Good food and box sets - the only way to recover from the excesses of Christmas

Is it just me or are there others out there who think the festive season ought to be renamed exhaustion season? While it was lovely to catch up with family and friends over Christmas and New Year, the endless whirlwind of cooking, eating, drinking, socialising and staying up late wore me out and I'm only just beginning to recover.

The weather probably had its part to play too. Here in Dingle and all over Ireland, it didn't stop raining for days. And by rain, I'm not talking about a light shower. No, we're talking torrential downpours here. This meant that the only time I got out of the house was when I ran to the car to venture to the shops for more supplies or to the pub to meet up with friends!

Nor did I succeed in sticking to the OMS diet 100% of the time. It was next to impossible considering the amount of chocolate and mince pies in the house!
However, I didn't stray too much. I'd taken precautions by preparing batches of OMS-friendly treats such as these cookies and raw brownies so I was able to tuck into those whenever I felt tempted. And I'm very much back on the wagon now, using the power of good food to help me get over the exertions of Christmas*.

One of the dishes I've been cooking a lot lately is this one: spiced cauliflower and leeks with green beans and freekeh.

It's a dish that quick and easy to make. Its seasonal ingredients are affordable and widely available in the shops. It's packed with nutritional goodness. And for anyone who doesn't know what freekeh is, it's an ancient grain with a nutty flavour. Once confined to health stores, it's now stocked in many supermarkets. But don't worry if you can't find it. Feel free to substitute with any other wholegrain. I'd recommend bulgur wheat for its similar flavour and texture.

The following portions serve one.

50g freekeh (or alternative wholegrain)
150g cauliflower, approximately one quarter of a head of cauliflower
100g leeks, approximately one leek
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 tablespoons water
70g green beans
Some chopped coriander

• Start by preparing your vegetables. Remove the tough stalk from the cauliflower and tear the remainder into small florets. Remove the hairy root from the leek, peel off its tough outer layer and then chop what remains into one-centimetre-long rounds. Top and tail the green beans and cut them in half.
• Place your freekeh in a pan of salted water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 minutes.
• Place the olive oil in a wok or frying pan (be sure to use one that has a lid). Add the spices and salt. Add the cauliflower florets and chopped leeks and toss so that the veggies are covered in the spicy oil. Add the water. 
• Place a lid on the wok/frying pan and place it over a medium heat. Cook for 10 minutes, shaking the pan frequently to make sure none of the vegetables are sticking to the bottom of the pan.
• Five minutes before your freekeh is due to be cooked, add the green beans to the pan with the grains and cover with a lid.
• Once fifteen minutes are up, toss the contents of the two pans together. Add some chopped coriander and combine thoroughly. Taste and add a touch more salt if necessary.
• A fried or poached egg makes a delicious addition to this dish.
• May we all eat this well in the year to come!

* Now that the weather is better, I'm able to exercise more too. Long walks in the fresh air with my always enthusiastic dog Jimmy are just the thing to lift the spirits. And so too are dark evenings curled up on the sofa with the latest season of the Bridge. I'm looking forward to watching Making a Murderer next. Have any of you seen it?

You can also find me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter 

Memories of childhood Saturdays and a recipe for dairy-free ice cream

What were your Saturdays like when you were a child? Mine would always begin with my sisters and I huddled under duvets on the sofa, chomping on bowls of Rice Crispies with milk and giggling at Saturday morning cartoons.

They would end with mass. It never mattered how much we resisted that weekly trip to church, we’d be washed, scrubbed and dressed in our Sunday (or in this case, Saturday) best before being dragged reluctantly along to the service.

Our parents did try to sweeten the deal though. In an attempt to ensure that we didn’t fidget or fight during what often seemed like a never-ending service, our parents would promise us the ice cream of our choice from the shop across the road from the church once mass was over.

Peering into a freezer full of ice cream, trying to decide between a Feast, Cornetto, Freaky Foot or Tangle Twister became the Saturday night ritual of my childhood and I still associate ice cream with a treat.

