Beet and Goat Cheese Salad in Ireland

A ten day driving tour through Ireland showed my husband and I many old castles, lush green rolling hills, stunning scenery, lots of farm animals and one big beautiful Irish family wedding. 

Our stop in Dublin took us to one of the oldest pub’s in the world.  Back in Toronto, we used to live near a popular pub called The Brazen Head and we frequented it often.  When we came across The Brazen Head Pub in Dublin Ireland, we definitely had to check it out!   It was built in 1198 and I have a feeling, it was still pretty true to it’s original form.  The space was large but broken down into little rooms, most likely for heating purposes back then. 

After all of the Medieval type movies and tv shows that my husband had made me watch  and I had watched together, this 800 year old pub was what I had expected to see.  I imagined large and loud Viking men drinking ale out of animal horns and bar wenches serving them.   Fast forward to 2014,  there were no vikings, or horn cups, it was civilized (at least in the room we in) and there were gluten free and vegan options on the menu!  Oh, what would the Vikings say now!

Looking through the bar menu, I decided on a Warm Goat Cheese and Beetroot Salad.  I was really determined to have a healthy diet on the road in Ireland, and I have to admit, some day's it proved challenging with the numerous pub stops that we made.  The beet salad was really good, with so much flavour in every bite, I was totally satisfied and fulfilled.  I noted the ingredients, hoped to make this back home and when I did finally make it, I was just as excited with the flavours as the first time I tried it.   I'm not the biggest beet fan, I find they taste like dirt (sorry beets)…but roasting them brings out their sweetness, combined with  goat cheese, and all the other goodies in this salad, (not to mention how highly nutritious beets are for you) I can say I'm a beet convert.  

Summertime is the perfect time for salads!  Refreshing, light, seasonal, and the great thing about salads are how versatile they are.  There are no rules, no do's or don'ts, salads can be a mixed bag of whatever you crave, have in your kitchen or have growing in your garden.  

This roasted beet salad is really quite easy and quick to make and by all means, adjust it to your liking! Chop, dice or slice your veggies, roast the beets ahead of time and use cold chèvre instead of baking it if you like!   I had this salad the other night for dinner and use some leftover kale pesto that I had in my freezer along with some cold roasted beets from a few days before! 

Ingredients*
makes a large yummy salad for one

4 small beets

2 handfuls of mixed greens (washed)

1/2 cup Cucumber (diced or sliced)

 1/2 small Red Onion (sliced)

1/2 cup Cherry Tomato (sliced in half)
1 goats cheese (chèvre) wheel

2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

4 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pinch of sea salt and pepper
*Adjust quantities according to your own preference

Basil Pesto 

(or your own favourite pesto recipe will do)

 1 cup Basil Leaves

1 clove Garlic

1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese (grated)

2 Tbsp. Pine Nuts (lightly toasted)
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pinch of sea salt and pepper

Instructions

• Pre-heat  your oven to 400º.  Wash and remove stems, leaves and roots from beets, place beets onto a sheet of tin foil (you can wrap them individually, or two or more if they're small).  Pour a teaspoon or so of Olive Oil over beets and wrap foil tightly.  Place onto cooking sheet and into preheated oven.  Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Beets will cook at different times depending on their size. Check by carefully peeling back foil and piercing beet with fork. If fork glides in easily, they're ready, if not, back in the oven they go! 
• In the meantime, you can prepare the pesto.  Place basil leaves, crushed garlic, parmesan cheese and pine nuts into food processor and whirl until chunky.  Slowly add olive oil while you continually whirl, until you reach the consistency you like.  Set aside. 
• When beets are ready and roasted, remove from oven and let cool. Lower oven temperature to 350º.
• Remove goats cheese from packaging and wrap loosely in tin foil. 
• When the beets have cooled, and your ready to start peeling them, place wrapped goats cheese in oven for about 10 minutes or until starting to melt. 
• Peel beets using fingers, or a parring knife.  Doing this under running water can help and help keep fingers clean as beet juice can stain.  Use disposable gloves if you have them handy especially if you have an important meeting and you don't like the idea awkwardly pink fingers all day!
• Whisk Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Balsamic Vinegar, add a pinch of salt and pepper.  
• Mix your washed salad greens, cucumber, cherry tomato's, red onion, and balsamic vinegar/olive oil salad dressing.  Place mixed salad on to large plate.  
• Drop a few spoonfuls of pesto onto salad, as well as your roasted, and halved beets.  
• Finally, remove baked melty goats cheese from tin foil and flip on to salad.  

