Foodie Friday: Jalapeno Cheddar Scones

OK I didn’t get time to do my own food post this week but I discovered a new Food blog during the week and thought I would share a recipe from their blog. I found Smitten Kitchen when searching for tips on food photography and discovered not only are their food pics amazing but they have fantastic recipes as well. Bonus!

Jalapeño-Cheddar Scones
Adapted Peter Oleyer at Calexico Carne Asada in Brooklyn, via NYMag

It’s worth noting that I had my doubts about this recipe. This world is overflowing with terrible scones and after trying too many bad ones, I came to the conclusion that the only good scones — the only ones you should bother making or eating, ever — are these dreamy cream ones. However, this recipe manages to be different — it contains eggs! — and yet is still delicious but considering the possibility that there are two good scone recipes on earth makes my sleepy head hurt thus I will reconcile this another time. For now, know that these are good, very good.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick or 4 ounces) cold butter, diced
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 eggs, divided
1/4 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, diced
2 small jalapeños pepper, minced (I wimped out and used only one only to find my scones entirely heat-free)

Preheat oven to 400°F. In a small skillet, melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter and sauté the jalapeños in it until soft, about two minutes. Let them cool, then place them in a small bowl with the cheddar cheese and coat them with one tablespoon of the flour. Combine the remaining flour with the baking powder and salt. Cut in the remaining butter with a pastry blender, fork or two knives, until the butter bits are pea sized.

Lightly whip two of the eggs and cream and add to the flour-butter mixture. Using a wooden spoon, fold mixture until it begins to come together. Add the cheddar-jalapeño mixture to the dough and mix until everything is incorporated.

Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead gently for less than one minute. Pat dough out to a 3/4- to 1-inch thickness and either cut into 8 triangles or the shape of your choice with a biscuit cutter. Make an egg wash by beating the remaining egg with a teaspoon of water. Brush the scones with egg wash and place on a parchment-lined (or well-oiled) baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Scones are always best the first day.

Want to flash-freeze yours, – Brief directions, here.

Foodie Friday: Simple Veg Stir Fry

Another edition of Foodie Friday. This week we have another exquisite recipe from J. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm -

SIMPLE VEG STIR FRY – a light meal / lunch or side dish for 2 people

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 2):

1 tablespoon Sesame Oil

1 tablespoon Sunflower Oil

1 white onion, sliced

2 handfuls of Pak Choi

2 handfuls of beansprouts

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 red chilli, finely chopped

2 tablespoons of oyster sauce

1 tablespoon of Soy Sauce

Optional: 12 prawns

Add the 2 oils to a wok or large non-stick pot and heat on quite a high heat for a minute.

Add the onion, garlic and red chilli and cook for a minute stirring so they don’t brown.

Add the pak choi and the beansprouts and cook for a couple of minutes, still on the high heat, until they’re heated through and the beansprouts are softening.

Add the oyster sauce and soy sauce and cook for one minute.

Have a quick taste and see if you need more soy sauce.

If using prawns, add for the last minute of cooking and ensure they are heated through before removing from the heat and serving.

TIPS

For a more substantial main course, add prawns. I always keep a packet of frozen tiger prawns in the freezer, which makes for a very quick and easy (and tasty!) meal.

Oyster sauce – once opened it should keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge, depending on the brand, so check the label.

Soy Sauce - you can use fish sauce if you prefer – both give the food this dish the salty kick it needs, or else Liquid Aminos from a health store if you’re not allowed sugar/ fermented products.

Foodie Friday: Chicken Soup

Some say Chicken soup is food for the soul and I have to agree. When its pouring rain outside or I am feeling a little unwell I love nothing more than a bowl of homemade chicken soup. Its also a great way to use the leftover roast chicken too.

And here is

D’s world-famous© chicken soup

(all measurements are approximate. in fact, there are no real measurements used in this world-famous recipe.)

For delicious chicken soup, enjoy a roast chicken dinner the night before.

Pick the carcass as clean as possible of the meat and save this for later.

