A sharp rap on the knuckles and a recipe for tonight's supper

You can't see me but I'm holding out my hand so that you can give me that rap on the knuckles I said you could if I hadn't posted something by Friday. Last week was so crammed full of things to do that I had very little time to spend in the kitchen or at the computer. This is why this blog post is three days late and why I broke my promise.

You might go easy on me if you knew what I'd been up to though. I spent two days in Dublin tracking down bargains for the café. I've now got cutlery, glasses, cups and saucers, plates, bowls and some kitchen equipment. It sounds like a lot but I still need tablecloths (which are quickly turning into the bane of my life), sugar bowls, salt and pepper shakers, milk jugs and much more.

As well as shopping, I've sanded and varnished the floor of the café (or should I say my boyfriend did this - this past week, he has been more helpful than I could ever have imagined anyone to be and I'm so thankful). I placed an ad in the local paper for staff and have so far interviewed two people and set up interviews with two others (it's so strange to be the one asking the questions at interviews!).

This week, I'm buying tablecloths, enlisting family and friends to help paint the interior (if you're reading this and you are a member of my family or a friend who lives in Dingle, consider yourself forewarned!), finishing kitting out the kitchen, dealing with suppliers and having meetings with an accountant and a solicitor. Once all that is done, things should be almost ready to rock.

In the meantime, I'm not always going to have a huge amount of time or energy to cook at the end of the day. That means I'll be preparing lots of dishes like this - dishes that are simple to prepare and cook, that are flexible enough to work with whatever you happen to have in your fridge and are always full of flavour.

But when I think of it, these are the kinds of dishes that I tend to cook a lot during the week anyway. This Thai-inspired dish is one of my favourites and as it's such a versatile recipe, it might just become one of yours too.

This recipe started life as an Avoca Café recipe for green bean and coconut soup but I've adapted it to turn it into a much more filling supper dish.

It's a flexible recipe too. I've used prawns here but in the past I've used monkfish, chicken pieces that I've pre-fried in some oil and ground coriander and pieces of hake that I pre-fried in oil with chopped green chilli.

I serve this dish with basmati rice and if I'm very hungry and in need of carbohydrates (as I have been these busy days), I also serve one pitta bread per person. I think it would also be good with some slurpy noodles.

Feel free to experiment. This is a very forgiving recipe.

Ingredients:
(Serves two hungry people with plenty left over for lunch the next day)

15g/half an oz of butter
4 spring onions, cut in half lengthways and then into 5cm strips (include the green bits)
2 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 teaspoons finely chopped lemongrass (be sure to remove the dry outer layers first)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons ground coriander
100g green beans, topped, tailed and chopped so that they are approximately as long as the carrots
1x400ml/14 fl oz can of coconut milk
100ml vegetable stock
110g bean sprouts
14 prawns, peeled and cleaned
1 tablespoon nam pla (if you don't have this fish sauce, season with salt)
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh coriander

150g basmati rice
2 pieces of pitta bread, olive oil and sumac (if using)

• Start by preparing your vegetables, lemongrass, garlic and ginger. You want them to look something like this:

• Put your rice on to cook.
• Brush your pitta breads with olive oil and sprinkle with sumac (if you're using) and place in the toaster. Don't turn it on yet.
• Melt the butter in a wok and add the spring onions, carrots, lemongrass, garlic and ginger. Stir over a medium heat for one minute.
• Add the green beans, turmeric and coriander and stir until the vegetables are coated in the spices.
• Add the coconut milk and the stock.
• Bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
• Add the prawns and cook for 3 minutes or until they have turned pink.
• Stir in the beansprouts and fresh coriander and season with nam pla (or salt).
• Turn off the heat, toast your pitta breads and serve this vibrant yellow prawn sauce over the rice and with the pitta bread.

It's a dish that can't fail to make you happy.

You should never forget to eat...

Do you ever have days when you're so busy you forget to breathe, let alone eat?  For me, these are days when editors bring deadlines forward so that they clash with when I've got classes to teach AND baking to do for the farmers' market.

On days like this, eight o'clock comes around, my head is reeling and, unless things have gone dramatically wrong, I can't believe I've somehow managed to get everything done on time.  Everything that is except eat - as my suddenly ravenous stomach reminds me by growling.

This recipe is perfect for those sorts of days, perfect for when you crave something flavourful and substantial but don't have the energy to spend much time cooking.

