Spending time cooking together as a family is a great way to equip children with life-long skills in self -sufficiency, and helps Mums, Dads and Kids to bond.  Learning to cook from an early age helps children develop self-confidence and self-esteem, as well as improving maths, reading and dexterity skills.

FOLLÁIN’S SUGGESTIONS FOR EASY PEASY MOTHER’S DAY RECIPES

THE FOLLÁIN MESS.

Most kids like to create a bit of a mess in the kitchen, and this delicious, easy to make recipe gives them full licence to do just that! It also only takes ten minutes to prepare.

Wash and slice a handful of strawberries. Whisk 200ml of double cream, and stir in 4 tbsp of FOLLÁIN STRAWBERRY JAM (you can choose between FOLLÁIN ‘EXTRA FRUIT’ or FOLLÁIN NO ADDED SUGAR). Spoon a layer of the Strawberry cream into two empty jam jars, then add a layer of crumbled meringue, topped with a layer of the fresh strawberries. Repeat the steps until the jam jars are full, and finish with a sprig of mint.

Check out the recipe video here FOLLÁIN MESS

 

FOLLÁIN’S SIMPLE NO ADDED SUGAR JAMMY BISCUITS
These easy to make biscuits are the ultimate treat, and best enjoyed fresh, toasted by successful chefs over a glass of chilled milk.

Rub 200g of self-raising flour together with 100g of caster sugar and 100g of melted butter until the mixture resembles fine bread-crumbs. Add 1 lightly beaten egg. Roll the dough to a thickness of 2cm, and cut into shapes, circles, hearts, dinosaurs – anything goes! Make a small indentation into the dough, and spoon one of the FOLLÁIN NO ADDED SUGAR JAM range into the middle, you can choose between; STRAWBERRY, RASPBERRY, APRICOT, BLACKCURRANT, and ORANGE.

Check out the recipe here FOLLÁIN SIMPLE JAMMY BISCUITS

 

Folláín’s APRICOT JAM BREAKFAST MUFFINS can be prepared the night before, and cooked to perfection the next morning.

 

Simply combine 2 free-range eggs with 150ml of natural yoghurt, with two tbsp. of FOLLÁIN NO ADDED SUGAR APRICOT JAM, one mashed banana, 50 ml of Rapeseed Oil,  4 tablespoons of Honey and one teaspoon of Almond Extract. Mix in a bowl along with 200g of wholemeal flour, 50g of porridge oats, 1.5 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda  and 2 tablespoons of mixed seeds.  Divide into 12 Muffin cases and bake for 30 minutes, perfect served fresh out of the oven with good coffee.

Check out the recipe video and  watch how to create FOLLÁIN’S APRICOT BREAKFAST MUFFINS

If Mum is a fiery sort, then FOLLÁIN’S MEXICAN EGGS WITH SPICY RELISH is the perfect way for her to start her day! Sauté one small onion and once golden add a finely diced chili and small onion. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes and a generous dollop of FOLLÁIN IRISH TOMOATO RELISH, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. After 15 minutes, spoon the mixture into small baking bowls, and crack an egg into each bowl, bake in the oven for 12 minutes and serve with a wedge of lime, a spoon of guacamole, and some chopped coriander.

Check out the recipe video and how to create  FOLLÁIN’S MEXICAN EGGS WITH SPICY RELISH

Folláin features three different ranges, including; Folláin Extra Fruit Traditional Irish Preserves, Folláin No Added Sugar Preserves and Folláin No Added Sugar or Salt Relishes. The ranges are available from leading supermarkets and independent retailers nationwide, log onto Follain.ie for more information.

Folláin products contain no artificial ingredients, no colourings, no flavourings, no preservatives, no additive,s and no GM ingredients. They are also fat free, gluten free and suitable for vegetarians. The fruit is meticulously hand prepared and cooked in kitchen style conditions but with the highest level of quality control assured each step of the way.

For more information on the full range of Folláin products and to get some great recipe ideas, log onto www.follain.ie, or like the Facebook.com/FollainIrishPreserves or follow the conversation on @FollainJams.

This week the words ‘asparagus tart‘ kept coming into my head. The voices in my head are feeders and mega fans of pastry, apparently. So, it was done.

