Lemon marmalade, spiced rum and lemon marmalade

Lemon Marmalade & Spiced Rum & Lemon Marmalade

Lemon Marmalade

 

I made this recipe to try add a bit of zing to my breakfast. I find a lot of the store bought marmalades lack real character,

It is a strong zingy marmalade with a good punch

A very simple recipe using the whole lemon, sugar and water, but gives a spectacular result

Uses

Apart from on a wonderful piece of toast for breakfast it could be used on a roast chicken as a marinade, or as a condiment with cheese

Spiced Rum & Lemon Marmalade

 

This is pretty much a situation of well that was so nice how can I make it better. I think I did it with the addition of rum it brings richness to the marmalade that just tastes of winter.

Currently on sale in the dandelion market naas at the crepe stand

Please feel free to leave comments on how you decided  to use it  

50 sades of grey widow, mood food,

With all the fairer sex so engrossed in 50 shades of grey and the reported positive effect it’s having for lots of guys (I’m buying my wife a copy this week) I thought it was a good opportunity to try help things along a bit with some recipes to get you in the mood. I for one won’t be shoving raw oysters down my neck ,so here are one or two ideas that might help spice things up and give you the energy needed for a bit of fun!

Gibney’s Avocado, Blue Cheese and Walnut Salad

Ingredients:

1 avocado, pitted, peeled and diced

2 teaspoons lemon juice

110 g red or curly leaf lettuce, shredded

230 g other salad leaves

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

120 ml blue cheese dressing

14 g  seasoned croutons

Method:

1.   Combine avocado and lemon juice in a salad bowl.

2.   Add lettuce and walnuts and toss.

3.   Pour dressing over salad and toss.

4.   Serve with croutons.

Avocados

The vitamin E in the avocados helps your body churn out hormones like testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone, which circulate in your bloodstream and stimulate sexual responses

Walnuts

They're packed with omega-3 fatty acids, which keep sex-hormone production at its peak.

Grace’s grilled salmon with chilli & lime butter:

Ingredients

 1 tbsp olives oil

2 salmon fillets

knob of butter

3 spring onions , finely sliced

1 large red chilli , halved, deseeded and finely chopped

zest and juice of ½ a lime

small bunch coriander , chopped

Method:

1.   Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the salmon, skin side down, for about 5-6 mins until the skin is crispy and golden.

2.   Turn the salmon fillets carefully, then cook for a further 2 mins. Remove from the pan and set aside.

3.   put the butter in the pan and, when melted, add the spring onions, chilli and lime zest to sizzle in the butter for 2 mins,

4.   then add the lime juice.

5.   Spoon the chilli and lime butter over the salmon.

6.   Scatter with the coriander and serve with boiled rice.

Salmon

 They're packed with omega-3 fatty acids, which keep sex-hormone production at its peak.

Hot Chilies

 Capsaicin, a chemical found in fiery peppers, increases circulation to get blood pumping and stimulates nerve endings so you'll feel more turned on.

Gooey Banana Boat  

Ingredients:

2 ripe firm large bananas, unpeeled

2 tbsp. chocolate chips

1 tbsp. chopped pecans/walnuts

Method:

1.    Cut 2(12-inch) sheets of heavy-duty foil.

2.  heat oven to 200°c

3.    With sharp knife, make deep lengthwise cut along inside curve of each banana, being careful not to cut all the way through.

4.    Open slit to form pocket.

5.    Crimp and shape 1 sheet of foil around each banana, forming boats.

6.    Holding each banana in hand, fill pocket with 1/2 tablespoons chocolate chips, and a sprinkling of chopped pecans.

7.    Return each banana to its foil boat. Seal top of foil, leaving 2 to 3 inches headspace. bake 15 to 20 minutes in oven

8.    Take out and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream

Mmmm Delicious!!!

Bananas

Deliver potassium, a nutrient key to muscle strength. So when you orgasm, the contractions will be super intense.

Chocolate

Cocoa contains the chemical phenylethylamine, a stimulant that conjures just the sort of subtle feelings of well-being and excitement that make sex seem like a great idea.

