Is it just me or does it seem like this Monday in particular everyone has the blues? Maybe it was the Red Moon last night? Or depending on your allegiance, too much celebrating the Irish Rugby win or moaning over the U.S. and English losses ? Or folks just getting back to work after being away on holidays? Or it could simply be that some had a few ‘tee many martoonies’! Well, I have the for sure cure! And even if you awakened bright as a bunny this morning, you will still love this miracle mixture.
I call it Lemon-Aid. It is my special lemonade made with tea. Irish brand Barry’s Tea. Most Irish don’t even like to use the words iced and tea together. So I won’t say it is iced tea okay? It is a variation of what some people call an “Arnold Palmer” after the famous golfer. Only this is better. You get a hit of vitamin C from all the freshly squeezed fruit juice in it and a jolt of caffeine from the tea. Hence the name Lemon-Aid! This can be enjoyed on its own, or you can use it as a cordial and add some sparkling water if it is too strong, which is what I like to do. My hubby likes it straight up!
I make it in a pitcher but then decant it into a big glass bottle. This makes it handy to shake before you pour (as there are nice pulpy bits in it). As well, it makes a super hostess gift! If you are going on a night out but will be driving home, this is a fun drink to have in your glass as you will still feel festive. Even if you aren’t planning to use this non alcoholic drink as a go-to substitute, like some people I know, you could actually add a bit of vodka or other spirits to it just the same!
As a little touch, I make homemade gift tags as well.
Ingredients:
2 bags (they come stuck together as you can see) of Barry’s Irish Tea (or other black tea) steeped in 500 ml (16 oz) hot water (plus more water added after the tea has steeped to equal 1 and 1/4 pints)
225 ml (8 oz) Stock Syrup (see instructions at bottom if you don’t have on hand)
Juiced 1 lime, 3 lemons, 1 orange
Mix all together in a pitcher. Voila! Decant to a bottle if you desire. This will last a couple days in the fridge but best on the first day it is made.
To make the stock syrup, slowly bring to the boil 450 g of sugar and 600 ml water in a saucepan on the stove top (hob). Let it slowly boil for a few minutes then take it off the heat to cool. There will be loads more than you need for one batch. So place the rest into an airtight jug and pop it into the fridge to have on hand when you need to make more LemonAID!
Here’s hoping you have a better Monday once you taste this miracle mixture! Hey, when life gives you lemons there are lots of possibilities! And I think LemonAID is a great one!
Calming Caring Love,
YDP
P. S. I did a tutorial of this on Snapchat today (user name blissbakery) if you want to see. But it is a pretty straight forward recipe to follow. I refrained from my usual singing and carrying on in light of some people’s hurting heads! Instead I spoke in just a whisper, I didn’t dance or make any quick moves, and I played some peaceful and relaxing music…..aaaahhh…Monday is almost over folks!
And on the seventh day, YDP rested! It was actually more than the seventh day however. Research says it takes 30 days to make something a habit. Well I have written for this blog everyday for 33 days, and then I paused….to catch my breath! And maybe give your eyes a break too! Hence no post yesterday. I just have so many stories and so many recipes to share with all of you! But.. Whew…..it is okay to pace myself, don’t you think?
Nevertheless I did play a bit more on Snapchat. I got to see some of the footage of Pope Francis’ visit to America on the Live Snapchat feed. That was especially nice because though we own a tv we still haven’t gotten it connected. I loved seeing all the clips of the Americans welcoming him and the different celebrations. It was pretty cool to watch a group of nuns dancing to Sister Sledge who were performing their song ‘We Are Family”. At one event the MC was the actor Mark Wahlberg (yeah the Marky Mark one), the queen of Soul Aretha Franklin sang some gospel and the Irish band The Fray performed their song “How to Save a Life”. I literally had tears in my eyes!
I also did a another food demo for Snapchat. I made some awesome “paleo pancakes” and my luck I think it might have actually been National Pancake Day? They are super easy to make and really all you need is an egg and a very ripe banana. But I added a drop of vanilla extract and a teensy weensy bit of baking powder.
But then I realized I had no maple syrup! Oh dear! The good news was I still had some peanut butter and a bit of dark chocolate left over from the gorgeous bars I made the other day. So I threw together some homemade peanutella! So yummy! I made two large pancakes (they are the consistency of a crepe) in my biggest skillet using hot coconut oil (so then they are dairy free too) and rolled them up with the peanutella. Of course, then put more on top! Goodness gracious me oh my! This pic is from the Snapchat feed, and I was rocking out to “Don’t Stop Believing” from Journey. It was during the part of the song where the lyric goes, “Working hard to get my fill.” So of course I had to belt that out while trying to stuff my face with this amazing brekkie! Ah, the things I do for entertainment. This is why I say, I am truly never bored!
