Author: Padraic Guilfoyle

Alcohol is a toxic, addictive drug that can be very damaging to health. Alcohol products, mainly beer, spirits and wine can be marketed without reference to alcohol in the advertising. Alcohol is consumed without restraint or regard for its health consequences.
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Clodagh McKenna‏, My Carrot Cake with Orange Blossom frosting recipe

Makes 1 Cake (10 portions)

INGREDIENTS:

3 eggs

140ml/5floz vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing

220/7oz light brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

350g/12oz grated carrots, (grated weight)

100g/3½ oz golden raisins

100g/3½ oz walnuts, chopped

200g/7oz self-raising flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the orange blossom frosting 

300g/10½ oz cream cheese, chilled

70g/2½ oz butter, at room temperature

300g/10½ oz icing sugar, sifted

1 orange, zest only

2 teaspoons of orange blossom water

METHOD:

1.          Preheat the oven to 180°C and oil and line a 13 x 23cm loaf tin with greaseproof paper.

2.        For the carrot cake: beat the eggs in a large bowl, then add the oil, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, grated carrot, raisins and chopped walnuts.

3.        Sift in the rest of the dry ingredients and bring the mixture together using a wooden or large metal spoon until well combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin, smooth the surface and bake in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. If you’re using a ceramic baking dish then you’ll need to add 15 minutes to the cooking time.

4.       Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the tin for about five minutes before removing. Cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

5.        For the orange blossom frosting: beat the cream cheese and butter together in a bowl until well combined. Add the icing sugar, orange blossom water and finely grated orange zest and mix until the frosting is smooth and thick. Using a palette knife, spread the frosting evenly over the cooled cake, dipping the knife into a bowl of hot water if the icing is hard to spread out.

6.       Decorate with orange zest on top of the frosting.

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Odlums Coconut Buns for baking with kids

Category

Baking with Kids

Cook Time15-20 mins

What you need:

  • 225g/8oz Odlums Cream Plain Flour
  • Pinch of Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Odlums Baking Powder
  • 75g/3oz Butter or Margarine
  • 75g/3oz Shamrock Golden Caster Sugar
  • 50g/2oz Shamrock Desiccated Coconut
  • 1 Egg, beaten
  • 150ml/¼pt Milk

To Decorate

  • Fruitfield Raspberry Jam
  • Extra Shamrock Desiccated Coconut

How to:

  1. Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Lightly grease 2 flat baking trays.
  2. Sieve the flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl.
  3. Rub in the butter or margarine until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
  4. Add the sugar and coconut and mix well.
  5. Mix to a fairly stiff consistency with the egg and milk. Drop dessertspoonfuls of the mixture, spaced apart on the prepared tins. Makes about 12.
  6. Bake for 15-20 minutes until risen and golden brown. Remove from oven and transfer buns to wire tray to cool.
  7. Brush the top with jam and dip in the extra coconut.

Coconut Buns

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Bowles’s Mauve for bees & butterflies @BordBia

bordbia
If you’d like to entice bees and butterflies into your garden this summer, look no further than planting a perennial wallflower like the Bowles’s Mauve. This reliable plant is easy to care for and flowers beautifully over a number of months each year.

Learn more by clicking the link in our bio.
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Ulster Crab Risotto

Ulster Crab Risotto

Serves: 10

Ingredients

  • 2 large Portrush Brown Cock Crabs
  • 4 litres pre-prepared crab stock
  • 500g Lakeland Dairies Butter
  • 400ml Millac Dairy Whipping Cream
  • 1kg arborio rice
  • 8 banana shallots
  • 200g wild rocket
  • 300g Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano Regianno)
  • micro red amaryth cress and parsley to garnish
  • 4 red peppers
  • 50ml aged balsamic vinegar
  • 100ml olive oil

Method

In a large, flat-bottomed pan melt 250g of Lakeland Dairies Butter. Add the shallots and braise before stirring in the rice.

Pour in the crab stock, a little at a time, until the rice is half cooked. Remove from the heat.

Place 2 red peppers in the oven with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. When they have blistered all over, remove them from the oven, cool and deseed. Remove skins with a small prep knife and cut into thin strips (equal lengths).

Deseed the remaining 2 red peppers and blend before passing through a fine chinoix or muslin. Discarding the pulp, transfer the juice into a small pan, adding the balsamic vinegar and reduce to a thick consistency. Allow to cool, before whisking in olive oil to make a pepper dressing.

Purée the brown crab meat and pass through chinoix to remove any shell. Set aside.

Pick out the white crab meat, ensuring there are no pieces of shell remaining. Mix together with the brown meat.

Place the remaining 250g Lakeland Dairies Butter into a large pan and add the half-cooked rice mixture. When it is almost cooked, add the Millac Dairy Whipping Cream, Parmesan and crab meat and simmer gently.

Season to taste. Add the rocket and stir until soft.

Serve the risotto as 2 or 3 quenelles in the centre of a suitable bowl.

Arrange slices of red pepper around the risotto and drizzle the red pepper dressing on top before garnishing with the amaryth and parsley.

http://www.pritchitts.com/recipes/ulster-crab-risotto