food blog Archives - myrealfairy.com

Easy Soda Bread Without Buttermilk

Nothing quite like the smell of fresh baked bread is there? With this easy soda bread without buttermilk recipe you can get just that without all the kneading, proving and above all, without the waiting!

Most recipes for soda bread include the traditional buttermilk. I couldn’t get hold of it so used another home method of converting your milk into buttermilk. As with everything to do with this recipe, I did it the easy way. Put one table spoon of fresh or bottled lemon juice into your jug of milk. Within 5 minutes it’s doing its thing and turning into buttermilk.

4 from 1 vote

Easy Soda Bread Without Buttermilk

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

35 mins

Total Time

45 mins

If you cant find buttermilk then this is great for you, if you can then use it and don't add the lemon.

Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 tbsp Lemon juice
300 ml Whole milk
450 grammes Plain flour
1 tspn Bicarbonate of soda
1 tspn Salt

Instructions

Pour the milk into a jug and add the lemon juice.
Leave to stand for 5 minutes for it to turn into buttermilk
While this is happening weigh out your other ingredients
Put the flour, bicarbonate of soda and the salt in a large mixing bowl
Pour in the buttermilk and combine together into a large ball
Don't overwork but just form into the ball
Place on a lined and floured baking tray
Cook for 35-40 minutes on 180oc for a fan oven
Test by putting in a wooden cocktail stick and if it comes out clear then it's done. Also tap on the bottom of the loaf and if it sounds hollow then that is a great sign

You’ll be so delighted with this bread, it has the look and taste of a deep tasty farmhouse style loaf.

I enjoy mine with lots of butter and cheese while my boys tend to go for black currant jam generously spread right up to the edges.

Have a go and let me know how it turns out, I always love to hear.

If you are in the mood for some quick recipes while this is in the oven then try my One Step No Churn Ice Cream or Easy Lemon Curd.

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Red Cherry Pepper Dip

This dip is packed full of punch and is equally good on burgers as it is on the buffet table ready for breadsticks and crunchy carrots to be dipped in generously.

These little cherry peppers have a heat to them which isn’t overpowering on the palate, it’s more of a warm sweet taste which doesn’t leave you reaching for gulps of water.

My other half came home from our local shops the other day with a huge great big tub of these little gems. After seeing them in the fridge for about a week I knew that I would have to do something with them as they didn’t seem to be disappearing no matter how many we ate! There’s only so many times that you can put them on the side of the plate as an accompaniment so I set to work on a recipe. I played around with the different types of flavours I wanted to have and as I wanted to make the most of the sweet taste these peppers had to offer.

In this recipe you can alter the quantities of red peppers to shallots as takes your fancy and you can use standard flaky salt instead of the fancy Himalayan pink salt I wanted to try out.

What is fabulous about this recipe is that it’s very easy to make, very quick and leaves you with 2 jars of this delicious cherry pepper dip.

4.63 from 8 votes

Cherry Pepper Dip

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Total Time

20 mins

Course: Side Dish

Servings: 8

Author: mainy - myrealfairy

Ingredients

25 Cherry Peppers pre cooked. Do this by baking in a covered dish in the oven for 20 mins on a medium heat.
3 small Shallots
1 large Garlic Clove
4 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Tomato Paste
1 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
1 tsp Sugar

Instructions

Place the olive oil and shallots in a deep saucepan and cook gently for 5 minutes.
Crush the garlic and add this along with the salt to the shallots.
Cook for 2 minutes.
Add vinegar, sugar and tomato paste and stir well.
Add cherry peppers and stir.
Leave to cool for 5 mins.
Place all the ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.

This dip makes a great gift too. Who can resist something that tastes so good and they can actually make use of. Place the mixture into nice looking pots which are sterilised and will produce an air tight seal when closed. Yummy!

If this has made you feel in the cooking mood then have a look at this Easy Soda Bread recipe which is a wonderful partner to this Red Cherry Pepper Dip.

If you like this recipe then please rate it using the stars index in the comments section. I’d love to hear your views too. Enjoy!

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Tasty Tomato Chutney

I wanted to make full use of all the beautiful tomatoes we have grown in the garden this year so I have developed this Tasty Tomato Chutney. It’s been our best year so far with our tomatoes and I am pleased as punch with how it has turned out.

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We set about with our raised beds this spring at the end of our garden. It’s been a learning experience which is still playing out due to it not being the end of the season yet for root vegetables. I’ll let you know how we get on soon. However, our tomatoes are coming on fantastically and growing up and around our patio pallet garden which is brilliant.