Adapted from this recipe-

Feeds 4

• 1 sheet of ready made puff pastry
• 1 whole egg, beaten
• 800g of fresh asparagus
• Olive oil
• Juice from ½ a lemon (optional)
• One lot of Coppa, chopped, from an antipasto pack such as this
• 90g Ricotta cheese
• 100g Gruyere cheese
• 100g Parmesan cheese
• 100g any tasty hard cheese you have around
• Salt and pepper to taste

Depending on how long it takes your oven to heat, preheat yours to 400 f/ 200 c/ Gas Mark 6

If you’ve defrosted your ready roll pastry, you can either get it ready first or last. I’m sure there’s reasoning for keeping it as chilled as possible but I prepped mine first and left it out while I did everything else as I had no room in the fridge. It made no difference whatsoever.

Tear parchment paper to fit your baking tray, lightly grease with butter, lay over your ready rolled puff pastry. Homemade pastry evangelists, if you come to mine and have a problem with it, you can ‘ave a bit of dust.

I heart ready-roll pastry!

With the beaten egg, brush around the edges and fold over to make a little lip. Brush over the lip when in place. Pinch the corners.

Grate your hard cheese if you’re so inclined. Besides knuckles knocking on counters and potentially grating skin, I haaaaate cleaning cheese graters so avoid it if I can. Same for garlic presses, totes a pain in the hoop.

I figure if the cheese is going to melt, it’s fine to just chop it into small cubes. I inhaled the first lot of Gruyere that I chopped up. Fooking delicious.

You can steam your asparagus (oh, you fancy, huh?), as in the original recipe, but I dry fried them in a griddle pan as I’d be using it later and I don’t need an extra thing to wash, thankyouverymuch. Just toss them around a little so they don’t colour.

Once they’ve softened a bit, take them out and chop the ends off so the bits with the tips fit widthways in the pastry. You can blanch them…but who are you trying to impress, just put them aside. They’ll be grand, sure.

The bottom stalks are going to be fried and blended with the cheese and egg for the filling before laying the asparagus tip bits on top.

Chop up the bottom bits of the stalks, pour a couple of turns of olive oil in the pan and throw the chopped stalk bottoms in and fry for about 3 minutes. Then plonk them into a food processor or blender.

Chop your cured meat and fry off in the pan for 2 minutes to get them a little crispy. Set aside.

Return your asparagus tips to the pan and sauté for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

You can add half a lemon, but I don’t think it adds anything. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Now would be a good time to prep your pastry if you haven’t already.

Add the ricotta and the rest of the beaten egg to the chopped stalk bottoms in your blender/ food processer. Blend until you have a coarse purée. It might look a bit liquidy at this stage but it’ll be fine once you add about 3/4 of your cheese and meat. Mix with a spoon until it’s fully incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the purée mix out evenly into the pastry.

Lay the asparagus tips widthways on top of the mix. Sprinkle over the remainder of your cheese and meat. Add more Parmesan on top if you need it.

Bake tart for 25 minutes, or until the filling has set. Serve warm.

Creative product designers Designgoat have partnered with screen printers me&him&you to create a truly unique pop-up restaurant for two as part of the ‘Transform Your City’ collaboration between OFFSET Festival and Absolut Vodka.  For five nights only, the small Perspex box will cater for just two lucky people per evening, providing them with a very special dining experience breaking down barriers by  seating the guests right next to the chef in the kitchen to allow education and banter between the chef and diners.

 

To be in with a chance to win this once in a lifetime experience in a secret location, Dubliners have to find the mini recreation of the restaurant on College Green and tweet a picture of it using the hashtag #TransformYourCity.  The restaurant will be taken over by a different well-known chef each night who will incorporate Absolut Vodka into their sumptuous feast. The chef’s name will be revealed along the winners on the morning of the evening meal. The first sitting is the 13^th March and the final will be 20^th March.

 

The installation is part of a collaboration between Absolut Vodka and OFFSET 2014 to celebrate Dublin city’s innate creativity by inviting ten Irish artists and creative visionaries to ‘Transform Your City’. Between March 4th – 21^st, Dublin city is being transformed into a canvas for artists, photographers, illustrators and designers as they create installations that amuse and inspire people on the streets in what is anticipated to become one of the most ambitious public creative projects Dublin has ever seen. It was devised to showcase the great creativity within the city and celebrate our connection to, and aspirations for, our capital.