Suddenly I noticed the peanut butter jar was nearly empty. But for me, that means possibilities! So I actually did a quick snapchat tutorial on how to make some overnight oats in the almost empty peanut butter jar. Mine happened to be the famous American brand Jif Peanut butter. And I used the wonderful Irish brand Flahavan’s Organic Oats. How perfect is that for YDP? America + Ireland = Love ( and a healthy brekkie the next day).
There are endless variations, using chia seeds, or various fruits. You can use any nut butter jar too. For my version I simply used 1 cup of milk (I like almond milk), 1/3 cup oats (of course, I like to use Irish oats), one ripe banana mashed, and a drop of vanilla extract and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Put them all together in the jar and give a nice stir, making sure to scrape up the bits of peanut butter from around the sides. Put back on the top. Give a little shake for luck. And do a little sing song and dance to Taylor Swift or Florence and the Machine (funny, they both have songs with the name `’shake”in the title) and pop it into the fridge until morning. Some people eat it the next morning straight up cold. Yuck, not me! I like my porridge just the way Baby Bear’s tastes (from the story Goldilocks and the Three Bears). Not too hot, not too cold, but just right!
Today was a super duper Rugby World Cup day!!! As I said here before, I love rugby. The first match was USA against Scotland. Stella and I wore all our Yankee Doodle red, white and blue patriotic garb and headed to our local pub.
Honestly, my food focused dog was just excited because she knew I was going to share my Sunday roast dinner with her! Which of course I did!
Sadly the U.S. lost, but they gave it their best effort! So we regrouped, changed clothes and got ready for the Ireland vs. Romania match. While there were no American fans apart from us, there were tons of people cheering on the Irish! And they all loved Stella’s Irish flag cape!
All the kids thought Stella was “Super Paddy Dog” which actually is kind of a cool moniker.
And lucky for all of us, Ireland won the match handily! It was a practically perfect Yankee Doodle Paddy, America + Ireland = Love, kinda weekend. But hubby coming back home tonight will really make it complete!
As the back of my shirt say, “peace is the lucky charm”. I hope you all have a wonderful and peaceful week ahead. Thanks for the love!
We have a storied past. A love/love relationship. My mom would use you to remove chewing gum from my hair. An old wive’s tale (now called a hack). Let’s just say, I would regularly get gum in my hair just to smell your fragrant sweetness.
As an adult, playing a “Choosy Mom” in the wildly successful Jif Peanut Butter commercial was a glorious day indeed. And I’m not talking about the paycheck. Or even the ground breaking interracial friendship between my TV daughter and her African American pal on a pretend sleepover. No, it was the unlimited, all day long supply of peanut butter on the film set.
Even now, living in London, I search you out on a weekly basis. Though the epitome of an American diet, you have only just begun to make a significant presence over in this part of the world. So I go looking. High street, and low. And when I find you, I do a touchdown victory dance in the grocery store aisle. Then, I race home to make you into something beautiful. I honor you in such as way as to say, thank you for being you! In all your gyrations, nutty or smooth.
When I go back to America for visits I stock up like a bear getting ready for the winter hibernation never knowing when spring will come. You are my contraband. On one occasion, my checked luggage was over weight, so I ‘chanced my arm’ and popped one of your Super Sized Jif Jars into my carry on bag. Aw, my eyes twinkled thinking I might tuck into you whilst the rest of the plane was forced to eat a ‘mystery meat’ meal. But then it happened. Like a baby being ripped from its mother’s arms they took you away from me. Those mean TSA people called you a “liquid, gel or paste”. I said, NOOOO and tried to cover your invisible ears. I know you’re more than that! I shouted, “Well I hope you meanies have some nice peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, cut down the middle, not the side!” I finally calmed myself down as I didn’t want to get arrested. I almost did once before because of my love for you!
It happened when I was a child of six years old. I was walking home from school and passed by a Circle K store. A little corner shop that would catch my eye every day. From time to time I would poke my head in and maybe walk around a bit. But because we were so poor, I was relegated to the old “window shopping” experience. One day in particular however, my desire for your peanutty goodness, was turned into badness. I came up with a plan, yet, allowed for a bit of improvising in case things went awry. I happened to be wearing a dress that had a huge pocket in the front. So I went inside and wasting no time strode straight to the candy and sweets aisle. No joke, it was literally in front of the check out counter. I proceeded to stuff every peanut butter flavored candy into my pocket until it looked like I was practically pregnant. Now I know I was a young mommy, but not that young!
