Saturday, June 12, 2010

Nut loaf attempt no.2 and Raspberry muffins.

I gave the nut loaf another go today and it was successful and tasted great. I would call it more of a vegetable loaf though!
I wanted it to have loads of flavor.
I roasted some peppers, cherry tomatoes and sweet potato to add to it. I fried onions, brocolli and mushrooms in cumin, paprika and other stuff. I can't remember to be honest. Added honey, parsley, pine nuts, some cashew nuts and some soya nuts. Cheese on top! Too bad it was only me for dinner tonight, tomorrow's dinner for everyone else it is then!




I made muffins and they were goooood! I wanted chocolate chip ones but had no chocolate so I used raspberries instead. I used a cornucopia recipe so thumbs up for cornicopia.




No one is home tonight so it's just Lola and I. No one is around either to hangout with also. Booo. I'm to bored right now. Tomorrow I hope to go to the market in the park, Yumm.

I am going to Paris on Monday! & staying here!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Nut loaf attempt no.1

So I decided to try make a nut loaf yesterday. I followed a recipe I found online but didn't really stick to it but it gave me direction in how to make one
I put peppers, onions, sweet potato, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, cashew nuts, pine nuts in.
It cooked real well and the texture was great but wasn't great on flavor. So next time I'm gonna make it extremely tasty and put all sorts in to make it high on taste. I'm thinking putting mashed sweet potato with honey into the mixture, broccoli, chills, cumin and some herbs and shit. Oh chick peas tooo!




Itsa bagel lunches in dunloire are still class.


As are chocolate crepes..


I got kelkin's chocolate covered soya beans the other day thinking were chocolate covered peanuts . They were lovely but have nothing on chocolate covered raisins <3. You think all this shit is alright to eat and healthy but it is far from it. The amount of calories in these healthy alternatives. Tesco do a big bag of chocolate covered raisins for 99c, bargin!

Boojum mex in town is a place I am dying to try, Hi jessse come with meee. Shakes also!

I want to make muffins soon. Like whoppper ones. A lot of recipes I look at they make little muffins that are pretty much just cupcakes in a muffin case. The cornucopia cookbook has a recipe for some and in the pictures they are huge.
The best muffins are from BB's. So good. Then again Avoca do the best carrot cake muffins going.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Online days

I hate days like this. Consisting of staying in all day and pretty much spending it online. To lazy to do anything else but eat biscuits. Movies in the park this weekend but the rain clouds have come :(

I have been listening to this song all day

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Best Summer Discovery

My mum arrived home yesterday with some fake beef vegi burgers. I was a bit reluctant at first but I grilled them up and put it in a bun with salad, letteuce and tomato plus ketchup and salad cream. And jesus christ it was amazing. It tasted just like summer bbqs all those years ago. 1.49 for like 4 of them, cheapo.



I want to have a vegi bbq.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Summer Cakes

Normal sponge cake with raspberries in it and Melted white chocolate. I decided to put chocolate in it and hope for the best. It came out lovely and made it soo moist!



My small collection of cook books!

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Back Baking!

So I'm off for summer now so this means I have time to bake. yayy.
I am going to fill you in with all my recent culinary encounters!

The first things I made were Banana cake cupcakes

Will be making again!

Yesterday I was going to Rachel's bday party all the way in Nass. I offered to make her a bday cake and to make her lots of cupcakes as her present.
She wanted me to make her a double layered brownie cake. With icing in top and in the middle. I had originally attempted to write Happy Birthday with m&ms, but that failed so I just covered it in m&ms. I had to use normal sugar to make this opposed to a finer caster sugar. So it made it extremely chewy and lovely because the sugar like crystallizes and shit.


I also made Raspberry cupcakes with raspberry icing and White choc chips on top and some with just blue icing.
The icing failed and didn't stay all thick so that sucked. I need to prefect icing making.
I did however get these sweet cupcake boxes in Kitchen compliments in town. Only 2 euro each!






This took me 4 hours, how I don't know. What's up diabetes? The amount of sugar used in the making of all this. I had to carry this all around town for an hour. My arms were like jelly. I wish I bumped into someone I know so I could feed them cupcakes.

what else.
Pizza hut wannabe italian pizza. Don't get it, it's shit and goes cold straight away cause its so thin.

Do however get this. A whopper cookie. Nommm. Also from Pizza Hut.
The counter, Dundrum. Eaten here a couple of times the past few weeks as an alternative to Nandos. Bit Meh. The vegi burger I am not that into but I love the restaurants ethics and structure. You are given a sheet and you tick off all the topping, sauces, cheese you want. I got the vegi burger in a form of a salad though. They do sweet potato chips which are amazing. And the best chocolate milkshake!
All their meat is sourced locally and is certified to be raised and killed humanly as well as being anti biotic and hormone free. I liked that a lot. If it is true, I don't know. Oh all their eggs are free range too.

