Spring Hath Sprung…and a Giveaway!

Spring is officially upon us…can you feel it? In the past few days there’s been a waft of something on the air – I’m not sure what. Inspiration? Possibility? Whatever it is, I’m enjoying everything this spring has brought so far – warmer weather, longer evenings, and the sight of baby bunnies and ickle lambs frolicking in the fields, to name but a few - and excited about the long and hopefully hot summer ahead.

I should preface this post with an apology of sorts…I’ve been more than neglectful of late, even for me. I’m not even sure what exactly it was that kept me away from my little blog so long - a combination of things, I suppose. Joe’s been renovating a house since June of last year, and at the end of January he moved in. I decided to wait for such luxuries as flooring, and a kitchen, and have been firmly ensconced at my parents’ house for the past couple of months. My mother has a Rayburn in her kitchen and it’s amazing – it cooks, heats the house AND the hot water – but I’m damned if I can cook/bake with it. The temperature is impossible to control, so anything delicate like fairy cakes, or recipes which demand a certain heat and cooking time, like brownies, are a no-go. This is probably good for my health and well-being, as I’m no longer ingesting massive amounts of baked goods, but it also means that I have nothing to blog about!

So, until I get into my shiny new – read, second-hand; whave very little – read, no – money – kitchen, Imma turn The Loving  Spoonful into a food and lifestyle blog. I’ll update you on foodie goings-on around the country, and blog about products/utensils/gadgets that I love and think you will too. I’m also going to throw in the occasional giveaway to bribe you all into liking me again - starting now!

I met Judith of A Box For My Treasure at Dublin’s Ferocious Mingle Market a couple of months ago, and couldn’t leave without snapping up some of her gorgeous pieces. I’ve been wearing them non-stop ever since, and love the way they look, the compliments I get on them, and the fact that they’re something cute, but different, that not everyone will have. They’re also really reasonably priced, and make great gifts for Valentine’s, Mother’s Day, birthdays or even a keepsake for nieces/daughters/goddaughters who are making their Communion or Confirmation over the next couple of weeks.

Judith has very kindly given me TWO pieces to giveaway to one lucky commenter – check them out!

This gorgeous brass feather ring – I bought one of these, and LOVE it.

AND

These fabulous earrings. So pretty, and perfect for spring.

To be in with a chance of winning these gorgeous goodies, just leave a comment telling me three things you’ve enjoyed this spring, and one lucky winner will receive the pieces above! If you like what you see, make sure to visit Judith’s Etsy shop, or like her on Facebook to keep up-to-date with all she has to offer.

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Time for some foodie news, and the biggest is that Masterchef is coming to Ireland! This is a great opportunity for all you talented amateur cooks out there to showcase your skills in front of the amazing Nick Munier and Dylan McGrath to win the coveted title of Masterchef Ireland, as well as €25,000 in cash! Successful applicants will proceed to the audition phases of the competition where they will be up against some of the best amateur cooks in the country. Those that prove themselves worthy of a place in the final 16 will put through a series of intense tests, tasks and challenges which will test their culinary skill to the limit. Each week, cooks will be eliminated until they are left with only one winner, Ireland’s very first MasterChef Champion. All the details are here and you have until the 27th April to apply. Good luck!

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Has anyone been to Lidl/Aldi recently? I used to do all of my shopping there (there was an Aldi within spitting distance of our apartment in town), until I realised that their fruit and veg lasted a spookily long time. That said, there are still some gems to be had. I picked up a waffle maker in Lidl a couple of weeks ago for €17 – bargain! Aldi also do pretty cheap maple syrup – about €3.50, as I recall, compared to €6 or €7 in most places – and they’ve just brought out a range of frozen yoghurts which are DIVINE. The strawberry one tastes just like strawberry ice-cream, and as someone who has a horrible addiction to Eddie Rockets’ strawberry malts, this is a very, very good thing indeed.

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The Waterford Festival of Food was on at the weekend, culiminating in a huge outdoor food market in Dungarvan’s Main Square on Sunday. I went along to hang out with Candi of The Boho Kitchen, who was selling her signature white chocolate and pecan blondies, fudgey chocolate brownies, cupcakes, cookies and lots of other new treats for Easter, like her red velvet cake balls (and Girlfriend needs to slap a warning sticker on ‘em, ’cause they are addictive). I took home a selection of her tasty treats and they were gorgeous, check out her stall at a festival near you soon!

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Finally, there’s another new market on the scene. The Market Waterford is a pretty new set-up in what was the old An Post sorting office on Waterford’s High St/Kaiser St. Run by Fran and her partner Paul who developed the old SOMA Market I sold at before, it’s a huge venue and a great way for local producers to showcase their talent. The market currently runs on Saturdays, but they’re hoping to open from Thursday through to Sunday as the summer market season progresses. Make sure to come along and check it out next time you’re in town, and see the talent of our local bakers, jewellers and interior decorators – to name a few – for yourself! If you’re interested in having a stall, more information can be found on their Facebook page.

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That’s about it for the foodie news this week – I have another large and exciting announcement to make which deserves its own post, so stay tuned! In the meantime, make sure to enter the giveaway by posting in the comments’ section below and one lucky reader will be selected to win the lovely jewellery from A Box For My Treasure. You have until midnight on Easter Sunday (April 24th) to enter, so get scribbling. Best of luck!

 

Apple and Cinnamon Muffins, for a Cold and Wintry Day

Is there anyone still out there? 