I created it on one such day and, because it contains ingredients I usually have in my fridge, freezer and store cupboards, it's one I've cooked at the end of many a busy day since.  Another great thing about this recipe is that it's infinitely adaptable.  If you like chillis, I would add half a red chilli to this dish and cook it with the garlic.  If you don't have as many prawns as the recipe suggests, make it with what you have.  And if you like more or less of any of the other ingredients, the recipe allows for modification.

Ketjap Manis, shrimp paste and nam pla (or fish sauce) may seem like exotic ingredients to have in your store cupboard but, as they both last for ages, I would recommend them to you all.  Ketjap Manis is an Indonesian flavouring/condiment similar to soy sauce.  It has a complex, sweet taste and keeps indefinitely in a cool, dry place.  Shrimp paste is made from fermented, ground shrimp and it's cooked into curries and sauces in Southeast Asia.  It lends a fish-flavoured depth to dishes and it too keeps for ages.  And nam pla is also made from fermented fish and brings a deep, salty flavour to food.

Here's what you need to make the simplest and most delicious of suppers:
Serves 2
150g rice noodles
200g tiger prawns (if you're using frozen ones, be sure to defrost them first!)
1 red pepper, cut into chunks
6 spring onions/scallions, cut into strips approximately 2 inches long
1 large clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
Shrimp paste
Ketjap manis
Nam pla
Oil to cook with

• Prepare all of your vegetables.  Chop the peppers.  Shred the spring onions.  Crush the garlic and chop the coriander. 
• Cook your noodles according to the instructions on the pack.  Once they are cooked, stop them cooking any further by rinsing them in cold water and then drizzle them in a little oil to stop them sticking together.  I like using sesame oil as it compliments the Asian flavours of this dish but if you don't have it, use a flavourless vegetable or groundnut oil instead.
• Heat one tablespoon of your cooking oil (a vegetable, groundnut or olive oil that isn't extra virgin is best) in a wok over a medium heat.
• Add your garlic and cook for one minute.
• Add your chopped red peppers and move quickly in the oil and garlic for another minute or so.
• By this stage, your garlic may be starting to stick to the pan so add half a tablespoon of ketjap manis to loosen things up.  Cook for another minute.
• Add one teaspoon of the shrimp paste and one teaspoon of the nam pla to the dish and cook for another minute.
• Add your prawns and cook for another two to three minutes until they have turned pink. If at any stage you feel like your wok has become too dry, you can add some ketjap manis or nam pla.  Be careful about adding the latter though as it is quite salty.  I would usually add about half a tablespoon of each at this stage. 
• Add your spring onions.  Cook for a minute until they are warm but still retain a crunchiness.
• Sprinkle over the chopped coriander.

• Then get the noodles which you have set aside, toss them into the wok with the prawns and mix the whole thing together. 
• Serve with some extra ketjap manis and coriander to sprinkle over and in ten minutes, you've got the simplest and most delicious of suppers.  It's the best kind of fast food!
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My attempt to cure the common cold: hot and sour soup

Cough. Sniff. Splutter.
It's that time of year, isn't it? When everyone you know seems to be falling victim to the dreaded lurgy: the common cold.
It happened to me on Monday. I went to bed feeling fine and woke up to a runny nose, streaming eyes, a sore throat and a headache.

There are many foods I turn to at times of illness but when a cold strikes, I want something spicy and strong. Something that clears my congested head and restores my energy levels. And most importantly, something that doesn't require too much preparation or too much time to cook. In fact, what I want is something exactly like this:

Nigella's Hot and Sour Soup


Ingredients:
1 and a half litres of chicken or vegetable stock
1 heaped tbsp tom yam paste (optional)
4 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped (optional)
1 stick lemongrass, tender inner part only, roughly chopped
Juice of 1 lime
4 tbsp fish sauce
3 small fresh green or red chillies, finely chopped
1 tsp sugar
150g straw or button mushrooms, quartered
500g peeled raw prawns
5 small spring onions, cut into strips
Small bunch coriander, chopped

Preparation:

• Heat the stock and tom yam paste in a saucepan with the lime leaves, lemongrass, lime juice, fish sauce, chillies and sugar. Bring to the boil.
• Add mushrooms and simmer for a couple of mins.
• Add the prawns and spring onions and add for a further 2 to 3 minutes or until the prawns are cooked but still tender.
• Sprinkle with coriander and serve.

This takes less than 15 mins to make, start to finish, and it's my go-to recipe when I'm feeling congested. (In fact, I probably should pass it on to Brian Cowen. I hear he's got a "congestion problem". Ahem.)
By the way, if you want to turn this into a more substantial supper, all you have to do is add some noodles. Slurp your way back to health!