Valentine’s Day, The day of Love or something like that. I’m not a fan of this hallmark holiday to be honest but I get it. On the one hand I get that it’s the one special day to show the person you love just how much you love them but on the other hand, why does it have to happen every year? Only kiddin’, kinda. Kudos to the shops who capitalize on this day but that’s yet another reason why this holiday bugs me. What’s a Irishman to do? Suck it up is right! I may not buy into the gift giving but I’d better do something special or I’ll be in the dog house! You guys out there feel my pain don’t you?

Since Valentine’s Day has landed on a Sunday this year I thought I’d give you some brunch ideas (think brekkie in bed) and dinner ideas that will make anyone happy and feel special.

BRUNCH:

Spinach & Mushroom Frittata with Crispy Potatoes
Spinach is available all year round in SoCal but if you can’t find locally grown spinach in your area right now a great substitute would be kale  or Swiss chard.
Pair with a mimosa and you’ll be in business!

Valentine’s Beet Soup
Beetroot is in full swing over here. This soup can be served warm or at room temp and it’s presentation is stunning.

Easy Peasy Oysters
Oysters in bed on Valentine’s Day, might be a bit messy but you catch my drift!

DINNER:

The key to dinner is to make delicious food that won’t be too filling. You don’t want your lady (or yourself) to be bloated after a heavy meal if you planning on gettin’ some. Am I right?

Wild Scallops with Saffron Butternut Squash Risotto

One word: Delicious! (Remember my advice–Don’t eat too much risotto!)

Here’s (one of my first) a video I did making a Seafood Provencal. Remember, you can substitute the veg for what’s in season and use tinned tomatoes if you can’t get cherry tomatoes this time of year.

DESSERT:

Prosecco Poached Pears

Boxed chocolates ain’t got nuthin’ on these! Plus you have all day since it’s Sunday so go that extra mile. (How am I doing ladies?)

Of course I didn’t forget about the good stuff aka CHOCOLATE. I’m working in my kitchen today whipping up a healthy flourless chocolate cake recipe just for this special occasion so keep checking back all this week for that!

Cheers & Happy Hallmark!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

Well kids, here we are. Can’t believe it’s Christmas…………again.

The Missus and I just got back from a brilliant weekend back in Austin, Texas, sort of early Christmas if you will along with a big Texas piss up to celebrate my father-in-law’s 66th. All the in-laws were in attendance and I’m not sure there are enough words to describe all the madness. Or maybe there’s too many words…either way, we’ll keep it in the family as they say. Of course while there we had to hit up another famous barbecue joint, Stubb’s BBQ. The food wasn’t as killer as the Salt Lick but the ambiance was cool. It’s a huge live music scene but we only had time for some grub. Let me tell you, it’s true what they say about Austin being the ‘Live Music Capital’ as there’s live music ALL. THE. TIME. What a scene!
We hit up The Continental Club on a Saturday afternoon and the gaff was jointed! Live rockabilly & country music with dancers–great craic. Little known fact (just because it’s Christmas) I used to rock the cowboy boot look back in the day in Dublin–waaay before anyone else was rockin’ that look. (Cool? Debatable. I thought so. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.)

Anyway, it was another great trip to Austin, family and food-wise. Has anyone eaten at Guero’s on Congress? It’s a fun taco bar where they make their own corn tortillas fresh right there in front of you. On my last visit to Texas I saw fresh flour tortillas being whipped up and this time it was corn. Gotta love those fresh tortillas and now I get why Texans love tortillas. If only I had that recipe!

(Photos by Andrew Collins and orthogonalthought.com)

After eating my way through Austin it’s a good thing we booked a catering gig for today, Christmas Day, so I can work off my tortilla belly. I’m lookin’ forward to it actually. Christmas is all about family for me (and everyone else) and since all mine are back in the homeland I’m happy to work (with the Missus in tow of course). I’ve got quite the menu planned for this event–how does this sound: Brined Roast Heritage turkey with homemade gravy & cranberry relish, Balsamic-Agave Glazed Ham, Butternut Squash Soup, Twice Baked Sweet Pots and Smashed Roasted Mini Pots, Sauteed Green Beans with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Roast Seasonal Farmers’ Market Veg, Cornbread Muffins, Mixed Baby Greens with Shaved Fennel, Spiced Pumpkin Seeds, Goat’s Cheese and homemade vinaigrette. Whew. Let’s not forget dessert(s)!!

