An afternoon of bread-baking. :)

Bread...it's something many of us do take for granted, I think. When you make bread yourself it really does make you realise...bread is AMAZING. Who would have thought, with just a bit of flour and salt and that cool little micro-organism that we all know as yeast...a soft-centred, gorgeous-smelling, crusty golden loaf can be created.

There's loads of things I love about bread-baking. For one thing, it's just so fun. The vigourous kneading of bread dough has to be, without a doubt, one of the true joys of home-baking, for me anyway. And then there is the knocking back stage; which involves giving your inflated dough a vicious punch with your fist before it is moulded into whichever shape you are in the mood for, really. Perhaps a great big cob or bloomer; perhaps the traditional loaf shape, or maybe cute little rolls? Or even, if you are feeling creative...the list of possibilities is just endless. Turtles and crocodiles are fun.  

And, as with every thing else you bake for yourself...there is, truly, nothing quite like the taste and smell of homemade bread. It's not something which you should try out if you are in a hurry - the rising takes time, after all, as does the kneading and the shaping, if you want the best results. But if you do just one thing today...try to make some time. Instead of just sitting in front of the box flicking channels in the vain hope you will find something tolerable to watch; or perhaps going out for that jog which you had promised yourself you were going to do, no matter what the weather decided to throw at you...why not retreat into that warm, wonderful space which is the kitchen, and make some magic happen. The TV and the jog can wait until tomorrow, but just rolling up your sleeves and getting stuck into bread-baking is something which you will certainly not regret doing. There will be no sore ankles from running, or unpleasant feelings of guilt resulting from wasting all that time just sprawled in an armchair thinking...gosh, there really is nothing on the telly...why am I still even sitting here? Ahh, well, moving now is just a bit too much of an effort. No...instead, there will only be a marvellous feeling of impeccable smugness; and the most gorgeous, mouth-watering, enticing aroma to go with it. You knead to do it, trust me. Oh well ok Ganache-Elf I think you may stick to your ganache-making and not try and crack awful jokes. 

But before we resume, I thought I'd just share with you my recipe for basic bread dough...this is possibly the standard dough that I make at least once a week; for it is just so yummy and can be moulded into any shape that you like. Here, I've done some baguettes and little individual rolls, and given you a few tips on how to shape them. It's a good idea to try this out first before moving onto making other shapes for your loaf. :)

Ganache-Elf's guide to making beautiful bread. :)

You will need...

• 450 g strong white bread flour. I use Hovis or Odlums. :)
• 7 g sachet fast-action yeast/1 1/2 tsp instant yeast.
• 1 tbsp caster sugar.
• 1 tsp salt.
• 4 tbsp olive oil/melted butter, plus extra for greasing.
• a little milk to glaze.

1. Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and add the sugar. Stir together and then stir in the yeast as well. Make a little well in the centre.
2. Measure out 300 ml tepid water ina measuring jug. I usually use two thirds cold water from the tap, and then the other third from a recently boiled kettle. It needs to be warm, but not hot to the touch: you should be able to comfortably stick your fingers in it. 
3. Pour the olive oil into the well in the flour and then add most of the water. Using your hands, mix the flour and the liquid together, stirring and lifting until they start to come together into a soft dough. It shouldn't be too sticky, but it should not be too dry, either: slightly moist to the touch and nice and soft. If it feels too dry and floury add a little more water. Add a very small amount of flour if it feels very sticky. Sprinkle a very small amount of flour on a worksurface.
4. Turn the dough out onto the floured work surface. Now it is time to knead the dough (yayyyy.). You need to do this for roughly about 10 minutes. If you have never kneaded before...don't worry, it's not difficult to master at all. Pin the end of the dough nearest you down with one fist and then take hold of the other end of the dough with your other hand. Keeping the side nearest to you pinned down, stretch the other end of the dough and then fold it in on itself and gather into a ball. Slam it down hard on the surface. Repeat this process over once again - try to settle into a nice rhythm. ;)
5. After 10 minutes or so, your dough should feel smooth, supple and elastic. Oil a clean bowl with some olive oil. Roll the dough into a smooth al and place in the bowl. Cover with greased clingfilm. 
6. Now it's time for your dough's first rising. :) leave it in a warm, draught free spot for about 1 1/2 - 3 hours, depending on how warm the day is. I usually pop mine on the table in the conservatory on a sunny day, or in my kitchen, or by the fire or the radiator if it's cold. It should have doubled in size when it's ready and feel inflated and springy if you gently prod it with your fingertip. 
7. Line two large baking trays with baking paper. Give the risen dough a big punch with your fist to deflate the air. Then scoop it out onto a very lightly floured surface and knead lightly for about 2 minutes. 
8. Divide the dough into three equal pieces.
9. Roll one of these pieces into a rectangle, about 10 x 20 cm. (Don't worry if it's not really exact - mine rarely are. ;) ) Roll the rectangle up from the long end, as tightly as you can, so you have a long sausage-cylinder sort of shape. Place it on the baking tray.
10. Repeat with one of the other pieces of dough, so that you have two baguettes. Place it on a tray.
11. If you want to make some little rolls, divide the final piece of dough into balls about the size of a large apple. Cup your hand and then roll each ball of dough in your palm to make it smooth and well-rounded.
12. Arrange the rolls on the other tray. You can space them apart, or you can place them close to eachother so that when they expand they will touch one another and be lovely and soft-sided. ;)
13. If you like, make deep, long cuts in the tops of the loaves/rolls so you have that slashed effect like you see on Cuisine de France baguettes! ;)
14. Cover with greased clingfilm again and leave to rise until they have risen once again and have doubled in size. Be very careful when you life the trays as the risen dough will be very fragile and it is very important you don't knock out any air at this stage!
15. Preheat the oven to 210 c/190 c fan.
16. Very gently brush the loaves/rolls with a little milk. Dust with a little flour if you like.
17. Bake the tray with the rolls for about 10-15 minutes, and the baguettes for 15-20 minutes. When they are done, they should be well-risen and golden, and should sound hollow when tapped on the base.
18. If you like your bread crust seductively soft, wrap the rolls/baguettes in a clean tea towel and then place on a wire rack to cool. If you prefer a crisp crust, it helps to put a deep roasting tin at the bottom of the oven before baking, so that steam is created.
19. Now all the hard work is done and you can sit down and enjoy the fruits of your labours. The bread is absolutely heavenly eaten warm from the oven - slice the baguettes into pieces as big or as little as you like and split the little rolls down the side. The use them as an accompaniment to pasta, for an awesome Subway-style sandwich, or just simply on their own, slathered in butter, olive oil, peanut butter, jam, Nutella...whatever takes your fancy really. ;)
20. The bread is best eaten within 24 hours of baking, but in the rare event of there being any leftovers, you can easily freeze any remaining pieces/rolls in tightly-sealed freezer bags; taking them out and heating through in a microwave/preheated oven as required. ;)

Izzy's 5 positive things challenge!!! :) Day 1

Good morning everyone!! :)
Today I am going to post about something a little different than usual ;) - as part of a little challenge proposed by a dear friend and fellow blogger.
 Ever since I first embarked upon the rocky road of recovery in May 2014, Izzy's amazing, beautifully-written, and incredibly inspirational blog, A Life Without Anorexia, has been there with me for the entire length and duration of that precarious and challenging journey. I can safely say, hand on heart, Izzy's blog is like a bible to me - her posts have got me through some of my most darkest and toughest times, and have helped me to overcome my greatest ever fears. Without a doubt, Izzy is, and always will be, an inspiration, a heroine, and a wonderful friend to me; and I want to take this opportunity to say a massive THANK YOU to Izzy <3 <3 <3 I would never have got this far without her.     (Click here to see her blog!! )

Anyway, before I get too emotional...let's move on to Izzy's positivity challenge! :)

Basically, this week every day I am going to post 5 positive things about myself...and hey, you should join in this too ;) I truly believe this is a wonderful exercise as it obliges us to stop and think about ourselves and our lives; and all the goodness and good things that circulate around them...and, most importantly of all, it enables us, as individuals - no matter whether you e in recovery or not - that you are worth everything. You deserve to be happy; you deserve the very best which life can offer.

