We Love Cooking!:
feta

My little kitchen garden, which I started earlier this year is in full bloom at the moment, and if I was harvesting weeds alongside all the lovely veggies I would probably be thrilled - they've literally taken over. However, despite the amount of unwelcome weeds and other guests includings snails, slugs and a family of caterpillars who have all happily taken up residence in my little plot, I have been busy harvesting this week! Last month I plucked out eight massive bok choys which, freshly chopped, made a tasty Asian salad with chopped cashew nuts, two tablespoons of rice wine vinegar, two tablespoons of soy sauce, and a teaspoon of sesame oil. Now I could talk to you about the sense of pride there is in picking and cooking something that you've grown in your own back garden, and of course there is, but if I did so I would feel a massive sense of guilt because realistically, I'm a bad gardener! I have spurts of interest, then I get preoccupied with other things and, like last weekend, come back to check out the progress to find my plot completely overgrown.

Last year's kitchen garden was a complete disaster but this year I have my amazing raised veggie garden boxes which can be ordered on Patchworkveg.com from Sean Gallagher who installs them with no hassle and even imparts a bit of growing advice while he's at it. The raised boxes are a lot more manageable for first time veggie gardeners and make for far less back breaking work when you end up doing the amount of weeding I do! The magic of good old mother nature is a beautiful thing and even though my plants don't actually recognise me each time I come to visit, I'm still left with super veggies - like the amazingly beautiful peas I picked this week, which were so sweet and fresh that I had to be stopped from eating them all right there in the garden!

Pea Mint and Feta Pasta
This is a super simple little supper which can be thrown together in the time it takes to cook the pasta. To be honest, if you can't get peas straight from the garden it's almost better to use frozen here, as peas begin to loose their natural sugars as soon as they're picked, so even fresh ones in the supermarket probably won't be as good as you will get frozen. This recipe is easily adapted with most leftovers you might have in the fridge. I love a little bit of chorizo added here or maybe some freshly chopped basil with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese.

Serves 4
300g of pasta
5 tablespoons of creme fraiche
150g of feta cheese
150g of fresh peas if you have them, otherwise use frozen
A good handful of fresh mint, finely chopped
A pinch of salt
A good pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the pack and drain.
If you are using frozen peas, cook them until tender and drain. If you are using fresh peas and they are tender and young, I don't bother doing anything to them apart from shelling them and giving them a quick splash under some cold water.
When the pasta is cooked, add the creme fraiche, feta cheese, peas, mint, salt and pepper and stir gently until the pasta is evenly coated.
Serve straight away with a good squeeze of lemon juice!

Myself and Sofie made this bread to go with the Spatchcock chickens the other weekend. It is Sofie's adaptation of a Swedish recipe. The bread is a really great discovery and I would definitely try other flavour combinations for the filling.

Sofie's Rocket and Feta Cheese Bread
This is a really healthy tasty bread with a really different filling.

3 x 7g sachet of dried yeast
2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon of honey
600ml lukewarm water
125g oat flakes
Approx 500g wholegrain flour

2 large handfuls of rocket
200g feta cheese
A good handful of fresh herbs of your choice.
A good handful of green olives roughly chopped.

Put the yeast in a bowl, and mix it with the salt and honey, add half of the water and let the yeast dissolve. Allow the mixture to sit for 10-15 minutes or until it has become frothy.
Add the rest of the water and mix the oats and flour into the bowl.
With a wooden spoon, combine the ingredients until a dough forms. Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoon of flour over the dough and leave it for an hour and a half.
While the dough is rising, in a bowl mix together the rocket, feta, herbs and olives.
Preheat the oven to 225°C and dust a baking tray 30x40cm with flour.
Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and divide in two. Roll out both halves into equal shaped oval pieces.
Put the first piece on the baking tray. Sprinkle the rocket, feta cheese, herbs and olives evenly over the dough. Gently put the second piece of dough over the filling and squeeze the edges so that they are sealed.
Place the bread in the oven for 30 minutes or until it is nicely browned. When the bread is cooked leave it to cool on a wire rack before serving.

I have a notebook full of all my great ideas for Christmas posts for the blog, which will just have to wait until next year. For those of you who don't know where I have been for the last month and a bit, I have been playing Peter Pan in the Tivoli Theatre panto! Two shows a day for over a month has meant that there has been no time for the blog unfortunately. I had my first proper day off last Monday but stayed in bed all day, but I was up with and with it today so I finally got around to some cooking!

I have been living on this salad from The Food Room in Clontarf over the last few weeks, so I thought I would recreate it here! It's really delicious and full of healthy ingredients, plus it's so easy to make!

Broccoli Feta and Cherry Tomato Salad

1. 1 large head of broccoli, chopped into bite size pieces.
   
2. 1 punnet of cherry tomatoes. (250g)
3. 1 packet of ready chopped pancetta or bacon.
   
4. 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
5. 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.
6. A good pinch of ground black pepper.
   
7. A good handful of crumbled feta cheese.

Place a small frying pan over a high heat and fry the bacon pieces until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan, place on on some kitchen paper and allow to cool before adding to the rest of salad. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and tumble in to the bowl on top of the broccoli. Add the bacon pieces and feta cheese to the serving bowl. Gently toss all the ingredients in the dressing and season with black pepper. Serve as a tasty side dish or a really tasty lunch. You can also add walnuts or pine nuts for an extra crunch!

And I know it's a bit cheeky having not posted for a few weeks but here's a shameless plug to remind you, if you like the good mood food blog, you can nominate it for the Irish Blog Awards here!

First of all- TasteSpotting.com! Most of the online foodies out there will know exactly what I'm talking about, but if you have no idea, this site was pure indulgence for food porn enthusiasts! It hand picked some of the best photo's and recipe's from food blogs across the world, and displayed them in one handy site. I'm sure there will a similar site soon, as Tastespotting will be sorely missed.

And now, how about a recipe?

Dishes which are packed with healthy ingredients and stunning colors, are not only a cure for hunger, they can really improve your mood too. With the summer in full flow, there is so much in season veg and fresh herbs that it can get a bit traumatic knowing what exactly to with it- this quick pasta salad is a great solution as it's basically a raid on the contents of your fridge which you can transform too your very own taste. It definitely beats the image of soggy mayonnaise laden pasta salads sitting in plastic containers at your local supermarket!

I made this in about 15-20 mins right after I collected Sofie from the airport recently and not only does it hit the spot- it's a really handy and healthy little pasta salad. This is the way I do it;

:: SESAME PASTA SALAD

1. Wholemeal Pasta
2. 1 Red Onion slice into half moons.
3. 1 Carrot finely chopped.
4. 1/2 small cucumber finely chopped.
5. Feta Cheese
6. Handful of Basil finely chopped.
7. 2 tbs of Olive Oil
8. 1 Tbs of Balsamic Vinegar
9. A handful of toasted Sesame Seeds.
   
10. A good pinch of Salt and Pepper.

In a large mixing bowl, add the vinegar and oil and give it a quick whisk. Then add all the veg cheese and herbs and combine with the pasta. Give it a good pinch of salt and pepper and serve. Top the finished dishes with golden toasted sesame seeds.

Enjoy!