It’s a treat that I’ve been unable to indulge in since I started to follow the OMS diet. And boy have I missed it!

Despite the fact that there has been a huge growth in free-from foods, I haven’t been able to find many ice creams I can eat.  A lot of dairy-free ices are made with coconut milk and because of its high saturated fat content, that’s not an ingredient for me.

Lately though, I have been hearing good things about ice creams made with frozen bananas. So last week I decided to experiment.

I must admit that my hopes weren’t high. Bananas may be sweet but I couldn’t see how they could also be creamy…

However, there’s magic in these ingredients. Combined, they create a flavour, a texture and a melt-in-the-mouth deliciousness that's just like ice cream. 

And you don’t just have to take my word for it. My partner Richard (who hasn’t had to abstain from regular ice cream like I have) likes this ice cream too. In fact, he said it might just be the best thing I’ve ever made.

So there you have it: it’s possible to combine five simple dairy-free ingredients to create a truly decadent treat – one that I think even my childhood self would have liked!

Sharon's mint-choc dairy-free ice cream

This makes two moderately-sized ice cream portions. If it's the sort of evening where you want to sit on the sofa, watch TV and gorge on ice cream, you're going to need a lot more!

3 frozen bananas

3 tablespoons cocoa powder 

2 tablespoons almond milk

1 tablespoon date syrup or sweetener of your choice 

4 mint leaves

• Peel and chop the frozen bananas. I find this easier to do if I chop the bananas into two-centimetre/one inch thick slices first. Your fingers will get cold though so it might be a good idea to wear a pair of rubber gloves to avoid the chill factor!*
• Add the chopped banana slices and the other ingredients to a food processor or liquidiser. 
• Blitz until smooth and enjoy. 

I'm planning to experiment with more flavour combinations in the next few weeks. I'm thinking chocolate and raspberry and rum and raisin. Do you have any other suggestions? What's your favourite ice cream flavour? Or what was your favourite ice cream when you were a child?

* In response to this post, smarter people than me have said that they peel, slice and bag their bananas before they go in the freezer. I'll be doing this from now on to avoid frozen fingers!

Honesty and emotion on Lena Dunham's Girls and the much-needed comfort of cookies

I've been a fan of the TV series Girls from the very beginning. There have been many moments when Lena Dunham's (sometimes brutally) honest depiction of just how self-absorbed and unaware young women can be struck a chord and made me realise how much I've grown up since my early twenties.

I haven't enjoyed this latest series as much. Or at least I wasn't enjoying it until I watched episode 5.

{SPOILER ALERT}
This is the episode when Hannah returns to New York to find that her boyfriend Adam has moved in with another girl, that she has been replaced in his heart and that his life has moved on without her in it. She reacts in typically over-dramatic Hannah fashion (although, to be fair, I think we'd all be just as dramatic if we discovered that our boyfriend was living with someone else and hadn't bothered to tell us that our relationship was over).

This episode culminates with Hannah and Adam having a heartfelt conversation where they discuss their past relationship and where they now stand with each other in a very open and rational way. They talk about what they had and how it's gone and how they both need to leave it behind and move on to something new - although Adam is obviously more ready to do this than Hannah is.
This entire conversation felt so real to me (though it must be acknowledged that life rarely affords us the opportunity to say exactly what we feel and think at exactly the right time as it does on TV). It touched upon the sadness we all feel when letting go of something that was special; how difficult it is to recognise when the moment is right for us to do this; the loss and heartbreak we feel when someone is no longer a part of our lives; and yet how vital it is that we make that break and move on to better and happier times.

These feelings lived on in me long after I finished watching the show and I needed the comfort of cookies. So I made these almond and ginger cookies.

They're adapted from a Lilly Higgins recipe. (She's a Cork lady and a great baker.)