Day 1 involves 5 things I like about myself (not appearance wise. )

1. I am a good friend. I am always ready to listen to others; no matter how busy, tired, or stressed I am - I never want them to think that I am not there for them. 
2. I am loyal and trustworthy. I would never betray a secret and I know I an be relied upon.
3. I always like to give a helping hand, no matter how nasty the job may be, Ganache-Elf is up for it. ;)
4. I am kind and caring..both to humans and furry friends. <3
5. I love talking and listening to people and hearing their stories and experiences - whether they be my own age group, older or younger. I love the way that my eyes can see the beauty that is hidden deep inside people. :)

Feel free to comment and add your own!!! Don't forget - you are all AMAZING!! Don't ever let anyone, anything, or yourself or your ED tell you otherwise!!! <3

Roll and Munch Buns. :)

So I had my triumph with NEO cake. (as in, actually inserting Neos into one form of baked produce. HERE is the recipe... ;) ) And it's funny, but around the same time as I wrote that old post about my fake(ish) Neo cake - the one that I entitled as such, but which didn't actually contain Neos inside the actual sponge or icing - I also told you about my NIBBLE buns. Which were normal chocolate buns with a little Cadbury Nibble gently inserted onto the top of each when they were still warm from the oven. (HERE is the recipes for both!! ;) )

But what if I went one step further in this process, so that we would have a nice chunky caramel deep inside a chocolate bun...? But this time there weren't any Nibbles in the cupboard...someone must have nibbled them all before I got to them. ;) But I had Rolos and Munchies, which I like just as well, needless to say. ;)

 A word of warning, though. I thought about a tube each of rolos and munchies would be enough. How wrong was I...in a tube these days you only get a meagre ten rolos. :( So in the end I ended up using about four tubes - two of rolo, two of munchie. Buy plenty of them, anyway. It's always nice to have a few spare to munch on. ;)

Roll and Munch Buns. :)

• 2 tubes of Rolos
• 2 tubes of Munchies
• 125 g softened butter/margarine
• 150 g light muscovado sugar
• 125 g self-raising flour
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2-3 tbsp full-fat milk / single cream
• 2 large eggs
• 200 ml single cream
• 200 g plain chocolate

• Preheat oven to 180c/fan 160c; line a muffin pan with 12 paper muffin cases.

• Sift the cocoa powder into a bowl. Add the butter, eggs, sugar, and flour, and beat well with an electric mixer for about three minutes until smooth and well-mixed.  After two minutes, stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a metal spoon or spatula before mixing for the remaining minute.
• Add enough milk to achieve a nice soft dropping consistency.Scoop some of it onto a spoon and then let it drop back into the bowl to check this: it should slide or drop down easily enough and not be too thick. 
• Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until they are all equally filled. 
• Place a Munchie/Rolo on the top of each and gently press it in, right to the bottom. Smooth over the top with a teaspoon. 
• Bake the buns for about 20 minutes until well-risen. The sponge should spring back when lightly pressed with a fingertip, with no indentation left. if there is bake for another couple of minutes before testing again.
• Remove from oven once they are cooked and leave in the muffin pan for about 3 – 5 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• Now push another Rolo/Munchie gently into the very top of each soft, still warm cake. Don't push down too firmly this time. Leave the buns to cool completely while you make the ganache.
• Make the dark choc ganache by melting the 200g plain chocolate with 200 ml single cream, on a very low heat in a small saucepan. Stir until smooth and then refrigerate for about 1 ½ - 2 hours, checking after 1 ½ hours…you don’t want it very hard, just a nice spreadable consistency which is suitable for piping. 
• Pipe generous swirls of ganache on the tops of the cooled cakes. And then of course add the crowning glory...add yet ANOTHER rolo/munchie on each glorious ganache mountain (or maybe even volcano? ;) It's  an explosion of sticky caramelly deliciousness I like to think. ;) )
• And if you really want to get the ball rolo-ling and have just that bit extra caramel munchie-ness, chop up any leftover rolos/munchies with a sharp knife into small pieces and scatter over your buns for a glitzy pretty look (and additional yumminess!! ;) ) 

Don't suffer alone.

And the other point I wanted to make before I proceed. (and I do think it is time for a baking post soon as I do want to tell you about my Rolo Buns. ;) )....

And that of course is...that if you are struggling...then please, please, please don't suffer alone!! And believe me, I know how scary it is to reach out. To tell you loved ones just how bad things are, what you have really been doing, just how lost and trapped and despairing you feel. I know because I have been there - a few months ago - a few weeks ago, too, should I add - I was in the exact same place as you.
But here I am now sitting writing to you. And I did it. And now, after my initial feelings of despair and guilt and misery...I know I did the right thing. for years I was wearing a mask, a mask which made it appear as if Emmy was a completely normal, happy girl, who meant exactly what she said when responding to a "how are you doing?" "how are you Emmy?" on any particular day. "Oh, I'm...I'm grand!"
No. I was far from grand. Most days, I was very, very down.