So that’s my day. We’ll celebrate on Saturday in true LA style by probably heading to the beach. Could be worse right?

I hope you guys all have a very Happy & Healthy Christmas!

As we say,

There are a few dishes that are well known Irish dishes: bacon & cabbage, Irish stew and the old reliable potato (in any form). This soup has one of those staples and is probably one of the easiest soups to make. I had all the ingredients in my CSA box and I promise, making this soup with recently picked fresh ingredients makes it really delicious. The earthiness of the thyme works a treat here and if you’re still looking for a quick appetizer for Santa Day, look no further.

RECIPE:
Makes about 4 cups

2 large leeks – whites only, sliced & rinsed (But keep the greens for your homemade stock)
2 white potatoes – peeled, chopped
1 tbsp thyme
1 quart low-sodium veg broth or even better, homemade stock
2 tbsp olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat soup pot on medium heat for 30 seconds. Add olive oil and leeks and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add thyme and potatoes and combine with sauteed leeks.

Add broth and stir. Partially cover with lid. Bring to a boil and once boiling reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 20 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.

Puree in food processor in batches.

NOTE: Do not fill your blender above half way with hot liquid. Hot liquids expand when pureed so be careful. Place a kitchen towel on the lid when blending so you don’t burn yourself when the liquid expands.

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible

If you’re like me you’re knee deep in the throws of everything Christmas, especially food. Every Christmas, without fail, I get my annual side of smoked salmon sent over to me by the matriarch of the Murphy clan. For me it’s like getting a little piece of home every year, which is important. Sometimes it’s hard living so far away from home.

My fondest memories of Christmastime of course revolves around food and along with that goes the odd scoop or tree. For our family in particular, Christmas is all about spending time with family and friends so much so that for as long as I can remember my parents hosted an open house for any and everybody to pop in. (And boy did they!)
Mum would prepare a few starters for people to nibble on and this is one of the classics. You can’t beat some Smoked Salmon on brown bread. We of course, had Brown Soda Bread but here I adapted it by using pumpernickel bread.

Check out my Soda Bread Cooking Demo to see me in action.

So if you’re still looking for a quick n’ easy appetizer for Christmas, try this. It will surely go down a treat!

RECIPE:
Makes about 4 portions (single servings). Adjust as needed per your guest count.

Irish Smoked Salmon
pumpernickel bread
Cucumber – peeled and thinly sliced

2 tbsp whipped low-fat cream cheese
1/2 lemon – zested
1/4 tsp white pepper

fresh chopped chives – garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Mix the cream cheese, zest and pepper together and smear each pumpernickel bread with some to coat.

Lay 3 pieces of the cucumber on each piece of bread and a couple of pieces of smoked salmon on top. Cut the bread slices in half diagonally and finish with a sprinkle of fresh chives and a wedge of lemon.

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas….what to give this Christmas? In this economy many of us are scaling back on our spending, right?–but giving still feels good doesn’t it? A few years ago I started making homemade Christmas prezzies, which has been quite cool. Homemade = special, and who doesn’t like a special gift?

This year I haven’t quite decided what to do but if you need an idea try my homemade sugar-free cranberry orange relish. It’s really tasty and not expensive to make. Even my neighbors are jumping on the bandwagon and got a little fancy pants. They decided to make homemade hot sauce out of the chillies growing in their gardens. You’ve heard me talk about my lovely neighbours before: Erica & Chris, of our famous Urban Gardens series. It was a combined effort (even better I’d say) which was a lot of fun to document.

Adapted from Rick Bayless‘ recipe, let the homemade gift making begin:

A NOTE FROM CHRIS:
We used a mixture of dried arbol chilies, and fresh and dried chilies from our Tabasco chili plants (like 1/3 each). Unlike in the recipe, we didn’t remove the seeds, but other than that we pretty much followed the recipe. In retrospect, maybe removing the seeds would have been a good idea. Oh, we made a huge batch of it, like 7x’s what was in the recipe.