Just a typical toastie.
I tried to make a curry the other night. No matter how hard I try to make a nice one that has loads of taste, I fail at it. I have now given up. I CAN'T MAKE CURRIES.



Toast with Chocolate spread and Marshmellow fluff. Oh so goood.


I have been loving corn on the cob so much recently. Homemade stuffing too. I love stuffing soooo much. Beast of a dinner I had one night.



I started a vegetable garden a few weeks back and it's going so well.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Time time time

May 2nd was the last time I baked. That sucks. I have not had much time to do stuff like that. Well I guess I do at times but If I was to start baking I'd feel guilty and be getting Fat in the process. Sorry blog, this time next week we will be back in action. I promiseeee.

I am in the middle of my exams at the moment. The motivation and stress to study that was upon me last week has gone out the window. I just do not care anymore. I came into the library today and I've done absolutly fuck all. I'm studying for Hertiage and Culture Tourism. The notes are a load of shit, so It's hard.
I've been on the internet on my iphone(btw got a iphone, 20 euro bargin, tx rog), in the computer room and photocopying recipes from good food magazines to pass time.
I am Leaving to meet Jesse in around an hour. Gonna pick us up some milkshakes on the way.

In other news, my laptop broke.
All my shit is downstairs in the library and I am in a great mood. I can't wait to walk up to Grafton Street. I love it in the evening time so much for some reason.
caoiiii :)

Monday, May 3, 2010

Bank Holiday Mondays

Today was a good good day. If I of had to gone to college, it would of been the shitest. Although If I had gone, I would've done some study.
It's when I'm trying to avoid study I preoccupy myself with so much stuff.
My exams start on the 17th and I've yet to start studying. Tomorrow! Well I say that now..

Anyway, I'm telling you about my great day.
I woke up and went up the Hill with Bella. Lola wouldn't come cause she is sooo lazy these days. It was so sunny and warm this morning, I could've done with some shorts.
Instead of strolling around the hill and taking the easy ways, I power walked/joged up all the hills. I'm trying to get fit and healthy. Well I say this now, By tomorrow I will have eaten my weight in biscuits. I tried to keep my heart beat going fast for the whole hour. So I would start running every now and then.

Yesterday my Mum agreed to go to The Happy Pear, in Greystones.'The Happy Pear is a natural food market in Greystones, Co. Wicklow with an organic and non-organic produce section, a café and restaurant, a world-class juice & smoothie bar, and a dried goods section.'
Most Importantly a Vegetarian Restaurant :).
I don't know how I've never been before. It's like I've never been to cornucopia. Everytime I go, there's zero seats.

The Happy Pear has outside seating, but there was none.There was loads sitting out the front, You can tell the place is loved by the locals and is very popular in general. So we sat upstairs. It's so lovely and cozy up there. Bay windows and bright colors. It's a pretty old building too so it has lots of Character.



They had several options. Salads, Pitta with Roasted peppers and rocket and hummous, Veg lasagna, some pasta thing and 2 soups.




I got the lasagna along with 2 salad choices, Chickpeas and Baby Potatoes. My sister went for the Lasagna with no salad.

It was good! It has leeks, courgette, peppers, sun dried tomatos, onions. I can't remember what else! The paste sheets were lovely and fresh. I could tell they were made there in the shop.

And the mother went for the 'Spring Greens' soup. Thinking back now, I never tried some.
#

Desert time! They has loads of options.


My sister and I went for the Brownie, I needed chocolate bad. Maybe should of been more adventurous! And my mum got Banana and walnut cake.






We got it all plus drink for around 30 euro, not bad!
www.thehappypear.ie :)

Yesterday I got one of those raised flower beds for around 20 euro, So good. Most are so expensive. I've been wanting to properly grow vegetables for years. So today I finally did it. I put together the bed, filled it up with soil, planted the plants and bulbs and voila! I also had some potatos still growing from last year!
I hope to god it works out and doesn't fail. Too much rain and snails are my biggest barrier.


Planted Letteuce, Rocket, parsley, rosemary and onions so far.

Also, I found vegetarian Haribo! Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.



Think I'm going to walk to Dunloire to meet Jesse and Alisha for the cinema!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Cupcake Crazy, Cupcake Mad

I've become slightly obsessed with cupcakes now. Constantly thinking of different icings to make and flavor cupcakes.

Yesterday I spend the afternoon baking. I was in my element!
I had bought a proper proper piping icing bag a few days previous. This one compared to the last one I got, which broke, is a lot better. The nossels on it are thicker so gives a better effect.

I made 3 Different types.
  • Chocolate with Chocolate Icing.
  • Plain with Marshmallow Fluff Icing with sprinkles and a blob of chocolate icing on top.
  • Raspberry with Raspberry icing.




Bear in mind this is my first time using an icing bag, I aim to get so class at it!
The Raspberry. I love how pink they are. And how it all natural colouring. I make them pink by adding like 2 raspberries. Does the job! They are Jesse's Favorite.