Seasonal Recipes for New Year.

The shortest day is thankfully behind us but we must wait awhile before the evenings start to lenghten. The weather is windy and wet. Here in Arigna we are still in Christmas holiday mood. I go into semi-hibernation at this time of year, I just love it. Cold wet and windy outside and we are indoors, the stove is pumping out the heat, friends calling, bit of cooking, drinking and eating.

Yesterday I made an Italian Hazelnut Cake, forgive me for my arrogant self-praise but it was gorgeous! Don’t have a pic of the finished cake as our friends LJ and Elaine turned up (they were invited), and we had the cake for an after lunch dessert. Then we had some more with the Bailey’s Irish Cream in the afternoon…and so it disappeared…without being photographed! I will give you the recipe so you can make one and judge for yourself if you like it.

Italian Hazlenut Cake. (Gluten Free)

200g ground hazelnuts. I’m sure you could substite ground almonds if you couldn’t get the hazelnuts.

5 eggs. 175g caster sugar. 100g butter, melted. 1 tsp vanilla extract.

Heat oven to 180c/fan, 160c/gas 4. Butter and line the base of a 20 cm round deep cake tin. Separate eggs into 2 large bowls. Tip sugar onto the yolks and whisk with an electric hand whisk for about 3 minutes or until the mixture leaves a trail on the surface when the whisk blades are lifted. Gradually whisk in the butter, then fold in the hazelnuts and vanilla. Whisk egg whites until stiff, then fold into cake mixture in 4 equal batches, using the whisk blades. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 50-60 mins. It will be done when the cake feels firm and bounces back when pressed in the centre. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out, peel off paper and cool.

I also promised Elaine, pictured above with the cheeky Freddie licking the cake crumbs from her plate, that I would put my recipe for making Bailey’s Irish Cream on here. So here it is:

1 14oz can condensed milk. 1 14oz can evaporated milk. 1 teaspoon glycerine, (to stop separation). 1 and a half teaspoons coffee essence (Irel or Camp). Cup or mug of whiskey, depending on how strong you want it!

Pour all into a large bottle and give a good shake! Enjoy and don’t drink it all at once!!

Best wishes to all of you for the New Year. May it be filled with contentment, peace and joy.

Bridget and Andy XX.

EVERYBODY HAS TO GO SOMEWHERE !

willowarchway

Well, once again we’re back, a little late this week because it was my birthday on Sunday!! I’ve recovered now so the rest of the livingroom floor has gone down and the other two LED lights are now illuminated, so not a bad week really. Also what a lovely HOT shower I’ve just had (we will go into the hot water system soon) so we can stay in the same room if you know what I mean! Obviously,as well as getting water to the cabin, it’s first main use was the toilet, we all have to go somewhere! Because of where and how we live we couldn’t just go on the mains supply, we didn’t want to anyway, that would just defeat the object of being off the grid and self sustainable.Anyway, somewhere along the way we heard about the reed/willow bed system where the water flushed from your toilet goes…

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Repurpose

Happy Christmas from Prospect Cottage.

So at last it is here…Christmas 2011. It seems the radio and TV have been selling it to us for months now. Thankfully the recession that engulfs Ireland and indeed the rest of the world seems to have reduced the gross consumerism of recent years. The shops are busy but people seem to be much more sensible and selective with their purchases. A good thing in my view. I always try to buy useful presents for family members…things they really want or will find useful. At this point we are pretty good at getting it right. Some of the nieces and nephews are now teenagers and have a liking for money gifts. I’m not a huge fan of giving money so this year we gave a gift and some money so hopefully everyone will be happy.

According to the Met Office the weather is to be mild and balmy…a big change from the last 2 Christmasses when we were snowed in. The pic above of the dogs in the snow was taken 2 weeks ago but that snow quickly disappeared.

My favourite thing at this time of year is collecting foliage from garden and hedgerow to make a wreath. I usually do this before the Solstice as for me the circle of the wreath represents the continuing cycle of life, death and renewal that happens each year. The Solstice was traditionally seen as the   re birth of the Sun. The time when the Sun remains resting for a while before it once again starts it’s climb higher into the sky bringing long days and the renewal of activity. The 12 days of Christmas is said to have come from the traditions of the Celts who celebrated the 12 days the Sun remained steady in one position before starting the upward journey.

The wreath looks pretty good I think and I got great pleasure from making it. The birds have eaten all the Holly berries already so I used Sedum heads for a splash of red.

The wreath of Holly popular as a door decoration in America is said to have been brought there by Irish settlers who left Ireland at the time of the Great Potato Famine in the mid 1800s. Holly grows wild all over Ireland and most people like to bring sprigs of it indoors at this time of year.

I also made a wreath for my Mother’s front door. We did the trip down to Tipperary on Wednesday. We left home early in the morning and did’nt get back until midnight. We had a good long day there and left our pressies under the various Christmas trees. Our presents are also waiting…unopened until Christmas morning. I don’t understand people who open their presents before Christmas. Not for us.

So now all that’s left is for me to say Happy Christmas to you all. May it be happy and peaceful. Thank you to the visitors who read, follow and comment on my blog…I do appreciate it. As is said in Irish “Nollaig Shona Duit” which means “Happy Christmas to You”.

Fave pics of 2011.