Let it be up to you if you want to remove the seeds or not. The seeds are the hottest part of the chillies so you can discard them for a more mild batch or add a few or go all out as did Chris & Erica. This batch came out guns-a-blazin’ (not kidding guys, my head nearly exploded). That would be a good name for their hot sauce: Venice Guns a Blazin’ (funny enough that’s quite à propos). You can make larger batches like C & E did so you’ll have plenty for gifts.

NOTE / TIP / DON’T DO WHAT I DID (ONCE) For the love of God wear some gloves if you’re de-seeding the chillies but if you don’t, be careful not to touch your eyes and my advice, don’t go to the toilet unless you can go hands free. Tink about it. Be there done that, no be fun!

ORIGINAL RECIPE:
Makes about 1¾ cups

1¼ ounces (about 50 to 60 mixed-size) dried chiles de arbol*
1½ tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds (or a generous ¼ teaspoon ground)
4 large allspice berries (or about 1/8 teaspoon ground)
2 cloves (or a big pinch ground)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 scant teaspoon salt
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
¾ cup cider vinegar

*NOTE FROM RICK:
Chiles de Àrbol are available in most Mexican markets. But if you can’t find them, a good sauce can be made with any small, dried hot pepper, like the Mexican chiles japoneses or the common little ones frequently labeled just “chile peppers” in the grocery store. For a milder hot sauce, replace ½ ounce of the chiles de àrbol with 2 chiles guajillos or 1 large California or New Mexico chile.

DIRECTIONS:

1. The chiles and seeds: Stem the chiles, then roll them between your thumb and fingers, pressing gently to loosen the seeds inside. Break in half, shake out as many seeds as possible, then place in a blender jar and blitz.

Heat an ungreased skillet over medium-low. Measure in the sesame seeds and stir for several minutes as they brown and pop; scoop into the blender jar and blitz. Add the pumpkin seeds to the skillet. When the first one pops, stir constantly for several minutes, until all are golden and have popped up into a round shape then blitz.

2. Blending the sauce: Pulverize the cumin, allspice and garlic cloves in a mortar or spice grinder, then add to the blender jar along with the oregano, salt, garlic and vinegar. Blend for several minutes, until the mixture is orange-red and feels quite smooth when a drop is rubbed between your fingers.

3. Straining and ripening the sauce: Combine all batches together, stir well. Strain through a medium-mesh sieve, working the solids back and forth and pressing them firmly; there will be a fair amount of chile seeds, skins, sesame hulls and other debris to discard, but be careful that there is no liquid trapped within them.

Stir in ¾ cup water, then pour into a bottle, cover and let stand for 24 hours before serving.

Stored in the refrigerator, it will last indefinitely—even getting better after several weeks. Or pour it into sterilized canning jars, seal and process in a water bath; store indefinitely at room temperature.

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

Making holiday meals can be a lot of work. Do you spend most of your day in the kitchen slaving over the stove? Or maybe you’re responsible for a dish to bring and you’re not so much the cook? Either way this is a super simple side dish that’s quick and fresh. (And you can drink the port after dinner so it’s a win-win for everyone!)

RECIPE:
Serves 4

1 x 10 oz package red pearl onions – peeled, tips trimmed
1 x 10 oz package white pearl onions – peeled, tips trimmed
1/2 cup port
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Blanch the onions in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Drain. Toss the onions in a bowl with the other ingredients and put on foiled oven tray.

Place in oven for 15 minutes, approx to cook and caramelize. They should be tender and sweet when done.

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

What a dynamite weekend we had! On Friday night we were invited to our friends, Van & Kelly’s house for some homemade pizza from their brand new wood burning pizza oven. Two years ago we spent Thanksgiving with them–you may remember the spread they put on for nearly 30 of us! They love to entertain so they built an amazing outdoor kitchen (my dream!) which we were excited to check out. One word: MUSTARD!