 

People interested in the project can follow progress on twitter using #transformyourcity @absolutirl and @weloveoffset or log onto  www.iloveoffset.com for additional information and insights. Jane Chmara, Marketing Manager of Absolut Vodka said “Dublin city has never been more alive creatively. We want to give Ireland’s most talented artists a platform to express their love for Dublin and help them realise their vision for the capital. The synergy created by working with OFFSET, Ireland’s most important creative event is inspiring.”

Why not try something a little more adventurous than the tried and tested lemon with butter and sugar this Pancake Tuesday? Folláin, who have been producing fresh fruit Jams, Marmalades, Relishes, Salsas and Chutneys for nearly thirty years in West Cork, are encouraging budding gourmands to get creative for the national day of feasting on 4^th March.

 Folláin is celebrating the art of creative combinations, so this Pancake Tuesday you can surprise the kids, your housemates, or that someone special with something a little different, and very tasty!

 

FOLLÁIN RECIPE IDEAS FOR PANCAKE TUESDAY

As with all great culinary creations, you need a great base;

Sieve 110g of plain flour with a pinch of salt, add two beaten eggs and gradually whisk in the milk until you get a smooth batter. Leave the batter to rest for 30 minutes and stir in 2 tbsp of melted real butter. Drop 1tbsp of the mixture over a hot pan which has been thinly coated in vegetable oil, and cook the pancake on each side for 2 minutes until golden-brown and fluffy. This recipe serves 6.

For a simple treat, add FOLLÁIN NO ADDED SUGAR STRAWBERRY Jam, roll and serve!

The more adventurous foodie might want to try some of the following;

 

• Toast some Chopped Walnuts on a flat tray under the grill. Combine some fresh Vanilla Seeds with a dollop of Natural Yogurt. Add a spoon of the now vanilla infused yogurt to the freshly cooked pancake, and top with a dollop of FOLLÁIN NO ADDED SUGAR APRICOT Jam, finish with a  sprinkle of toasted chopped walnuts, and serve.

 

• Add a spoon of FOLLÁIN NO ADDED SUGAR ORANGE MARMALADE to your pancake, and combine with a serving of sour cream for a surprising zingy flavour!

 

• Core and coarsely chop an apple. Drizzle split hazelnuts with Blossom Honey, and roast on a tray in a hot oven for 20 minutes. Mix hazelnuts with apple pieces and FOLLÁIN NO ADDED SUGAR BLACKCURRANT  Jam,
  or

   FOLLÁIN EXTRA FRUIT BLACKBERRY, spoon the mixture into a freshly baked pancake, and serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt (or crème anglaise for a decadent desert treat!).

 

• Grill slices of fresh mango on a griddle pan until the skin is slightly charred. Toast flaked almonds on a high heat on the frying pan until golden brown. Spread FOLLÁIN NO ADDED SUGAR RASPBERRY JAM onto one side of a freshly cooked pancake. Add the charred mango, toasted almonds, and a spoon of ricotta cream cheese; serve with sprigs of fresh mint.

 

• For a savoury treat, fry some spring onions and mushrooms for 2-3 minutes to soften, add some spinach leaves, stir until the leaves wilt and all the excess liquid has evaporated.  Remove from the heat and stir in some cooked ham. Spoon a little ricotta and FOLLÁIN NO ADDED SUGAR IRISH TOMATO RELISH on a pancake, top with some of the mushroom and spinach mixture. Roll the pancake up, sprinkle with Parmesan and bake in the oven for 15 minutes in a lightly oiled oven proof dish until thoroughly heated and lightly browned. (for extra fire, use NO ADDED SUGAR FOLLÁIN FLAME GRILLED PEPPER RELISH).

Folláin features three different ranges, including; Folláin Extra Fruit Traditional Irish Preserves, Folláin No Added Sugar Preserves and Folláin No Added Sugar or Salt Relishes. The ranges are available from leading supermarkets and independent retailers nationwide, log onto Follain.ie for more information.

 

Folláin products contain no artificial ingredients, no colourings, no flavourings, no preservatives, no additives and no GM ingredients. They are also fat free, gluten free and suitable for vegetarians. The fruit is meticulously hand prepared and cooked in kitchen style conditions but with the highest level of quality control assured each step of the way.  

 

For more information on the full range of Folláin products and to get some great recipe ideas, log onto www.follain.ie, or like the Facebook.com/FollainIrishPreserves or follow the conversation on @FollainJams.