and gladly chatted away, even introducing me to her husband and her young son who were with her.

Though on the day she made a gorgeous chocolate breadcrumb almond cake, since we are doing a Salad Scentral week on Yankee Doodle Paddy, I decided we would recreate her totally Irish style, Smoked Salmon, Watercress and Mango Salad. It is simple, light and very healthy. It has a super homemade salad dressing (all of Ballyknocken’s salad dressing are well regarded by the way). I love the colors of this salad too! Especially during these dark days of winter we need something to brighten our plates! Since I visited some smokehouses when I was a student at the Ballymaloe Cookery School, I learned that Irish Smoked Salmon really is the best! Here is a link if you want a look see at my blog from back in the day where I share the smokehouse experience. And did you know that watercress is seriously the Irish grandfather of superfoods? Yep, as I mentioned on here before, St. Brendan was eating it daily and lived to be 180! So well done Catherine for creating a supercharged healthy salad to get us all reset for the New Year!

Ingredients

100 g smoked salmon or smoked trout, torn into strips
150 g watercress
0.5 cucumber, cut into ribbons
0.5 mango, thinly sliced
for the dressing:
4 tblsp extra virgin olive oil (or rapeseed oil)
zest of lemon
2 tblsp lemon juice
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 tsp runny honey
salt and pepper to taste
crusty bread to serve with the salad
Method

Using a vegetable peeler, cut slices of the lemon and then cut again into narrow strips. Cook for a couple of minutes in boiling water. Remove and allow to cool.
In a small bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients. Check for seasoning and add salt & pepper as desired.
Place the mango, lemon strips, cucumber and watercress in a separate bowl.
Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss gently.
Plate the salad and arrange the smoked salmon on top.
Finish with cracked black pepper and serve with crusty bread.

As I have said before, the thing about salads is besides being quite easy to prepare, they really are good for you. And our gorgeous gourmet gal Catherine Fulvio is also good for you! All of her recipes are wholesome and made with real unprocessed ingredients. While she is super accomplished as a chef, she makes even hard techniques seem easy for the masses with the way she guides you through step by step. I am so excited that she is our #WCW this week and I do hope that her sweet hubby is spoiling her today on Nollaig na mBan!

Thank you Catherine for being an inspiration. You are such a hard worker, yet you do it all with the utmost grace! You have a lot fans out there cheering you on! Several of my snapchat followers in fact requested that you be one of our honorees, so I hope you feel the LOVE today and always!

Le grá agus buíochas,

YDP

P.S. If you want to follow along on Snapchat my username is: blissbakery. I do a bit of bad singing and dancing, but there is always a good recipe like this one today! I like to have background music in the Woman Crush Wednesday tutorials, but this is the first time I have used the music from one source. A couple of weeks ago my sweet Hubby discovered TG Lurgan and shared it with me. It is an all Irish Youtube channel. These young kids take popular songs and redo them with the Irish language. They are stunning! I was a bit concerned I might tear up during the snapchat today because somehow this language penetrates my Irish soul (the Paddy part of Yankee Doodle Paddy). I really miss Ireland and so today was a great day celebrating Catherine, Nollaig na mBan and this fantastic music!!!! I am putting the Youtube links to the songs below, but the artists and titles are in English. Funny how after seven years of living in Ireland its only now that we’ve just moved to London that we are enjoying this!

Recipe: I Feel Good Salad

January 5, 2016November 18, 2016 ~ Harper220

Whenever I hear, read or see the words “I Feel Good” I can’t help but think of James Brown. His song of that title instantly jumps into my head and I start boppin’ around not a bother! I had the pleasure of meeting him at the 1997 Super Bowl in New Orleans when I was helping with the production of the halftime show. Even though my hometown boys the Blues Brothers, as well as the legendary ZZ Top were also performers, it’s James I remember most. I mean he was already 64 years of age at that juncture! Wow talk about energy. And he was quite nice, smiling all the time and a very humble person. But when he hit that stage, WOOWAAH!

While not all of us are born with natural energy, we CAN choose to eat foods that make us feel alive and feel good! Since this is Salad Scentral Week, and it is wintery, cold and rainy outside, I decided a warm salad would be just the thing! As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the benefit of most salads are they can be made quick, easily and are adaptable. This salad for instance includes bacon, so if you don’t eat meat, just omit it from the recipe. That is the only “naughty-ish” thing in the ingredients list. Everything else is packed with a vitamin punch! Kale, the holy grail of super foods at the moment (being touted as the most nutrient dense food in the world) is the star, along with Brussels Sprouts. Though many want to forget about those little round smelly fellas after their perfunctory appearance at your Christmas dinner, you might want to have a re-think about that. They are known to boost your DNA, and assist with detox (HELLO HOLIDAY HANGOVER remedy). As well, they are meant to help reduce cholesterol, so maybe you won’t feel so guilty keeping the bacon in the recipe after all!