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Breakfast Muffin in Ireland

Earlier this spring, while my husband and were packing for our trip to Ireland, I worried about two things, my diet and my hair.  I had half of my suitcase packed with hair products, hair appliances and other necessities to control my mane.  As for my diet, I had packed a few vitamin supplements, but mostly I had to trust my knowledge of food and what my body needed on any given day. When we arrived in Ireland, I was pleasantly surprised at the healthy dietary options available to me, as well as the beauty of Ireland itself. 

When we left Toronto, spring had not yet sprung, it was still cold and dreary.  Ireland on the other hand was blooming and lush. The colours of the landscape were so vibrant and the trees were exploding with life.

From our road trip, I'd say that most of Ireland was farmland, which I couldn't get enough of. My husband on the other hand, was a little annoyed with my insistence of  taking a  photo of every cow, sheep or chicken that crossed my path.   

While in Ireland, we stayed in Malahide for a couple of days, a small town north of Dublin.  On both mornings, we had our breakfast at SaomraTae, an adorable little coffee shop.  Who knew that this little town coffee shop would offer me such yummy gluten free options! And their dishes were so pretty, wish I could take them home with me!  Gluten free toast with my egg and bacon made for a great start to my first day in Ireland.  

We went back the next day just before heading out of town, and I had a different version of my day one breakfast.  This time, poached eggs with multigrain gluten free toast with tomato relish.  Yup, hit the spot! I was going to miss this place, I’d definitely come here again and again if I lived a little closer!  On the way out, I couldn’t help but eye their gluten free baked goods.  Apple pie, muffins, cookies… I decided on a gluten free breakfast muffin to go. 

On the road to Galway, our next destination, I was getting a little hungry.  I remembered my muffin and had a nibble.  I couldn’t stop just there, it was really good!!  I tried to slow down so I could break down the ingredients and maybe save some for later, I had to try and make this when I got back home.  I saw shreds of carrot, nuts, a taste of cinnamon?  Yeah, I had to figure this out.  The muffin was gone in no time and for days after, it was on my mind. 

Home a few weeks later and settled in, it was muffin time.  My first attempt was pretty bang on.  SO good!  A few adjustments to the recipe and I think it’s a keeper!   

Gluten Free Breakfast Muffin:

Makes about 12 large muffins

3/4 cup brown rice flour

3/4 quinoa flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

3/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts (extra to garnish tops)

1 cup chopped raisins
2 eggs
1/3 cup coconut oil (melted)
2 tbsp almond milk
2 medium over ripe bananas (about 1 cup mashed)

1 cup grated carrot (about 2 medium carrots)

-Preheat oven to 350˚

-Prepare muffin pan with paper muffin liners. 

-Mix Brown Rice/Quinoa flours, baking powder/soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in large bowl, set aside.    

-Add almond milk to smaller bowl and beat in eggs.  

-Add mashed bananas and coconut oil to dry ingredients as well as milk/egg mixture.  Mix until incorporated. 

-Fold in carrots, raisins and walnuts. 

-Spoon mixture into prepared muffin pan, press the reserved chopped walnuts into top.  

-Bake for 16-19 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 

-Enjoy! 

Autumn in Paris

When my good friend Norma Thiessen was working on an autumn update for her amazing website My Beautiful Paris, she had asked me to send her some pictures from our autumn trip to Paris a few years back.  It quickly took me down memory lane and I'd love to take you there with me!  Below are some photo's I had taken while in Paris, and on this trip, all I needed was my camera, a warm jacket and a beret!   

If you have never been to Paris and are dying to go, or even if you have been there before,  you must check out My Beautiful Paris!!  You'll see most of my photo's from below, plus tonnes more that I had shot when Norma and I had travelled to Paris this past Spring.  It's an amazing site with so much information from a girl who's been there a million times, in love with the city of lights and is eager to share her experience and knowledge with you.  She is always happy to hear from you and help you plan your trip to Paris!  I have been so fortunate to have travelled to Paris with Norma three times and have seen it through her eyes.  The photo's below were taken while we travelled on our second trip to Paris.  It was cold out but the weather was the perfect environment for me to capture the photo's below! 

