A great way to include essential vitamins and minerals into one’s diet is through juicing fruit and vegetables. Juicers can be bought at a reasonable price these days and it will last you years. However, recently I was introduced to the ‘Nutri Ninja’ {variant of the Nutri Bullet} and I must say, in the matter of a few weeks, it has steadily become the most used utensil in my kitchen. As opposed to a juicer the Ninja blitzes every bit of the fruit and vegetable, allowing you to obtain their optimal nutritional benefit. There are so many great combinations to make, but the one I’m sharing with you today is our current favourite. I try to include lots of kale in our diets as it is filled with powerful antioxidants, it is especially rich in iron and vitamin K as well as being a great source of calcium, vitamin A and vitamin C. It can be a little bitter when juiced/blitzed so paring it with some sweet bananas and pineapple will certainly counteract this. I'm a huge fan of avocados and the creamy texture of one which is perfectly ripe adds a certain smoothness to this finished drink. As the children prefer their juices as lump-free as possible I've added milled chia seeds, but ordinary seeds also work perfectly in their place. If you don’t have a Nutri Ninja, a blender can be used, and if you would prefer it without any bits then strain the contents through a sieve. 

Immune-Boosting Nutri Juice

Ingredients - Serves 2

2 large leaves of Kale, washed and leaves roughly chopped

1 small orange, peeled and cut into segments

1 red eating apple, cored and chopped into chunks

2 rings of pineapple

½ ripe banana, roughly chopped

½ ripe avocado

1 tsp milled chia seeds

handful of ice

water

Method

1. Make sure to wash the vegetables and fruit before blitzing. Fill the large Nutri-Ninja container with all of the ingredients, making sure to finish with the ice. Top up with cold, filtered water and do not pass the ‘max fill’ mark.
2. Blitz for one minute. Pour into two glasses and enjoy straight away.  

As per the rules of the giveaway, I had to pick another winner for the hand blender, as I had no contact details for the original winner and they never contacted me within the fortnight of them being announced. So, the new winner of the Breville Cordless Hand Blender is MKConlon. Thank you so much to everyone who entered the give-away.

In our house pancakes are never limited to Shrove Tuesday, but are enjoyed whenever there is a little extra time to spare in the mornings. Occasionally if it's a special occasion, say like a birthday, pancakes will always be on the food request list. Pancakes are so easy to prepare and they rarely create too much of a mess, so they're ideal to make with little ones. The boys are planning on having pancakes for their breakfast, dinner and tea tomorrow, so I may get cracking with the batter-making! 

These pancakes can be made plain, but for a fruity pancake mix, I like to add a handful of mashed blueberries or strawberries, or a grated apple, or some mashed ripe banana to the batter. It just really depends on what I have to hand. This recipe is for thick 'American style' pancakes. If you would prefer more of a 'crepe like' pancake just add a little extra milk to the batter and spread it out evenly on the pan at the start of cooking. 

Perfectly Plump Pancakes

Ingredients

150g self-raising flour

pinch of salt

225mls milk

1 egg

50g blueberries/strawberries, mashed, or 1 eating apple, grated

sunflower oil, for frying

To Serve

fresh berries

maple syrup or apple syrup

Method

1. Place the flour and salt in a bowl.

2. Make a well in the centre and add the egg. Slowly combine it with the flour, using a hand whisk

3. Very slowly add the milk, whisking well after each addition.

4. When the batter is nice and smooth add the mashed blueberries or grated apple. Combine well and then pour into a jug and cover with cling film. Refrigerate for at least an hour. The batter can be used straight away but it tends to have a better consistency when left to rest. Give the batter a little whisk before cooking.

5. Heat the frying pan and add a little sunflower oil.

6. Add 3 small ladlefuls of batter onto the pan. Cook for 2 minutes or until some bubbles appear on the surface. Using a spatula or fish slice to turn the pancake over and brown the other side.

7. To keep the cooked pancakes warm place in a low heated oven and continue cooking the rest of the pancakes. Add the toppings of your choice.

Enjoy straight away!

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Some more pancake inspiration -

Kristin at Edible Ireland shares her recipe for Salted Nutella & Banana Pancakes...these sound amazing.

Rosanne has some adorable looking Buttermilk pancakes over on her blog - Like Mam Used to Bake.