The tomatoes which we have used are a combination of tiger tomatoes which are striped hence the name I guess and standard red tomatoes which my youngest and I grew from the seeds of a fresh tomato which was bought from the supermarket at the start of the year. We were preparing our lunch one day and he asked if we could plant the seeds and we did. I honestly didn’t think much would come of it but low and behold it did and the plants are strong and producing lots of fruit.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and see how easy it is to make fresh chutney with a few ingredients.

Use a really sharp knife to cut a cross in the skin before pouring the boiling water over. This way after 5 minutes you can push the tomatoes out of their skin which isn’t needed in the recipe.

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The chutney is ideal as a little accompaniment to most other supper or lunch dishes and can even be added to vegetarian or meat stews for added richness.

Tasty Tomato Chutney

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

45 mins

Cooling time

10 mins

Total Time

55 mins

A super easy Tomato Chutney packed with flavour

Course: Side Dish

Servings: 8

Author: mainy - myrealfairy

Ingredients

500 g Tomato
250 g Onions
100 g Brown sugar
1 clove Garlic
75 ml Red or White wine vinegar
Half tspn Paprika Optional

Instructions

Cut a cross in the skins of the tomatoes and pour over boiling water in a bowl.
Leave to stand for 5 mins and then carefully remove the skins which should peel off easily now.
Chop the onions roughly and then mince the garlic. Place in a large heavy bottomed saucepan.
Place all the other ingredients on top and bring gently to the boil stirring all the time.
Simmer gently, stirring frequently for approx 45mins
You are looking and feeling for a soft jam like consistency.
After about 30 mins, spoon out a small amount, set aside to cool. Then try it for personal taste.
When you are happy, continue for the full amount of time.
Leave to cool slightly then place in your sterilised jars and leave to fully cool.

Recipe Notes

Enjoy with cold meats or cheese. Also try out my Soda Bread recipe as these goes amazing well together.

Have Fun! Mainy

Let me know how you get on if you make yours. Also rate the recipe please.

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One Step No Churn Ice Cream with Salted Caramel Baileys

Honestly this ice cream recipe is so easy that it barely makes a full post, I just need to shout it from the rooftops so that everyone can hear.

You don’t need an ice cream maker, you don’t need to stir it part way through the freezing process, it really is One Step No Churn Ice Cream. My other half loves his Baileys or Irish cream liqueur. Just to be clear, this post is not sponsored or endorsed and I haven’t been paid mega bucks *I wish!* to endorse any brand. It’s purely his treat and this salted caramel version was screaming out to be poured into this creamy ice cream.

The quantities I have included in the recipe below make enough for 4 tubs of this gorgeous ice cream. If you want to make for fewer people then it’s still perfect if you half the quantities and make less.

The addition of the alcohol does make it a bit smoother and easier to scoop. Can you make it without the alcohol?…Sure, there are so many varieties to choose from. Salted Caramel syrup without the liquer part will be just as tasty.

One Step No Churn Ice Cream with Salted Caramel Baileys

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5 from 4 votes

One Step No Churn Ice Cream with Salted Caramel Baileys

Prep Time

5 mins

freezing time

5 hrs

Probably the easiest ice cream you will ever make. The most delicious too! This will make 4 medium tubs similar to the luxury brand ones from your local supermarket.

Course: Dessert

Servings: 16

Author: mainy - myrealfairy

Ingredients

600 ml Double Cream
390 g Condensed Milk Sold in cans
3 tbsp Salted Caramel Baileys Irish Liqueur Or supermarkets own brand

Instructions

This is a one step recipe....
Place all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl, whisk until soft peaks are formed.
Pour into a suitable freezable container with a tight fitting lid. Place in the freezer for 5hrs or more.

Recipe Notes

Ready to eat after 5hrs of freezing. Lots of different flavours to choose from. Experiment and enjoy!

Mainy

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Summer Linky #mainylovessummer

What a summer we have been having so far! Here on the south coast it has been so hot and we have been making the most of living so close to the beach. Every day seems to be a swim day after school and work.

I love the summer and regular readers will know that every now and then I love to hold a linky party to have a get together and share lots of our posts.

Something that always stays the same is that there is no badge to display!

It’s all about sharing, reading and enjoying each others writing. Feel free to add up to 3 of any type of blogging post old or new.

Reviews, giveaways, recipes, parenting, lifestyle, poetry all manner of posts are welcome here.

Just let common sense prevail and refrain from anything outrageously offensive:)

My favourite forum is twitter so please also tweet as many posts as possible using the hash tag #mainylovessummer @myrealfairy and I will tweet away for days and days both your posts and all those you tweet from the link up.