I took all of these photo's below using my Nikon FG20 35mm SLR film camera with a standard 50mm lens, a  few rolls of Colour and  few rolls of Black and White film.  I knew that the less film I had with me, the more I could be creative and use my knowledge and education in photography before I snapped the picture! I was always so anxious and excited to get home from a trip, get into my darkroom and finally see what I had actually captured!

Stone Lady with Eiffel Tower

Waking up that morning to see an overcast sky with a light sprinkle of rain in the air, really put a spring in my step!  This is my favourite type of day to photograph the outdoors--and especially while away from home!! This grey and overcast sky eliminates any harsh highlights or shadows from the sun, softens everything and even with using the colour film (last photo below of Monmartre), it really makes the colours subtle and soft giving the image such a different feel!  Almost eerie but SO focused!   In this photo of the lady and tower, the sky was so overcast that you couldn't even see the hundreds of people and dozens of cars below the tower!  Gone!  And who say's a grey day is all that bad??

One of my favourite photo's I have taken in Paris and it was almost by accident!

Believe it or not, there were many people on this bridge on this day and I was waiting for a quick moment to capture it without any pedestrian interference.  Unlike the lady in the first photo with the Eiffel Tower, who was not in any rush to go anywhere, this woman above, was certainly in a hurry  and came in to my frame just as I snapped the photo!  Because I was shooting film and I had a limited amount,  I wasn't sure if I had captured her, but I thought I would just crop her out if she happened to be in my frame.  When I was back home and in my darkroom, I was surprised with what I saw on my processed film. I realized that the woman and her quick walking, had in fact made it into my frame, and had actually made the photo!  Thank you, lady on a mission! 

Just another amazing view over the Seine River...

Jardin du Palais Royal is probably my favourite place to be in Paris!  Something about being in this garden (jardin) that makes me very happy!

And this is me, being "happy" in Palais Royal! 

View from Monmartre

Norma and I stopped for a little break behind Notre Dame Cathedral

More from Monmartre, this time with a little bit of colour!  Kinda retro, don'cha think? 

I hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane, not only the trip to Paris itself, but of my memories of shooting with film!!  Those were good times, the anticipation, the wondering what you will end up with.  I'm sure most of us remember those days, not only to the professional photographers but even the amateurs who rushed to the camera store after a holiday to see your holiday once again.  As a professional, it was a chance to really use my skill, the years of education and experience were put to the test and it was so nice to think before I hit the shutter.  Of course, there's still a lot to think about when using my Digital SLR, but the anticipation and excitement is gone.  It was definitely a different time in the world of photography, and that was only a few years ago!  Change comes quick in this day and age, you've got to be ready for it and don't fear it!  If you do, get out, take a holiday, get re inspired! Change is always a good thing :)  

Don't forget to check out My Beautiful Paris!  

all photography above copyright Joanne Tsakos Photography©

Paris (sneak peak)

I've had a bit of a mental block or maybe more of a flood since I've been back from Paris.  Being away  (among other things) even for just a few days, had been enough to push me into a  motion forward.  I've been inspired to move ahead, to keep going and not look back. 

I've been home now for a few weeks finalizing the edits of the hundreds of photo's I took in Paris.  This was my fourth time in the beautiful city, but this time, I was there to work on a very special project for my good friend Norma. 

Norma and I had travelled to Paris together two other times before, and this time, the seed was planted as two old friends sat in a Toronto cafe one morning a few months back, catching up over brunch.  We talked about the website that Norma was hoping to launch soon after her return from her next trip to Paris a few months later.  Her website, dedicated to  her love of Paris, was all about her travels, tips and suggestions regarding anything to do with Paris.  Even though her website had not officially launched yet, people from all over the world had already discovered it on-line and she was busily making travel plans for their visit to her favourite place in the world!  So as we sat in this cafe, and talked about her next trip over, we couldn't help but reminisce about the times that we had shared in Paris.  She mentioned that she would love some new photo's to put on her website, and I had reminded her of what I do for a living.  The seed was planted, and by our 4th coffee, we were booking flights and planning our 3rd trip together to Paris!  