Makes 10 regular sized cookies
50g olive oil
60g light muscovado sugar
75g almond butter
100g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon bread soda
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
40g ginger nuts (stem ginger)*, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons of the syrup from the stem ginger
40g almonds, roughly chopped
30g sesame seeds 

• Preheat the oven to 180 C/350F.
• Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
• Mix the olive oil, sugar, almond butter, flour, soda and ginger in a bowl until well combined.
• Add the chopped ginger nuts, syrup and chopped almonds and mix again.
• Roll teaspoons of the dough into balls and then roll the balls in the sesame seeds until they are coated.  
• Place on the baking tray and flatten slightly. (These cookies don't spread out much while baking.)
• Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.  Allow to cool on the tray and then dig in.

Episode six of Girls shows in Ireland tonight and I've only got one cookie left. Perhaps I need to get baking?

*Some of you have expressed confusion about ginger nuts/stem ginger. They are pictured on the spoon in the photo above and are essentially preserved, candied ginger bottled in a sweet syrup. You'll find them for sale in an increasing number of supermarkets but I often find mine in Middle Eastern stores (where they are cheaper too). 

The big FAT misunderstanding and a recipe for figgy flapjacks

Fat and the role it plays in our diet and in our bodies has been in the news a lot lately. From the way it's been reported in the media, the current prevailing wisdom is that fat is no longer a culprit in the fight against obesity. We've been getting it wrong all along. The new villains are sugar and refined carbohydrates.

Sigh of exasperation.

There is some truth to this but, as per usual with the way the media pounces on any stories relating to food, it's over-simplified. For years we were told to replace butter with margarine spreads (yuck!) and now we're being told to eat butter to our heart's content. The true nutritional understanding lies somewhere between the two. 

I don't claim to be an expert but because my Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis diet is all about fat, I've done a lot of research into this issue. Based on what I've learned, here's what the general population should know about fat:

1: Saturated fat (the fat found in foods such as meat, cheese, butter, cream, milk and coconuts) is not bad. In fact, a little of it is actually very good for you. But there's the rub: I do mean a little. As always, it's a case of everything in moderation.
(If you've got MS, the advice regarding saturated fat is VERY different but that's another blog post entirely.)

2: Very few of us get enough omega 3 fats from the food we eat. These fats are vital to our body's overall health, especially the strength of our immune system. Most of us know we can get omega 3 by eating oily fish such as mackerel, sardines, salmon and herrings. But with the world's fish stocks under severe pressure and the health and environmental risks associated with eating farmed fish, it may not be possible (or even desirable) for everyone to get their omega 3 by eating fish.
There are other options. Flaxseed and flaxseed oil are both high in omega 3. Flax is grown here in Ireland and it's a sustainable healthy product. Chia seeds and walnuts are good sources too.

3: Sunflower oil, vegetable oil and oils that come in clear plastic containers are generally to be avoided. Although they have been sold as healthy alternatives for years, this is not the case.
In pre-industrial times, oil was perishable. It deteriorated quickly because it reacted to light, heat and air so traders would sell small quantities of oil which would be stored in ceramic sealed containers in the home. 
(You know those pretty ceramic oil dispensers you see for sale in gift shops in the south of France? Well, they had a practical purpose as well as an aesthetic one. The opaque container meant the oil wasn't exposed to light. The seal prevented it from being exposed to air. And the heavy insulation of the ceramic material meant it never got too hot either. It wouldn't go rancid before it could be used. The same thinking is behind the reason why all good brands of olive oil - and other oils - are sold in dark bottles of thick glass.)

So, how come oils can be sold in clear plastic containers, exposing them to light for months on end while they sit on supermarket shelves and kitchen counters? It's because they have been chemically treated so that they are no longer perishable. This is good for the companies who sell these oils but not for the people who consume them. The chemical treatments destroy any health-giving nutrients originally contained in these oils and, in many cases, create dangerous toxins instead.
There's a huge amount of reading you can do on this topic. If you're interested, I'd recommend starting with Fats that Heal: Fats that Kill.

I don't want to turn into a ranting evangelist so I'll leave it at this.
- Saturated fat is good for you IN MODERATION.
- Most of us need more omega 3 in our diet.
- Be careful what oils you use when cooking. Oils that come in clear plastic containers and are able to sit in your kitchen for months without spoiling are not beneficial to good health. 

