St Patricks day going green recipes

The abundance of fresh produce that comes with springtime, leaves no excuse for not eating our greens.

There are so many nice greens available, you can revel in leafy salad greens,if you can't find sugar snap peas you can use frozen peas,also beans, plus many other fresh frozen vegetables.

But these days their are much green vegetables coming from the market gardens, also fragrant soft herbs and other spring greenery as those spring onions.

Your kitchen can smell like spring with those crispy fresh aromas that comes from those salad greens and spicy dressing?

Well here's a scrumptious salad that has plenty of green colour in it, just like a Irish meal.

Irish Chicken Salad with spring greens

400 gram (14 ozs)can coconut milk,
1 cup cold water,
1 red chilli finely chopped with seeds removed,
3 chicken breasts,
100 grams (4ozs) snow or frozen peas,
1 green peper finely sliced,
150 grams (6ozs) mesclum (baby salad leaves - see tip below) or what salad leaves you can buy,

Dressing:
Juice of two limes,
1 tablespoon fish sauce,
2 tablespoonssweet chilli sauce,

Method:
1. To poach the chicken, place in a saucepan with coconut milk, water and chilli, and bring to the boil.
Turn down the heat and gently simmer for 10 to 15 minutes (depending on the size of the chicken breasts) until cooked.
Remove chicken and liquid to a large bowl and refrigerate to cool.

2. Cooked snow or frozen peas in boiling, salted water for 30 seconds.
Drain and plunge into ice-cold water to cool, then drain well.

3. Combine salad ingredients in a bowl.
Thinly slice the cold chicken and toss through the salad ingredients.

4. Dress with lime juice, fish sauce and chilli sauce and toss well.

You can experience with other sauces instead of the fish sauce, I like the chilli sauce, be careful you do not over do it as it can be quite hot.

Prepare 10 minutes Cook 15 minutes Serves 4

Tip: Mesclum is a french term for a mixture of baby salad leaves, often containing a few slightly bitter leaves, such as endive, mizuna rocket or radicchio, along with red and green lettuce leaves.

St Patricks day shamrock Lamingtons

1 packet lime jelly,
1 1/4 cup boiling water,
300 grams (about 10 ozs) trifle sponge ( you can buy it),
2 cups desiccated coconut,
12 clover (shamrock leaves) or icing daisies,available decorating shops,
1/2 cup cream, lightly whipped (optional) you can eat it as a dessert,

Method:
1. Combine jelly crystals with boiling water in a bowl and stir until crystals dissolve.
Place the jelly mixture in the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes to cool and slighty set.

2. While jelly is cooling, trim any dark edges from sponge cake and using a cookie cutter, cut out 12 circles
to fit paper cases. Spread coconut out on a tray.

3. To make the lamingtons, dip all sides of each sponge circle in cooled jelly mixture and then roll in cocout to coat.

4. Place lamingtons in paper cases and decorate tops with a dasy or clover (shamrock leaf).
Serve with whipped cream if desired.

Prepare 20 mins Cook Nil unless you make your own trifle sponge Serves 12