Green Root Soup

Serves 4-6

This is probably one of my favorite soups. It has all the veggies that you need and no dairy! It still tastes creamy and has been a continual best in the soups that I make. You can mix and match the veggies that you add, it just depends on you!

Ingredients

2 cups of broccoli
1 leek
2 cups of chopped asparagus
2 cups of celeriac (celery root), peeled and chopped
       *If you can't get celeriac, feel free to substitute with potatoes.
5 cups of vegetable broth, chicken broth, or bouillon
salt and pepper
olive oil (optional)

Directions

Chop up all the veggies and pour into a large pot. Add enough broth till the surface is just past the tops of the veggies. Let cook for about 20 minutes, or until the veggies are soft. Now take off of the heat and let set for a minute before blending either with a hand blender, a regular blender, or a food processor. This step should be done in small batches to avoid making to big of a mess if you aren't using a hand blender. Season to taste with salt and pepper and return to the heat for about 3 minutes and stir. Serve hot with some toasted bread, grilled cheese, or float a poached egg on top with a little olive oil drizzle. Enjoy!

No Sugar Added Wheat Banana Dark Chocolate Scones

Makes 8 scones

I know that it is a long name, but it lets you know whats up. I can't eat sugar or milk right now, so this is my compromise. They are actually really good and make this change a lot easier. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

8 oz. of wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 pinch of salt
2 oz. of butter
1 ripe banana
1/4 pint of milk or milk alternative
oil for greasing the pan

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Take the flour, baking powder, and salt and blend in the butter either with a food processor or your fingers. Ad the dark chocolate chips and mix.
Mash the banana but make sure to leave a few chunks. Mix the banana and milk together and add to the dry ingredients. Make sure not to over mix. It will be a sticky dough, so don't panic (or should I say doughn't panic?!) Hahaha, sorry back to the recipe...
Roll to coat on a floured surface and form into a thick disk- about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut into 8 triangles and place on a well oiled baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Enjoy!

Lavender Lemon Sponge Cake

Serves 8

This wonderfully light cake is brilliant with a cup of tea. The soft flavors of the lavender and lemon blend surprisingly well. The sponge is closer to a Victoria sponge type of cake. Let me know what you think!

Ingredients

juice of 2 large lemons
3/4 cup of sugar
12 sprigs of lavender
3 large eggs
7 tablespoons of cold water
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
a pinch of salt

Directions

First off, combine the lemon juice, 3/4 cup of sugar and lavender and let steep in a warm place for 8 hours or overnight.

Now separate the eggs. Beat together the yolks with the cold water for 5 minutes. Add the sugar and beat again till white and double in size.

Fold in shifted flour, baking powder, and salt.

Meanwhile whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form and gently fold into the yolk mixture. Divide the mixture between 2 greased 8 inch cake pans. Bake in the center of the oven for about 12-15 minutes or until golden brown and firm to touch. Make sure to check the cakes as they can cook very quickly depending upon your oven and whether you have a fan or not.

Now take the lemon and lavender mixture and remove the flowers (make sure to save them) pour into a sauce pan over low heat unto the sugar has melted and pour the warm syrup over the two cakes. Stack the two layers together and arrange the lavender on top.
If you want the sugary crust on top, you can skip the syrup step and just pour the mixture over the cakes. Its just up to your taste. Serve warm or cool.

Irish Stew

Serves 10

This fantastic stew is best when put together and cooked in a crock pot served with some crusty bread. You can use just beef or just lamb if you can't get one of them. So do not fret, just enjoy!

Ingredients

1 pound of beef chuck, cut into 2 inch cubes
1 pound of lamb, cut into 2 inch cubes
1 large white onion, cut into chunks
2 pounds of carrots, thickly sliced
2 pounds of small potatoes, thickly sliced (you can use regular potatoes as well)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary, or 2 Tablespoons of dried
12 ounces of Guinness
1 cup of red wine
2 cups of beef broth or bouillon

Directions


Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Toss beef cubes with flour to coat, then fry in the hot oil until browned. Layer the onions, carrots, potatoes, garlic, rosemary, and ending with the meat ontop in a large slow cooker. Pour the Guinness and red wine over the top. Mix together the beef broth and tomato paste and pour into the slow cooker until the meat is nearly completely covered.

Cover and cook on High for 6 hours or Low for 8-10 hours. I love making this for a Sunday lunch. Just put everything together the night before and wake up to an amazing smell. It lets you know that you have nothing to worry about lunch. I also like to make it in the morning before a day trip, it is a wonderfully warm and comforting smell to come home to.

Anyways, during the last half-hour before serving, dissolve the cornstarch in the cold water and drizzle in while stirring into the broth. Simmer on the High setting for a few minutes to thicken.

I hope you enjoy, and please let me know what you think. I'm feeling hungry now...good thing this makes excellent leftovers!

Triple Berry Preserve

Makes about 6 cups

I guess I have been in a homemade mood. There is just something nostalgic about making your own preserves. It isn't as hard as you might think and the end result is quite brilliant. You can use just one berry for this recipe if you don't like or want to bother with getting the other berries.