I will also pin all posts to the #mainylovessummer pinterest board. Have a look and follow along too.

Let’s make this a real summer sizzler for 2018 and get everyone reading and talking about your posts.

Suggested guidance for participating:

I’d love it if you commented on the host post and at least one more for every post you link up.
Tweet using the hashtag #mainylovessummer @myrealfairy when you link up and you’re away!
Tweet, pin, talk about it on instagram and share using all the wonderful ways you wish and let the blogger know when you comment how you have shared their post.
Use the hashtag #mainylovessummer when you comment please.
Enjoy and read something you wouldn’t normally click on.
Have fun!

Love Mainy

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Twitter: #mainylovessummer @myrealfairy

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Time for tea with Adagio – Review and Giveaway

I love a cuppa, last thing at night and first thing in the morning you will find me with a cup of tea somewhere close by. Over the years I have tried many different brands and had phases of drinking different types of tea. As part of my own growth in how I enjoy different foods and wine, they too have matured. There’s much more importance to me in how something tastes, what benefits it might have for me and where it has come from. No longer just a drink to have for the sake of it.

Adagio teas have a great take on how to order your tea to be delivered to your home. Their site is divided into sections which help you to make your choice simple. There are sampler packs which you can order that give you a range across the type of tea you wish to try. Loose tea is spooned into the paper filters made of taste-neutral wood and hemp fibres. You make your own little… or big tea bag, how cool is that! I liked this as even though you get the suggested amount to put in you can adjust to your own taste.

Apparently tea is the most widely consumed drink second only to water. I can’t think of anything that is so versatile and has so many different flavours.

You can learn so much for the website such as how to make the perfect cuppa! That’s got to be high on my list of things to do. Like most things having a really good idea of how where why and how makes us all that little bit wiser.

Tea processing is five basic steps; some teas don’t utilize all of these steps, while other teas repeat them several times. Basic processing is Plucking, Withering (allowing the leaves to wilt and soften), Rolling (to shape the leaves and wring out the juices), Oxidising and Firing (ie: Drying).

I have been looking for warm drinks which my eldest son can have which don’t contain caffeine. There is lots of information on their blog which looks and explains caffeine in tea. My eldests health condition means that he has to have a chocolate, caffeine and yoghurt free diet as much as possible. A tough thing for someone reaching their teenage years. He wants to try so many new things and having a healthy warm drink after sports or a long walk are something he enjoys.

All real tea comes from the same plant, Camellia sinensis, which contains caffeine. Herbal infusions, such as Chamomile, Rooibos and Peppermint, are made from botanicals not related to Camellia sinensis, and they are naturally caffeine free. Adagio has a decaf range and a herbal range so there is a massive choice for us as a family and I can have one place to order from which is a plus point for me.

In addition to the teas you can also buy accessories such as cups, teapots, storage tins and filters.

The Giveaway

I have a great prize today which will be despatched by the fine people at Adagio Teas. It consists of 3 Sampler Packs of your choice and 1 Pack of Tea Filters so that you can start your new tea journey straight away!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Disclaimer: I was given a selection of teas and teaware to review for the purpose of the post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. See my Contact Us page for full t&c’s for giveaways.

Easy Bake Chocolate Florentines

These Easy Bake Chocolate Florentines biscuits are so delicious that I actually made two batches before I managed to get the pictures of the finished article because I forgot on the first night and by the next day they were nearly all gone!

If you have not had a Florentine before, then they are thin biscuits made with nuts and cherries and normally coated with chocolate on the flat underneath side. They are slightly crisp on the edges and then a fabulous chewy centre awaits!

I now coat half of the batch with chocolate and I leave half uncoated and I kid you not, they are both gorgeous.

The full recipe and directions are below and some handy photos here to reassure you of what it should look like at each stage.

Easy Bake Chocolate Florentines — The mixture as it should look just before baking.

It is best to temper the chocolate and I have written a quick reference post on how to do this the easy way if you are a home cook like me.

5 from 1 vote

Easy Bake Chocolate Florentines

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

20 mins

These super elegant Florentines are a perfect easy bake which produce the most delicious crispy, chewy, mouth-watering biscuits.