Now as a thank you for putting up with my lecture, here's a delicious recipe for fig-filled flapjacks. It's packed with good fats and naturally unrefined sugars.

The ingredients are simple:
225g oats
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
60g chopped dried figs
60g chopped almonds
100g walnut oil
75g maple syrup

You will also need a rectangular baking tin measuring 23cm by 28cm (or 9 inches by 11 inches)

• Pre-heat your oven to 160 C/320 F
• Chop the figs and almonds.
• Mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl.
• Pour in the oil and the maple syrup and combine all of the ingredients thoroughly using a wooden spoon.
• Tip the mixture into the baking tin and flatten it with the palm of your hand.

• Cook in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden on top.
• Leave to cool in the tin and then cut into 9 squares.
• Enjoy with a cup of tea or eat as a snack on the go.

Comfort eating, vegan style

Our house is right by the sea. There's just one small green field between it and the Atlantic Ocean. It might sound idyllic and sometimes it is. But other times, it can be ferocious.

Here's what it has looked like from my office window a lot lately. 

That's rain lashing at the window. Those are the white crests of waves pummelling the shoreline all along the bay. And that reflected light on the right side of the photo is a lamp on my desk, the illumination from which was badly needed as the sky was dark and heavy with clouds outside. (To shatter your idea of the idyll of living on the coast even further: this photo was taken at 12 noon!)

On days like this, a body calls out for comfort food. But when you're following what amounts to a vegan diet that includes fish, comfort food can be hard to find. (Think about it: don't most of our most comforting dishes include dairy? Mac and cheese, fish pie with creamy mash, apple crumble, chocolate cake - now I'm just torturing myself!)

Thankfully, my experiments in the kitchen have turned up some alternatives that are just as comforting and yet follow the principles of the OMS diet. This vegan cottage pie with North African spicing is one of them. It doesn't try to be a substitute for a classic, it just feels like a whole new dish to enjoy in the dark days of winter.

Vegan cottage pie with Moroccan spicing - serves 4

200g dried green speckled lentils*
500g sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 3 to 4cm cubes
1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped 
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely (I used smoked garlic but regular garlic is fine)
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 large red pepper, cut into 1cm chunks
1 leek, peeled of its outer layers, halved lengthwise and chopped into 0.5cm slices
2 tablespoons rapeseed oil
2 teaspoons ras al hanout*
1 teaspoon cumin
1 400g can of chopped or peeled tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt

• Start by preparing the vegetables (sweet potatoes, red onion, celery, garlic, chilli, red pepper and leek).
• Pre-heat your oven to 200 Celsius/400 F/Gas Mark 6.
• Cover the lentils in cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer for ten minutes. Reduce the heat. Cover the pot and simmer for a further 15 to 20 minutes, until the lentils have softened.
• Meanwhile cook the sweet potatoes. Cover with lightly salted cold water. Bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes or until soft.
• Place a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the rapeseed oil, chopped onion, carrot and celery. Cook for three minutes.
• Add the garlic and chill and cook for a further two minutes.
• Add the red pepper, leeks, cooked lentils and spices and cook for another three to four minutes. (If you're using canned lentils, they get added at this point too.)
• Now add the can of tomatoes and the salt and cook for a further ten minutes. (If you're using whole tomatoes, you'll have to make sure you break those down using your wooden spoon.)
• Get to work on your sweet potatoes while your lentil mix is bubbling away. Mash them with a 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
• Taste both the lentil mix and the sweet potatoes to make sure you're happy with the seasoning and then pour the lentils into an oven-proof dish. Top with the sweet potato, spreading it out evenly with a fork.
• Place in the oven and cook for 20 minutes.

* Tinned lentils work in this recipe too.

* Ras al hanout is a Moroccan spice blend that you'll find for sale in the spice section of most large supermarkets.

PS: Just in case you think living along the Irish Atlantic coast is all about darkness and harsh weather, we get days like this too.

Those days demand a different dinner!

Bye bye Dingle Food Festival and the last days of summer. Hello winter and French onion soup.

