THIS is the best Christmas present for the foodie in your life
Christmas is a great opportunity to show our friends and family how much we love them with a seriously thoughtful present.
And when that gift also helps to raise money for a charitable cause, it makes it all the more meaningful.
In 2011, Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services launched a cookbook called The Mixing Bowl, which contained a collection of recipes contributed by the residents and clients of the Extended Care Unit and the Community Unit in Harold’s Cross, Dublin 6. It was considered a great success and raised over €95,000.
Six years later, The Mixing Bowl; Second Helpings is finally out. A special collection of tried and trusted family recipes, shared by 67 patients, residents, volunteers and staff of Our Lady’s Hospice, it contains some real gems.
With 77 recipes, this eclectic mix includes typical family favourites served from breakfast through to supper time, with gorgeous illustrations.
What makes the collection even more special are the heart-warming stories behind each recipe, such as:
– Una and John Fletcher’s Lemon Butter Cake, a stable of their 57 years of marriage together.
– Patricia Betts’ Boatman’s Stew, named in honour of her father, Patrick, who created it while working on a Royal Canal coal barge.
– Alice Victory’s Speedy Banoffee, which despite being safely tried and tested, once caused an exploding can of condensed milk!
Charity patron and renowned chef, Neven Maguire also contributed to the book. Sharing his recipe for ‘Chicken Thighs Braised in Cider with Sweet Potatoes’ he said:
“This beautiful recipe book should be on every kitchen shelf in every home. It contains not only the recipes of meals enjoyed by families throughout the country but the memories of the moments that have accompanied them. This is the type of book you pass down to a son or daughter and I’m very proud to be supporting such an important book for such a worthy charity.”
The Mixing Bowl, Second Helpings costs €15 and is available in all good books shops, in Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services, Harold’s Cross and Blackrock, or online. Never has charity tasted so good!