Mother,
Mãe, Mutter, Ma, Mère, Madre, MáthairMamma,Mam
So the one day a year when we try to make a big effort to show our appreciation to our mothers and the mothers of our children, is almost upon us.
In my experience it is really the thought that counts with this one. With all the hard work they have put in over the years I think it deserves more than the customary bouquet of flowers.
Don’t get me wrong this is a good start but how about adding some home made goods, like biscuits some bread, jam, pesto with a bit of effort these are all easy enough to do but make a nice present and will be appreciated.
Or of course you could let them put their feet up for the day and cook them a fantastic Sunday dinner.
Ok to start a nice hamper here are some ideas to try
Gibney’s Basic Biscuit
This is my go to guy for a simple quick biscuit but with great results the recipe is just for a basic biscuit but you can do anything after that adding nuts, chocolate chips, jam, and coco powder to make a chocolate biscuit the only limit is your imagination
Ingredients:
250g butter, softened
140g caster sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
300g plain flour
Method:
1. Mix 250g softened butter and 140g caster sugar in a large bowl with a wooden spoon,
2. Add 1 egg yolk and 2 tsp. vanilla extract and briefly beat to combine.
3. Sift over 300g plain flour and stir until the mixture is well combined –
You might need to get your hands dirty in at the end to give everything a really good mix and press the dough together but really that’s the fun part.
4. Now roll out the dough to your required thickness and start to have fun with shapes toppings
5. Place on a greased baking sheet and pop in the oven for 12-15 mins at 180c
When they come out they will still be soft just place carefully on a wire rack to cool and harden
Gibney’s Wild Garlic Pesto
This is a new favourite of mine and the family (if you’re not sure about picking wild garlic send me a message and I will try my best to help)
Ingredients
•100g freshly picked wild garlic leaves
•50g leek
•50g almonds/sesame seed/hazelnut
•200 ml olive oil, sunflower oil or rapeseed oil
•50-60g mature hard cheese (Parmesan or similar hard, mature cheese), finely grated
•½ tsp. sea salt
•½ tsp. sugar
Method:
1. Start by picking the leaves over and discarding any coarse stalks, damaged leaves or any stray pieces of grass (you don’t need to wash unless you’ve picked from road side verges).
2. Place in food processor along with nuts, leek and 150 ml oil. Blitz for about a minute until everything is finely chopped up.
3. Fold in the grated cheese, salt and sugar
Fill into clean sterilised jars to within 1-2cm of the top of jar. Make sure you press down firmly with the back of a spoon to remove any pockets of air (trapped air can cause contamination) allowing sufficient room to swirl the remaining oil over the top of the pesto to seal the surface.
When you come to use the pesto, stir it well before spooning out. Make sure the surface of any pesto remaining in the jar is completely covered with oil before you return to the fridge. (this is very important if it is to keep well).
It’s as simple as that but what an unbelievable flavour!
Bread:
For the bread if it’s your first time you could try my soda bread from my St Patricks day post last week as is very easy and not at all time consuming just check out the link below!
Tip! Don’t be afraid to be brave add nuts, change half the flower for wholemeal, add cheese this is an easy way to make something a bit more interesting
Ok with some ideas there I hope you can make something nice just package nicely and maybe make a nice homemade card!
Sunday Dinner
Time to think Dinner now I know most people say the best way to a man’s heart is his belly. Well I have found this to be true of the fairer sex too, and with her feet up for a few hours she will be more than happy to sit down to a nicely prepared meal.
Starter
Apple and Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
2 large cooked chicken breast cubed
1 diced Granny Smith apple
1/2 cup diced celery
1/4 cup raisins
2 tbsp. chopped green onions
1/3 cup low-fat mayonnaise
1 tbsp. reduced-fat sour cream
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Rocket and mixed leaves to sever
Method:
1. Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon, cayenne stirring well with a whisk and season with salt and pepper.
2. Add mayonnaise mixture to rest of the ingredients, tossing well to coat.
3. Sever on a bed of rocket and mixed leaves
This simple starter will be perfect as it’s not to filling with the dinner still to come.