So I hope there are some tasty Recipes here that will get things going in the bedroom department even if you or your partner is not ready the 50 shades of grey hope you enjoy them !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Father, Dad, Papa, Athair ,Daddy, Ba, Vader, Pabbi, Pop

Father, Dad, Papa, Athair ,Daddy, Ba, Vader, Pabbi, Pop

Father’s day it’s a day I look forward to every year so I can spend a day bonding with the kids!

Wait a minute that’s sounds awfully like what I do on mother’s day seems I’m getting hoodwinked on this one:-)

After a lovely day “bonding” with the kids I look forward to a nice home cooked meal and a few beers with my special lady,

what better on father’s day than a manly piece meat cooked on a hot piece of iron,

but as simple as it’s sounds cooking a steak is an art get it right you have something fantastic to eat,

get it wrong and you might as well try to chew old leather boots

Gibney’s steak and wedges perfection

Spicy wedges

Ingredients:

     Potatoes

     Paprika,

     Oregano,

     Garlic powder,

     Cayenne pepper,

     Salt and pepper

     Olive oil

Method:

1.   Wash the potatoes

2.   Cut each potato into approx. 12 wedges

3.   Parboil in salted boiling water for 3-4 min (don’t overcook or they will fall apart)

4.   Drain and dry on kitchen towel

5.   Place on a baking tray and sprinkle with olive oil

6.   Now sprinkle with the paprika, oregano, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper (It’s best to adjust seasoning based on preference except the cayenne with the others a little bit more or less won’t make much of a difference)

7.   Cook for 30-35 mins at 180c

The steak:

Method:

1.   Very lightly score your steak

2.   Brush the steak with a little olive oil and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper I also like to add a smear of freshly crushed garlic and a little freshly chopped rosemary add let sit for 15 mins for the flavour to enhance.

3.   Heat your griddle or frying pan over a high heat, until smoking hot.

4.   Don’t griddle more than two steaks at a time, and keep them spaced well apart. If you add more than two steaks to the pan at once, the temperature will drop and the steak will stew, rather than fry.

5.   Don’t turn the steaks until good seared markings are achieved, then turn them over and cook on the other side (see timings, below).

6.   You must let the steak rest for about 3 minutes before serving, to allow the juices that have been drawn to the surface to relax back into the meat.

How long to cook a steak for

These timings are based on cooking a sirloin steak that’s about 2cm thick. (Cooking times will vary depending on the type and thickness of the steak, and how hot your pan is.)

Rare: 1½ minutes each side

Medium rare: 2 minutes each side

Medium: 2¼ minutes each side

Medium-well done: 2½ - 3 minutes each side.

Blue cheese sauce

Ingredients:

225g good blue cheese, crumbled

1 onion sliced

2-3 garlic cloves, chopped

100 ml dry white wine (drinking quality)

Knob of unsalted butter

Fresh ground pepper

50 ml cream

Chopped parsley (for garnish)

Method:

1.   In a medium pan, fry the onions and garlic until soft

2.   Combine with the cheese, cream and wine, over low heat.

3.   Stir frequently until cheese melts.

4.   Season well

5.   Remove from heat and keep warm.

So with a great meal finished it’s time to sit and relax together and I’m sure there are plenty of memories to be shared and what better desert than good company and a nice glass of wine or something special like a honey mead complete day all in all

I think this expresses best why i feel proud to be part of a group where i'm known as Dad!!!!!

     

Jam ideas!!! Devils Delight, jacks jams Max's marmalades

Jam Ideas!!!!!!

Adding a bit of flavour to whatever you’re about to sit down and enjoy couldn’t be simpler!

And the surprising answer is jam! It can only improve most dishes, from your humble sandwich to your roast chicken and on to a great desert.

Jam is one of the most versatile things you can keep in your larder and make most things you make a winner!!  

So I’m working on a few ideas for something a bit different to spread on whatever your making I hope you enjoy them and maybe share some of your recipes with me!!!!

Gibney’s Devil’s Delight

Ingredients:

•150g long fresh red chillies, each deseeded and cut into pieces.  

