Jennifer Calnan Nutrition

01/04/2026

Always wondered how Hot Cross buns were made and finally got around to trying them this year with my little helpers in tow.
Lightly spiced little yeast buns made from Doves strong white flour and dried yeast. Zest of an orange and a clove were added to warming milk and butter before adding to flour.
Little ones tried their hand at kneading but patience is required. Then for the first rise when the dough almost doubles in size to their amazement. And then shaping the buns and marking the X shape before the second rise. And finally mixing some flour, a little sugar and water to form a paste for making the traditional cross on top of each one. I forgot to brush with egg wash so they didn't brown very well but we did brush with a little marmalade when they came out of oven to give them a glaze.
Tasted more like scones than what what you would get in shop these days and are being eaten to my surprise.

01/03/2026

Looking forward to meeting all the ladies in Union Hall next Wed, 4th March at 7.30pm.

Upcoming Talk with Jennifer Calnan
Wednesday, 4th March 7:30PM
Union Hall Community & Development Centre

24/01/2026

Cherry & Almond Baked Oats:
50g oats
25g ground or flaked almonds
Half teaspn baking powder
1 small or half v large banana 🍌
1 egg 🥚
1 teaspn maple syrup 🍁
60g cherries 🍒
Dash of milk if thick

Preheat oven to 180°.
Blitz the oats to form an oat flour. Add the ground almons, baking powder, banana, egg and maple syrup to blender.
Blitz to form a batter. If too thick, add a dash of milk of choice.
Grease a single serve baking dish and pour batter into it.
Half the cherries and remove the stones. Arrange on top of batter with some flaked almonds.
Bake for 15 minutes if dish is shallow.
Use gluten free oats and baking powder if necessary.

23/12/2025

Turmeric shots may help relieve all these colds and flus that are going around.
Make a batch, freeze as ice cubes and you can make this delicious drink any time. Just add boiling water and a little local honey.

🍊 2 or 3 oranges
🍋 1 lemon
🫚 turmeric root
🫚 ginger root
⚫️ twist of black pepper
💧 glass of water

Peel the oranges and lemon. Remove any seeds. Cut into chunks.
Peel the ginger by scraping with side of a spoon. Finely slice a thumb size piece.
If you have a high power blender, you could add a piece of turmeric root whole as peeling or cutting it will stain your hands. No need to peel.
Add a twist of black pepper, as the piperine in it helps absorb the turmeric.
Add everything to a blender with a glass of water. Blend at high speed.

21/11/2025

This group of bakers certainly put the WOW factor into their baking every week and topped it all off with this wonderful Afternoon Tea spread.
I struggled with the thoughts of using so much sugar and refined flour but we did use a variety of flours including spelt and organic strong flours to make breads. And real butter as opposed to margarine. Compared to supermarket baking wrapped in plastic with long lists of ingredients, preservatives and shelf life - this is real food and can be enjoyed on occasion as part of a balanced diet.
Baking skills and the joy of sharing homemade baking are being lost.
Thank you Cork College of FET Skibbereen Centre for running this course and providing all of the quality ingredients every week. We all enjoyed it very much.

19/11/2025

Are you one of those people who find they have skin issues during the Winter months or your skin condition worsens when the weather changes?
There are a few factors that might affect this.
i. Clothing – synthetic fibres, acrylics close to skin, lycra in leggings, anti-stain teflon in uniforms, all can irritate. Choose a layer of natural cotton close to skin to reduce contact.
ii. Heating – drying out the skin.
iii. Dehydration – you may not feel like drinking as much water in the colder months.
iv. Sweating – when layered up.
v. Topical – applied creams – were you more inclined to moisturise, apply creams to the skin in the summer when your skin was exposed?
vi. Washing powder - non-bio is less harsh.
vii. Soaps - paraben free is kinder.
viii. Could it have anything to do with what you eat? You may not be getting the same levels of nutrients to nourish your skin as you were in summer from fresh produce.
ix. Vitamins A, D & E are protective of the skin. Vitamin C helps strengthen collagen which plumps up the skin and the Omega 3 fats helps lubricate.
x. The condition of your gut can reflect in your skin. Eat the veggies in soups, soluble fibre in oats, natural probiotics in fermented foods such as natural yogurt and saurkraut. And for some identifying a food intolerance can soothe away the irritation from the inside out.