Then I boldly and brazenly walked right past the counter avoiding eye contact with the man at the cash register. As I neared the door and felt the cool autumn breeze hit my face I thought, YES! I’VE MADE IT! Until I heard the man say, quite sternly, “Excuse me little lady, come back here!” I may be bold, but I am obedient. So I turned around like a little army soldier and marched back to the counter. He asked me what I thought I was doing and I told him straight up, “I’m gonna have a peanut butter party.” He clearly wasn’t in a celebratory mood and ordered me to hand over the goods.
So I started, slowly, and sadly, removing each item from my pocket. First the Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup (sniff), then the Chick o Stick (whaa), next the Butterfinger (ouch), and so on and so on. “There,” I said “that’s it.” This guy clearly had been around the block, because he knew there was one last love in there. “What’s that in there?” he said. “Oh, that? That was in there before. That’s MY Abba Zabba.” OMG I can’t even believe it myself when I retell it. I was such a liar! But at that juncture, he must have thought, this girl clearly has a problem, but I’ll let her off simply because she is darn persistent and quite pathetic. Well, guess what? I had my little peanut butter party with you all the way home and truth be told, it was the last Abba Zabba I ever ate.
To this day, I suffer from guilt over that incident. I have gone to confession over it and even a priestly absolution hasn’t wiped away that oily stain left behind from my naughtiness. A few years ago I had an idea that if I went back to the scene of the crime I might be able to expunge myself of this cruel criminality hanging over my head. I thought if I went back and offered to reimburse the cost of the Abba Zabba, with interest, it might assuage the gnawing remorse. But the Circle K had changed hands and was now called, 7-11.
So, I honor you my beloved friend, by creating treats from your deliciousness. I do penance with peanut butter pastries. And someday when I write my cookbook of all peanut butter recipes I promise to pay homage to you in the prestigious way you so deserve. Yes, I am a converted thief, but forever a fan.
Until then, here is just a tasty sampling of my offer to you! Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars! And when cut small enough, they can even fit into a pocket!
I demoed them on snapchat yesterday and from some of the snaps back, I think they liked the look of them. But wait until they taste them! Well, let’s say that it just might get a bit easier to find your precious self over here on this side of the pond. Because stores will just have to cater to the eminent demand! In fact, I might have to open a Peanut Butter Pub!
Ingredients
Crust:
8 medium sized butter cookies (you can use gluten free like I did)
¼ cup (2 oz) Irish Kerrygold Butter, melted
Chocolate Layers:
2 ½ cups (15 oz.) milk chocolate
Peanut Butter Filling:
1 ½ cups (12 oz/354 g) Jif Peanut Butter (chunky or smooth)
½ cup (4 oz/115 g) Irish Kerrygold Butter, softened
3 cups (15 oz/427 g) Icing/Powdered Sugar
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 325 F/170 C then line 8×8 square baking tray with parchment paper
In a food processor blend cookies until finely ground (or you can put in a Ziploc bag and bash with a rolling pin). Then mix with melted butter and press crumb mixture into pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
Melt chocolate in a double boiler over slow simmer. Or you can microwave gently. Pour half of the melted chocolate over the cooled base. Place in the refrigerator for a bit until the chocolate sets (or for quicker results put in freezer). Make sure to keep the remaining chocolate warmed.
Make the filling by putting peanut butter and softened butter into an electric mixer or food processer. Blend together and stop to scrape down the sides. Slowly add the sugar a little at a time. When mixed, add the vanilla and beat until completely combined. It will be a bit like playdough consistency. Spread filling over the chilled chocolate layer base.
Finish by pouring the remaining half of melted chocolate over top of the filling/choco/base. Spread smoothly and evenly. Chill in the refrigerator approximately one hour until firm. Cut into squares or bars and serve!
Since I don’t want my pretty Pit Stella to feel left out, I share. Dogs aren’t supposed to eat chocolate, but they can have peanut butter! But being a “Choosy Dog Mom” I only let her have Jif!
“If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans”. While credit for that quote has been taken by numerous people, I honestly don’t care who said it. ‘Cuz yesterday I felt like I could have come up with it myself! This indeed was the theme for my day!
I had every intention of geting numerous things accomplished. One of which was to work on some “food styling” (that is a joke you’d only understand if you read the ABC of YDP). Even though my pretty Pit Stella woke me early (uh, it was still dark), I was actually happy because it meant I could get a head start on my to do list. But all that changed after a visit to the gym.