The deal was they’d make the dough, sauce and provide the cheese, salad & wine. (Did I mention they just got back from a wine trip to France & Italy? Result!) We were to bring the toppings and the beers. It was a lot fun getting creative with the toppings. We brought over grilled veg, roast chicken, broiled balsamic radicchio, Prosciutto, homemade peanut sauce, fresh herbs and shredded carrots. Sounds crazy right? We made a veggie pizza, a chicken & veggie pizza, a hot pepper (straight from their garden) & Prosciutto pizza, a Thai pizza (using the fresh peanut sauce, shredded carrots, Thai basil & cilantro), a radicchio pizza (using the shredded carrots to balance out the bitterness from the radicchio) and well, a mix of everything really for the others.

What a perfect idea for a dinner party even if you don’t have your own wood burning oven. Everyone gets to take a turn making a pizza which is great craic really.

Here’s the standard recipe for homemade pizza:

RECIPE:
Makes 4 pizza crusts

1 pkg active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 cups flour + additional for dusting

DIRECTIONS:

Mix the yeast and warm water in a mixing bowl. Let stand for 5-10 minutes approx, or until the yeast becomes active (it’ll start to bubble). Once it’s ready, add it to an electric mixer and gradually add in the olive oil, flour & salt. Mix with the dough hook until the dough comes together. Remove from mixer and on a floured surface (to prevent sticking) roll into a large ball. Divide the dough into 4 equally sized balls and place on an oiled oven tray. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and put the tray in a warm dry place until it rises, 45 minutes approx.

Preheat oven to 450°F.

When ready to make your pizzas, sprinkle flour on a clean work surface and roll out the dough to a thin crust using a rolling pin. Be sure to dust your rolling pin with flour to also prevent from sticking. NOTE: The dough rises when baking which is why you want roll it into a thin crust prior.
Place the pizza base on a floured oven tray and add your toppings.

As for how long your pizzas take to bake, just keep an eye on it. I like the bottom of mine to be crispy but not burned.
TIP: The key here is to have your meat and vegetable toppings already cooked. You’re basically baking the dough and warming up the rest so there’s no worry if the meats are cooked through or not.

We had such an amazing time as always. Thinking about asking Santa for a pizza oven—I say I have two hopes: No hope and Bob Hope. Good thing Van & Kelly live close by!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

I get asked quite often if I have any healthy dessert or snack ideas. I don’t have a sweet tooth myself (unless there’s mucho beers involved and I have been known to delve into the odd apple tart on occasion) but I know that for those peeps who are watching their waistlines, it can be hard to ditch the old favourite dessert. This recipe is a fabulous healthy low fat option and is perfect for a special breakfast or even dessert. The beauty of these muffins is that they are already portioned so no chance of over eating (unless you eat more than one of course).

As you may know I don’t use regular sugar in any of my cooking. I opt for Agave on most occasions but seeing as I’m not a professional baker I reach for the granular natural stuff in place of sugar, such as Xylitol. I’ve used Xylitol many times but I noticed that it sometimes left a bit of an aftertaste, until I tried this brand. Even my neighbour (who is still afraid to taste the fig frozen yogurt I made him) liked it and commented (on his own accord mind you) that it didn’t have that strange aftertaste some healthy cookies tend to have. Looks like I found a winner! Luckily nowadays there are many great natural sugars out there–Click here to find out more.

RECIPE:
Makes 10-12 muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cup Xylitol (birch sugar)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 – 4 mashed ripe bananas
1/8 cup canola oil
1/4 + 1/8 cup applesauce – All natural, no added sugar
1/4 cup skim milk
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips (70% or higher cocoa)
2 organic egg whites

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix wheat flour, xylitol, baking powder and salt in large bowl. In another medium bowl mix mashed bananas, oil, applesauce and milk. Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients just until blended (do not over mix). Put choc chips in food processor and pulse for 20-30 seconds to break up.

Stir in chocolate chips. Severely beat your egg whites until they become stiff (also good for getting out any frustrations!) Fold them into the mixture.
TIP: Folding the stiff egg whites in at the end helps create a lighter muffin with a bit less fat.

Liberally spray muffin cups with cooking spray or use paper liners.  Fill each about 3/4 full if you want to make a full dozen or fill all the way to the top if you want larger muffins (about 10).

