Eating my way through Ireland
Creamy vegetable soup, freshly baked brown bread, homemade scones, fresh cream, local goat cheese…..I’m surprised that my jeans still fit! Before leaving I had no idea that the food would be so good, but after the first meal I realized I should take pictures of my extra-delicious [read: all] meals so that I could share it all with you. I envisioned beautiful photographs of gooey, drippy goat cheese spilling off of pesto-topped toasted bread making you all drool. Sounds good, right? So what do I have for you? None. Seriously, none. The Husband probably heard me saying at least 20 times “I wish I would have taken a picture of this” while I was sopping up the last bite on the plate. I can’t help it, I’d get the food and it looked so good, and I know it would taste sooo good, my mind forgot the camera and I just dug right in (usually before the waitress even set the plate down). So no pictures, but suffice it to say that the food was amazing.
First, the majority of restaurants and pubs use local foods. Obviously Ireland is a tiny island so it probably costs less to use local foods than to import, which just benefits the rest of us because we get super fresh foods. No matter how many times we walked into some tiny little pub in a tiny little town, it still surprised me that the menu would say, “made with local products”. At one bed and breakfast we stayed at they even grew their own foods out back and we literally saw the cook walk outside and cut fresh herbs, walk back in the kitchen and use them in our dish. So the locality and freshness definitely contributed to the taste I’m sure.
I believe I ate goat cheese with almost every meal. I would have put it on top of my porridge in the morning if they offered it. I would skip restaurants that only offered mozzarella and no goat cheese until I found one with it. I make no apologies for this. Also with each lunch and dinner we ate vegetable soup. Every.single.place offered vegetable soup. No lie, every place we went to. And it wasn’t vegetable soup as we’d think of (broth with veggies) but instead was basically veggies (potatoes I’m sure were included) pureed. It was thick and always delicious. I’m pretty sure many were probably made with cream so after I test some recipes and experiment a little I’ll be sharing some recipes with you all.
So soup, goat cheese, brown bread, and some form of dessert was eaten every day. The desserts were a story all their own. They were also so fresh, complex, and amazing. Most bars in the U.S. offer some sort of brownie sundae and that’s it. When’s the last time you got bar food and then the dessert was a homemade scone with homemade jam and cream? Or a Bailey’s cheesecake? Or a chocolate ganache cake? Mmmm….
As a side note, something I thought was really interesting was the amount of awareness of vegetarianism and veganism. Every restaurant/pub we went to always had a vegetarian option. And although we didn’t adhere strictly to our vegan lifestyle (did I mention the goat cheese??) when we’d say it to someone, they immediately knew what we meant and how to alter to dish to make it vegan. We definitely haven’t had this experience here in the states (example: At a Mexican restaurant, The Husband says, “Are your beans vegetarian?” Waiter: [being completely serious] “Yeah. Well, it depends on what kind of vegetarian you are, they’re made with chicken stock.” Yeah.) My mind was definitely changed from believing the Irish were all about corned beef, steak, and rashers.
One last thing I want to mention that I noticed while we were there. Every meal came with tea and coffee. When you’re done eating (and dessert was usually expected to be eaten, which I love) you’re offered tea and coffee. It’s OK to sit and drink coffee and talk after you’re done. You’re not rushed out. It’s not about bringing out the next course immediately or the check immediately; it’s about sitting and enjoying the environment and company. Which really, I think made the food so much better.
So now we’re back and there’s definitely no more goat cheese meant for my belly until I find a vegan recipe. I’m looking forward to veganizing all the great food I had there and sharing it with you in the future!
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As Good As Mom’s!
My mother-in-law is a fantastic cook. She’s one of those people who buys simple ingredients and then can somehow whip them into a five star meal. This is both good (I get lots of recipes and tips from her) and bad (I just can’t be as creative as her in the kitchen!). Obviously my husband grew up with amazing food and I’ll often make a new dish that I think is delicious and he’ll say “it’s alright” and then later it’s followed up with “my mom makes…” and then some awesome dish that uses the same ingredients. Luckily, he’s inherited some of her cooking skills! And today, I’m going to share with you one of her family recipes that he loves (I mean really, he practically drools when he talks about these) and finally I’ll be able to make a meal that’s as good as mom’s!
