Red Thai Chicken Curry

During our visit last month to the amazing MacNean House and Restaurant in County Cavan, we were very fortunate to meet the main man, Neven Maguire, who kindly chatted to us and gave us a gift of a signed copy of his book, "Neven's Country Living Volume 2". You can read more about our fantastic experience here.
I sat down recently and went through his book, ear-marking various recipes I'd like to try, of which there were many. This is the first one I tried and I thought it was so delicious, simple to cook and so satisfying, I had to blog about it. Neven calls this his Curried Chicken in Coconut Milk. I have slightly adapted the recipe and it serves 4 people.

Double Chocolate Party Cake

Hands up who's addicted to The Great British Bake Off these days?! Me, me, me! Honestly, it's the first season I've really watched and I am thoroughly enjoying it. This cake is adapted from one of the baking queen, Mary Berry's, recipes. She calls it Celebration Chocolate Cake. It is a very simple and quick cake to prepare, it's delicious and light, and on top of all that, it's a bit of a showstopper really! I have baked it twice for two special birthday's; My sister's 25th and my husband's 30th, and both times, it went down a treat. I will forever be indebted to you Mary!
I have boldly changed the icing from Mary's version and I would advise that it's best to use a food mixer or a hand held whisk if at all possible.

Green Veg & Chicken Pesto Pasta

We're well into September now, the evenings are getting shorter and time seems more fleeting as the "busy-ness" of our routines returns after the glorious summer of 2013! This kind of situation demands quick plate to table meals. This recipe combines some of my very favourite, and easily accessible ingredients - fresh green vegetables, chicken, pasta and pesto. It is a perfect evening dinner for two, but could very easily be prepared for one person, or equally a family, without having too much or too little.