Bake muffins until tops are golden, 31 minutes approx. To be sure they’re fully baked, insert a toothpick into the center and it should come out with some melted chocolate attached but no crumbs. Transfer muffins to a rack to cool then tuck in!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients.

This week I’ve been talking about what has come in our CSA box(es) and the diamonds so far have been sweet peppers, which have been turning into hummus. Any day now the Missus will be turning into hummus herself so I got the idea to try pairing it with something a bit healthier than crackers. I’ve been hearing rumblings about kale chips for a while now and though I was skeptical, I decided to give it a go with both elephant and curly kale. Tossed in a drizzle of olive oil, S&P and baked for nearly 10  mins at 350F (in case you wanted to try them out for yourself)….these were….em….interesting. Did they make a nice “chip?” Eh no. Would they make a nice garnish cut in strips? I’m thinkin’ that’s a much better idea. But I just wanted to show you that even the so called ‘pros’ like myself  learn by trial ‘n’ error. The real star here is the hummus!

RECIPE:
Makes 1 1/2 cups

1 can garbanzo beans
1/4 cup +  1 tbsp. roasted sweet peppers
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp cold water

First things first, roast your peppers. I used a variety of sweet peppers in this batch as well as a jalapeno from my garden. I used 1/4 cup of roasted plus a tbsp. total in the recipe. There’s no science here so just use what you have and as little or as much as it makes once roasted. Let your taste buds do the talking!

YOU NEED: Assorted sweet peppers & olive oil
ROASTING DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 420F. Toss the whole peppers in a drizzle of olive oil. Lay them on a foiled sheet pan in a single layer. Pop in oven for 20-25 mins, turning occasionally, until the skins are dark and charred. Once all sides of the skins are browned, put them into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 10 mins approx. Remove peppers and peel skins, discarding. Next remove stems and seeds and rough chop.
NOTE: Though it’s easier to peel peppers under running water, DO NOT do it. Rinsing roasted peppers under the tap will wash away most of the flavor. Bad idea!

HUMMUS DIRECTIONS:
Put the roasted peppers, garbanzo beans, S&P into a food processor and blend. While running, add in the water in a steady stream followed by the oil, same way. Taste and season.

Now in our second CSA box there were more sweet peppers so of course I knew I’d be at this again. This time we only had two peppers so I robbed a beautiful red bell from the neighbors (thanks Kitchens!!) and roasted them off. I added a squeeze of lemon, a couple squeezes of M’lady’s favorite hot sauce and a touch more olive oil and man, this was fantastic! It only took 2 days before it was gone so best of luck keeping it in your house!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

My neighbor not only has a fantastic fig tree (that I’ve been delving into for the past few weeks), but she also had success this year growing fresh tomatoes. The poor crater hasn’t even been in town to enjoy the fruits of her labor so to speak, but we certainly have (with her blessing of course!)

left on our doorstep

Thanks Cristina but now what to do with them? Figs and tomatoes….

You see, I wasn’t really big on figs until I found myself with a tree full of  ‘em so pardon me if I went searching for recipes online. Didn’t take me too long to find this gem created by A Gluten Free Guide. I know it may sound strange but this salsa is the dogs bollix. Right now figs are in season so it’s the perfect time to make this with fresh figs vs. dried. For those of you that missed my
Fig and Goats Cheese Pizza from last week it’s well worth a gander. Quick and damn tasty!

Healthy Fig and Avocado Salsa Recipe

1 cup diced dried figs or 3 cups diced fresh figs
juice of one lime
3 medium firm ripe California avocados, diced
3 fresh jalapenos, small diced, seeds and ribs removed
2-3 medium, vine-ripened tomatoes, diced, seeds removed
4 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 small cloves of garlic, minced

TIP: If you use agave like I did, you can use less than honey because it’s sweeter than honey.

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir gently. Refrigerate several hours to let flavors blend. Serve with gluten-free corn tortilla chips.

(It’s great right away if you are like me and aren’t patient enough to wait for it to come out of the fridge.)

This salsa lasted about 2 days in my house because it was so good. Thanks to Catherine for this idea!
Cheers!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.