Warm Winter Salad (aka I Feel Good Salad)

Serves 4- 6

9 oz kale (1 large bunch) center ribs removed and thinly sliced

1 lb 2 oz Brussels sprouts, finely shredded (I use my food processor)

½ cup dried cherries (or you can use dried cranberries like I did)

1 cup cashews, chopped

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 large shallots, sliced into rings

3 slices of (streaky) bacon, chopped

30 g goat cheese, cut into cubes

Freshly ground pepper and sea salt to taste

For the dressing:

2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp honey

6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Juice of 2 lemons

Generous pinch kosher salt

Prepare the dressing by whisking together the mustard, honey, olive oil, lemon juice and salt until emulsified, then adjust taste if needed. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium high heat and fry shallots until golden brown. Remove to a kitchen paper lined plate to drain. Add the bacon to the pan and cook until browned and crisp. Remove bacon to another kitchen paper lined plate to drain. Remove all but 2 tsp bacon grease from the pan.

Add the kale to the pan and sauté for 30 seconds. Then add the Brussels sprouts and sauté for another 30 seconds. Toss back in the bacon and add in the cashews and stir around.

Remove to plates and drizzle with a bit of the dressing. Then sprinkle with the crispy shallots, dried cherries and a crumbling of goat cheese.

I think this salad is near perfect in terms of flavor combination and texture! The saltiness of the bacon with the sweetness of the dried cherries (or cranberries which I used) is amazing. And the crunch of the cashews with the nice bite of the kale and Brussels sprouts (because they aren’t cooked too much) is sublime. My fav part though is the nuttiness of the Gouda goat cheese (harder than normal goat’s cheese) with the smoothness of the cooked shallots, amazo! It makes me feel good inside, and I think that translates to feeling good on the outside too! It makes me wanna dance (which I did on my snapchat tutorial, username: blissbakery). So go ahead, try this salad and you’ll be feeling so good you may want to bust out some of your own James Brown moves!

LOVE! CUZ I FEEL GOOD! HEY!

YDP

Recipe: Salad Scentral

January 4, 2016November 18, 2016 ~ Harper220

No, that isn’t a typo in the title. Scentral is my own concoction of the words central and scent. Cuz today, and every day this week, we are gonna be going salad scentral crazy over here. This, being the first Monday of the new year, is the day most people perceive as walking the tightrope of “to do” things: To detox, to give up alcohol, to quit sweets, etc etc etc. And because many people have been off work during the holiday period, this day is also the big “to go back to work” day. Argh! Lots of grumpsters out there with a HOLIDAY HANGOVER! With so many self imposed demands and restrictions no wonder the sad faces. But I have a recipe for you to brighten your week with colors and flavors that look good, smell good, and taste good. These tick all the boxes of the revamped food resolutions too. And they might even make going back to work a bit more pleasant! Either pack them in your lunchbox to save a few bucks, or, instead of going to the burger joint for lunch, pick up a salad to go.

I did a salad slam tutorial… the featured one on today’s post and three others for my snapchat (username: blissbakery). Clockwise from top: Papaya Boat Stuffed with Low Cal Turkey Salad, Irish Strawberry Salad, Carrot & Courgette Ribbon Salad, Apple, Grape and Goat Cheese Salad

I am an admitted salad addict. Therefore it is easy for me to be a cheerleader for the gorgeous greens. I’ve even posted several salad recipes here on the blog: Cauliflower Salad, Fig and Green Bean Salad, Butternut Squash Salad, Brussels Sprout Salad, Sweet Potato and Chorizo Salad. Truth be told, I have to have one with every meal. Even with breakfast, I’ll have a fruit salad (or at least a selection of berries and bananas on my porridge). I just love the way fruits and veg make me feel. Without them, my meal seems incomplete. And since I don’t own a scale, don’t believe in diets (as I have said before I try to avoid things with the word “die” in them) and only recently began taking vitamins, I rely on the goodness of salads for my health.

IMG_5733-2 — My trusty chalkboard, which is often featured in my snapchats, I used to emphasize the difference between DIE and LIVE by taking “Diet for the New Year” and erasing DIE and writing LIVE it!

When you read all the magazines and newspaper articles this week recommending you drink more water and cut the crap out of your daily routine, having a salad is actually a bit of both. It is proven that fruit and veg are naturally loaded with water. And because of their fiber content they help you feel full so you are less likely to crave the crap. But the best advert for a good salad in my book is how it affects all of your senses. Does it taste, smell, and look good? And does it feel good in your mouth when you are chewing it? If it has lots of different textures it will defo give your daily calorie intake some pizazz. Today’s recipe is all of those and more! Normally I am going on about how good the house smells with all the baking I do. Well today the scent is actually fresh, bright, crisp and farmlike! A healthery instead of a bakery!