Ingredients

5 cups of a mixture of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries
juice of 1 large lemon
2 pounds of preserving sugar

Directions

First, place a plate in the fridge to cool. Then trim and wash your strawberries and put them right into the food processor. Wiz them for just a few seconds till they are broken up. If you don't have a food processor, you can just slice them. Place into a heavy medium pot along with the other berries and lemon juice over medium heat and cook for about 4-5 minutes.

Then add the sugar and stir till disolved. Allow to boil for 6 minutes or until it reaches the setting point. You test this by getting that plate you placed into the fridge and put a little of the preserve onto it, allow it to cool for a few seconds, then take your finger and push it into the preserve, if the surface wrinkles then it is ready.

Once setting point has been reached, remove from heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes, use a spoon to remove all the little bubbles that have formed on the surface. Give it a good stir before ladling into hot sterilized jars* and allow to cool completely before serving.

*At this point you can begin the canning process. It isn't as daunting as it may sound, but it does take a bit of time. This recipe you can store extra in your freezer if you don't want to can them. Just make sure you let them cool completely beforehand.

Pavlova

Serves 8 or 1 Beth

This is one of my most favorite Irish desserts. It is light, served cool, and perfect for when all of those berries go on sale! I would like to dedicate this recipe to Beth-there is never to much pavlova!

Ingredients
4 large egg whites (room temperature)
granulated sugar
castor sugar
a set of 3 small glasses
1 teaspoon of white vinegar
1 teaspoon of cornstarch

Topping:
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons of granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Fresh fruit - kiwi, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, peaches, pineapple, or other fruit of your choice

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and draw a 7 inch circle on the paper. The easiest way to do this is to use a round cake pan and just trace that. Then flip the parchment paper over so you can see the circle, but the ink is away from the pavlova.

Now take your three glasses and place the egg whites in one and pour equal amounts of the two sugars in the other two glasses. This may seem a little unnecessary, but it makes the best pavlova I have ever had (I think I'm allowed to say that?).

In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until they hold soft peaks. This means that a peak will form if you pulled the whisk out of the egg whites, but that it would fall if you bumped it. Start adding the sugar, about tablespoon at a time, and continue to beat until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. I like to add the granulated sugar first so that it has more time to dissolve. After all the sugar is added, sprinkle the vinegar and cornstarch over the top of the meringue and, with a rubber spatula, fold in.

Gently spread the meringue inside the circle drawn on the parchment paper, smoothing the edges and top. You want it to be about 3-4 inches high. You can spread it out just a bit more, but that doesn't give you as much of the wonderful soft center that is characteristic of pavlova.

Place in oven and turn down the heat to 220 F and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the outside is dry and takes on a very pale cream color. Turn the oven off, leave the door slightly ajar, and let the pavlova cool completely in the oven.

Just before serving gently place the pavlova onto a serving plate. Whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla in your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, until soft peaks form. Now at this point you can put the cream on top of the pavlova and arrange the fruit on top, which makes a beautiful presentation. However, if you are just wanting to serve a group of people, I like to slice the pavlova like a pie and then place the whipped cream and fruit on top and the side. This ensures that everyone gets enough fruit and whipped cream. You can also serve it and just have a bowl of extra fruit and whipped cream on the side. Either way it isn't complete without some tea. Enjoy!

*Note* If you have done everything right and when it came out of the oven or onto the serving tray it just fell apart, do not be dismayed! Just scoop it all into a serving bowl, mix in the whipped cream, fruit, and a handful of mini marshmallows and you have just made an Edom mess! This is also a great way to reuse your leftover pavlova, that is if you managed to save some.

Orange Apricot Marmalade

This recipe is designed for my mom. She likes oranges, but neither she nor I like the bitter taste that comes with most marmalades. I have designed this recipe without that bitter taste.

Ingredients

6 large sweet oranges

1 cup dried apricots

1 lemon’s juice

2.2 lb Preserving sugar

Directions

Wash the oranges. Juice the oranges, and then scrape out the membranes and pith. I find a melon scoop (melon baller) makes this job easier, but a normal spoon will work.

Cut the orange peel and dried apricots into thin strips. You can make it thicker if you want "thick cut" marmalade. I sugest thin cut for your first time.

Place peel, apricot slices, and (lemon & orange) juices in a pot with 6 ⅓ cups water.

Bring mixture to a boil and simmer for 1½ hours, until the peel is very soft and the contents are reduced by half.

Stir in the sugar, until it dissolves.

Bring mixture to a boil, and boil rapidly for 15 minutes.

To test consistency, place a teaspoon of marmalade on a cold plate. After a few seconds push the marmalade with your finger - if the surface wrinkles, it has reached setting point.

Remove the pot from the heat, removing any film from the mixture’s surface with a slotted spoon.

Let the marmalade stand for 15 minutes; then stir to distribute the peel.

Place in sterilized jars/containers, then label and date.
Enjoy!