Chicken with olives and lemons... a marriage made in heaven!

Another great, great, great recipe from a great book 'Chicken' by John Torode. We eat a lot of chicken lately mainly because it's cheap and good (of course if you buy a good product in the first place!). We always buy at least free range chicken and if possible organic - but organic tends to be crazy expensive so we usually opt for the free range one ( €6 for a medium size bird).
This time we decided to roast the whole bird. I didn't want a plain roast chicken though so we grabbed the book from the shelf and picked the one for which we had all the ingredients at hand. One thing - in the future I'll only use black olives (I don't like greens anyway), as I think they are more 'earthy' and the flavour goes better with the meat.
So don't wait any longer - if you planned a chicken roast do this one! It's sooooo worth it!!!


How to make it...

What makes a perfect coffee shop/cafe?...

What makes a perfect coffee shop? Is it the location, the seize of the place, the atmosphere, the extended menu, the beautiful smell when you walk in, your favourite table where you can sit down and read a newspaper/book while sipping your coffee...? What is it for you that ticks all the right boxes?
Well, we all have our 'favourite place' for that morning black (or not for some) coffee. But I was wondering the other day what makes your favourite place favourite?! There are a lot of coffee shops in the town where I live - even though it's a rather small town. All of my friends have their favourite place - and it's rarely the same one!
I have my favourite place too... but it's not as easy as it sounds.
There are actually 2 places in town that I like to go.

First: The Franck Cafe - honestly THE best coffee in town! But I'm afraid that it's all I would order there... We tried their cakes few times and each(!) time the cake was old - and I mean old old. My Hubby found a mould on his piece! They have a big choice of cakes, cookies and I think that this is their problem. They aren't the busier place in town and because they have such a big choice, they can't possibly sell everything before it becomes and old cake/cookie. So in my opinion - cut the choice and concentrate on fewer things, but the best quality possible! OK, finished with complaining ;) My favourite is the vanilla latte - I have no idea what kind of syrup they use - but it's definitely the best one! The coffee itself is great too. My Hubby usually takes 'black' and its perfect! Not too acidic and just the right kick to it.

Second place I have in my mind is The Daily Grind. On the contrary the coffee could be better but their cakes are to die for... Personally I love the chocolate one! Smooth, rich, velvety, soooo chocolaty and always(!) fresh. They are usually crazy busy there, so they have freshly made cakes, cupcakes, cookies every morning. You can also have a lunch there - choice of freshly made sandwiches, soup of the day etc. always available. Coffee is only so-so. The normal 'black' is always too strong and you end up putting way too much sugar in it, than you would like to. The latte has always not enough milk for me - but as my Hubby says I drink 'milky coffee' not a coffee with milk ;)

To sum up - if we want to sit down, chill out and eat something sweet we would go to The Daily Grind - but if it's only the coffee we want, and usually take away one, we would go only(!) to The Franck's. Shame that those two places couldn't be one.

What makes your perfect coffee place?

P.S. Unfortunately (or maybe I'm wrong) we don't have any big coffee chains here like Starbucks or Tchibo - and I would love to try their coffee some day! Does any of you know how to buy Starbucks coffee - I saw their website and they ship orders only within the US and I'm in Ireland...! :(


Update 10 Nov 2012
Unfortunately Franck Cafe is closed for good few months now and after a brief talk with the owners it won't be reopened.
Now, officially (for me anyway!) the best coffee in Tralee town is... at the Daily Grind. Especially their choice of flavoured lattes - caramel, vanilla, hazelnut...

Cheese - Irish Wicklow Baun, Brie...

There was a big break in my 'cheese board' series, but today I have something special for you. I only hope that wherever you live you'll be able to taste this one :) Yes, an Irish cheese and it's a Brie! My Hubby insisted that we try Irish instead of French brie this time and I'm glad I've listened.



"Wicklow Farmhouse Cheese is a small family business in the South East of Co. Wicklow in Ireland. The Hempenstall family have been milking cows on a small dairy farm at Curranstown, Arklow for the past 50 years. John established Wicklow Farmhouse Cheese in 2005 to supplement farm income. He milks approximately 60 cows and has developed a distinctive range of cheeses using only his own pasteurised milk from his herd of Friesian cows. The cheeses are handmade, in a purpose built dairy on the farm, by the entire Hempenstall family, over seen by John. They have won gold, silver and bronze awards at, among others, the British Cheese Awards and have been recommended by John and Sally McKenna." - as per their website.

The cheese itself is very delicate - nice, soft, almost creamy texture and the taste isn't too strong. It will be perfect in a salad or generally to use for cooking, as the taste won't overpower other ingredients in your dish.
It will be perfect on a small crostini with for ex Parma ham and/or a little bit of vinegar. Good red wine like Bordeaux will be the best - as it's not too acidic and will be great with the light, creamy Wicklow Brie.

Stylish Blogger Award... and a little bit about me.

What I nice surprise was waiting for me - an award! I know that none of us keep blogs for awards but admit it - we all like to receive them, because than we know that someone out there reads and what's more LIKES what we do! That way I know that what I do has a purpose! That I don't do that for 'nothing'. I'm happy as a child right now :)
At this point I would like to thank ALL MY FOLLOWERS (I'm actually preparing something special for you! :D ) and all my readers - those old and new ones. I'm doing all that for you too guys!!!


So back to the award I got it and now there are four conditions I have to meet.

First: thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.
THANK YOU Kris for this nice surprise :) I really appreciate it!!! And you made my day - even though it's rainy and cold outside...!

