We Love Cooking!:
mint

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!

Strawberries a true sign of summer and the ones in my garden are just about to burst with their mouthwatering red colour! A few weeks ago I was invited to the launch of National Irish Strawberry Week in Bord Bia which is runnung all this week and a fantastic strawberry recipe demonstration by the equally fantastic Catherine Fulvio. Catherine will be known to many Irish food fans for her series "Catherine's Italian Kitchen" which is shown on RTE One. Catherine also owns the Ballyknocken Cookery School in Wicklow and guided us through some really fantastic strawberry recipes which I will be posting this week. Here is the first!

Quick Millefeuille with Toasted Hazelnuts, Cointreau and Strawberry Mascarpone Cream Filling
To toast the hazelnuts, purchase the hazelnuts without skins if possible, then lightly chop and toast in a preheated oven 180C / gas 4 until lightly browned, about 15 minutes

Serves 4 (makes 2 millefeuille, each serves 2 persons)
1 sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry (approx. 200g)
Flour for dusting
1 egg, beaten
300g strawberries, hulled and sliced
20g hazelnuts, roughly chopped and toasted
Mint leaves for decorating
For the filling
250g mascarpone
60ml cream
50g icing sugar
Zest of 1 orange
For the jam
5 tablespoons of strawberry jam
2 tablespoons of cointreau (or orange juice)

Open out the sheet of pastry on a floured surface, roll it out a little thinner, to a 30 x 32cm rectangle. Divide into 3 equal rectangles.
Then place the pastry on a floured baking sheet. Prick all over with a fork and rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Heat the oven to Gas Mark 4, 180ºC.
Remove the pastry from the fridge, brush with egg wash. Place in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
Combine the mascarpone, cream, icing sugar and orange zest.
Mix the jam with the cointreau (or orange juice).
To assemble the mille-feuille, place one pastry strip on a board or serving plate, brush with half the strawberry jam, spread over a third of the cream mixture, a sprinkle of hazelnuts and cover with a layer of strawberries. Place the second piece of pastry on top. Brush with the remaining strawberry jam, spread over half of the remaining cream, a sprinkle of hazelnuts and a layer of strawberries. Place the last piece of pastry on top and spread over the cream and then a layer of strawberries and sprinkle on the remaining hazelnuts. Chill for 30 minutes.
Decorate with mint leaves and dust with icing sugar just before serving.

I hope you're not sick of me talking about Foodstock just yet as I have two more recipes to share with you after todays, so bear with me! One of the things I absolutely loved about the event was the super chilled outdoor feel to whole evening, people sat by open fires enjoying music, sipping cocktails and enjoying the food. Despite the huge amount of people who descended on the little island for the night, things ran very smoothly from what I could see, with a system for everything! Before things kicked off, we all got these cool red stamps elevating us to VIP status and I am all about that! :) When Raphael from LeFooding got in touch with me about the event he asked us to come up with a specially designed cocktail for the night and this is it!

Jameson Iced Fire Ginger Mint Cocktail
This is a fantastic little fiery cocktail perfect for outdoor slurping in the summer! Feel free to play around with the balance of flavours here, adding more ginger if you prefer a numbing heat, or more mint if you require a cooler menthol taste!

Makes enough syrup for 8 cocktails
200g caster sugar
200ml water
100g of peeled fresh ginger, finely chopped
20g fresh mint leaves

Dissolve the caster sugar and water together in a pot over a low heat. Add the chopped ginger and bring slowly to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat, stir through the fresh mint and allow to cool.
Set aside to steep for at least 2 hours.Strain off the ginger mint syrup and refridgerate until ready to use.

Serve over crushed ice with a sliver of stem ginger,
1 part Jameson whiskey
2 parts ginger mint syrup

I made the decision after much talk, to finally learn how to grow my own vegetables this year. I've been pretty proud of my herb garden the last few years, so it was definitely time to make the plunge and become a real gardener! Unfortunately the last few months have been a bit crazy so I haven't had as much time to look after the garden as much as I would have wanted, but that hasn't stopped the veggies growing!

I never thought I would do it, but here it is my first recipe using my very own garden produce! I'm going to do a post with all the photos from my little vegetable over the last few months but for now, here is a recipe using one of the easiest vegetables I have had the pleasure of growing! Broad beans were definitely the most entertaining to watch growing from seed. They grow on a really sturdy stalk, and are fascinating to watch explode into giant, green torpedoes, perfect for picking!

Broad Bean Crostini
This is a perfect way to savour the fresh flavours of home grown broad beans. The thick broad bean paste can also be stirred through pasta for a tasty supper.

Serves 4
150g of shelled broad beans.
2-3 mint leaves.
½ clove of garlic.
3 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
A good handful of grated parmesan cheese.
A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper.
A few slices of toasted sourdough bread.

Place the broad beans in a pestle and mortar with the garlic, mint, sea salt and pepper.
Mash it all up until a thick paste forms.
Add the parmesan and a little olive oil to loosen the mixture, stir this through with a spoon.
Check the seasoning and then spread the broad bean mixture onto the toast.
Drizzle with a little extra olive oil, sprinkle with a little more parmesan and serve as a tasty little appetiser.

Unfortunately thanks to my hangover a few weeks ago, after one or two many Mohito's, it was not a pleasant experience pouring the rum into this recipe at 8am yesterday. Why was I pouring rum, bleary eyed, into a zip lock bag in the early hours of the morning? Well I came up with an ingenious idea to marinade the chicken in the mix for this recipe, while I was at work, so the flavors would permeate through the breasts.

I'm glad I did, because this dish was packed with really tasty flavors. I served the breasts with couscous, but it would also go really nicely with a crisp green salad. Sofie told me the chicken was like heaven in her mouth, and if that doesn't sell it to you I don't know what will!

Lime and Mint Mohito Chicken

1. 4 Free-range Chicken Breasts.
2. A small handful of Fresh Mint.
3. 2 Limes Quartered.
   
4. Juice of 2 Limes.
   
5. A glug of Rum (About 1/4 of a cup).
6. 1 Tbsp of Olive Oil.
   
7. 1 Clove of Garlic.
8. A generous pinch of Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper.

To cook the chicken, heat a pan over a high heat and fry the breasts for about 3 minutes on either side. Tumble in the lime quarters after you turn the chicken and allow to caramelize. Serve straight away with a final squeeze of juice from the lime quarters.