Our itinerary was set, appointments were made with various hotels around the city and reservations were booked for some of the more interesting spots in town.  I got my gear together, bought some comfortable shoes, did my homework and was ready to have the experience of a lifetime!

Here's a sneak peek at some of the spots we visited and things we saw while in Paris this past spring. 

 

I can't wait to show you all of my favourite things about this trip including some of the beautiful architecture, great cafe's, and the flowers....OOOH, the flowers!!   
I am just ripping at the seams to introduce to you the beautiful website that Norma has been working on so excitedly for months!  You'll soon see why I'm excited too. 

Cooking in Tuscany

I always wanted to go to Italy but not really sure why.  Okay, aside from it being ITALY, and beautiful, it was on the top of my list of dream travel destinations.  So when the decision was made and I was finally going to experience Italy once and for all,  I had to think a little harder and figure out not only what I wanted to do and see, but  what I was hoping to experience while there.  The only thing that came to mind was "Tuscany" and "Cooking" (aside from the 10 pounds I thought I'd put on from all the food and wine I was dreaming of). I pictured driving down some windy roads through fields and fields of sunflowers and poppy's till we got to our little villa and then sat down to watch the sunset while sipping a glass of Tuscan wine.  Unfortunately, my trip down the windy road was in late summer and I missed the poppy's since they bloom in the spring while I just missed the sunflower bloom in late summer as well!  I did however manage to shoot this shot above, from the passenger seat, driving down the windy road, head out the window, and snapping away while hoping to catch the last bit of life these sunflowers had in them!

Castello Delle Serre

The cooking part?  That was the "what would I do if I won the lottery?" part.  I would travel around the world and take cooking classes (and my camera of course) while away, that was a big part of my lotto dream.  Well, I haven't won the lottery, but I'm back on my feet these days and I wanted to spoil myself a little on this trip.  When my good friend, Norma had lent me a breathtakingly inspiring book on Tuscany (thanks Norma!!)  it lit a fire under me.  There was a section in the book on several cooking classes that were held at various spots in Tuscany. Apparently, I'm not the only one that's thought of doing this!  Things got pretty busy for me before leaving the big city for this trip,  so if I wanted to take a cooking class, I'd have to  organize it while away.  I had contacted the hotel, umm, sorry.... castle, that we were staying at  while in Tuscany, and asked for help.  Katerina was very helpful and sent me several contacts that I tried to narrow down while I had a few minutes on-line here and there in the various cities we travelled to throughout Italy.  Time was going by fast and I just couldn't get it together.  So when we finally got to our beautiful villa/castle, Castello Delle Serre in Serre di Rapolano (just outside of Sienna, another great city!)  it all started to come together.

While first arriving at the castle, we were met near the beautiful outdoor dining area by Salvatore, a kind smile and a glass of wine.

Salvatore, the delightfully charming owner of this beautiful little castle, found us wandering and lost and he immediately made us feel welcome. It was just as I had pictured it so far.  As we quickly got acquainted, I told Salvatore and Katerina (his daughter) that I was still hoping to take a cooking class while I was in Tuscany.   As they thought of what was available for the limited time while we were there, Salvatore had an idea.  He had a large group of people coming for lunch the next day and he suggested that he might need some help in preparing the feast.  I was all smiles and jumped at the opportunity to be his little "sous chef".  

The next morning, after breakfast, on a beautiful summer's day, I would put on an apron  and I would learn to cook a few new Italian recipes overlooking the rolling hills of Tuscany! 

I'm ready, now let's cook!

We had a lot to do, so I was put right to work with quick explanations, a little history lesson here and there and a feeling I just couldn't explain.  I love to cook, so Salvatore didn't have to hold my hand during this process, he just had to give me some tips along the way.

Shaving the Pecorino cheese while having a good workout too!

The chicken cacciatore was made by lightly rolling  several chicken legs in flour, then carefully dropping them into a pan of boiling oil. Yes, this part scared me, anything to do with boiling oil!!  The long tongs definitely helped ease that concern!  The chicken was fried until the skin turned golden brown and then placed into a baking pan and put aside. The hot oil that remained in the stove top pan was then deglazed by adding some rosemary, sage, garlic, hot pepper flakes and lots of white wine!  This flavoured oil was then poured over the fried chicken in the baking pan and then placed into the oven to continue cooking.

Afraid to get too close while frying up the chicken for the Cacciatore!