Phew! The whirlwind that was the Dingle Food Festival is finally over and having baked hundreds (upon hundreds) of cupcakes, brownies and sweet treats and then manned my stall selling them over the course of three days, my tired body and frazzled mind have eventually recovered.

This year's food festival coincided with a definite change in the seasons. Before the festival, we were still wearing summer clothes and sandals but a storm hit on Sunday afternoon. The wind rose. The canopies covering our market stalls threatened to take off and had to be weighed down. Rain poured out of the skies. Thunder and lightening joined the fray. And since then, everyone has wrapped up in their winter woollies.

As the seasons change, so do our appetites. We yearn for foods that comfort, warm and nourish us through the cold days of winter. French onion soup is just such a food. I know there are lots of recipes for this soup out there but this one is suitable for my diet (and therefore for vegetarians and vegans too). It's not quite the same as the classic version that uses beef stock but rest assured that it's just as delicious!

This soup is traditionally served with melted cheese toasts but because I can no longer eat dairy, I find that anchovy toasts made an equally savoury accompaniment. The deep saltiness of the anchovy works really well against the sweetness of the onions.

French onion soup

6 large yellow onions, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons olive oil

¼ teaspoon of sugar

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 cups/2 litres of vegetable stock

½ cup/125ml of dry vermouth or dry white wine

1 bay leaf

¼ teaspoon of thyme

At least one teaspoon of salt and lashings of freshly-ground pepper

At least one slice of good bread and two anchovies per person

• Place a heavy bottomed saucepan over a medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the olive oil and then the onions.
• Sauté the onions for ten minutes.
• Add the sugar to help with the caramelisation process.
• Sauté for a further 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Essentially, what you want is for your onions to be browned, but not burned.
• Add the minced garlic and sauté for one minute.
• Add the stock, vermouth, bay leaf and thyme. Partially cover the saucepan and stir until the flavours are well developed, about 30 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper. You'll have to trust your judgment on this. Add the teaspoon of salt and several grindings of pepper; mix; then taste. Add more if you think it will benefit the soup. Remember that salt works by bringing out flavour so a little extra might be just the thing.
• To make the toast, brush the slices of bread with a little olive oil and toast both sides under a hot grill. Lay the anchovies on top and cut into soldiers.
• Enjoy

This makes more than two litres of soup but I've found that you can almost never make enough soup. Having a pot on the go means that you're sorted when it comes to quick weekday lunches and snacks and most soups - especially this one - benefit from sitting around for a day or two. The flavours get deeper and richer and better and better.

A recipe for a super summery soup

The first time I made soup at home after closing the café, I made enough to feed 20 people. It wasn't until I was halfway through chopping the vegetables that I realised I was still in mass catering mode and had made far too much for my two-person household.

But what first appeared to be a mistake turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I froze the leftover soup in two-serving batches and for the next few weeks, I always had a ready answer to sudden pangs of hunger.

Now I always over cater when it comes to soup.  I may not make enough for 20 people but I always make enough for at least ten. It doesn't really involve that much more effort and knowing that you've got something delicious, homemade and easy in the freezer more than makes up for any extra chopping involved in the preparation process.

Here's what you'll need to make ten servings of a tomato-based minestrone soup 

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 onions, chopped

8 cloves of garlic, chopped

4 large carrots, diced

6 celery stalks, diced

2 tins of chopped tomatoes

2 litres vegetable stock

2 courgettes, chopped

200g frozen peas

1 tin (400g) cooked cannellini beans 

50g dried macaroni or other smaller-shaped pasta

Salt and pepper (how much you will need depends on the seasoning of your stock but provided the stock is not too salty, you'll need at least one teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper)

• Heat the oil over a low heat and add the garlic, onions, carrots and celery.
• Cook gently for ten minutes.
• Add the tomatoes and stock and bring to the boil.
• Simmer for an hour.
• Add the chopped courgettes, peas, beans and pasta and cook for another ten minutes or until the pasta is cooked through.
• Season with the salt and pepper.

