We Love Cooking!:
seeds

I absolutely love this combination of flavours, it's sticky and sweet and everything I want on my roast duck!

Sesame Honey Duck with Broccoli
With just a few simple ingredients this is an easy dish to create and is really tasty.

Serves 2 portions
1 head of brocolli chopped into florets.
2 duck breasts.
1 teaspoon of sesame oil.
2 tablespoons of sesame seeds.
5 tablespoons of soya sauce.
3 tablespoons of honey.

In a small bowl, mix the soya sauce, sesame oil and the honey until combined. Place two duck breasts in a small roasting tray and brush over half the soya honey marinade. Place in the oven at 200°C for 25-30 minutes. In the last 10 minutes of the cooking time brush over the rest of the soya honey marinade, sprinkle with half the sesame seeds and finish cooking. When the duck is ready, remove from the roasting tray and allow to rest on a chopping board. Keep the roasting tray which should still be full of tasty duck flavours as this makes a great dressing for the broccoli, try to spoon off as much fat as possible. While the duck is cooking steam the broccoli for 4-5 minutes and remove from the heat. Tumble the broccoli florets into the roasting tray and toss gently until they are completely coated. Slice the duck thinly and serve with the broccoli. Sprinkle over some extra sesame seeds and enjoy!

Irish Brown Yeast Bread
This has to be one of the easiest bread recipies in the world with no kneading it’s a no brainer! The loaf can be frozen and defrosted when needed and is the perfect accompaniment to a hearty soup or made into a chunky sandwich. For anyone hooked on white bread this is a really healthy alternative and you can also add rolled oats sprinkled on top for an extra crunch.

450g of wholemeal flour.
1 teaspoon of salt.
1 7g sachet of dried yeast.
1 teaspoon of treacle.
15 Fl Oz of warm water.
A small handful of mixed seeds

Mix the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Dissolve the treacle in the warm water and add to the dry mix. With a large spoon combine the ingredients until it forms a wet mixture. Turn the mixture into an oiled and floured loaf tin, sprinkle with seeds and cover with cling film or a damp tea towel. Place in a warm spot to allow the yeast to do its work for approx 20 mins. Cook in the oven for about 45-50 mins at Gas Mark 7/ 220oC. You will know when the loaf is done when you tap the bottom and it sounds hollow.
The bread is quite moist and will last for anything up to a week, you can store it in an airtight container. It also freezes brilliantly for up to a month, so you could also make a few extra to save for later.

Photos: Jocasta Clarke

Who knew writing a book would actually take a bit of work! I've been meaning to post something over the last few weeks, but every spare minute has been focused on the writing and taking pictures. But more importantly I'm here and I have a recipe!

This is Sofie's very first Halloween, as they don't celebrate the night as much in Sweden. She was working late last year and was less than impressed when I tried to introduce her to the fun of the event by jumping out of the wardrobe with a mask on! With the big night landing on a friday this year, we're getting into the spirit of things and have been busy carving pumpkins. Sofie has named our two "The Dark Knight" and "Darth Wader" (I think she meant "Darth Vader", must be the Swedish pronounciation!).

Hope you like our's, we'd love to see your pumpkins, so if you have pictures post a link in the comments section!

I had planned to post this recipe since the start of the month, so I'm glad I'm finally getting around to it. Just in the nick of time too! It's Halloween this Friday, so if you haven't got a pumpkin just yet, here's a great little snack you can put together with the reminants of the gutted vegetable.

Nacha's Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

My parents are in the fruit and vegetable business, this meant we always had two massive pumkins every Halloween, when my brother and I were growing up. Carving pumpkins became an annual tradition and everyone had a role. My brother and I would draw the faces, my mom would gut the pumpkins, and my dad would carve them. There was always huge arguements over choosing the right pumpkin and even more competition when it came to drawing the best and most scary face!
I picked this recipe up from our first au-pair from France, Nacha, who taught us never to throw away any of the precious seeds. They are so tasty toasted with butter and sea salt. Here's the simple recipe.

The seeds of 2 large pumpkins.
4 tablespoons of melted butter.
A generous pinch of coarse sea salt.
A generous pinch of ground black pepper.

Cut off the top of the pumpkins. Using your hands, separate the seeds from the gooey insides and transfer to a colander.
Rinse the slippy seeds under cold water and pick out any remaining stringy orange flesh. Transfer to a few sheets of kitchen paper or a dry tea towel and pat dry.
Tip the seeds into a large roasting dish and spoon over the melted butter. Toss the seeds so they are all coated in the butter and season with sea salt and black pepper.
Toast in the oven at 200oC/390oF/Gas 6, for 20 minutes or until nice and golden.

There doesn't seem to be a huge amount of interest in the food styling demonstration, but I'll be working with Erica for the photo's in the book, so maybe I can film a few bits and stick them up here.

Is it me or is the weather at the moment causing extreme drowsiness? Maybe not, maybe it's having to work when it feels like everyone else is on holidays- maybe it's a mix. Well I'll just have to put up with it, after all it's only a few more weeks and were heading back over to Sweden again. Sofie's dad arrived last night and is staying with us for the week, so we'll be doing some sight seeing this weekend and driving cross country to Galway. If you have any suggestions on where to bring a tourist in Galway please let me know!

I have been trawling the world wide web for international food blogs, and I wanted to share just a few of the ones that caught my eye:

Bitchin Camero- Mel is from Miami, and has some really great pictures, and the recipe's to match.

Kitchen Confit- Is written by three bloggers from Nashville, Tennassee, I love their post about "Fire Pit Roasted Oysters".

A Cat In The Kitchen- A great little Swedish blog- check out the cake buffet!

Dinner's For A Year- I love the idea of a BBQ turkey.

And via Mulley.net, Lidl Treats- How to get the best out of shopping at Lidl!

Inspired by my recent trip to the Chinese Supermarket, this is another one of the snacks I made for the party last weekend. It's kind of a mix between BBQ and sweet and sour sauce, but top it with finely sliced spring onions and sesame seeds, and you'll make your intentions clear!

Asian Chicken Wings

1. 12 Chicken Wings.
   
2. 1 Cup of Chinese Sweet Chili Sauce (looks like tomato paste)
3. The Juice Of One Lemon.
4. 1 Tbsp of Worcestershire Sauce.
5. 2 Cloves of Garlic Minced.
6. 1 Thumb of Ginger Minced.
7. 2 Tablespoons of Honey
8. 1 Tsp of Chinese 5 Spice powder.
9. 1 Tsp of Sesame Oil.
10. 1 Tsp of Cornflour.
11. Spring Onions and Sesame Seeds.
    

Preheat the oven to 200 oC/ 390 oF/ Gas Mark 6.

Bang the Chicken Wings into the oven on the top rack and cook for approx 45-60 mins, turning them halfway through. Serve straight away topped with sliced spring onions and toasted sesame seeds.

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!