"Is dinner ready?" NO! "But Im starving......"

This pretty much sums it up!

Always running, getting lots of fresh air, no wonder
he's constantly hungry I suppose! 

So as I said in the last post September was a very busy month and I completely failed to notice the amount of food Seán eats theses days! His appetite has really come on. Maybe it’s a growth spurt, or him just being a boy but what ever it is its great! He’s eating everything! (well….most things!!) We have Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner sorted- we have loads of dishes to make that we all enjoy etc. Snacks are my problem! You know that time between breakfast and lunch, lunch and dinner and dinner and tea- well the growing boy eats at all these intervals! He’s great on fruit, so lots of novelty ways of eating fruit are tried and tested. Nuts and raisins are also good. But then what else can I give him to keep him ticking over? It needs to be lunch box friendly, that can be picked up running out the door to the playground, Granny’s etc...?? It also needs to be dairy free! I welcome all ideas. I’m on a mission to find and make healthy snacks to keep Seánie (and
Daddy and I) ticking over! Any ideas I try will be posted in the ‘Country Cooking’ tab!

Yesterday we tried Granny Jane’s Muesli Bars. Any time we go to Granny Jane’s in Kilkenny she has lovely baking done. These Muesli bars are always delish so I gave them a go (recipe in ‘Country cooking Tab’). They turned out lovely, not as nice as Granny Jane’s so must ask her for tips at the weekend. Seán and I  had one with a cup of tea and honestly I was stuffed! They are a bit crumbly so maybe next time ill put more coconut oil. I’m not convinced about the ‘healthiness’ part however. There is a lot of sugar and honey, and there are also coconut flakes, which a friend said could be high in fat! Eek!!! There is some goodness in them though as they are packed with seeds and nuts! Look it ,it’s better than a bar of chocolate, keeps up ticking over until dinner, recipe makes a good patch that are easy to grab and go, so for my first day of the healthy snack mission, its not a bad start at all!

Ill try again and let you know how it goes. Would love any ideas for other recipes.

MUSELI BARS

Makes approx. 28 little bars/squares

350g (12oz/3 ½ cups) rolled oats

30g (1 oz./ ½ cup)   shredded coconuts

50g (1 ¾ oz./ ½ cups) flaked almonds

45g  (1 ¾ oz. / ½ cup) wheatgerm

30g (1 oz./ ¼ cups) sesame seeds

35g (1 ¼ oz./ ¼ cups) sunflower seeds

55g (2oz/ 1/3 cup) copped dried apricots (I didn’t have so just left out)

185 ml (6fl oz./ ¾ cups) honey (I only had Manuka honey so used that)

55g (2 oz./ ¼ cups) soft brown sugar

125 ml (4fl oz./ ½ cup) vegetable oil (I used coconut oil instead)

* I added 4 tablespoons of flaxseed & goji berries also

Preheat over to 130oC (250oF/Gas 1) and lightly grease and line a 35x25cm (14 x10 inch) tin.

Put all the dry ingredients into a bowel, minus the sugar, and mix lightly together.

Put the honey, sugar and oil into a small pan and stir over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Pour this over the dry ingredients in the bowl and stir until everything is well combined, mixing with your hands if necessary.

Press the mixture into the tin and bake for 50 minutes or until golden.

Cut into bars while still warm.

Enjoy!

Thanks for reading. 

Kerri and Orla xx

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The Smell of Home

Although I'm a huge Yankee Candle fan, I still can't understand how they haven’t bottled up he smell of a typical Irish home and sold it by the bucket load. Now I'm not talking the smell of days old wet GAA training gear or the smell of spuds and bacon cooking  for the 12 noon dinner (all very homely  smells of my childhood) I’m talking about the smell of fresh scones or soda bread just about to come out for the oven....... Heavenly. 

There's no smell as warm and comforting as a batch of scones or a loaf of soda bread that is minutes away form layering up with real butter and homemade jam. My taste buds are tickling as I write. I know it's nostalgia that's playing a key factor here but none the less, we cannot deny that no matter how much of a health kick we are on that it is a difficult task to decline such an invitation as a cup of tea and a warm fresh scone. I was spoiled as a child to come in off the school bus to this said invitation, and still today there is no greater txt I rather receive than "scones  in oven, kettle on, will ye call?" From mammy. I now try to recreate  such smells in my home today (well the days old wet GAA gear smell has been perfected!) and with that I share with you my favourite scones recipe.  Perhaps some day I'll be as good as Mam and won't need a recipe, I'll know my own recipe and quantities form experience but for now it’s my tried and trusted Rory O'Connell recipe.

INGREDIENTS

4 cups white flour

1/2 heaping teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 heaping teaspoon sugar

Sift ingredients into a large mixing bowl.  2 cups buttermilk

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 200°.

Sift ingredients into a large mixing bowl.

Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and add buttermilk.

Mix together by hand until thoroughly combined (be careful not to overwork the dough, as this causes toughness). At this point add in some raisins if desired. (I would if I was you!) 

Turn out dough onto a well-floured surface and form into a large rectangle about 1 inch thick.

Using a rolling pin and extra flour as needed, roll rectangle into a ¾ inch thickness.

Using a scone cutter (or in my case a glass!) class out as many scones as you can. Keeping them good and thick.

Lightly flour a large sheet pan and arrange the scones in rows just barely touching.

Bake for 10 minutes, rotate the tray, and bake for 5- 10 more minutes. (Depends on your oven, fan etc..) 

Then plug in the kettle, get out the real butter and jam and sit back and enjoy the smells of home until the scones are ready!

I always make two batches of scones when baking: one batch as above and one batch dairy free. I do this my simply substituting almond milk for butter milk and sunflower butter for real butter. In my eyes theres an obvious winner, but my son knows no different and loves them. Scones are also so handy to put in the freezer and pull out as needed.

Hope you enjoy recreating my favourite 'smell of home'.

We would love to hear what smells sum up home for you, and how you recreate those smells in your home today xxx 

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