Often as we begin the school/work week we hear about Meatless Mondays. I think it is great notion. But personally, I need a bit of protein too. Salads can easily be modified to add a bit of that with some leftover roasted chicken, or by adding nuts and cheese to it. It makes it more substantial (and is about the only way I can get Hubby to eat a salad by the way). I’ve told you before about the Flavor Bible which is a great resource for understanding flavor combinations and foods that work as alternates. So say for instance if you found a cool recipe online for roasted pumpkin salad and you can’t find any in the shops, you’ll have learned that you can substitute it with butternut squash.

If I were an artist I would draw an interactive diorama of salad ingredients to show you how you could mix and match depending on your taste, dietary restrictions, and what is available in your fridge/pantry. Basically, a salad schematic. I would break it into six sections: 1. Greens (spinach, kale, iceberg, arugula/rocket etc) 2. Veg (broccoli, cauliflower, butternut squash, courgette/zucchini etc) 3. Fruit (strawberries, pomegranate, dried cranberries etc), 4. Cheese (blue, parmesan, goat’s etc), 5. Nuts (pine nuts, pecans, almonds etc), and 6. Protein (salmon, chorizo, chicken, bacon etc). This would also have an addendum that included different salad dressing options as well. It could be on your iPad for reference or even as a handy kitchen gadget that resembles an artist’s color wheel thingy that you could hang on your refrigerator door. But there are some other good helpful salad visuals available here and here to get you going.

It is also important to note, some salads are also best served warm (which I appreciate since living in Dublin and now London, where winters are not cold salad conducive). I would urge you to not only try incorporating more salads into your life, but also to be creative with your plate and put together your own combos depending on your likes and dislikes. In other words, if you see a salad recipe and you think, that sounds pretty good, but I don’t like blue cheese. Well then omit it or substitute it for a cheese you do like. Go on, have fun with it! Because all this deprivation, having to eliminating this or that, isn’t fun. But instead when you start adding things to your life (like a daily healthy salad) and make it fun like a game, then you’re likely to stick to it for the long haul!

To start us off this week, I am going to give you a recipe for a super simple yet shockingly satisfying Irish Strawberry Salad. This is actually my daughter’s favorite salad that I make and she even posted it on her blog a few years back which you can see here. I decided that it would be a good one to start with, especially in light of the fact that in two weeks time I will be traveling to America to see her and her family!

Ingredients: I have not put amounts as it depends on how many you are serving and how much of each element you want in it.

Salad greens of choice (I use a mixture of organic baby spinach, arugula/rocket and watercress leaves) washed and dried (important)

Strawberries (organic if possible and Irish Wexford strawberries if you are so lucky) washed and sliced

Nuts of choice (I like to use toasted flaked almonds, but you can use pecans or whatever you prefer)

Dubliners Cheese (okay no way are you allowed to switch up this ingredient) grated

Dressing of your choice (for store bought, I use Newman’s Own) or homemade vinaigrette (see below).

Preparation:

Pop all the ingredients in a bowl, pour the dressing on and toss it all together. That simple! This is a good recipe to add some protein to such as roasted chicken if you have it on hand.

What is great about this salad is that it has veg and fruit together! If you can’t find fresh strawberries (or refuse to buy them in the shops in the middle of winter because they are flown in from Egypt) then exchange it for dried cranberries instead. Again, have fun with it guys! Speaking of cranberries, I have a great recipe for a vinaigrette which I make in a nearly empty cranberry sauce jar. So it actually gives a bit of zing to the recipe!

1/4 cup vinegar ( I used sherry vinegar)

3/4 cup oil (I used organic extra virgin)

1 tsp cranberry sauce

1 tsp minced shallots (optional)

1 Tbsp chopped parsley (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Shake everything up in the jar and pour over salad just before serving. There is a great resource for salad dressing combinations here. Basically, it is a 1:3 ratio of vinegar to oil. It is nice to use a third ingredient (also called an emulsifier) to help bind the oil and vinegar together. Such as my cranberry sauce, or you can use mustard, or honey for instance. Also, you can add minced garlic or chopped fresh herbs for more depth of flavor.

Again, have fun, play around, and make adding salads to your day dreamy not drudgery! Here’s to a sensational week, month and year ahead!

Some Salad Love Slathered on Ya!

YDP

P.S. One of the best compliments a chef can receive is to see someone enjoying a dish they’ve prepared. This past summer when I was at my daughter and son in law’s I cooked dinner for some of their friends. One of their guests apparently doesn’t eat salads. And I had made an acorn squash salad for a starter. Well guess what? He ate the whole thing! Everyone around the table, in fact, commented on it. So if you are one of those, thinking you just can’t get into the fruit/veg trend, maybe try it with me this week and see if you join the salad scentral society (of which I am the founding member)!

Yankee Doodle Paddy

America + Ireland = LOVE

Month: January 2016