Irish Soda Bead - MS Word document for downloading

All the recipes for Irish Soda Bread I came across used buttermilk. This is an ingredient I don’t think I have ever bought, although it is available in the supermarkets.

Like everybody else, I occasionally run out of bread. I was very pleased to find a recipe that didn’t use buttermilk and still gave a very good result. With the following recipe, you can use buttermilk if you have it in stock, or you can use plain milk. If you do this, double the quantity of cream of tartar. The less Soda bread is handled, the better it will be. It is traditionally baked with a cross on the top, which people believed would scare away the devil.

This quantity makes 1 large loaf, or two small (enough for 4 people with soup).

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 40-50 minutes at 210C - Gas Mark 7 or halve the cooking time for 2 smaller loaves. Read more »

Farmhouse Soup - MS Word document for downloading

This is another of Audrey Ellis’s recipes for a family of four - you eat one portion and freeze two. I love home made soup for lunch on Saturdays when it’s cold and wet. You can vary the vegetables in Farmhouse Soup - just use what you have to hand. I used onion, turnip, carrots, swede, and parsnip. I had some cooked left over sweet corn and peas, so I added those just before the end of cooking time. If you are worried about the time needed to dice all the veg, buy a packet of diced frozen mixed veg instead.

Much of the success of soup making depends on the stock. Rather than making my own stock, (it takes too long!) I often use Marigold Swiss Bouillon, as it gives a good flavour without being salty. No GM is also an advantage. You can liquidise the veg and add some milk if you wish to make it a Cream of Vegetable Soup. Serve with grated cheese, lots of fresh bread (or Soda bread - recipe coming shortly!) and butter.

Serves 4, (plus 2 batches for the freezer). Makes about 5 pints (2½ litres)

Preparation Time: 10 minutes (5, if using frozen mixed veg)

Cooking time: About 1 hour

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Family Mushroom Soup - MS Word document for downloading

In “The Complete Book of Home Freezing”, Audrey Ellis has some wonderful recipes, which I have used for years. (Yes, it is a very old book and she was writing long before the advent of “Ready Meals”!) I adopted quite a bit of her theory “My experience has always been that multiplying the basic amount to serve your family by three, produces a quantity that is practical to cook, (unless you have a very large family). This gives you a meal to serve and two to store…” Over a period of time, you can build up quite a selection in the freezer - so you can have evenings “off” where you are simply reheating previously made dishes. This is a bonus if you are very busy or tired (as at the end of term!) or ill. On a more cheerful note, it also means you can treat unexpected visitors to your home cooking.

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Cheese and Chive Dip document for downloading

This Cheese and Chive dip proved to be immensely popular on Thursday evening and there were many requests for the recipe. I wish I’d thought to photograph it before we served it! If I make it up to show you what it looks like, I know I’ll want to eat it! After all the cake I ate (somebody had to do the quality control!), I don’t need the extra calories!

It needs to be served chilled, with a selection of crisps, crackers and raw veg for colour, such as neat batons of carrot, cucumber, celery, red and green peppers and halved cherry tomatoes.

Serves 6-8 people

Preparation time: 5 minutes to make the dip, plus 1 hour chilling time.

Ingredients and Shopping list.

• 225g (8oz) cottage cheese
• 6 tablespoons soured cream
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons snipped chives

Garnish

• 1 teaspoon finely snipped chives

Method.

1. Sieve the cottage cheese.
2. Blend with the soured cream, lemon juice, seasoning and chives.
3. Spoon into the serving dish, cover with cling film and chill.

Serve topped with the remaining chives.

Liz Milton