Another new year brings another batch of resolutions. However, if you're anything like me, the main resolution may be similar to the one decided upon last year, and possibly even the year before that. The most common one, which I'm sure many of us vow to on January 1st, is to eat less and move more. Never is this sentiment more concreted in my mind than after an indulgent fortnight of festive feasting. After many years of striving for smaller dress sizes it’s clear to me what I need to do. A little bit of regular exercise is essential and staying clear of cakes and snacks is paramount. It sounds so simple, doesn't it? However, experience reminds me, that keeping the hand out of the cookie jar can sometimes prove a little harder than it sounds, and sticking on the trainers, when all I want to do is collapse on the sofa, isn't an easy task either. If I’ve to have any hope of success with my New Year’s pledge I have to choose my lunch and dinner dishes carefully. My mealtimes are normally filled with nutritious dishes, and I know that this is essential to a healthier life. Certainly for me when I’ve enjoyed a nutritionally filling meal, I’m a little less likely to scoff a pile of biscuits after. This soup recipe I’m sharing with you today is one of my children’s favourites, and it happens to make a delicious lunch. Serve it with a few slices of brown bread and a little green salad for a satisfying, calorie-conscious meal. To anyone who’s en route to their health kick 2015, the very best of luck!

Potato, Leek & Sage Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

30g butter

2 leeks, whites only, sliced

450g potatoes, peeled and diced

1 onion, diced

Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

Handful of sage, about 15 leaves, plus a few for serving

1 lt chicken stock

150ml milk

Method

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. When it begins to foam add the leek, potato and onion stir to combine with the butter.
2. Sprinkle with a little salt, a few grinds of pepper and the sage leaves. Place a butter wrapper or a piece of greaseproof paper over the vegetables, to help them sweat. Cover with the lid of the saucepan. Sweat over a low heat for about 10 minutes, making sure the vegetables don’t stick to the bottom of the saucepan.
3. When the vegetables are soft but not coloured, and the stock, and continue to cook for another 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
4. Using a hand blender or a food processor purée the soup until it is smooth. Taste and season, if necessary. Pour in the milk and stir well to combine.
5. Pour the soup into serving bowls and garnish each with two sage leaves and, for those who aren't watching calories, add a little drizzle of cream. 

I have never been a great believer in making New Year’s resolutions. I must admit that this is mainly founded on the fact that I find them too difficult to sustain. I have found year on year that my resolution to be two dress sizes smaller by the following Christmas never actually materialises, which I suppose in turn leads to my disbelief in the making of new year resolutions. This year I am choosing smaller, and dare I say much more realistic, goals which I should find more favourable and therefore with any luck they’ll be easier to achieve. One from this year’s list is to use my electric juicer more; I did say that I’m not aiming for anything over-ambitious! The juicing of fruit and vegetables is a wonderful way to include essential vitamins and minerals in one’s diet. The best time to drink freshly juiced fruit or vegetables is when your tummy is empty and therefore the optimal ammount of nutrients will be absorbed. This time of year is also a good time to pick one up at a reasonable price, and it will last you years. However if you don’t have a juicer, a blender can be used and then strain the contents through a sieve. This is one of my favourite juice combinations and mild tasting enough that the children also really enjoy it.

Ingredients - Serves 1

4 carrots, washed and roughly chopped

2 red eating apple, chopped into chunks

1 large handful of spinach, washed and leaves roughly chopped

1 inch of fresh ginger

Juice of ¼ of a lemon

Method

Using an electric juice extractor, press each ingredient through, individually, collecting the juice. Pour into a glass and squeeze in the juice of ¼ of a lemon. Stir well and enjoy straight away. 

I'm rather glad to say that we are now the other side of Christmas. Even if Dad had passed away earlier in the year I do think the first Christmas without a loved one is ever so difficult. I'm lucky to have my children around me, who kept me on my toes for the past week and actually got me through the festivities fairly well. I haven't been taking any food photos over the Christmas, however I often have a few recipes and photos in draft. This sausage roll recipe, or porky pies as my boys like to call them, was from my column in last month's Easy Parenting. 

Porky Pies
I love nothing more than lots of canapés served at a party or in place of a starter at a dinner party. They look so pleasing, all lined up on a platter, however these delicate canapés can be rather time consuming to make, especially when faced with a large crowd mostly consisting of children. Homemade sausage rolls or pies make for the perfect canapé for a family get together, as children and adults alike seem to love them. If you can’t get your hands on some sausage meat, buy a few packs of good quality sausages and squeeze the meat from their cases. If you would like to make these in advance of a party, the uncooked porky pies can be placed in the freezer, wrapped in cling film, then simply add an extra 10 minutes to the recommended cooking time. Always ensure that the meat is fully cooked through before serving.

Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp butter
300g Sausage meat

150g streaky bacon, finely diced

1tbsp Fresh Sage, finely chopped
1tsp Dijon mustard
Freshly Ground Pepper

1 sheet of ready rolled Puff Pastry
1 Egg, beaten (for glazing)

25g (1oz) sesame seeds

Method

1.     Preheat the oven to 200c/430f/gas 7 and line a large baking tray with some greaseproof paper.

2.     Melt the butter in a frying pan and gently sauté the onions for 5 minutes, until they are soft but not coloured. Remove to a large bowl and leave to cool completely.

3.     Add the sausage meat, streaky bacon, sage, mustard and a few grinds of freshly ground pepper to the bowl. Using your hands, mix together well.

4.     Place the sheet of puff pastry on a floured surface and carefully roll out the pastry until it is thin, using a rolling pin.

5.     Evenly divide the pastry into 4 pieces. Divide the sausage meat mixture in 4 and make them roll the mixture to make it long and sausage like. Place into the centre of each pastry strip. Brush a little beaten egg along one edge of the pastry. Roll up the other side of the pastry to encase the sausage meat and pinch the edges firmly. Using a shape knife cut each pastry roll into even sized pieces, making about 8 from each pastry roll.

6.      Brush each one with a little beaten egg and scatter over some sesame seeds.

7.     Arrange on the baking tray and bake in the pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.

I would like to wish all my readers a very happy new year. Thank you for following

the blog and for your words of support in 2012. I do hope that you will join me for

what promises to be a busy but very exciting year in 2013. 

Christmas dinner can sometimes seem like rather a stressful affair. In years gone by I often found myself spending the best part of two days preparing and cooking for one meal. But eventually I realised that after all what is it only a family dinner, like I make every other day, but with a few special extras. I know many are beginning to steer away from the traditional turkey dinner, but for me turkey with all the trimmings is the meal I most look forward to over the Christmas season. I always serve gravy, bread sauce and cranberry sauce with the christmas dinner. I posted my favourite bread sauce recipe last year, if you would like to try it out. I'm sure you'll love it as much as I do. Of course a very important part of any turkey and ham dinner is a good serving of stuffing. This year I will make the same as last, my Sage, Date & Pine Nut Stuffing; covered with homemade gravy I could eat this as a meal in itself!

I'm all for preparing some of the dishes well before a big event. Any sauce or gravy will freeze perfectly, only to be taken from the freezer Christmas Eve, popped in the fridge and then reheated just before serving Christmas dinner. Cranberry sauce can be made in advance and doesn't even need to be frozen, as it will keep perfectly in the fridge for 3-4 weeks. I love a good dollop of some sweet and tangy cranberry sauce served alongside any white meat but it also makes a fantastic dipping sauce for breaded brie, which happens to be my boy’s starter of choice for Christmas day. This is a luxuriously delicious dish that would serves well as a starter but it also quite good as a canapé for a Christmas drinks party, minus the salad. The brie can be prepared early in the day and refrigerated until needed. Just two small pieces of brie would be completely sufficient as a starter. After all it is the appetiser to what is normally considered a day’s worth of calories on one plate.

Ingredients

300g Brie, cut into 8 wedges, with most of the thick skin trimmed off

2 eggs, beaten

Seasoned flour

80g Paxo golden breadcrumbs

Vegetable oil for deep frying

      Method

1. Dip the Brie wedges first in the flour then in the beaten egg, then in the breadcrumbs and again in the egg and again in the breadcrumbs. Fill a wok one-quarter-full of vegetable oil and heat to 180C(fan)/390F/gas mark 6 or use a deep fat fryer. 

2.The oil is ready when you drop a breadcrumb in and it sizzles. (CAUTION: hot oil is dangerous; do not leave unattended). 

3.When the oil is ready, add the breaded Brie and deep fry until golden brown on each side and the cheese has melted in the centre -about 2-3 mins. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

For Salad:

100g mixed salad leaves

1 ripe pear, cut into slices

25g walnuts, roughly chopped

½ red onion, finely sliced

1 tbsp salad dressing of choice

To Serve:

Place the salad leaves, sliced pear, chopped walnuts and finely sliced onion into a small bowl.

Drizzle with a little salad dressing. Divide between four plates. 

Serve with the Deep Fried Brie and a large spoonful of the cranberry sauce{homemade or shop bought} on the side.

Cranberry Sauce

The cranberry sauce can of course be shop bought however as it is so easy to make, I'd recommend to make a little jar of the homemade variety. The sauce can be kept plain if preferred but I like to have a citrus kick from mine. If you are planning to serve this alongside the brie and the turkey, then make double the quantity.

Ingredients

      350g fresh/frozen cranberries

      200g caster sugar 

      75ml water

      Zest of ½ an orange

      50ml Cointreau 

Put the cranberries, sugar, water and orange zest into a saucepan and let it bubble away until the berries start to pop, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon, which will take about 10 minutes. Give the sauce a good stir and crush down any remaining full berries. Stir in the Cointreau. Carefully taste a little of the sauce, to check whether it needs more sugar. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool. If cooked a few days in advance, reheat a little and give the sauce a good mashing with a fork before serving.