Pasties are extremely popular in certain cultures and you may know them by different names. The great think about them is that you can put in whatever you want- meat, veggies, anything you can think of! They’re also great because it’s easy to make them in large batches. So make a lot, cook them, wrap them in tin foil, and freeze them until you’re ready to eat. How fantastic is it to have a healthy, easy meal on a busy weeknight? What more could you want??
The pasties we’ve made are vegan but you can add meat to yours if you’d like. Here’s what we used in ours and what you’ll need:
- pie crust
- rutabaga
- spinach (frozen and drained REALLY well)
- red potato
- carrot
- red onion
- sweet potato
- apple
- Earth Balance butter
All the veggies, chopped up and ready
Use whatever pie crust recipe you want, but I will say you want something delicious and flakey. The pie crust will make the difference with this recipe. We didn’t have much time and wanted to make these as easily as possible so we used bought, pre-made crust (the horror!). Definitely doesn’t taste as good, but not horrible. I just recommend making your own. So here we go!
1. Cut up all your veggies, get everything ready- your mise en place if you will.
2. Roll out your dough. On average you’ll get about 2 pasties from one pie crust. Clearly if you make it yourself you can pull it in half, roll it out and make it round. Since this was pre-made, I just cut it in half and made the pasties into triangle shapes (a little more like spanikopita, but that’s ok!)
3. Put a handful of whatever filling you’re using. You’ll definitely want lots of red potato and rutabaga, as they’re the thickest and really fill you up!
4. Top with a spoonful of Earth Balance (or whatever butter you’re using if it’s not vegan). Make sure it’s a good size spoonful, as this is where all the moisture in your pasty will come from. I used frozen spinach in half of the ones we made to try it out since we haven’t used it before. Just make sure you drain it really well so your pasty isn’t mushy.
5. Fold the dough over and wrap it tightly. The better quality dough, the easier to fold. This stuff wasn’t the easiest to seal, but I still managed! Make sure you poke holes with a fork on the top.
6. I sprayed a little olive oil mist over the top, but it’s not necessary. Bake them at 350 for about 45 minutes. The time may vary depending on your crust, so just make sure it’s fully cooked.
So, so good! They’re best with some ketchup or, if you want to get fancy, some Irish Steak Sauce. They’re so easy to just cut up tons of vegetables, make a lot of pasties, and keep them in the freezer for a month full of easy dinners. Just remember to bake them before you put them in the freezer, then all you do is warm them up. Have fun and experiment with your own fillings!
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Health tip #6!
Eat chocolate! Ok, that’s my tip and advice for every situation. But really, it’s a great piece of advice when you’re on a diet. I know people think that sweets and diet don’t mix, but it’s important to incorporate them into your lifestyle change. Now this doesn’t mean eating a bag of Oreos nightly, but it does mean allowing yourself a couple of those cookies every once in awhile.
This really is one of the best ways to stay on track. If you set yourself up to a zero tolerance to treats you’ll probably become frustrated, lose motivation, and give up. Or you’ll reach the point where you just throw your hands up and decide to eat the sweet, but then you eat way more than you should and binge. Unless you have incredible willpower, you’ll eventually want something to satisfy that sweet tooth.
Letting yourself have small treats occasionally will take off some of the mental pressure of a strict diet. It will also help with prevention of binging and eating that entire box of Oreos. Of course eating sweets adds fat and calories so it may make those pounds drop just a slightly bit slower, but you’ll be so much happier. If you feel happier you’ll stick with your change for the long haul! So grab those cookies and relax, it’s OK!
Tofu Spinach Lasagna (You’ll love it, I promise!)
This recipe is not only delicious, but super easy. It’s perfect for a late work night when you want a quick dinner. And the great thing about this meal is that you can use it as a foundation and add whatever you want to it, since the basic flavors are great. I was skeptical about substituting tofu in for cheese but you won’t be able to tell the difference, I promise!
I love big chunks of onion in my sauce!
This recipe can be as complex or as easy as you want it to be. I like to use my standard marinara sauce recipe, but for a quicker dinner just use your favorite canned sauce.
To make it even quicker (see how easy this recipe is?!) we use the pre-cooked ready for the oven lasagna noodles. No boiling required, just pop them in the lasagna and they’ll cook in the oven.
Ready for the oven!
I love lots of sauce, so it’s definitely covered well. Here’s the recipe!