These nutrient-rich Pear Pancakes, from Dorcas Barry, are so tasty and they are a great, healthy alternative for Pancake Tuesday.
Donal Skehan shares a delicious savory Pancake recipe, filled with Ham Hock, Spinach and Cheese.
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There are many more interesting pancake recipes on the web. Feel free to share your favourite pancake recipe, or pancake toppings, in the comment box below. I'm always on the lookout to try something tried, tested and loved!

The month of September has slipped away without me barely noticing. I'm a lover of lists and each evening I jot down the intended work, be it columns or photographs, for the next day. The pleasure that comes from ticking off completed jobs seems to never lack satisfaction; please tell me that you are all like this, or is it a case that I need to get out more?  However, for the past few weeks I've been unable to happily tick all the boxes each evening, as I have been unbelievably busy. Columns, recipes, photographs, radio interviews and cookery demos have proved September to be my busiest month since the release of the book. Naturally for someone like myself, who relies on freelance work, this most certainly is a good thing. 

I try to have the bulk of my day's work completed once the children arrive in from school, apart from an odd photo or email. With each new school year it appears that the homework has doubled, so most evening's are consumed with grammar, maths, spellings and the odd disagreement or two. I was never much of a homework-fan and as the years have passed this hasn't changed. Over the past few weeks, on any evenings which were dry, as soon as homework was complete,the children and I would each grab a basket and take to the fields to forage for berries, nuts and anything pretty we could get our hands on. It turns out that that evening walk really clears the head and works wonders as a stress buster for all of us.

Blackberry & Apple Cobbler 

I love foraging for autumn treasures. From what we've already collected we've been making jam and pies aplenty, but I'm also filling my freezer with small batches of berries for the making of autumn pies right through the winter. Blackberry season is almost coming to an end, so take the opportunity, this weekend, to enjoy a country walk and hopefully you'll pick enough berries, and maybe a few apples, to make this rather tasty cobbler.

Ingredients

1 large cooking apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

200g blackberries

75g caster sugar

Cake Batter

110g butter

110g caster sugar

175g self-raising flour

1 egg

2 tbsp milk

1 teasp vanilla extract

1tbsp oats

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/Gas 6. Grease a medium sized casserole dish, with a little butter.

2. Line the bottom of the casserole dish with the apple slices and blackberries. Sprinkle over the 75g of sugar.

4. In a food processor or mixer add all of the batter ingredients, apart from the oats, and mix for a few minutes, until well combined.

5. Spoon the cake batter evenly over the apple and blackberries. Smooth over with a knife and sprinkle over the oats.

6. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 35-40 minutes, until the pudding has risen, is golden in colour and cooked through. Serve hot or cold with custard, cream or vanilla ice-cream.

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In Other News

I'm absolutely delighted to announce that Nessa's Family Kitchen has made it into the final of The Irish Blog Awards. I'd like to whole-heartily thank those who voted for my blog. The other blogs in my category are ones which I read and respect, so to be included in such a line-up is an honour.

There is a rumour hanging about that this summer is going to be a scorcher. From our previous experiences, we’d be forgiven if we weren't too optimistic. However if sunshine is around the corner, outdoor dining and summer salads could be on the menu. For a number of years I've kept hens in my back garden. They are so easy to care for, lovely to watch pottering around the garden and the daily delivery of fresh eggs is always wonderful. The flavour and quality of these eggs is outstanding. Not everyone has the space or time to keep hens but often at local markets there will be someone selling fresh eggs. If you have yet to taste a 'farm fresh' egg, I'd urge you to seek them out and I guarantee that you will be in for a treat. 
I enjoy eggs in any form but one of my young men can sometimes take convincing. He has a great fondness for curry flavoured dishes so I thought why not try some curried eggs and to my surprise he loved them. Stuffed between two thick slices of buttered bread is how my little man enjoys it best; however the rest of us rather enjoy the curried eggs jammed into some pitta bread. A bowl of curried egg salad would also be well placed on any cold meat and salad buffet.

Chief egg collector!

Ingredients

2 tbsp mayonnaise

1/2 tsp curry powder

4 hard-boiled eggs, roughly chopped

1 small crisp eating apple, peeled, cored and finely diced

1 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped

Sea salt & freshly ground pepper

4 pitta breads, lightly toasted

Handful of salad leaves

Method

1. In a medium sized bowl combine the mayonnaise with the curry powder. Fold in the eggs, apple and chives. Season with a little salt and pepper.

2. Fill each pitta pocket with a few salad leaves and then the egg salad.