I’m a danger to myself at the best of times. I am literally the clumsiest person you’d ever meet. But put, say, a glass door in front of me, and a phone in my hand….well let’s say I did some awesome head banging yesterday. And I’m not talking about the heavy metal music dance move. While leaving the gym, looking at my phone to check my new “imaginary friends” on snapchat, I walked, head first, into the glass door. My fault, and a well deserved result. But what a way to learn a lesson. I kinda want to go back and ask if they have the cctv video of it ‘cuz I might laugh at it now. But I gave myself a good old wack! No blood thank God, but a big giant nugget on my head.
So what else does a new snapchat user do? Why make it a story! I chronicled the rest of the day while I had to rejigger my schedule to deal with this painful affliction. But first I had to ice it. With no icepacks in the house, I went for the old stand by…
I was a bit light headed and wobbly. Hmmm was it the bonk, exhaustion from the gym or maybe low blood sugar? I went for the later since I am so food focused and decided to have lunch and then a treat of the healthy lime bars I made on Monday. Okay, now I’m thinking some one is out to get me because when I went to the freezer to get them I was welcomed to this:
Upside down lime bars, not in the recipe description. Okay, whatever, I had things to do so I resorted to chanting the phrase the helped me climb Yosemite Falls Mountain, “must keep moving, must keep moving”.
I know from being a mommy and dealing with my kids’ bumps through the years that anything to the forehead always looks worse, but that if you keep an ice pack firmly in place the bump will subside. But as I said, no icepacks in the house and secondly, I wasn’t gonna walk around London city center whilst doing errands holding a pack of peas to “me head”. Think solution not problem…right!
I like being crafty, but I must admit I’ve never done a DIY icepack like this before! But I was really under the gun time wise because I had to do these errands and get home before 5pm because that is D-day in my house. That is when our DOGGIE has to eat her DINNER on the DOT! No joke, she’s my food focused twin.
Again, all this snapchatting, and typing commentary, etc. was taking precious time, so no I didn’t let Stella help! I managed to get the DIY ice pack securely in place with the help of my fav hat and though I ruined my mascara from all the crying (and laughing) I was set to go!
It was a race against the clock!! But I called my hubby to give him a “heads up” about what happened in case he saw it on snapchat and worried that he might have to call an ambulance. He said I looked like a Unicorn! And he warned me that I could be leaking water all over myself as it melted. But I wasn’t worried, because everyone likes unicorns and I used half a roll of duct tape to keep the water in tight!
I took one last look at the WebMD site just in case I could have a concussion and two symptoms jumped out at me. One was ‘blank expression’. I didn’t think I should be concerned about that as I’m usually pretty animated. But just for confirmation I sent a snap (a pic for those of you who have read this far and don’t know what I am talking about) to ask my “imaginary friends”. I was more troubled about the disorientation that could happen so I made myself a human luggage tag, and made sure to bring my Irish Passport!
I took pics along the way just to prove this wasn’t some sort of hoax. I was actually hurt and had to wear this headgear!
Thanks be to God I made it home by 5 pm ON THE DOT! Whew! Gotta keep her happy!
And much to my hubby’s surprise, the integrity of the DIY Ice Pack was superb! I felt a few liquid-y drips graze my brow, but I honestly think it was from sweating! I was running like mad, and on top of that the Tube was jammers with people. Whom by the way were so polite and I had no issues at all with taunts or teases. I guess Londoners are so accepting these days because of having such a diverse culture. Therefore, a lady with a DIY Ice Pack on her head, no bother. I did get one comment from a man that literally had me in stitches! He said he thought I was balancing a Christmas Cake on my head and he felt it was a bit early for “Tis the season” !
Later, I got to thinking that maybe this whole incident was a sign. Like maybe I shouldn’t be doing snapchat after all. I just thought joining this form of social media would be another way to stay connected to my American and Irish families that I miss so desperately! But maybe, just maybe, I had taken on too much with doing the blog as well. Thinking, mulling, deciding…I felt like my head was melting, and with a new bulbous head at that, melting didn’t sound like such a bad solution.
I decided I would put it out there to the snapchat community and ask them. You see growing up I never had an imaginary friend like some children have. But I liken snapchat to it because you interact with something that can feel at times non existent. You put all this stuff out there and you don’t really get much feedback. At least with Instagram or Twitter, you might be lucky enough to get a “Like” or a “Favorite”.