This soup makes a warm, filling and yet not too heavy way to end a sunny summer's day - which is exactly what we've got in Dingle today (and we're all crossing our fingers that the good weather is here to stay).

I hope the sun is shining wherever you are and that you are eating the most delicious of summery food.

 


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It's simple. It's seasonal. It's salad.

Sometimes all you want is something simple. 

Something fresh.

Something that has clean and contrasting flavours and textures.

Something like this seasonal salad.

Chicory, apple and walnut salad with an apple cider vinegar dressing
Serves one as a main or two as a side dish

1 head chicory, cut into 1cm slices

1/2 apple, cored and thinly sliced (I prefer something sweet yet sharp such as the Granny Smith variety)

1/3 cup or 30g walnuts 

Dressing:

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon runny honey

A small pinch of salt

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons walnut oil

• Place the mustard, honey and salt in a jam jar and mix together with a fork or small whisk.
• Add the vinegar and oil. Put the lid on the jar and shake until the dressing has combined.
• Core and slice the apple and place in a salad bowl.
• Cut the chicory into 1cm wide slices and add to the bowl.
• Crumble the walnuts on top of the apple and chicory.
• Toss these ingredients with half of the dressing. You can add more at the table or save what is left over for another seasonal salad.

Enjoy!

 


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Hummus - the snack of champions!

Hummus and I go way back. Our relationship started years ago when I first spotted tubs of what was then seen as this exotic Middle Eastern dip in the shops. It might have looked beige and boring but I tried it and immediately liked it. I still buy the occasional tub if I'm out and about and need to eat something healthy on the go. Hummus, bread and crunchy vegetables - that's my idea of the ultimate in fast food.

Hummus, crunchy vegetables, rice cakes and za'atar - the snack of champions!

When I had my café, my cook Kathrin showed me how to make her hummus, which positively sings with lemon and garlic, and we would make a batch of it most days.

I've even had an actual living-and-breathing Israeli make hummus for me. It was good but much more gloopy than we are used to here - more of a soup or sauce than a dip. 

The hummus I now make at home is based on all of these different taste experiences. I've distilled them to create hummus just the way I like it - a hummus with distinctive flavours that develop in the mouth and a hummus that is smooth but also has some textural surprises. That's why I always set aside a handful of cooked chickpeas before I process the rest. I mix them into the smooth paste and scatter sunflower seeds on top. The smoothness of the paste, the tender bite of the chickpeas and the crunch of the seeds - now that's what I call hummus.

200g dried chickpeas
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
3 tablespoons of dark tahini paste
1 lemon
2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
100ml reserved cooking water 
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sunflower seeds

• Soak the chickpeas in lukewarm water the night before you are going to cook them. The chickpeas will expand in size so make sure you allow enough water for this. Three or four centimetres will be plenty. 
• The following day, drain the water and pour the chickpeas into a saucepan. Add the bicarbonate of soda and cover with a litre to a litre and a half of cold water.
• Bring to the boil. I find that the first boil brings a certain amount of scum and some chickpea skins to the surface of the water. I skim these off the top as the chickpeas cook. (When the water comes to the boil for the first time, it often creates a lot of scum. If this happens, I tip the chickpeas into a sieve and rinse under a cold running tap. I then pour them back into the saucepan, add more cold water and bring it back to the boil again.)
• Reduce the heat to medium. Chickpeas vary in how long they take to cook. Some cook in 20 minutes. Others take 40 or even longer. To check, squeeze one between your finger and your thumb. It should be tender and crush very easily. 
• Once they are ready, drain the water, reserving some of it for later use.
• Tip the chickpeas into your food processor, setting a handful aside.
• Add the tahini, the juice of the whole lemon, the crushed garlic cloves and some of the water.  
• Process until you have a smooth paste. You may need to add more water for optimum smoothness and creaminess.
• Add the salt and taste. 
• Mix the reserved whole chickpeas into the paste and scatter the seeds  over the top.

This is how I like to make my hummus but seeing as it's become such a favourite with so many of us, you may have your own recipe. How do you make yours? And what's your favourite way of eating it?