Course: Sweet Treat

Servings: 24

Author: mainy - myrealfairy

Ingredients

50 g Butter
50 g Demerara sugar
50 g Golden syrup
50 g Plain flour
50 g Flaked almonds
25 g Glacé cherries
200 g Dark chocolate

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
Prepare your baking trays with parchment paper/grease proof paper for baking
Add the butter, sugar and the golden syrup to a small saucepan and heat gently until the butter has melted.
When this has melted down, remove from the heat and add the flour, glacé cherries and flaked almonds.
Mix well with a large wooden spoon.
Using a teaspoon, put one level teaspoon onto the baking tray and space 6 spoonfuls evenly over the baking tray. Space well as the mixture spreads during baking.
Bake for between 8 and 10 minutes, or until golden-brown. Let them cool on the baking trays before transferring to a cooling rack to cool down completely.
Melt the chocolate and temper using the method from my link. On the flat side of the florentine, spread a little melted chocolate until it is evenly covered. Wait 30 seconds and using a fork or the tip of the teaspoon, create a zig zag engraved effect in the chocolate.

Recipe Notes

Only use a teaspoon per biscuit as they spread more than you think!

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How to Temper Chocolate the Easy Way

When I made my first recipe which needed me to temper the chocolate I was quite intimidated by the process and didn’t go too much further. Suffice to say that I had alot of split, grainy chocolate melting disasters!

So after doing some further research and trialing easy tempering methods I want to share the method that I use all the time now, with you.

Tempered chocolate has a glossy appearance to it and will have that snap to it that sounds just right. there is a science behind tempering chocolate which involves heating to the right temperature so that when the chocolate is heated and the fat molecules go out of alignment they need to be realigned correctly or the chocolate will ‘bloom’. This is when the chocolate looks grey and grainy and not as appealing as the glossy look we should go for. I’m sure there has been a time when you have left a chocolate bar in the car and it’s got warm and melted. The texture it then goes when it firms up is never quite the same is it? That’s because it has gone out of temper.

I use the method of heating in a heatproof dish over a pan of simmering water. I tried the microwave methods but I didn’t get on with it and prefer having more control by using the pan method.

Make sure the bowl can sit in the pan without touching the water. Also, the bowl must be kept very dry and not let any water inside.

Tempering Method

From a large bar of dark chocolate with a cocoa content of between 50-70%, break off three quarters of the bar and chop into small chunks.

Place these in the bowl and over the pan of simmering water.

Over the next 1-2 minutes these will melt.

When they have melted, take the bowl off the heat and stir quickly.

Put in the remaining chocolate.

Stir in continuously until it is all melted.

That’s it, you are now ready to dip or spread your chocolate onto your tasty treats.

If you love chocolate recipes as much as I think you probably do then have a look at my Ultimate Chocolate Brownie Recipe and my Chocolate Vegan Cake.

Enjoy and let me know what you think! I’d love to hear your ideas too.

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Carrot and Gogi Berry Loaf Cake

I’ve been wanting to make a carrot cake for a little while now and I wanted to give it a bit of a twist, something to make it stand out from the crowd. Well I have done just that! Adding Gogi Berries to it has given it a lift and a flash of colour, I love it!

I’ve used Gogi berries before and was looking for other recipes I could adapt so that I could make even more use of this yummy fruit.

Carrot and Gogi Berry Loaf Cake

4 from 1 vote

Carrot and Gogi Berry Loaf Cake

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

35 mins

Total Time

45 mins

Add a twist of something special to this lovely Carrot cake with these super cool Gogi Berries

Course: Dessert

Servings: 10

Ingredients

50 g Dark brown sugar
2 Eggs
125 ml Rapeseed Oil
3 large Carrots
50 g Gogi Berries
150 g Plain Flour
half teaspoon Baking Powder
half teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
1 teaspoon Mixed Spice
30 ml Maple Syrup

Instructions

Grate the carrots (these will be part of your wet ingredients)
Mix all of the dry ingredients together apart from the Gogi Berries in one bowl then set aside.
In a food mixer put all of the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
Combine together and add the Gogi Berries.
Pour into a medium loaf tin
Bake for 35 mins on 170oc

This is great to use up some of those extra ingredients you might have around the store cupboard. Another easy recipe which big results is my Cheese Scones which are super quick. If you fancy a sweet treat try my Ultimate Chocolate Brownies!

Quick tip!

If you want to rehydrate dried Gogi berries then pop them in a bowl or cup, pour over boiling water and leave for 10 minutes. Drain well and then they are plump and juicy, ready to use.

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Thought of the day

Welcome to myrealfairy.com

thought of the day

Hello and welcome! Have a look at the menu and see what takes your fancy! Recipes, reviews and tips on how to navigate the parenting world…..well, we try! 🙂

my real fairy

Any thoughts are welcome on this site, I love to hear your views. What would you like me to review next on myrealfairy.com?

If you are a brand, small business or voluntary organisation then please get in touch.

If you would like to contribute an article then I’d like to hear from you.

Drop me a line at fairyqueen@myrealfairy.com

Enjoy reading

Mainy x

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