*Silence*

Honestly, I’m not surprised. If my blog was a boyfriend, it would have broken up with me by now. Things have been manic recently, and once again, at the start of November, I found myself staring down the barrel of two jam-packed months. Being busy is great, but I was starting to long for some time off before December hit and things got even busier. As the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for – my great plans for a trip to Ikea this morning skidded to a halt when I woke up to this:

 Snow. In Waterford. IN NOVEMBER! It doesn’t look terribly impressive in the above photos, but it got even heavier as the morning went on – big fat flakes falling with happy abandon. I called off my trip in favour of a cosy-pyjama-clad, kitchen-ensconced day at home, and so far I’ve done more baking in a few short hours than I have in the previous couple of weeks.

One of my recent cookbook acquisitions is Kitchen, the new tome from Nigella Lawson. I’ve only had a chance to quickly flick through it, but her recipe for apple cinnamon muffins caught my eye. They’re, helpfully, located in the section on using up leftovers, and as I had two unused cooking apples from making a batch of mincemeat a couple of weeks ago which eyed me reproachfully every time I entered the kitchen, I decided to give them a go.

They turned out gorgeously, and are, I think, better when made with cooking apples as opposed to eating, as these muffins are quite sweet, and the tartness of the cooking apple gives your tastebuds a welcome reprieve. I would also say be careful when measuring out the honey; I think I used slightly too much here, and next time I’ll reduce the amount of sugar in the topping. That’s just me though – although I have a sweet tooth, I don’t like things that are overpoweringly sweet, so they may taste just fine to anyone else.  My efforts at this recipe are not the most attractive-looking either – I gave them their requisite 20 minutes in the oven, at which point they were perfectly puffed-up and golden, but still seemed a little undercooked. I baked them for another five minutes, and they came out slightly overdone. Oh well, not to worry, they still tasted delicious; I broke off a piece to try it and ended up scoffing the whole thing in seconds. The yoghurt and oil make these beautifully moist, the apples add a lovely tartness, and the toasted almonds in the topping are divine. Make them, and savour their still-warm-from-the-oven flavour with a cup of tea or coffee. You’ll love them!

Apple and Cinnamon Muffins, taken from Kitchen, by Nigella Lawson

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

2 eating apples or 1 large cooking apple, peeled and cut into small dice

250g plain flour or spelt flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

125g light brown sugar, plus 4 tsp for topping

125ml honey

60ml runny natural yoghurt

125ml flavourless vegetable oil

2 eggs

75g whole almonds, skin on

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celcius and line a 12-hold muffin tin with papers.

2. Measure the flour, baking powder and 1 tsp cinnamon into a bowl.

3. Whisk together the 125g brown sugar, honey, oil and eggs in a bowl – or, as I prefer, a jug, for ease of pouring.

4. Chop the almonds roughly and add half of them to the flour. Keep the other half aside, and to them add the second teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 4 tsp of brown sugar. This will be the topping for your muffins.

5. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry. Add the chopped apple and stir to combine. As with all muffin batters, don’t overmix – the lumpier and heavier the batter, the lighter the finished muffin will be.

6. Spoon the batter into the muffin papers and sprinkle with the topping.

7. Put into the oven and bake for 20 minutes, by which time the muffins should have risen, and become beautifully golden.

8. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes, before taking them out of the pan and devouring with unapologetic greed.

A Comforting Apple and Blackberry Crumble

When the evenings get shorter and the temperatures start to drop, my thoughts turn to woolly jumpers, crackling fires, snuggling down under a cosy blanket with a good book, and I crave hearty food like rib-sticking stews, luscious, gravy-filled pies, and warm, comforting fruit crumbles. This apple and blackberry crumble is one such dish, with the sweet and crunchy topping revealing a bed of soft and delicious fruit. Apple and blackberry is a classic autumnal combination, and one that I’m more than happy to indulge in while both fruits are at their best.

The original recipe calls for cooking apples, but I used regular eating apples and cut out most of the sugar. Normally, I would add cinnamon to an apple crumble, but omitted it here as the blackberries added more than enough extra flavour. This makes a lovely ending to a autumnal Sunday lunch when served, still warm, with vanilla ice-cream, softly-whipped cream, or a blob of crème fraiche…woolly jumper and crackling fire optional.

Apple and Blackberry Crumble (taken from Rachel’s Favourite Food, by Rachel Allen)

Serves 6

Ingredients:

3-4 large cooking apples (or 4-5 eating apples), peeled, cored and cut into large chunks

1 tbsp water

2-3 tbsp sugar (you can cut this down to about 1/2 tbsp of sugar if using eating apples)

225g blackberries (frozen is fine)

For the crumble:

175g plain white flour

75g cold butter, cut into chunks

75g demerara sugar

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius. Put the apple chunks, water and sugar into a saucepan over a low heat and cook until the apples are soft and pulpy – about 10 minutes. If using eating apples, they won’t break down as much, so cook them until they are soft to the point of a knife. While the apples are cooking, stir every minute or so to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Taste and add more sugar if needed, before transferring to a pie dish (or to several small ramekins) to cool slightly. Pop the blackberries onto the cooked apple at this point.

2. To make the crumble, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Don’t rub it in too much however, as the crumble won’t be crunchy if you do. Add the sugar into the crumble topping and mix. Sprinkle the crumble mixture on top of the apple and blackberries.

3. Bake for 15 minutes for small crumbles, or 30-45 minutes for larger crumbles. Remove from the oven when the crumble is cooked and golden. Serve whilst still warm, with cream, vanilla ice-cream or crème fraiche.