The green beans were easy to make, and so tasty!  They were trimmed at the ends, boiled in salted water until tender (or you can try steaming them),  tossed with halved cherry tomato's, and dressed with a lemon juice, olive oil and fresh pepper dressing.

We move on to the salad consisting of lettuce's like radicchio, endive, and boston lettuce,  then topped with sliced pears, walnuts and shaved pecorino cheese.  The dressing was a mix of olive oil, honey, white wine vinegar and dried oregano.  A perfect combination of ingredients!!

Pear, Walnut and Pecerino Salad

I'm really getting into my job here!!

This dish was my favourite, so yummy and maybe took the longest to prepare but totally worth it!  I couldn't remember what it was called but it started with a "T" --Sal would be so disappointed in his student!  Thanks to Google, I think I've figured it out.  

Tortino de Patate e Zucchine.  

We made 2 large pans of this dish so we had a lot of slicing to do.  It was a sort of lasagna but made with sliced potato, tomato and zucchini instead of layered noodles.  First I had to crush the bread for the bread crumbs.  I finally learned how to do this the easy way!  Back home, I used to grate stale bread with a cheese grater, and inevitably shredded my fingers in the process! eek!  Salvatore handed me the large cookie sheet with chunks of dry, stale bread on it, and a palm sized, stainless steel meat tenderizer.  My job, hammer the crap out of the bread until I had a  tray of breadcrumbs.  Much easier than grating my fingers, plus I can get some aggression out!  So much fun!  When I finished making breadcrumbs, I was on slicing duty.  A mandolin might of been much easier for this part as keeping the slices equal were important in this step.  But no mandolin was to be found, and I had to do this the old fashioned way with a knife, my steady hand and an eye for measuring. I sliced the zucchini and put them aside. Sliced some tomato's, and put them aside.  The sliced potato's went into a bowl of cold water, to keep them from browning from oxidation and plus, the water removes some of the starches. 
Then the layering begun.  I covered the bottom layer of the rectangular baking sheet with a layer of potato slices, followed by a layer of sliced tomatoes, than a layer of zucchini topped with olive oil, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, dried basil and oregano, followed by another layer of potato, tomato and zucchini etc..  When the layering was over, the veggies were topped with a final coat of breadcrumbs and other seasonings, drizzled with olive oil, then covered with tin foil and placed into the oven and baked for about 25 minutes at 350º. 

Lunch was served and went off without a hitch!   Not bad for a morning's work!!

Finished meal with Chicken Caccetore, Green Beans and Layered Vegetables!  Yum!!!

Aside from my impromptu cooking lesson, the rest of our stay at Castello Delle Serre was incredible.  The room we stayed in was everything we could imagine, the view was breathtaking, the personal, friendly treatment and advice on sites to see, places to go and restaurants to hit while we were visiting Serre di Rapolano made us feel very important and cared for and all together an experience I will never forget!  Thanks Sal, Kat and Antonio for making our time in Tuscany a very special one!

There was plenty of Lavender and Basil planted around the property, and while I walked by daily, I would take a deep breath  in and  enjoy the pleasant aroma.

Back in the kitchen,  Salvatore talks to me about Oregano. Being from Greek parents, I pretty much know how important oregano is to Greek cooking, and it sounds like it's just as important in the Italian kitchen as well! He also threw in a little Oregano history lesson which was nice to hear. 

After my cooking lesson and tasting, I took a quick dip in the pool, while my other half cools off with a book under the cyprus tree

The "Lounge" area at the castle.  I love the original hand painted walls!

This was the view from our room. We took a million pictures of it every day, but couldn't quite capture how breathtaking it was in person!

                                                                                                                  

I could go on and on about Italy and how beautiful my time there was, but I think I'll keep the rest  to myself ;)  Although we had only visited a small portion of the country, it was all I needed to fulfill that dream....for now. 

Now, it's time to move on, there's so much more to see and do in this world, so much more on my list of dreams to accomplish.  Can you accomplish a dream? or should I call them goals?  I think my goals are my dreams. 

Tonight, I leave for Paris, France to work on a project for a beautiful little company that specializes in travels in Paris.   I'll be photographing the hotels, restaurants, cafes, food, markets and Parisian life.  Another check off my list?  Maybe, but I think I'll milk this one for a while ;)