- -1 lb firm tofu, drained
- -1 package frozen spinach, defrosted and drained (if you love spinach like me- use more!)
- -1 package Yves “meat” crumbles
- -2 tablespoons basil
- -2 tablespoons oregano
- -salt to taste
- -spaghetti sauce (the amount is up to you!)
- -1 package lasagna noodles
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350
2. In a mixing bowl crumble the tofu. Add the basil, oregano, salt. Feel free to alter the spices depending on what you like, we normally eyeball it!
3. Cover the bottom of a 9×13 inch pan with sauce. On top of the sauce, put the lasagna noodles. Then put some crumbled tofu, some Yves crumbles, and spinach. Pour more sauce on top. Continue layering until you’re either out of ingredients or out of room in your pan!
4. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. If you’re using the pre-cooked noodles, follow the directions on the box for baking. Ours require backing covered 30 minutes, uncovered for 10.
Enjoy!
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Or “Why I’ve Been a Bad Blogger”.
The past (almost) year was spent going to class multiple days a week, seeing clients at school 2 days a week, doing homework, driving 1.5 hours to internship (1 way!) two days a week, and working 15 hours a week. Oh, and performing research and writing a thesis. Oh, and planning and getting married! So needless to say, it’s been busy.
I’ve submitted my thesis, quit my job, the wedding’s over, and I graduate in May. I have something called “free time” now, which still feels like a foreign concept. Even though I haven’t had time to post, I haven’t forgotten about the blog. I have a long Word document that has tons of bullet points naming all the topics I wanted to write about when I had time. And now the time has come. So thanks for being here and check back often- this time there will actually be updates!
Love!
Tomatoes and Chickpeas? Yes, please!
I looove this recipe! It’s a diced tomato and chickpea dish mixed with some yummy curry and cumin flavors. And it’s delicious! I like to find multiple recipes for a meal online, mix them together, add some flair of my own, and it usually ends in something yummy and that’s how I’ve gotten this recipe. I’ve made this recipe a couple times and I think it’s really great. As an added bonus it’s really easy, quick, and gives you lots of leftovers for at least a few meals. I actually even liked the leftovers eaten cold a little more than the dish right after it was made.
Simmering in the pan. Is it making you hungry yet?
So here we go!
Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1 tbl gingerroot
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbl curry
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed (you can use fresh of course!)
2 cans diced tomatoes (don’t drain these!)
Directions:
1. Heat 1 tbl olive oil in a large saucepan around medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook until onions start to become transparent, about 10 minutes or so. Be sure to stir frequently so the onions don’t stick. If they do start to stick, add a tiny bit of water to the pan.
2. Add the gingerroot, cumin, salt, pepper, curry. Stir together and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the balsamic vinegar and both cans of diced tomatoes with their juices. Bring to a boil over medium heat. While this is starting to boil, I usually get my chickpeas ready by draining and rinsing them.
4. Add the chickpeas, stir all together. Reduce heat to low. Cover pan. Simmer for 45 minutes while stirring frequently.
I suggest eating this served over some rice. If you’re not into the vegetarian meal, add some sliced chicken to it- It’ll be delicious and make it even more filling than it already is. If you want a little more flavor, serve with some yogurt on top and that’ll mix nicely with the curry flavor.
I kept it in a tupperware dish, mixed with the remaining rice, in the fridge and had meals for a few days.
All ready!
So try it out, add your own flavors if you want, and let me know how it goes. Yum!
Honey, Honey
Everyone needs a little sweetness in their life and honey is the perfect way to do that! One aspect of eating healthy is to avoid foods full of sugar, but it can be tough when you have a craving for something sweet. That’s where honey comes in- it’s the perfect sweetener and sugar substitute. It helps that it has health benefits, too!
So let’s talk some of the wonderful benefits of honey:
- Honey has a low glycemic index. This means that there is a slower rate of digestion and absorption of the carbohydrates, and lower insulin demand which can improve long-term blood sugar control.
- Honey is full of antioxidants. These antioxidants are said to help in preventing cancer because they help to increase the stability and decrease permeability of cells, and inhibiting the destruction of collagen.
- Honey contains vitamins and minerals.
- Honey helps build our system’s immunity.
- Honey gives an energy boost, so it’s great to have with your breakfast or before a workout.
- Honey can be used as a cough suppressant. Research has actually shown that it works better for children as a cough suppressant than other medicines.