So I asked for some advice or encouraging words about whether I should end my short stint on snapchat. I wanted to hear from them if this door debacle was a sign, or not. And I would choose the best response and award them this gift of a London themed box of Nespresso coffee pods (which by the way are green and orange, two of the colors of my muse, tee hee).
We shall see, as I will go back on tonight at 11pm for the announcement. Though Stella isn’t gonna win any prizes with her attitude about it! It may be a dark pic, but basically it’s her sleeping and dreaming about her fav thing…
Now that I have totally deconstructed this head banging incident, here is a recipe for a deconstructed tiramisu. ‘Cuz if you had a day like mine, you might not have time for the longer, full on version. But having made this before with my cookery students it is actually a fab recipe and one of the main ingredients is funny enough, espresso! So you too have a chance to win a pack to make a few batches of this recipe. Just give me your honest advice and/or encouragement about my snapchat verdict in the comments section!
Deconstructed Tiramisu
Serves 8
4 Tbsp strong espresso coffee
2 Tbsp Coffee Liquor
85 g (3 oz) dark chocolate, roughly grated
2 Tbsp caster sugar
½ cup (4 oz) mascarpone cheese
½ cup cream
4 Tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
24 Boudoir Biscuits
Mix the coffee with the sugar in a saucepan. Over a low, heat stir constantly until the sugar dissolves. Simmer over very low heat for one minute. Remove from the heat and add the coffee liquor. Then let it cool, placing it in the fridge when the pan is no longer hot to the touch.
Next place the mascarpone in a bowl, along with cream, icing sugar and the vanilla extract. Whisk until soft peaks just begin to form.
To serve, place the coffee mixture in a small cup, the mascarpone mixture in a small cup and the chocolate shavings in a small cup. Place them on a plate along with three Boudoir Biscuits. The diner can then dip away at their heart’s content with a personal deconstructed tiramisu!
Thanks for listening (rather reading)…I love you guys so much that my head is spinning!
When was the last time you were on a roller coaster? Can you remember what it felt like when your tummy tickled as you whooshed down from that top peak? Then you almost felt sick when the next ascent began…thinking oh no here goes again!!??
Okay guys, that was me yesterday, only I never left my house. In a nutshell I joined this (maybe no so) new social media called Snapchat. That is the icon pic above with half of my pretty Pit Stella’s face.
As I shared with you on the ABC of YPD I am a techno flub. I don’t have a phobia just that it is a massive challenge. It is hard to believe I was in the gifted program in school, but I was. So I get very frustrated with myself when I can’t navigate these 21st century forms of communication. I only joined Instagram a little over a year ago because my daughter said if I wanted to see pics of my granddaughter regularly it was easier than her emailing them. I had a very short lived relationship with Facebook as I mentioned the other day. And here I am starting this blog by jumping in the deep end (which by the way was how my older brothers taught me how to swim, by literally throwing me in the deep end of a pool).
But I was so inspired to do this snap chat because of two amazing ladies. One of whom I haven’t even met in person! I guess the virtual community is a reality! And yesterday I made my “story” of preparing a healthy version of my Lime Bars. I baked a batch of the naughty ones for the blog last week (click here to see) and they are fab but they do have all the usual suspects.. butter, sugar etc. So this was really a test to see if I could make a tasty healthier version. Eureka! I did! But it literally took me the entire day to do it.
I have very small hands, but seriously I think each of my fingers is a thumb. Now I know why there is that phrase “I’m all thumbs.” To get my non snap chat friends up to speed, in order to make your “story” you have to record in 10 sec increments by pressing and holding this button on your phone. Try doing that whilst you are holding a microplane while you grate/zest the limes. Oh and then you have to type in a few words here and there of various instructions. And of course do the ordinary bits like wash the dishes in between!
There were two things however, that got me through it. One, my cooking songs playlist (heavy on Irish bands of course). Second, my two inspirations Holly and Katrina. They make it look so easy, effortless and they are very entertaining on their snap chats. They do this in spite of busy professional, family and social lives. Not to mention that before yesterday, in the week since I had joined and posted just a couple pics, I only had two followers. Because of their “shout outs” (a Snap chat seal of approval) of me to their followers, I now have….more than two!
By the way, because I now know how to do a screen shot, I was able to take a pic of their shout outs. You see, with snap chat all the stories disappear within 24 hours (hence why Hilary Clinton has been referencing Snap chat lately, but we won’t go into that).
The only caveat is, I love to sing and bop around while I cook and apparently since I am tone hearing impaired, this got Katrina using all sorts of emojis (I even know what those are now too).