We only have pictures from May onwards as our computer had a hissy fit and devoured everything before May including photos of our Finland trip in April. Boo hoo!!  This pic was taken in the garden of The Royal Hospital in Kilmainham, Dublin. It is of course lovely hubby Andy stopping to smell the Roses. Taken in May.

14th June was my Mothers 75th birthday. We went to Birr Castle to have lunch and visit the gardens there. Pictured is myself, on left, Lizzie in the middle and Bridget my 16 year old niece.

July should have been high Summer…it was’nt…it was grey, cold, wet and windy. My lovely Buddha statue was blown off the windowsill and broke. Rather than bin it I inserted the top half in a pot  planted  with succulents. It has filled out nicely now.

Back to the end of June which saw the arrival of new puppy Freddie. He has settled in with our other dogs Lettie and Alice. He was 1 year old in October.

The bad weather continued into August but there were lots of flowers despite it. This is through the garden gate into the veg and fruit garden.

September gave lots of rain so there were lots of Mushrooms. We went to Ireland’s first Mushroom Festival at Killegar Manor in County Cavan.

In October I was in Clare house sitting and looking after Goats, Chickens, Cats and an orphaned baby Guinea Pig called Gerry who had to be fed from a dropper twice daily.

November was great…good weather at last. After the coldest Summer in 50 years November was mild and Springlike. Fab! That certainly shortened the Winter. I can’t believe it’s now just a few days to the Solstice when once again we can look forward to Spring and lenghtening evenings once again.

Rural Rambles from Arigna.

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The Sun when it appears in these dark December days has a watery wintry feel…in tune with the weather I suppose. The air is damp and the earth is permanently wet. When out and about one is aware of the particles of moisture in the air. The dogs have to be dried off before they come into the house in the evening. They spend the days outdoors and come into the house as darkness falls. They enjoy their house time relax before going to their shed for the night.

The sunsets have not been very dramatic in the recent cloudy grey weather. This one a few evenings ago is as good as it’s got.

 

The animals are all being fed hay now…they really appreciate this on rainy days as they don’t like getting wet. A lot of people think Donkeys coats are waterproof but that is not the case. In the mornings they get a little treat. Daphne really likes carrots as do the goats. Enid the milking goat gets an extra treat of some organic concentrate while she is being milked. Other favourite treats are Ginger Nut biscuits, Polo Mints and bread of any type.

In the garden the Fuschias continue to flower. I have never seen flowering to continue so far into the year. They are not of course as plentiful as earlier in the year but they are a welcome splash of unexpected colour at this time.

Spindle  has now lost it’s leaves but the berries are still giving a good show.

On the lane the sloes still hang from the leafless Blackthorn. Usually these would have been consumed by birds by now. Tradition dictates that these and indeed any berries are not picked after Halloween as it is said that the Pooka would have breathed on them at that time.

Lower in the valley the Arigna river slowly meanders on its journey to Lough Allen.

December at Prospect Cottage.

 

Yesterday we awoke to see the mountain tops covered in snow. Not enough to cause the disruption of last Winter when we had temperatures of -17 at this time…very unusual for Ireland. Although the mild Spring like conditions of November have gone the days are still pleasant enough. Walking or working outside in the cold and then retreating to the cosy warmth of the house gives one an appreciation for the comfort within. Seems more right somehow to have snow and cold at this time of year. I like the seasonal differences in the weather.

 

The Sedum looks very Christmassy with it’s dusting of snow. Speaking of Christmas it seems to have taken a back seat this year…so many people are worried about the economy and the possibility of the Euro being abandoned. The recent Budget once again hit the poorest in our society…unemployed, people on community employment schemes and single parents…and all the while the rich fat cats pay very little. Alas…it seems to be the same story the world over…no coincidence methinks. There seems to be a global conspiracy to make the rich richer and keep the poor impoverished and downtrodden. We are lucky as we own our own house and property…mortgage free. By the way, do you know the meaning of mortgage? It comes from 2 French words: mort meaning death and gage meaning grip. So many people in Ireland are now held in this death grip with properties often only worth one third of what people have signed up to pay for them.

Meanwhile here in Arigna I have been working for the last few days making items for the Winter Fair in Carrick-on-Shannon. The Fair runs over 2 days…Saturday and Sunday. Andy is manning the stall today and I will do tomorrow. The one in Manorhamilton last Sunday was excellent. About 40 stalls and a great crowd turned out.

Pictured above are Melting Moments…one of my best sellers. They look very pretty when finished with a dusting of icng sugar. They melt in the mouth and are lovely with tea or coffee.

To make them you need: 150g butter, diced. 75g icing sugar, sifted. 25g cornflour, sifted. 150g self-raising flour, sifted. Raspberry jam. Icing sugar for dusting.

Heat the oven to Gas 4 or 190 celsius. Cream the butter and icing sugar together. Then add the flour and cornflour. You will have a soft squidgy dough. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls and place in baking cases placed in fairy cake tins. using a teaspoon dipped in hot water make a small indentation in the top of each one. Bake for 15-17 minutes. While still hot drop a little jam into the centre of each cake filling the hole. When cool dust with icing sugar. These keep well in a tin for several days.

 

I also made Millionaire’s Shortbread…a delicious if calorie laden treat of shortbread covered with a layer of fudge and finally a topping of good quality chocolate.

 

For the more health conscious there is the option of  Cranberry and Walnut Muffins! I wonder which will sell out first?