What compelled me to throw away the mask? To finally, after having kept my true feelings, emotions, and problems hidden behind a smile and a brave face for so long, to let it all go and reveal the truth?
 Well, I suppose I was finally ready. I realised that I was brave enough. That opening up was not a sign of weakness: rather, one that required real strength and courage.

The first time I talked to someone about my eating disorder was, of course, at the beginning of this summer - when I told my Mam of how, the past 2 years of college, I had been consciously skipping meals, overexercising, restricting day after day after day...that's when of course I really did realise I had an eating disorder; and when my fight against it really did begin, in earnest. Though I think, looking back now, I underestimated just how bad it really was. I termed it as a "mild" eating disorder when I talked about it with my friends afterwards. Though now I understand that it was alot more serious than that. The impact it has had on me, physically, mentally and psychologically, testifies that for me. I had to learn that the hard way.

So please, please, please, don't ever feel like you have to go through this alone. You don't.

It's not easy, driving out that ever-present, manipulative voice in the head. The thoughts, the guilt, the urge to over-exercise or restrict or vomit. Accepting that you need to gain weight for yourself. It's not easy at all...and it's not something you should choose to go through in isolation.

Opening up, talking to others is a sign of strength, and not weakness. It's easy to just withdraw into yourself; detach yourself from others and the world; to become a closed book and pretend everything is bright and rosy. But in doing this, you will only be hurting yourself and others more in the long run.

If you believe you need help, talk to someone. Everyone of us is only human, and human beings aren't meant to carry massive burdens alone.

Diagnosed with an eating disorder...

Before I do anything else, though, I want to post about 2 more things. First, I want to tell you about today. The day I was officially signed off from Trinity College Dublin with an eating disorder, and significant mental health difficulties. The second part of my "diagnosis", if you want to call it that, doesn't affect me half as much as the first part. Because I suppose...mental health difficulties...that implies that psychologically, I am far from healthy - my mind is not well; it needs help.
I know my thoughts are completely messed up. That's nothing new to me. I've known it for a good while. It doesn't shock me any longer.
But...diagnosed with an eating disorder??
 The very sentence fills my eyes with tears. Eating disorder. its a word that connotates, for many people, certain things.
 Being so skinny, the bones of your skeleton protrude out from your body. Eating less than a sparrow would in a day...often, nothing at all. Vomiting. Hating food and gazing into the mirror with the disillusioned gaze of someone who sees their starving, malnourished, haggard body as being fat.

But none of these describe me. Especially, not now.
For all those years when I was sick...I never vomited or used laxatives to control my weight. I never went through a day eating absolutely nothing. I always ate something, even if that something was very small, and, though at my worst point my body certainly was very, very undernourished, I never became so thin that you could count every single one of my bones, or became so weak that I couldn't even muster the strength to rise my head from my pillow or stand up straight. and I knew, I wasn't fat. I could see how underweight I had become. I would pass my hand along my flat belly and realise just how narrow my waist really was. I would look at my shadow in the light from the streetlights, staring at the legs and the arms and the tiny little body...and I would think, yep. I am small. I am thin. My legs are pretty skinny. I was under no illusions as to just how skinny I really was.

But yet...
I did, and still do, have an eating disorder.
And today made me realise that, really and truly. Despite everything I can do, everything I have done...there are remnants of my ED left that I just can't seem to let go, no matter how hard I try. And this, I know, is why I need help. This is why I have been made to leave Trinity.

Today I had to go into Trinity to get some forms signed with my tutor to confirm that I was leaving college. At 6.15 I reluctantly wriggled out from beneath the warm, insulating covers of my bed, shuddering as my bare feet came into contact with the cold floor. Covered with goosebumps, I stood in front of my wardrobe and stared at all the clothes I have. What to wear? Having spent the past 2 weeks in either my comfy PJ bottoms or loose-fitting leggings and a wooly jumper, choosing something "nice" to wear now seemed an odd and unfamiliar thing to me.

And then I saw my little "cat skirt", hanging daintily on the end of the rail, the little black cats which pranced across its pretty cream fabric gazing imploringly back at me with their tiny brown eyes.

I had bought this skirt two years ago when I had been staying with my Granny in Leicester, and my mam's sister had taken me for a little niece-aunty shopping trip in Fosse Park. It's a size six, made of a silky soft material  which reaches to the knee, and is, without a doubt, one of my most treasured and favourite little possessions.