This was a seriously fun (oxymoron) kinda day, and Stella had fun too ‘cuz she is my “food focused” twin! I saw a quote recently that says, ‘First name hungry, last name always.” Yep, sums it up! And without further adieu I will sum up this post with some gorgeous lime bars that are, get this, GLUTEN FREE, DAIRY FREE AND SUGAR FREE!!! So even though I ate one yesterday for that perfunctory cooking show shot “now tasting the final result”, I just might have tucked into another lime bar last night before bed…and no guilt what so ever ‘cuz these bars ROCK!
Ingredients:
For the base/crust:
200 g Pistachios (shelled…this is the hardest part of the whole recipe you put your nails in danger for the process!)
300 g pitted dates
3 Tbps coconut oil
100 g gluten free/sugar free biscuits (I used Nairn’s Oat cakes) but you can leave these out if you want to make it Paleo…just add more nuts
For the filling:
4-5 RIPE avocados, depending on size (In the pic I only have 4, but one had some yucky black stuff so I had to throw that part away and used another avocado to make up the difference)
3 Limes (organic and unwaxed if you can find them) juiced plus 1 more for zesting
¾ cup (170 ml) Maple Syrup or Honey (I used a combo of both because I ran out of syrup) sorry I forgot to put that in the pic here
4 Tbsp Coconut Milk
Instructions:
Line an 8×8 square pan with parchment paper so it goes up above the pan…you’ll see why later
Make the base by blitzing the shelled pistachios in a food processor until somewhat chunky. Then toss in the pitted dates and the coconut oil. Continue whizzing until combined and nice and sticky, just a couple of mins.
While the food processor works away, put the biscuits into a large plastic Ziploc bag and then bash them up with a rolling pin until the are crumbs…see I told you, cooking is so therapeutic! Then pop those into a big bowl and add the pistachio/date mixture and blend all together with your (clean) hands…go on have a sensory experience! Okay, then just use a spoon to mix!
Press the mixture into the prepared baking tray…when I say press I mean PRESS down really really hard! Now set aside until your filling is done.
To make the filling, cut open the avocados, remove/take out the pit, and scoop out that gorgeous green flesh into the food processor (which obviously you have washed up after you made the base). Then add the lime juice, the maple syrup, coconut milk and whizz it up until it is nice and smooth. Then grate some lime zest (the green skin/peel on the outside of the fruit, but make sure that if you aren’t using organic unwaxed limes, to wash your limes before you grate the peel). Now give it one final quick blitz! Voila!
Pour the filling into the prepared baking pan on top of the crust and smooth well with a palette knife or back of a spoon.
Put it into the freezer for at least an hour to an hour and a half (depending on how firm you want it).
When it’s done, with both hands carefully remove from the baking pan by lifting the parchment paper up (see this is why you had to make the lining go up above the pan!). Delicately peel down the parchment from the sides so you can then cut it into squares. You must rinse your knife between each cut (sorry to be a pain) to get them to look beautiful!! Some things are just high maintenance!
To serve, you could plate them and garnish with wedges of lime, more lime zest, even some whipped coconut cream.
Just to say you could even make these in individual paper lined cupcake trays!
I know you might be thinking, hmmm, does this taste like guacamole! UHH NO my skeptical friends! It is light, creamy and lime-y lusciousness! This is where you have to suspend disbelief. Like the time I made my Chocovado pudding for my cookery class. Normally the students get all the printed out recipes when they arrive (a starter, main and dessert) but on this day I didn’t want them to see the dessert recipe until after they tasted it. In fact I let them taste the pudding before they watched me demo it because I wanted to see if they could tell the secret ingredient and they couldn’t! It is amazing what our mind tells us based on preconceived notions!
Avocado is one of the all time greatest super foods! I actually used to have an avocado tree just outside the back door when I lived in my dream house in L.A. But it’s only been in the last couple of years that I have been going outside the box and using it more creatively as opposed to the standard guacamole. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but then you kinda need a margarita on the side! Tee hee!
By the way, did you know that among other things, avocado is great for fertility? Sorry guys, not for you, but for the ladies. In fact, the avocado mimics a women’s pregnancy by growing, for nine months, that gorgeous seed/stone inside itself. And surely that momma avocado would want her seed to come out, grow up and live life! Hence many people like to DIY the seed/stone into another tree…The miracle of life in action! And here is a video tutorial by a guy (cuz I didn’t want my boys to feel left out) if you want to give it a try…
Okay, I hope you have a great day, and if you don’t feel like giving these lime bars a whirl, I would suggest something else that pushes you outside your comfort zone…’cuz like the cute grandma in the movie Parenthood said…
“You know, when I was nineteen, Grandpa took me on a roller coaster. Up, down, up, down. Oh, what a ride! I always wanted to go again. You know, it was just so interesting to me that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together! Some didn’t like it. They went on the merry-go-round. That just goes around. Nothing. I like the roller coaster. You get more out of it.”