All the goodness and none of the guilt

Anyone familiar with my eating habits will know how much I enjoy my sweet treats. Made with butter, sugar, chocolate and lots of billowing whipped cream; they used to be my reward of choice at the end of a long day or hard-working week. So how have I managed to cope now that I can no longer eat such foods?

At first I must admit that I sulked and simply avoided sweets altogether. I went from being someone who baked every day in the café to being someone who when my boyfriend asked me to bake a cake a few weeks ago couldn't remember where I had stashed my cake tins and baking ware!

I just couldn't get enthusiastic about baking without what I thought were the absolutely vital ingredients of butter, chocolate and cream. Nor could I muster excitement about what I saw as the 'fake' ingredients many people use as substitutes. Margarine instead of butter? Yuck.

But slowly I began to realise that there were other options and that's when I came across this recipe by Deliciously Ella. It seemed quick. It looked easy. It only had four ingredients, all of which are real and natural. It was surely worth a try.

And do you know what? It was good! But seeing as I'm a recovering chocolate addict, I was bound to find it not chocolate-y enough. So I added more cocoa and some cocoa nibs*.   

And do you know what? It was better!

My boyfriend liked it too and suggested adding some fruit. So I added some raspberries to the mix. 

And do you know what? It was best of all.

Try this. It's healthy. It's sweet. And most importantly, it's delicious.

Raw brownies (adapted from a recipe by Deliciously Ella) 

2 cups (160g) dates

1 cup (90g) pecan nuts or walnuts 

5 tbsp cocoa powder

3 tbsp cocoa nibs

2.5 tbsp maple syrup

20 raspberries

• Remove the pits from the dates.
• Place the nuts and cocoa nibs in a food processor and grind until they resemble breadcrumbs.
• Add the dates and blend.
• Add the cocoa powder, maple syrup and raspberries and blend again.
• Press the mixture into a lined baking tin and place in the fridge for three hours or until set.
• Cut into squares and enjoy. These will keep in the fridge for four or five days (but that's presuming you don't devour them all at once!).

*Cocoa nibs are cocoa beans that have been roasted then separated from their husks and broken into small pieces. They do contain some saturated fat – which is what I have to minimise as part of my OMS diet – but it is much lower than that of finished chocolate and because cocoa nibs are unprocessed, the fat is safer for me too. Others following the diet may prefer to avoid cocoa nibs altogether but I need my occasional chocolate fix – even if it does come with a little guilt! Those of you following a less restrictive diet than I do can eat this with no guilt at all!

Addendum 09 June 2014: I made these last week and because I knew I wasn't going to eat them all in one go (not even a chocolate fiend like me could do that!), I put the cut-up squares in the freezer. Going back for a chocolate fix this weekend, I discovered that this made them even more delicious. They don't really freeze; they just become a lot firmer. And if you give them a minute or two to warm up (really, you don't need to wait longer than that), they become melt-in-the-mouth delicious! 

Cheap food, lifestyle cookery programmes and pimped up rice and beans

I like food.
I like cooking good food.
And even though I’m better off than lots of people, I’m not rich enough to be able to shop without considering my budget (although this girl does dream of one day having a champagne lifestyle).

Reluctantly returning to reality… there has been a lot of talk about cheap food in the media recently following the discovery of horsemeat in a certain type of Irish burger sold in Tesco. Catriona of wholesomeireland.com makes interesting points about it over here.

There are some things I want to say too, because even though I don’t eat burgers, this controversy does have something to do with me.

1: We all – regardless of our income and how much we spend on food – deserve to know what we’re eating. We need to be able to trust that our food is what it says it is.
Most of the time, I cook my food from scratch and feel somewhat protected by this. But how am I supposed to know what’s been sprayed on my vegetables? Has something been added to that can of tomatoes? What about that jar of spices? Is it really just ginger?
This is not me being over zealous. We all deserve to live in a world where food is what it says it is, nothing more and nothing less. Ireland, with its worldwide reputation for the quality of its food, should be setting the standard in this regard.