02/11/2025

Pumpkin jam, a delicious marmalade, can be made by deseeding, peeling and grating the pumpkin. Bring to boil with lemon juice and zest, orange juice and zest, juice of lime only, thumb size piece of ginger grated or finely chopped and sugar.

27/10/2025

Pumpkin Puree 🎃
A little goes a long way, so just use a small pumpkin or half a large one. You could use the other half to make soup.
Cut in half. Scoop out the seeds. Place on a baking tray, cut side down and roast in a hot oven until fork tender or you can easily press a fork through the skin.
Scoop out the flesh into a bowl and blend to a soft puree. This can be used in so many ways to make delicious meals and treats over Halloween. Combining the puree with Pumpkin Spice is a match made in heaven.

25/10/2025

The pumpkin used for carving at Halloween grows large and round with an orange skin and pale yellow flesh. Squash such as butternut, crown prince and acorn red kuri are closely related and come in different shapes and sizes with a range of different coloured skins and deep orange colour flesh. Squash are amazing in vegetable dishes especially when roasted.
The delicate pale yellow colour and neutral flavour of the pumpkin can be used in sweet or savoury dishes – it is surprisingly adaptable once you know how.
But first you need to make a Pumpkin Puree and a Pumpkin Spice Mix. Remove the seeds from half a pumpkin, roast with skin on in a hot oven flesh side down until fork tender. Scoop out the flesh to make a puree with a blender. It can be used as a baby food when weaning. It can be added to hummus to make a delicious dip or spread.
Make pumpkin spice by mixing; 4 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/2 tsp ground cloves and 1 tsp ground ginger together. This really sets you up to get creative in the kitchen this Halloween mid-term. You can add a scoop pumpkin puree and a teaspoon of pumpkin spice when making waffles, banana bread, muffins, overnight oats or pumpkin spice lattes.
Orange and yellow coloured vegetables provide Vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene, good for skin, immune health, and eyesight.
You can use your pumpkin in so many ways – it would be a shame for it to end up in the food waste bin.
🎃

19/10/2025

My friends who love to grow have shared so much this year, an abundance of apples and a bunch of grapes grown in a tunnel here in West Cork. The grapes were about the size of blueberries, their skin the darkest purple almost black. The deep colour gives a clue to the antioxidants they contain, resveratrol and anthocyanins. They went into a savoury galette, a rustic tart where a piece of rolled out pastry is filled with sauté shallot, soft goats cheese, a few thyme leaves and the outer edge folded over leaving the filling still exposed. A little egg wash and a sprinkling of sesame seeds around the edge were the finishing touches. The grapes were the last addition before heading to the oven.
On a recent visit to another garden, I saw melons growing in a glass house, a pumpkin outdoors, and branches laden with apples. Tiny crab apples, russet eating apples and cooking apples galore. Gifted a pot of her mesmerising jewel coloured apple jelly made from boiling and straining her crab apples, red currants and vitamin C rich rosehips – all from her garden. Makes me want to have a mindful moment and just stare at the clear colour. Apparently, it is a talent not to produce a cloudy jelly.
Preserving was a tradition to make the harvest last longer and keep tasty food in the pantry for the bleak winter months when nothing grew. With supermarkets full of produce all year round, we have fallen out of the practice of eating with the seasons.
🍁

09/10/2025

Celebrating what's in season this week in our pastry class, using some local apples and homegrown grapes 🍇 brought in by Evelyn & Iris. A goat's cheese and thyme galette became home for those little black grapes. Unwaxed lemons 🍋 and free range eggs 🥚 made a delicious lemon curd for the sweet shortcrust pastry that we baked blind first making an awesome lemon meringue pie. A traditional apple pie 🥧 and mini apple bakewell tarts completed the pastry demo. Hats off to these star bakers!

23/07/2025

Self care - a luxury or necessity in today's world? Looking after your feet at home can tick all the boxes when it is made more indulgent with essential oils and foot massage.
Interesting workshop West Cork Crafts in Skibb next Saturday 26th.

Only a few days before we'll be focusing on looking after our bodies through our feet.
This is a hands on workshop and we'll be making products for you to take home as well as doing a little massage and reflexology.
To book a place give me a call.
Angela 087 2030869