Thanks for going on this ride with me. I think I’m gonna do a weekly snap chat cooking story and call it “Monday Mayhem” just to keep that tickle in my tummy going! You should sign up to it if you haven’t already…look if I can do it, anyone can!
I love you guys! You’re the best!
YDP
ps. Fun little factoid, Steve Martin, who stars in the movie Parenthood, and I went to the same high school, just at different times. And when I met him through a mutual friend, Martin Short, I reminded him of that. He simply said in his character Gil’s way, “Cool”.
Ever heard of a ‘hand me up” ? It’s like a hand me down but instead of getting, say, an item of clothing passed down from your older sister, you get something handed up from your daughter. And since my daughter has great fashion sense, and I hate to shop for myself, I have benefitted from many a hand me up! Like this dress. I was taking my first selfie as I wanted to show her how it looked….and a little photo bomb from my pretty Pit Stella!
Until my daughter got married she wasn’t really into cooking. I suppose there wasn’t any urgency since she had a mom that cooked and baked everyday. On top of that her brother also loved to get in the kitchen and cook and is a big foodie (a total grill master too). Growing up I tried to impart kitchen wisdom but she wasn’t interested. When she got married, however, she called me on a regular basis for recipes, tips and help. One time in particular when she made her first Thanksgiving Feast she was literally on the phone with me for hours as I walked her through each step. Now she can bang out pretty much any dish with seemingly ease (while juggling an infant on one hip and a preschooler on the other all while getting her masters in Social Work). Superwoman!
So lucky for me I now get “hand me up” recipes as well! This one for Honey Garlic Chicken is so tasty and super easy! I’ve made it a few times and hubby always says, “restaurant quality.” And I always say, “yea but without the cost.” It’s from a cooking site called D*@#m Delicious. (but with the actual letters spelled out). If you click on it you will see what a proper cooking site looks like! Great pics! But I will put the recipe at the bottom of this post as well.
Like most every recipe I try, I have to give it my own spin. In this one, I substituted prawns/shrimp, another time I used chicken thighs (moister and cheaper than breasts). I also left out the Sriracha. And I doubled the recipe for the sauce, well, because it is so good! I learned the first time I made it that this dish doesn’t reheat very well. I was bummed ‘cuz I love leftovers. So the next time I made it with a pot of rice on the side, and some roasted asparagus. It says it serves 4, but um… hubby and I just might have polished it all off! Food coma!!
Just to note that if you are a beekeeper, like a friend of mine from Galway, you too could use your own honey and it would probably be the most incredible version yet. By the way did you know that honey is the only food that never spoils? Since ancient times it has been touted for so many medicinal purposes. I really need to eat more of the stuff. It’s loaded with vitamins and antioxidants, it boosts memory, and… I forget what else. Just kidding (my corny attempt at a joke). Anyway, it’s not called “liquid gold” for nothing! It is really good for seasonal allergies too, but just make sure you are having local honey to get all the benefits.
While living in Dublin I was loyal to a local female beekeeper‘s honey. On her website she has a lovely quote that sums up the bee: “Unique among all Gods creatures, only the honeybee improves the environment and preys not on any other species” . They really are special! When I spent this past summer in the U. S. with my daughter and family I finally watched the Bee Movie with my granddaughter. I loved it! This animated film only deepened my fascination with God’s miraculous creature. Hence any and all recipes that use this sweet, supernatural, superfood ingredient get my vote! And my purchase of matching bee costumes for my granddaughters’ Halloween costumes! I suggested mom and dad go as bee keepers, but we’ll see.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup Panko*
FOR THE HONEY GARLIC SAUCE
1/3 cup honey, or more, to taste
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Sriracha, optional
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9×13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Working in batches, dip chicken into eggs, then dredge in Panko, pressing to coat.
Add chicken to prepared baking dish. Place into oven and bake until golden brown and crisp, about 15-20 minutes.
In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, combine honey, garlic, soy sauce and Sriracha, if using. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and 1/3 cup water. Stir mixture into the saucepan until thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in chicken and gently toss to combine.