Chuck the chicken bones in a pot along with a large onion quartered plus a couple of crushed garlic cloves and cover with a lot of water. use plenty as you want most to evaporate leaving a tasty reduced stock.

Boil furiously for around an hour and a half, checking occasionally that there’s still some water left.

Strain the stock into a jug, and pick through the bones again for any remaining scraps of meat adding them into the jug. Mind your fingers as the bones are very hot. it usually is a good idea to wait a while for the bones to cool down.

Rinse out the pot and lob in a good knob of butter allowing it to melt over a low heat.

Dice 2 large onions and add them to the pot. increase the heat and sweat the onions for about 3 minutes. add the reserved stock and bring to the boil.

Place a chicken or vegetable stockcube into the jug and add a pint and a half of boiling water, mixing it thoroughly. Add this to the pot.

Slice and cube any vegetables you have lying around (carrots, parsnips, turnip, sweet-potato – whatever your tastebuds decide – ordinary potato cubed creates a lovely thickened texture) and drop them into the pot.

Throw in a great big handful of herbs – the fresher the better – and don’t be afraid of throwing in some more. Dried italian or herbs-de-provence are fine too. just remember that lots work best.

add whatever chicken meat you saved earlier into the pot.

Allow to simmer for about an hour. No lid.

This should produce a delicious, hearty and satisfying chicken soup.

Foodie Friday: Zingy Thai Salad

We have a guest Foodie this week.  J is a master at Thai cuisine which is my favourite cuisine of all. I could eat Thai food and nothing else. Here is her recipe for a Zingy Thai Salad. Yum!

ZINGY THAI SALAD  (serves 2)

This is very versatile – you can have it as a snack or a main meal.

You can also tailor it to use your favourite fresh crispy salad and veg ingredients.

Here’s what I included on this occasion:

FOR THE SALAD

Handful of Crispy Lettuce, roughly chopped

10 cherry tomatoes, halved

2 carrots, thinly sliced

Half a red onion, thinly sliced

Large handful of beansprouts washed

Large handful of sugarsnap peas, topped and tailed.

3 tablespoons of peanuts (use cashewnuts either)

1/3 of a cucumber, sliced lengthways, remove the seeds and then slice into half moons

FOR THE DRESSING

2 tbl Fish Sauce

2 tbl Freshly squeezed Lime Juice

1 tsp Sesame Oil

1 tsp palm sugar or brown sugar (or xylitol)

Handful of Coriander leaves

Handful of Mint leaves (optional)

1 tsp grated or finely chopped ginger

1 tsp grated or finely chopped garlic

1/2 tsp of grated or finely chopped red chilli

METHOD

Prepare salad ingredients and put onto a large salad platter or bowl and set aside.

Mix together all the dressing ingredients and taste to ensure you have the balance right for your tastebuds.

Fish Sauce will make it more salty.

Lime Juice will cut through it more and make it more tangy.

Be careful not to overdo the Sesame oil as its very strong and too much can ruin your dressing.

Blend with a hand blender if you wish, and spread over the salad.

OPTIONS

Serve with thinly sliced beef, chicken or some oven-roasted fish (cooked with lime leaves for extra zest) for a more substantial meal.

I cook the meat in a little bit of the dressing to give it some flavour.

Foodie Friday: Observer’s Food Monthly Mag

Pre – cohabitation D had a little Sunday routine where he would buy the Observer newspaper in the afternoon, head to the pub for a read and of course a pint. Now since I moved in, allegedly, I have upset some of his rituals. He stills buys the newspaper every Sunday but only occasionally reads it over the pub or alternatively during the week if we were out and about on Sunday interacting with people or god forbid – nature!!

I think I may have gone totally off the point – this post is about food and the fact that The Observer has a Food Monthly Magazine and back in July they had a great article that listed 100 easiest, fastest recipes, Ever. D tried one of the recipes out during the week and it was out of this world fantastic. De-lic-ious!!!

Penne with Asparagus

Boil three handfuls of penne rigate.