Second: share seven things about myself.
That's I'm afraid - easier said than done... but I'll do my best. As the purpose of this award is also to know better the person you're awarding. So here we go:

#1 First one's easy - I was lucky enough to have found my 'better half' in this whole world and what's more... a little over 8 months ago, our small family grew to 3! We have baby girl and there's nothing better and more precious in this world to me, than this little person - especially when she hugs me that I can hardly breathe! :)

#2 I'm what, you could probably say, a Renaissance person. I love a good book (H.Cobe, C.Moore, S.Lukjanienko, T.Pratchett), a good movie (especially the ones with Travolta!), theatre (the closest to my heart is musical theater, especially Miss Saigon, Rocky Horror and Notre Dame), a good comedy (Family Guy, Allo!Allo!, Father Ted) my favourite painter - Klimt, a good music (French one is my favourite - Kaas, Bruel etc.) and I love travelling and visiting new places (on my list places to visit, amongst many others, are: Hong Kong, Thailand, OZ, USA and Canada).

#3 My biggest hobby - don't you know it by now... cooking and baking! Unfortunately I don't have much time for both recently... Working is what I mostly do these days...

#4 My biggest dream - move permanently to France and own a small B&B or a small bakery. But to be honest - I'll be happy like mad if my whole family will be together and they will all be healthy and... I wouldn't have to worry where to get money from for food, bills etc. I don't need a fancy big house, 3 cars, holidays in paradise every year... I just need my family and to lead quiet, happy life :)

#5 To have a little house... with a big kitchen... kitchen all in neutral colours with white and blue curtains, all cast iron and kitchen appliances to be ruby red! Ha! :)

#6 More about me... hmm... Let me think... I love colour green, but in kitchen - red! Couldn't choose between sea and mountains... Have a small TV addiction (The Sopranos, CSI, Criminal Minds, Grey's...). I'm stubborn, very ambitious, like to have control. I'm an enemy for a little while (I'm softie) but a friend for life!
Have a HUGE fear of heights, generally a 'chicken' but I would fight for my family like a lioness!
Hate lies, false friends, people who hurt kids(!), early mornings and Irish climate.
Love ice cream, sleep, lazy Sundays, walks with my Hubby and Baby J, good wine and French culture.

#7 To have a chance to do some good in life. To be that person who can say at the end of the road: 'yes, I've made the difference, I've done a lot of good and hopefully no one was hurt coz of me...'

Third: award 15 recently discovered great bloggers. This is probably the best part about getting the award; sharing it with others! It’s my pleasure to give a “Stylish Blogger Award” to the following amazing blogs (in no particular order):

1. Food Nerd Ciao!
2. Polish Mama on the Prairie
3. Gonna Want Seconds
4. The seaside eatery
5. Bake like a ninja
6. Kitchen butterfly
7. A sticky affair
8. Bake me away
9. Cupcake project
10. Coleen's recipes
11. Moveable Feasts
12. A bountiful kitchen
13. Desserts for breakfast
14. My so-called kitchen
15. and the last one... couldn't pick only one... it's for all of you guys! Keep the good job :)

Fourth: contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!
Already done - enjoy guys! You rock!!! :]

The Daring Cooks #17 This time we're going to... Japan!

The February 2011 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by Lisa of Blueberry Girl. She challenged Daring Cooks to make Hiyashi Soba and Tempura. She has various sources for her challenge including japanesefood.about.com, pinkbites.com, and itsybitsyfoodies.com

As always with Daring Kitchen - something new, something interesting and something... vary tasty! :) The most important thing is that it cost me only € 5 extra for this month's challenge! We're on a budget here so I was very happy that when reading the ingredients list I have realised that I have everything at home! The only thing I had to buy (and I had to buy it only because I really wanted it - but I could do without) was prawns.

I knew tempura but either bought take-away or had ready made, packed tempura mix... if I only knew... It's so easy to make! And waaaaay better than the ready mix! My favourite was... carrot! Yes, a humble carrot! I was a little sceptic when I saw tempura carrot - but I was soooo wrong! It so nice, sweet and tender - YUM! Second favourite was tempura prawns! But that wasn't a surprise ;)

Soba salad was something completely new to me - but it was sooo good. I didn't have a traditional buckwheat noodles but beans noodles which were waiting for something special in the cupboard - and that was it! It was fast and easy to make and the result was great! Served my soba with omelet stripes, ham, cucumber and spicy dipping sauce.

How to make it...

9th Feb -> International Pizza Day...

Last year I've participated and this year couldn't be any different! I didn't make traditional pizza dough this time as me and Hubby discovered something better. Puff pizza :) This time I opted for cheese pizza - so I used 3 different kinds of cheese: mozzarella, cheddar and Parmesan. It's so easy to make and almost no work whatsoever - well maybe besides preparing your ingredients on the top. I know it's not a traditional pizza - and probably the whole idea of International Pizza day is to teach people how to make the traditional dough. Anyway, that's my take on the pizza day and I really hope you'll try it with the puff pastry - this kind of pizza is very light, crispy and not so filling like the traditional one (perfect for Valentine's Day ;) ).



How to make it...

Fish cakes...

I know I have been away for some time lately - away from my blog I mean as I really didn't go anywhere. I'm sorry for that and I promise to be good from now :)
I had so many changes happening in my life lately that it was hard to keep up with my own private and professional life, not to mention Anula's Kitchen.
So from the beginning - I've got back to work from my maternity leave and had to leave Baby J at home with her Daddy. They are getting OK, more thank OK even. I'm at work 5 days a week 9 till 6 and have only 2 hours with my Baby in the evenings. Besides that, you would know yourself - when I finally have a day off there's million things to do: shopping, cleaning, cooking, laundry and spending some quality time with the Baby.

OK enough with the complaining and back to the merit - it's a cooking blog at the end of the day ;) So, this time something very simple and quick to make. If you only have some mashed leftover potatoes (and who doesn't, I have never cooked just the right amount for 1 dinner only...).


How to make it..