•150g red peppers, cored, deseeded and cut into rough chunks

•1kg Jam sugar

•600ml cider vinegar

Method:

Serves: Makes approx. 1.5. Litres

1. Sterilize your jars and leave to cool.

2. Put the cut-up chillies into a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. Add the chunks of red pepper and pulse again until you have a vibrantly red-flecked processor bowl.

3. Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a wide, medium-sized pan over a low heat without stirring.

4.Scrape the chilli-pepper mixture out of the bowl and add to the pan. Bring the pan to the boil, then leave it at a rollicking boil for 10 minutes.

5.Take the pan off the heat and allow it cool. The liquid will become more syrupy, then from syrup to viscous and from viscous to jelly-like as it cools.

6.After about 40 minutes, or once the red flecks are more or less evenly dispersed in the jelly (as the liquid firms up, the hints of chilli and pepper start being suspended in it rather than floating on it), ladle into your jars. If you want to stir gently at this stage, it will do no harm. Then seal tightly.

Jack’s Rhubarb and Elderflower Jam

Ingredients:

2kg rhubarb

13-18 heads Elderflower

2 kg sugar

Grated rind of juice of 1 lemons

Method:

1.   Cut the rhubarb into half-inch chunks.

2.   Place in a bowl, layering with the sugar.

3.   Tie elderflowers in muslin bags and place in middle of rhubarb. Leave for 24 hours.

4.   Bring slowly to boil and boil for 2-3 minutes only.

5.   Return to bowl and stand for 24 hours.

6.   Remove the elderflowers.

7.   Add the grated rind and juice of the lemons to the bowl then put all of it in a preserving pan.

8.   Boil rapidly until setting point is reached.

9.   Pour into warmed sterilised jars.

Max’s Sweet Onion Marmalade

Ingredients:

4 tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil.

2kg red onions (approx. 6), peeled, halved and sliced.

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

300ml Red wine.

2 tbsp. of cumin

6 tbsp. Balsamic vinegar.

3 tbsp. White wine vinegar.

6 tbsp. light soft brown sugar.

Method:

1.   Heat the oil in a preserving pan or a large heavy stainless steel saucepan.

2.    Add the onions, a pinch of salt and some pepper and cumin seeds. Cook over low to medium heat for about 30 minutes until the onions soften and turn translucent, stirring occasionally so they don’t catch and burn. Slow cooking is essential at this point as this is where the delicious caramel taste is developed.

3.   Raise the heat a little,

4.   Add the wine and vinegars and stir to combine. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat,

5.   Stir in the sugar and cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, for another 30–40 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated.

6.   Remove the pan from the heat.

7.   Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary, although the flavours will mature with time. Spoon into warm sterilised jars with non-metallic or vinegar-proof lids, making sure there are no air gaps. Cover with waxed paper discs, seal and label.

8.   Store in a cool, dark place for at least 1 month to allow the flavours to develop.

I hope these recipe work well for you and I would love to hear what you are making at the moment  

the happy hoe: Mothers day, Mother, Mutter, Máthair, Mamma, Wild ...

the happy hoe: Mothers day, Mother, Mutter, Máthair, Mamma, Wild ...: M other, M ãe, M utter, M a, M ère, M adre, M áthair M amma, M am So the one day a year when we try to make a big effort to show our apprec...

Cooking from scratch: a real curry

I got thinking about the way every generation says things were better in their day. I came to the conclusion that of course it was not better, just different!

There are so many great advances in the last 20 years, kitchen appliances, computers, power tools and so many more. Fantastic the world has got better in every way, or has it???

When it comes to food I think we have taken a giant step back. With so many preservatives in foods, premade sauces, readymade dinners I think people have lost a lot of the simple skills in preparing a good meal the cornerstone of what made the olden times seem so golden now!!!