Trim a bunch of the freshest asparagus you can get and cut it into cross sections that match the size of the pasta shapes.

Throw them into the same water for the pasta’s last minute.

Separate two eggs, keeping only the yolks.

Grate a fistful of parmesan and pick a bunch of basil.

Drain the pasta and asparagus, and return it to the pot, off the heat.

Add a tablespoon of butter, the egg yolks, the basil and the cheese.

Fold together quickly, season to your liking and eat.

TIP: When asparagus goes out of season you can make the same dish with peas straight from the pod.

Foodie Friday: Homemade Salsa

Well I am not having a good morning. I have somehow misplaced the lead for my camera so I can’t download any photos at the moment. So please note the photo below is not of the salsa I made but I will replace it once I get sorted.  The recipe below is courtesy of my good friend Jan and it is yummy.

Jan’s Special Salsa

1 x  Tin of Roma Organic Tomatoes -400 grams

2-3 Spring Onions – chopped

1 x medium red chilli – chopped

Juice of half a lime

1 x big bunch of fresh coriander – chopped

salt & pepper to taste

Optional – Dash of fish sauce

Optional – half a clove of garlic

Keeps fresh in the fridge for 2-3 days

Serve with tortilla chips, carrots & celery sticks and perfect to serve dinner guests when they arrive. Or serve with an omelette or on top of a grilled chicken breast. Mmmm

Link to photo source

Foodie Friday

Foodie Friday may or may not become a regular thing. I certainly hope it does and I am trying to convince one of my good friends – who is an absolute star in the kitchen – to write a post once a week for Design Heaven. She makes one of the best Thai Curries this side of the equator.

I love food, especially when it gives you that warm fuzzy feeling for hours after. I usually find this feeling follows food that is made with fresh wholesome produce and minus the crap you find in most packaged food these days.

SO am I a happy camper that D loves making this bread recipe we found on You Tube. No Knead Bread is so simple you will wonder why you ever bothered with shop bread.

Bush Garden Cafe & Food Store

I sometimes dream of owning a cafe / superfood market. I want it to be filled with yummy wholesome food that is locally sourced where possible and not mass produced. I would allow sweet things too but someone would have to keep me away from them otherwise I would eat the profits! I love this little cafe located in Shepherd’s Bush in London. The Bush Garden Cafe & Food Store looks like it has so many yummy things to eat. Its not obvious that I just started a new low GL regime is it?

pics from shoot factory

Taste Festival – Mmmmmmmmmmmm

I think good food and fine wines perfectly complement beautiful interiors.  So I feel talking about good food is not out of place on an interior design blog. And besides its nearly lunchtime and all I can think of is a big plate of prawns on a bed of salad. Mmmmm

The Taste Festival is a four day affair and will start this Thursday 11th June until Monday 14th June held in Iveagh Gardens, Dublin.

Dublin’s finest restaurants and their chefs will be cooking there signature dishes for you to sample.

Darina, Clodagh and Rachel will be there cooking up a storm as well as lots of yummy food and wine.

And the best thing is this year the Taste of Dublin is “turning Thai” with a dedicated ‘Taste of Thailand’ feature. Thai cuisine is my favourite cuisine of all!!

Tickets are a bit pricey but I guess the sample dishes are cheaper here than in the actual retaurants.

lets hope the weather is better this year!!!

Bloom in the Park

I am really looking forward to the Bloom in the Park event coming up this long weekend. I love flowers, tranquil gardens, fresh produce and handmade crafts and this event has it all. Bloom is taking place in the Phoenix Park, Dublin from 28th May until 1st June.

What a lovely way to spend the long weekend. I am convinced the weather is going to be absolutely fabulous so I am off to buy a picnic blanket.

One of the gardens featuring in this year’s show will be the Sleeping Tiger by garden designer Sheena Vernon. Sheena has put together a credit crunch garden for those of you who don’t have loads of money to spend. The budget is 3,000 euro and if you have to move you can take the garden with you! One of her tips for saving money is if you don’t have the money for big ceramic pots why not paint the black plastic pots the plants come in.