This post and recipe were published in The Westmeath Independent on the Dec 5th. 

I hope you are looking forward to 2012, I know I certainly am. A new year always comes with the prospect of  new opportunities and I'm looking forward to sharing my new year foodie  adventures with all of you.
Thank you for your loyal support in 2011 and here are some of my foodie highlights for this year.

In January I started to write for The Westmeath Independent. I love writing for the paper as there are many locals who read my column and cut out my recipes that don't have access to the blog. It makes me very proud when someone taps me on the shoulder to say they've tried out one of my recipes.
In March I was completely blown away by winning the Best Newcomer at the Irish Blog Awards. I also got to interview the lovely Donal Skehan while he was recording locally, one of the episodes of Kitchen Hero.

In April I was contacted by the very lovely Emma Parkin, who is the editor of Easy Parenting and she asked me to become their family food expert. This was a great compliment and something that I was so thrilled to be involved with. Also in April I was invited to a very fancy afternoon tea at The Westbury for the launch of Donal's book, Kitchen Hero. A lovely afternoon was spent with some great blogger friends.
In May I entered a recipe competition on TV3. I got to appear twice on Ireland AM and thanks to all who voted I won the competition and went on to do a cookery demo at Taste of Dublin with the lovely Edward Hayden last June. What an amazing experience for both myself and Jack (who was by my side for all the action!).
Also in May I had a really enjoyable evening at The Wineport Lodge in Glasson. A star studded night all in aid of The Irish Heart & Irish Kidney Foundation and the menu was very impressive.
In June I got to demonstrate at the fabulous food festival, Totally Tipperary It was a really great event and I got the opportunity to meet up with many amazing food producers. The demonstration was broadcast live on the Internet which was very exciting. Another important demonstration that I did in June was  for Mount Temple N.S. This is where the boys go to school and even though they have seen me at cookery demos on many occasions they were never so interested, or proud, than when I was cooking in front of their friends.

In July I got the chance to head to Cavan for some work experience at MacNean House with the amazing Neven Maguire. A fantastic experience and one that has proved a great help when I've been putting together new recipes.
Each September I organise a coffee morning, in aid of The Hospice. I'm delighted to say that this year's was my most successful yet, making €640.
I love meeting up with other foodies and in September we were treated to a day of food styling & photography tips at Bord Bia. Later in the month I was asked to contribute to Moate Culture Day. I decided to organise a cookalong here on the blog. On that note I must record a few new video recipes for 2012!
In October I was invited along to a fantastic day out at Kinnitty Castle to go Mushroom Foraging. What fun we had and actually learnt quite a bit about mushrooms.
In November I had the best meal out for the year at Druid's Glenn Resort in Wicklow. It was just scrumptious! November and December are always busy times for me as I run my annual Christmas Cookery Demos. This year's went wonderfully and I loved meeting up with some of the ladies who follow this blog.

This December I was delighted to be asked by Eumom.ie to do some blogging on their wonderful parenting site. So I will be writing up some new posts over there in the next few weeks.

Thanks for reading the blog over the past year. I have had so many wonderful experiences and I love to write about them here and share them with you.Your queries, comments and e-mails are so appreciated and make my experience as a blogger more enjoyable. Best Wishes for the year ahead.

Nessa x

It's New Year's Eve so many of you are probably busy making plans for the evening ahead. Even pre-children I was never really a fan of heading out on New Year's Eve, as everywhere was normally full to capacity which led to a most uncomfortable night out. These days I much prefer to entertain at home which suits quite well as there is no need to disturb the children's routine. If you too are hosting an evening get together, where you don't plan on serving a dinner, you really only need a few plates of finger foods to feed many.

Crisps with dips, such as houmous, are a popular choice for serving with drinks. If you happen to see Keogh's crisps for sale I would definitely recommend that you pick some up. They really are delicious and they have the added bonus of being Irish. A well presented cheese board with some nice cheese biscuits and a tasty chutney makes for a perfect accompaniment to any drinks party. One of my favourite cheeses has to be the locally made Mossfield Organics. My friend Kristin has suggestions for the absolute selection of cheeses to create your own cheeseboard over on her blog Edible Ireland. Some mini chicken kebabs with a scrumptious satay sauce is also something that I like to serve as finger food. They can both be prepared early in the day and just pop the kebabs into the oven 20 minutes before you'd like to serve them. Quesadiilas are also perfect because they can be assembled and refrigerated before your guests arrive and then simply fry them as needed. These are just a few ideas that you may find useful. What ever your plans I hope that you have a lovely evening and tomorrow I will share with you some of my foodie highlights of 2011.