MOIRA’S KITCHEN 4

Method

3 peppers 1 chicken breast 1 small onion diced 1 tbsp olive oil Grated cheese 1 tsp Cajun spice Salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. 2. Remove stalks and seeds from the peppers and slice a piece off each pepper from the top down. 3. Place the deseeded peppers on a roasting tray and lightly spray with a little oil and roast in oven for 10 minutes while you make the filling. 4. Chop a chicken breast into tiny pieces and place in frying pan with 1 tbsp oil. 5. Brown the chicken, add the diced onion and fry until softened, then add the diced peppers and cook together. Add Cajun spice, salt, and pepper. 6. Add the filling into the peppers and top with grated cheese. 7. Return peppers to oven and roast for a further 10 minutes until cheese has melted. 8. Serve either on their own or on a bed of greens (I used savoy cabbage).

Chicken Liver Crostini with Grapes

Cost 4-5 euros. Serves 3-4 people

Method Ingredients

350g chicken livers 1 garlic clove grated 1 small onion chopped 1 small bunch of grapes 25g butter 1 tbsp olive oil 1 sprig of rosemary or 1 tsp dried 3 tbsp sherry 1 baguette cut on angle Parsley for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees c. Remove and discard any stalks from the grapes and place on a tray and roast for 20 minutes. 2. Trim and chop the chicken livers, removing any white bits. 3. Rub the bread lightly with garlic, drizzle with a little oil and toast. Set aside. 4. Heat olive oil and butter in frying pan, add the chopped onion and gently cook until softened and transparent. 5. Increase heat and add chicken livers and rosemary and fry until they are all browned and cooked through to your liking (some people don’t like them to be pink – I am one of them!) 6. Add the sherry and cook until evaporated. 7. Add chopped parsley and grapes. Reheat the toast and top with the chicken livers. Moira’s Kitchen | 9

New Year’s Resolutions

How can you make this year different?

It’s that time of the year when we make promises to ourselves to change our lives in the New Year in some way or another. For many those New Year Resolutions are to lose weight, stop smoking, stop drinking, leave a toxic relationship, eat a healthy diet, exercise more. For most those good intentions are lucky to last until February if they ever got off the ground.

First thing to realize is that if New Year’s resolutions are going to work it is going to take work, focus, commitment, and energy. If you set goals that fit into your life you will stand a better chance of achieving them. When you set those goals remember to

Be specific

If you want to lose weight, it’s better to be specific, i.e., I would like to lose two or three pounds per week with a goal of getting to ? your desired weight in X months. If you want to exercise more - i.e. I will exercise for 15 minutes, twice a day. I want to eat a healthier diet – i.e. I will start eating at least one portion of vegetables with my main meal every day.

Be realistic

If you want to lose weight, there Is no point in telling yourself you will lose stones in weight in two months if you have struggled to lose weight for years.