2: I totally agree with people who have said that everyone needs to be taught how to cook. We all have to eat. Therefore we should all know how to prepare food to put in our mouths. This knowledge has been lost by some people so we can’t rely on parents to teach their children. Home economics/cooking classes should be compulsory for all.

3: The fact that there are more cookery programmes on the TV today (and more food blogs on the internet) does not mean that more people are being inspired to cook. It may sound counterintuitive but I think that some of these shows play a part in turning people off the idea of cooking.
Many of them are presented by people who lead very fortunate and privileged lives. There’s Nigella in her beautiful Notting Hill home full of copper pots and pans and a larder full of expensive exotic ingredients. And Jamie – for all his good intentions – rushing about London on his fancy Vespa and calling into expensive artisan food shops.
Most people can’t afford such lifestyles and the implicit assumption they make is that they can’t afford good food.
This has to stop. Good food should not be associated with a lifestyle. It should not be aspirational. It should be something for us all.

I’ll leave you with a recipe for what I'm having for lunch today. Essentially, it’s a pimped up beans and rice dish. It’s healthy with its pulses, wholegrain rice and nutrient-rich avocadoes. It’s delicious. Oh! And guess what? It’s also quite cheap!

Pimped-up rice and beans – serves two
75g brown basmati rice
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
Half an onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
400g tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon runny honey
Salt and pepper

1 avocado, diced
¼ red onion, sliced
½ lime, juiced
2 large tomatoes, chopped
Salt to season
Small handful coriander leaves, chopped.

• Cook the basmati rice until tender, drain and leave in a covered pot to keep warm.
• Prepare the avocado salad by mixing the avocado, the tomatoes and the red onion in the lime juice. Taste and season.
• Heat the oil over a medium heat and add the garlic and onion. Cook for one minute.
• Add the chopped red pepper and cook until soft, three minutes or so.
• Add the drained beans, the cider vinegar and the honey and season.
• Cook for five minutes until the flavours come together.
• Divide the rice between two plates, spoon beans over and serve with the avocado salsa. Sprinkle with chopped coriander before serving.

Now, where was I?  Oh yes, that champagne lifestyle...

What's for lunch?

I work from home a lot. This means that I don't often have the luxury of going out for lunch. I have to make my own instead.

If I'm lucky (and organised), I'll have leftovers from the previous night's dinner. In which case, all I'll have to do is heat them up, plonk myself on the sofa, choose some trashy afternoon TV show to watch and tuck in.

But, more often than not, we'll have scoffed all of the previous night's dinner and I'll have no option but to create something from the contents of my fridge. Something quick and tasty that will power me through the rest of the afternoon. Something exactly like this:


This quinoa salad with roasted butternut squash, green beans, red onion, chilli, coriander and rocket has a great mix of flavours and textures. There's a bite to the grains and a crunch to the green beans. The chilli lends heat while the rocket and coriander add freshness. Combine this with the soft sweetness of the squash and you couldn't ask for a better lunch

Here's how you make it for two people:
Ingredients:
150g quinoa*
Half of a medium-sized squash, cut into 1cm cubes
Half of a red onion
Half of a red chilli (or more if you like your food hot)
120g green beans, trimmed and cut in half
A handful of fresh rocket
3tbsp of chopped coriander

* This works just as well with other grains such as bulgur wheat, couscous or even rice.

Put the cubes of squash in a roasting tin. Season them with salt and pepper and drizzle with a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Place in an oven at 200 degrees Celsius/390F and cook for approximately 20 minutes or until soft.

Cook the quinoa as you would rice. Place in a saucepan with double the amount of boiling water. Cover the pan and cook for 10 to 15 minutes.

Prepare the rest of the ingredients while the squash and quinoa are cooking.

Soften the onion and the chilli in half a teaspoon of olive oil.

Boil the green beans in salted boiling water for up to four minutes, until they are tender but still retain a bit of crunch.

Mix the onion, chilli and green beans with the cooked quinoa. Add the roasted squash and finally the rocket and coriander.

Find the TV remote control. Choose your favourite programme. Sit back on the sofa and tuck in!