Ever since I started to gain weight, my little skirt was beginning to gradually feel tighter and tighter on my expanding waist. I hadn't worn it for about three weeks but today, since I was actually going somewhere, I thought I would be dress prettily and wear my skirt with my grey top and my red knitted wool cardigan.
It will be tight, I had thought to myself reassuringly as I reached out to take it off its hanger. But I bet it will still fit me.

But....it didn't. The button would not do up on the top. In a panic I let it drop to the floor, glancing up at the mirror once more as my eyes welled with sudden, hot tears.

Here was the proof. It was no longer a possibility, a prospect, a thought - something that I knew I should do, that I said I would do. No. I had gained weight, I had gone up a clothes size and here was the proof right in front of me.

And this is the very root of my problem, I guess...
For I know now that I don't want to gain weight...for myself. No. I want to gain weight for my loved ones, all the people who I love and hold dear and who are worried about me. I am gaining weight for them, and because I want to minimise the risk of going into hospital.
 But it is not for myself.
 My Mam says I will never fully recover, if I don't want it for myself. And this is why I am going to get the treatment I need...this is why I have been diagnosed with an eating disorder.

My journey.

Like many things...my ED started off as something small. So small, that noone, and especially not myself, could have ever suspected anything was amiss. And just like the little crack in the windowscreen that soon, after taking hit after hit, becomes a dangerous and jagged fissure of broken glass; just like that tiny weed that grows and grows in the garden and chokes the life out of the dainty, fragile little flowers; just like that seemingly innocent little mass of cells in the human body which silently yet steadily develops into a tumour, unbeknownst to everyone, until the internal corruption within becomes so serious it begins to manifest itself on the body....just like all of those, so too did my ED grow and develop and evolve.

I remember my first few weeks of secondary school as clearly and as vividly as the day I moved away from home to start at college. And there are certain things, certain moments which in particular project out in my memory.

As a child in primary school, my existence was an entirely blissful one of idyllic and unbroken happiness. And boy did I eat. Like many little girls my age, I had a good appetite and was always hungry. I would get grumpy if dinner wasn't on time and would sulk if Mammy neglected to buy my favourite chocolates at the supermarket. I would squeal in delight at the sight of an ice cream van and would wolf down my sandwiches without thinking at recess, so eager was I to get outside and play with my friends, but knowing that first and foremost I had to eat the lovingly prepared packed lunch my Mammy had made for me. But then....then all of that changed.

Something broke inside me when I started at the Brigidine in September 2006. Something was lost...which I still, no matter how hard I try, can't seem to be able to replace. Suddenly I started to see myself in an entirely different way...and my diet, too. I was aware, painfully aware of what I ate; what everyone else ate; what she looked like and how slim she was...what I looked like and how my body shape stood in comparism. And what I saw and how I reacted had negative - and, as I realise now, destructive - consequences.

Over the past few days I've chartered it all...right from that autumn when my ED first started...right up till today, the day I was officially signed off from Trinity College Dublin. In my next few posts I will share my journey with you, as truthfully and as accurately as I can. I just want to show you a few things...how easy it is to be fooled by appearances...and by yourself, telling yourself that you are ok when you are anything but. The extent to which an eating disorder can have such horrible and devastating effects of the lives of the sufferer and all those he or she holds dear.
 It all stands as a sad and rather painful reminder to me...of just how long I have been entrapped in a world of fear, anxiety, restriction, suffering. But at least I am in a better place now. I don't ever, ever want to go back...and though I am still finding things hard I know I am more of a tough cookie then I first thought.
 As my counsellor told me today, when I described how, the day of my last doctor's appointment, it felt as if my whole world had been shattered into shards; shards which I would never be able to retrieve and piece back together again. "A world did fall apart, Emily...the one you have been living in for all those years of your illness. But now it's time to step from the ruins of that old world and start anew..and enter a different one of hope and possibility. " And so here is my journey from one world to the other. A journey which still continues as I navigate my way along the rocky, bumpy road that is recovery. But a journey upon which - I relaise now - I am no lonely, frightened, uncertain little traveller...for I know now I am never alone. <3

And not all the cakes I make are sweet after all... ;) Emmy's fish cakes.:)

Yes, believe it or not, Ganache-Elf's cake-making skills are not only confined to those of the sweet variety. ;)

