You may have noticed there has been a serious lack of recipes around here lately, but I want you too see that as a good thing! The good news is that behind the scenes I have started work on my new book, so right now that's the main focus and everything else is kind of on the back burner at minute! Hopefully very soon I'll be able to reveal a lot of really exciting news about the book and some other VERY exciting projects coming up. I will do my best to keep the recipes coming but for now here's a really great little summer dish! Enjoy! Zingy Purple Potato SaladWhen people think of potato salads in Ireland, heavy mayonaisse laden over boiled potatoes come to mind, but I'm here to change all that!  This potato salad is light, bright breezy and packed full of zingy flavours!... Similar posts

Looking for a quick "hands on" starter dish which comes packed with a punch?  Well I'm pretty sure these quesadillas fit the bill!  I am completely addicted to chorizo, it's full of great smokey spiced flavour, has a fantastic, rich, deep red colour and adds so much to any dish you use it in. I love using chorizo in hearty bean stews for a more wintery dish, but it will forever and for always remind me of summer.  I first tasted it on a holiday in Spain as part of a tapas dish and was hooked forever more!  Chorizo and Spring Onion Quesadillas You can get chorizo in fine soft slices or in thick sausage form which I use in this recipe.  If you are really stuck and can't get your hands on some chorizo for this recipe, don't panic, you can use a little... Similar posts

I am coming to you live from my hotel room in the sunny south of Ireland in Ballingcollig, Cork.  I was doing a cookery demonstration for the Hope Foundation last night and it went extremely well!  It was my first time doing a demo in front of a live adult audience, so I couldn't rely on my usual school demo tricks like asking them what they bring for their lunches, and of course every kid sticks up their hand.  No this is a little different, but in a good way, I get to give more tips about the stuff I am cooking and I can choose dishes which are a little more interesting than stuff only kids will eat. Last night I was demoing some of my favourite dishes from the book, I did 7 dishes altogether, which were my aromatic duck salad (with duck supplied by the lovely folks from... Similar posts

One of the things I mastered last year, was preparing healthy dishes which are easy to have with you on the go.  We (Industry) were on the road everyday during the summer when we released our first two singles so I made sure we all ate well in between our fairly tight schedule.  Healthy salads were normally on the cards and went down the best, but if we were stuck for time quick and tasty wraps sorted us out! As I mentioned we were on tour with JLS all week, and the wraps below kept us full on the road up to belfast!  I hope you don't mind but we were very excited to perform in the O2 in Dublin, so I have stuck up a few photo's from the gig on Saturday night, where I got my first pair of knickers thrown at me! Quick Fresh Veggie Wrap With Crispy Prosciutto Wraps are... Similar posts

If you follow me on twitter, you will probably be sick of me talking about it, but we (Industry) are currently on tour with JLS for their tour dates in Ireland. It makes a stark contrast to all the cooking I have been doing lately! The one question I have been asked the most since the book came out is which I prefer, the singing or the cooking, and to be honest after Saturday night, when we performed in Dublin's o2 arena, the singing gives the cooking a good run for its money!  Though I think I will always have that hunger for performing on stage, it is just one of the most amazing feelings to stand in front of a crowd that size and sing!  All the excitement and nerves aside, I have been managing to eat really well despite the lack of time, and these noodles are just one of the... Similar posts

Just when I thought there was a bit of spring in the air, I find myself out de-icing my car windscreen again!  I am so ready for the spring to start, I am already dreaming of all the vegetables I'm planning to grow.  In anticipation of what I like to think of as the lighter eating months of the year I have been cooking up some really tasty salads.  I am particularly proud of this one, as it fits in nicely with my Chinese New Year recipes this week and is really fresh and healthy, so enjoy! Spicy Sichuan Chicken SaladA lot of Chinese dishes can be heavy going but this spicy Sichuan chicken salad, is light, bright and crisp.  To get the best aromatic flavour out of the Sichuan peppercorns, toast them in a hot oven for a few minutes, allow them to cool and grind in a... Similar posts

