CAMPING RECIPES

These hearty recipes are perfect for the cool autumn weather  Try this Irish-inspired menu in your next camp dinner or St Patrick's Day party.

Irish Beef Stew

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1.5 kilos beef chuck,  trimmed of fat and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 onions,  coarsely chopped
• 3 carrots, coarsely chopped
• 1 can (12 ounces) dark beer
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1 tablespoon flat parsley leaves, chopped

Instructions:

1. Season meat with salt and pepper and combine with flour.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a large casserole over medium-high heat, and brown the meat in batches, stirring so cubes brown evenly on all sides.  Set aside meat when browned.
3. Saute garlic and onion in casserole, adding more oil if needed.  Return browned meat onto the casserole and stir, scraping any brown bits and juices from the pan.
4. Add and stir in  carrots, dark beer, bay leaves, thyme, and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Bring the mixture to a boil, and cover.
5. Cook for 1 hour, or until beef is tender over low heat.  Stir occasionally, adding more beef stock to ensure that the mixture does not dry out.
6. Add parsley to stew  shortly before serving. 

Colcannon

  Irish ColcannonIngredients

• 3 slices rindless bacon, diced
• 6 - 8  large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 2 cups cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup milk, warmed
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

Instructions:

1. Place the potatoes into a large pot and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover. Simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.
2. While the potatoes are cooking, fry diced bacon in a pan until golden brown.  Then, add sliced cabbage and saute with bacon.  Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water to pan and cook  until the cabbage is slightly tender but not mushy. Drain excess liquid, and set the cabbage aside, covered.
3. Once potatoes are cooked and tender, drain water from pot.  Place the potatoes into a large bowl, and add milk, butter, salt, andpepper. Beat the potatoes with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Stir in the cabbage, crumbled bacon, and parsley until well combined.
4. To serve, place a scoop of colcannon onto a plate.  Make a hollow at the center, and fill with beef stew.

  GETTING KIDS TO EAT RIGHT

(Adapted from the Big Mouth Book)

Most parents are happy to give their children the food they want.  What happens when the children want the same “favourite” food all the time? In the Big Mouth Book survey of over 200 parents, almost 50% said their child is focused on only a few favourite foods.

Gnadenfrei Foundation for Trauma & Abuse Ltd recently told us that young brains need specific vitamins and minerals at certain times and the only way to guarantee this is to eat a variety of foods everyday. 

Try giving less appealing foods some funny names. This week we made up Seafood Chewing Gum (Calamari). Others that we like to use include little trees (broccoli), rocket-ships (carrot), raw popcorn (corn kernels) and slippery soccers (peas).