Dinner:
Classic Roast Chicken
Ingredients:
• 1 x approximately 1.6kg chicken, preferably free-range,
• 2 medium onions
• 2 carrots
• 2 sticks of celery
• 1 bulb of garlic
• Olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lemon
A small bunch of fresh thyme, rosemary,
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 240°C/475°F/gas 9
2. There’s no need to peel the vegetables – just give them a wash and roughly chop them
3. Break the garlic bulb into cloves, leaving them unpeeled
4. Pile all the veg and garlic into the middle of a large roasting tray and drizzle with olive oil
5. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper, rubbing it all over the bird
6. Carefully prick the lemon all over, using the tip of a sharp knife (if you have a microwave, you could pop the lemon in for 40 seconds at this point as this will really bring out the flavour)
7. Put the lemon inside the chicken’s cavity, with the bunch of herbs
8. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the roasting tray and put it into the preheated oven
9. Turn the heat down immediately to 200°C/400°F/gas 6 and cook the chicken for 1 hour and 20 minutes
10. If you’re doing roast potatoes and veggies, this is the time to– get them into the oven for the last 45 minutes of cooking
11. Baste the chicken halfway through cooking and if the veg look dry, add a splash of water to the tray to stop them burning
12. When cooked, take the tray out of the oven and transfer the chicken to a board to rest for 15 minutes or so
13. Cover it with a layer of tinfoil and a tea towel and put aside. Now is the time to make your gravy
Gravy :
1. Put your baking tray on the hob and add 500ml of chicken stock to deglazes the tray
2. Start mashing all the veg together to create a thick gravy
3. Reduce by about 15% and then push the contents of the tray through a sieve
Best gravy ever!
Sever with mash potatoes and the roast veg for a fantastic but simple meal
Desert:
Well with it being Mother’s day I think it has to be Chocolate anything!
Try my Flourless chocolate cake from a few weeks ago!
Or for something a bit more traditional you could try!
Devil’s Food Cake (this is a Nigella Lawson recipe)
Ingredients:
50g/2oz best-quality cocoa powder, sifted
100g/4oz dark muscovado sugar
250ml/8fl oz boiling water
125g/4½oz soft unsalted butter, plus some for greasing
150g/5oz caster sugar
225g/8oz plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 free-range eggs
For the frosting
125ml/4fl oz water
30g/1oz dark muscovado sugar
175g/6oz unsalted butter, cubed
300g/10oz best-quality dark chocolate, finely chopped
Method:
1.Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line the bottoms of two 20cm/8in sandwich tins with baking parchment and butter the sides.
2.Put the cocoa and the dark muscovado sugar into a large bowl and pour in the boiling water. Whisk to mix, then set aside.
3.Cream the butter and caster sugar together in a separate bowl, beating well until pale and fluffy; I find this easiest with a freestanding mixer, but by hand wouldn’t kill you.
4.Stir the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda together in another bowl and set aside for a moment.
5.Dribble the vanilla extract into the creamed butter and sugar – mixing all the while – then crack in one egg, quickly followed by a scoop of the flour mixture, then the second egg. Keep mixing after each addition.
6.Incorporate the rest of the flour mixture little by little, then finally mix and fold in the cocoa mixture, scraping the bowl well with a spatula.
7.Divide this fabulously chocolatey batter between the two prepared tins and put in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Take the tins out and leave them on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes, then turn the cakes out and set aside to cool.
8.As soon as the cakes are in the oven, get started on your frosting. Put the water, muscovado sugar and butter into a pan over a low heat until melted.
9.When this mixture begins to bubble, take the pan off the heat and add the chopped chocolate, swirling the pan so that all the chocolate is hit with heat, then leave for a minute to melt. Once melted, whisk until smooth and glossy.
10.Set the frosting aside for about one hour, whisking now and again – when you’re passing the pan – by which time the cakes will be cooled, and ready for the frosting.
11.Set one of the cooled cakes, with its top side facing downwards, onto a cake stand or plate, and spread with about one-third of the frosting. Top that with the second cake, regular way up, and spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides, swirling away with your spatula. You can go for a smooth look, but I never do and probably couldn’t.
So with the brownie points in the bag I think it’s time for a nice cold beer and enjoy some quality time with your loved ones and enjoy the simple thing in life!
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