Chinese New Year falls on Valentines day this year, so it’s the perfect excuse to whip up some tasty Chinese dishes for your loved one to celebrate and I’m not talking about calling the local takeaway!  But Chinese cuisine has so much more to offer than what’s on the local takeaway menu, it's packed with delicious sauces, aromatic spices, and unusual textures.  If you haven’t tried cooking any Chinese dishes, I have put together some fairly easy ones which I'll be posting all week to celebrate Chinese New Year!  They don’t take too much time and leave you with some incredibly tasty results. Healthy Singapore Noodles Singapore noodles are a standard Chinese restaurant dish, but making them at home is so easy and it also means you can monitor what’s going in to... Similar posts

If you don't know who Ken Hom is, where have you been hiding!  When I was growing up he was the king pin when it came to Chinese cooking, he was the guy you turned to when you needed advice on which wok to buy and how to create that very first stir fry.  I was introduced to him via his first cookbook  "Ken Hom's Chinese Cookery" which one of my aunts had bought back in 1984, being an avid fan of Chinese cookery I tried so many recipes from this book and have been a fan ever since. Now although, there have been many Chinese chefs since Ken introduced the cuisine to our TV screens, I still think he is the best and he is regularly regarded as the world's leading authority in Chinese cookery.  He was in Dublin launching a new range of Chinese ready meals he has developed... Similar posts

If you haven't heard of Sally Bee before, and I hadn't up until recently, Sally is a mother of three who at the age of 36, despite a healthy lifestyle, suffered 3 major heart attacks in the space of one week. I'm not even going to go into the amazing story of her recovery, you really just have to read it. "The Secret Ingredient" is a collection of super healthy recipes which don't go over the top and features meals which are perfect for family home cooking. I recently got the opportunity to meet the lovely Sally Bee, and despite our extremely brief encounter she comes across as an extremely vibrant and fun individual and when I remarked on her incredible story, joked and feigned heart pains! This is one of the fantastic recipes from her book, "The Secret Ingredient" which is out on... Similar posts

This is my recipe contribution to December's edition of Irish Tatler, and it also just so happens to be one of my favourite recipes of all time forever and ever the end!  It is also one of my favourite recipes from my cookbook which may I remind you would make a lovely christmas present for a loved one!  Ok shameless plugs aside, this is such a wonderful dish and it's super easy to prepare, stick the duck in the oven slice the vegetables, make the dressing and you're done!  Couldn't be easier! Open Aromatic Duck Salad This is basically an adaptation of the classic aromatic duck and pancake dish which is available at most Chinese restaurants. It’s one of my favourite dishes and is so simple to produce. The tender crispy duck goes well with the fresh raw vegetables and... Similar posts

As you might have guessed, if you are a regular reader of the blog, I have a major thing for zingy Asian food!  It all started when I was a lot younger, when my grandmother bought me a simple Chinese cookbook.  At that stage I had already worked my way through most of the cookbooks in our house but had never tried to cook any sort of Asian food.  Ingredients like ginger, lemongrass, coconut milk, and the rather peculiar looking star anise were all foreign to me, as a curious youngster.  I took it upon myself to become immersed in this little book, being brave and cooking the most strange sounding dishes first, in order to get a taste for the vast landscape of this cuisine.  From fortune cookies to spring rolls, from Thai green curry to sushi, I really gave... Similar posts

As a food blogger, it's quite often that you get sent offers and promotions by new companies or event organisers on a weekly basis, asking for promotion on the blog.  If the product or event is something that catches my attention, I do generally give it a mention or ask for a sample so that I can use it in a recipe for the blog.  This was the case when I received an email two weeks ago, from Nigel Cobbe, the owner of the brand new company, Simply Sourced which is a home delivery service throughout Dublin and Wicklow for top quality free range and totally traceable meat.  It's a really great concept and having sampled the product it offers a really reliable alternative to butchers and supermarkets.  I like the idea that they have a set price and you know the quality of... Similar posts

Now I don't know about you but when it comes to coleslaw I am extremely picky and only homemade will do. There is absolutely nothing worse than the soggy, boring, mayonaise laden coleslaws available from supermarkets which have been sitting in the salad bar all day long. Don't get me wrong, some places can get it right, but they are few and far between. It is extremely inexpensive and takes only a few minutes to make a really tasty coleslaw at home, plus you can add whatever you want to it! This is my plain coleslaw recipe but feel free to experiment with it, add your own ingredients and ideas! Red Cabbage and Carrot ColeslawI have a handy dandy Magimix food processor and it makes this recipe so simple and takes only minutes to prepare. If you don't have one, it's no big deal but it... Similar posts