So here’s to a time that you made everything from scratch and enjoyed the pleasures of a good home cooked meal every day. I’m not going to forgo the improvements in selection in the supermarket for a walk down memory lane. But I will use the home made principles to make a few great dishes

Gibney’s Classic Curry

Ingredients:

Serves: 4

2 tsp.  Coriander seeds

2 tsp.  Cumin seeds

4 green cardamom pods, seeds removed

4 whole cloves crushed

4 allspice berries crushed

2 tsp.  garlic purée, or crushed fresh garlic

2 tsp.  Ginger purée, or grated fresh ginger

2 tbsp. Tomato purée

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp.  Paprika

2 tsp. Garam masala

½ tsp.  Ground turmeric

1 tsp. of Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp. of English mustard

550 g beef

150 g onions, finely chopped

2 sticks of celery

3 carrots finely sliced

150 g onion puree, blitzed onion with a little oil in processor

75 g natural yoghurt

I glass of red wine

3 large potatoes Peeled and quartered

Salt

Method:

Prep: 20 mins | Cook: 1 hour 15 mins

1.   Dry fry the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, green cardamom seeds, Crushed cloves,crushed allspice berries for 2 mins

2.   Mix the yoghurt with the cayenne pepper, garlic, ginger, paprika, turmeric, Tomato puree, Garam masala, Worcestershire sauce and English mustard

3.   Add the yoghurt mixture; reduce the heat to low, cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4.   Add Chopped onions fry until soft

5.   Add the beef and brown for 5 minutes

6.   Add wine, stock, celery, potatoes and carrots place lid on the pan and cook for 25mins

7.   Add onion puree and replace lid and simmer for 30mins to let flavours develop

Serve on a nice bed of steamed rice

With so many simple but great things you can make from scratch with a small amount of prep

I like to think that the effort makes a big difference to the taste of the food you prepare but also to the health of yourself and your kids.

Who knows what all the chemicals in our food are doing to us in the long term. So let get cooking, for a tastier meal and a healthier you!!!!  

Wild Garlic Omelette: tea in hand

Wild Garlic must be one of the best thing nature has to offer from her wonderful wild larder. After getting back from picking a nice bag full, with my mate Eoin I was putting the chickens in for the night when I had one them great ideas for a recipe, so I was straight in to the kitchen to rustle up a nice light wild garlic omelette for dinner.

Wild Garlic Omelette:   

Ingredients:

Large handful of fresh chopped wild garlic leaves

7-8 mushrooms

½ a leek (white end)

2 eggs

Cheese (optional)

Salt and pepper

Method:

Finely chop the mushrooms and leek

And fry in butter for 4-5 mins until tender

Add garlic leaves and fry for a minute

Whisk eggs until frothy

Pour into pan a leave till eggs are cooked about 2/3 through 

Sprinkle with a little grated cheese

Fold in half and take off the heat and leave sit for a few minutes till cooked fully

Serve with a nice steaming cup of tea and some chunky toast!!!

So with tea in hand and omelette in belly I’m sitting back think of the things I have planned tomorrow for the rest of the garlic leaves and looking forward to creating some fab dishes based on this wonderful ingredient !

nettle beer

With a smile on my face at the thought of the fun I’m going to have drinking this. I’m out with my trusty rubber gloves picking nettles leaves to make a great summer tipple, and in 3 short weeks we will be enjoying our first taste!!

Gibney’s Nettle Beer:

3kg nettle tops (approximately 6 carrier bags stuffed to bursting, just the top 6 leaves)

25 litres water

2.5kg brewing sugar

Juice of 10 lemons

150g cream of tartar

2 tbls. spoons of fine chopped ginger

Copper fining, not essential. If used, follow the instructions on the packet

A sachet of beer yeast (I would you a light beer yeast)

Method:

·         Rinse the nettles,

·         Boil in the water for 15 minutes. Either do this in a six-gallon brewing boiler or do it in batches if you only have smaller pots.

·         Strain the liquor into a fermentation bucket, containing the lemon juice, lemon rind (no pith), sugars and cream of tartar and top up to 25 liters. Stir vigorously and allow to cool to blood temperature.

·         Sprinkle the yeast over the top, cover the bucket  loosely with a cloth and leave for 24 hours. Replace the cloth with an airlock and leave to ferment for a further 3-4 days.

·         Strain into a second clean and sterilised brewing bucket and leave for a further 7 days to clear more

Time to either bottle or keg. If using a keg, it's worth adding another half pound of white sugar to help get the pressure up.

Leave for at least seven days before drinking. Serve chilled.

I hope ye all enjoy this and a special hello to my new friends in iceland!!!!