Serve immediately, garnished with green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.
*Panko is a Japanese-style breadcrumb and can be found in the Asian section of your local grocery store.
My version….
I think I have a lot in common with the honey bee and this quote from the Bee Movie was when it hit me, “According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. It’s wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway, because bees don’t care what humans think is impossible.” Apart from my cooking abilities, I literally have no other skill sets whatsoever to be doing this blog, as I said yesterday in my disclaimer. But I don’t care!! ‘Cuz I’m gonna fly anyway!
No recipe today folks….but as you can see I’m a happy camper! On this post I want to give you some ABCs of Yankee Doodle Paddy. I suppose you might call it a disclaimer! How to use this blog at your own risk!
A. APOLOGIZE: I need to apologize for the archaic website/blog. It is in its infancy so I aim to make it more user friendly. I am not a techy person as many of you know (but I can work miracles with pots and pans). I don’t know a mega byte from a gigga byte, all I know is that I want another bite of my dinner! I am very foodie focused that’s for sure. So you will see lots of that on here. But I need to sort out tabs for recipes among other things. Rather than wait to get all the jigs and wheels together before I launched, I just decided to jump in the deep end. I hope you will jump with me and we can hold hands while we do it! I want to infuse you with enthusiasm for cooking! Yet because I’m me, I couldn’t just do your basic everyday kinda food blog. I had to incorporate stories…So until I navigate this and tease them out, if you see a post with “Recipe:” in front of it, then you know you will get a recipe. Only thing is you have to read to the end (or scroll through if you don’t have time). Sorry but until I get it all sorted, you have to kinda be an Inspector Gadget and sleuth out the recipes!
B. BALANCE I will aim to balance out the stories of my childhood (which can be a bit tough to read, but they always have a learning lesson) with some stories of life in London, my travels, my time in the entertainment biz (I know some of you want the goss) etc. I also want to balance the stories so they make sense. But just so you know, I won’t be telling things in a linear way. Each new entry will likely jump around in time, but if you get confused just ask me! And if there is anything you want to see or want to know, even kitchen tips please send me a comment. I will work at balancing healthy recipes with some treats (‘cuz I do love my treats). As well, I will be doing some cooking videos!!! So watch this space!
C. CAVEAT Since caveat also means warning, here goes….
I am not a WRITER! Living in Dublin for seven years I soaked up the lineage of great Irish writers. But that doesn’t mean I am one. I am a “share-er” just sharing my story of healing from difficult circumstances by focusing my energies on cooking.
Also, I am not an EDITOR. And I don’t have one on staff (‘cuz I don’t have a staff like some bloggers). ** (see below) So there are likely to be some mistakes. Therefore unless you are the Grammar Garda or the Punctuation Police, you’re gonna have to deal! Or send me a note in the comments and I will fix the mistakes.
** My computer auto corrects to Irish/UK spellings, for example Colour not color etc. It does my head in to find and fix all of them. But my excuse for lack of continuity is that I am just doing a Yankee Doodle Paddy joining them up together, America + Ireland= Love. Some spelled one way and some the other. No bother!
I am not a FOOD STYLIST. During my five years as the Burger King “counter girl” on TV commercials I worked with many professional well paid food stylist and they do all sorts to make the food look pretty on camera..use toothpicks, spray glycerin etc etc. ! I am more about the taste, but I am working towards getting things to look more appealing I promise!
I am not a FOOD PHOTOGRAPHER. There are loads of them online doing amazing blogs with tons of great photos. I use my iPhone mostly. I try my best, but seriously my 4 year old granddaughter could probably take better pics. But I have an amazing passion for food and cooking and if you take this journey with me you’ll see that no amount of perfect paragraphs, precise plating, or glossy pictures can match it!
I am not a PROFESSIONAL BLOGGER. This blog is here to help. I’m not going to be getting paid for every click you make. I don’t want anything from you, in fact I want to give to you! If I can inspire you to cook more, enjoy life, heal from your past, be more kind, etc that is my purpose. And if you know anyone that has survived child abuse/neglect, molestation, rape, divorce, serious illness, depression…please give them this web address. Everyone has a story, this is mine. I can’t change it but I can channel it into something and for me that is LOVE! And if that helps even one person in pain then maybe they can pass it along and help another!
ps. It’s a great day! When I got home from mass I went on my snap chat and found out I won something! It was a contest for the best positive quote. Mine was a quote from Maya Angelou. I will be getting a treat in the mail soon. See positivity produces prizes!
Thanks for reading and being my YDPeeps! Lots of love,