These little fish cakes make a very yummy dinner or lunch and are far, far superior to anything you would buy in the shops (and much healthier too I bet. ;) They mark an important milestone for me in facing my fear foods...because they contain prawns and I can definitely say, hand on heart, up till this year I would never once have let a prawn enter my cooking or my mouth!! They are very nice served with maybe a few boiled or roasted baby spuds and some nice green veggies like peas, fine beans etc. But DO boil the potatoes with the skins on as I outline below. The first time I made these I made the mistake of peeling them automatically before sticking 'em on to boil...it's just what comes naturally to me I suppose...you never boil potatoes with the skins on!! But trust me it is the way to go..as doing it the "ordinary" way may make you fish cakes too crumbly. I get 8 fish cakes out of this; so generally, depending on how hungry you and your fellow diners are and what you are serving them with, the recipe would serve around 3 or 4. But don't forget you don't have to use them all up on the day you make them...you can freeze some (see step 9 below) and take them out the night before, so that all you have to do at dinner time is whip out a frying pan and grab the olive oil bottle...handy for those busy (or lazy ;) ) days. :)

• 300g floury potatoes (about 3 mediumish ones :) )
• 250 g cod fillets, skinned and boned
• 60 g cooked prawns, cut in half if they're big :(
• 1 egg yolk
• 3 tsp Dijon mustard
• juice of 1 small lemon
• A good sprinkling of herbs ( chopped fresh chives and parsley would be good. But dried mixed herbs are grand too. :) )
• 3 tbsp white wine
• 75 g button/small mushrooms, chopped
• A few tbsp olive oil
• 75 g butter, diced
• salt and pepper

Method :)

1. Wash the potatoes, and put them in a saucepan covered in water. Bring to the boil. 
2. Boil them rapidly for about 10 minutes, and then pour out about half of the water into the sink. There should still be some water in the pan, though - just enough so that the potatoes are half-covered. Return the pan to the hob and simmer gently on a medium heat for about 20-25 minutes. 
3. Drain the remaining water from the potatoes. let them cool for a few minutes, and then, holding them in a teatowel as they will be still quite hot, peel off the skins and discard. As soon as you've done that pop them in a bowl and mash them with a potato masher - but don't add anything to them for the nonce.
4. Pour the wine and the lemon juice into a heavy based saucepan or large frying pan. Dice 50 g of the butter. Place the fish in the saucepan and season with salt and pepper. Scatter the diced butter all around. 
5. Put the pan on the hob and cover with a lid. Heat gently, over a low heat until the butter melts. Cook the fish for 10 - 15 minutes, until the flesh flakes easily. Transfer the fish to a plate. Simmer the poaching liquid in the pan for another few minutes, then pour it carefully into the bowl containing the potatoes.
6. While you are cooking the fish, you can fry the mushrooms too: gently melt the remaining 25 g butter in a small saucepan, and then add the mushrooms and cook gently for about 5 minutes on a low-medium heat until softened and golden brown.
7. Add the fish fillets and flake with a fork - but don't break them up too much. Season with salt and pepper and then add the egg yolk (perhaps save that egg white for making my very sticky coconut slices ?? ;) ) , the mustard, the chopped herbs, the mushrooms and the prawns.
8. Mix it all up together - try not to break up the fish pieces too much as you go. Shape the mixture then into eight little patties - they should be about 8cm in diameter, and about 2 cm thick.
9. Put the patties on a plate, cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. You can leave them in the fridge for up to 24 hours. If you only want to cook a few of the patties and want to save some for another day, you can freeze some of them at this point. Wrap the spare ones tightly in clingfilm and place them in a little tub or on a tray so that they don't get misshapen as they harden, and then place in the freezer. Defrost them overnight in the freezer and eat the following day.
10. Pour about 3 tbsp olive oil into a large frying pan (or, if you prefer, a tbsp olive oil and 25 g diced butter) over a low-medium heat. After a few minutes add the fish cakes.
11. gently fry the fish cakes for 5-10 minutes on one side, then carefully flip over and cook for another 5 - 10 minutes. They should be firmer and brown on each side when they are done, and nice and hot throughout. Add a little more oil if they are sticking to the pan.
12. Divide amongst warm plates and eat immediately, with your choice of vegetables and/or potatoes, and maybe some tomato ketchup (or as my Irish friends say....RED SAUCE!!! :p ) or tartare sauce alongside. :)