The newest book from Clodagh McKenna, packed with 100 recipes to bring pure happiness to your table.

Simply by consciously prioritizing cooking healthy food and sharing meals with family and friends, we can boost wellness, reduce anxiety and nourish both body and soul.

Clodagh’s Happy Cooking is packed with easy, every day, tasty recipes that make health and happiness a part of your daily routine, from breakfast to dinner.

All the recipes have been designed to fit into your daily life and are simple to prepare, with easy to find and healthy ingredients, packed with flavour.

Recipes Include

Juices & Teas

• Gut Healing Juice
• Mood Boosting Hot Chocolate
• My Daily Happy Juice, which has received more than 1 million views on social media

Breakfasts

• Blueberry Chia Muffins
• Homemade Granola
• Slow Cooked Chorizo Baked Beans

Snacks & Treats

• Banana Peanut Bread
• Mum’s Cinnamon Rock Buns
• Oat & Pistachio Cookies

Soups & Breads

• Lentil Roast Tomato Soup
• Guinness Brown Bread
• Rosemary Tomato Focaccia

Lunches

• Spinach & Feta Pastries
• Summer Vegetables with Whipped Lemon Ricotta
• Roasted Chickpea Caesar Salad

Quick Delicious Suppers

• Crispy Salmon Rice
• Greek Chicken with Spicy Couscous & Tzatziki
• Spicy Sausage Pasta in Chilli Tomato Sauce

Weekend Cooking

• Buttery Croque Monsieur Brunch Bake
• Mum’s Irish Lamb Stew
• Pear, Brie & Thyme Tart

From breakfasts to help you start your day on the right side of the bed to simple suppers you can make in under 30 minutes, Clodagh’s Happy Cooking is a must have guide to joyful, healthy living.

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Seeded Cheddar Sunflower Bread

Beautiful, isn’t it?

This recipe is based on the wonderful traditional Irish soda bread that the whole world should know how to make. I’ve added Cheddar for flavour, but leave that out for the classic recipe. This loaf is cut into wedges, so every person can tear off their own, and they make it look like a sunflower!

You can use any seeds I suggest here, even just a single variety. This freezes well, too.

Makes: 1 loaf
Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 200 g (7 oz) plain flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 350 g (12 oz) wholemeal flour
• 125 g (4½ oz) Cheddar cheese, grated
• 350 ml (12 fl oz) whole milk, plus more for glazing
• 250 ml (9 fl oz) natural yogurt, plus more for glazing

For the Topping

Use any of the following:

• Pumpkin seeds
• Sesame seeds
• Poppy seeds
• Caraway seeds
• Sunflower seeds
• Cumin seeds
• Chia seeds
• Mustard seeds

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan (425°F), Gas Mark 7.
2. Sift the white flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir in the wholemeal flour and Cheddar. With clean hands, mix to combine, then make a well in the centre of the bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk and yogurt, then slowly pour this into the well of the dry ingredients, using a fork to mix it into the flour. Make sure there are no dry patches and that the dough is completely wet.
4. Pat your hands with flour and shape the dough into a round, then place on a floured baking tray. Flour a large knife and cut a cross into the top, followed by a diagonal cross, cutting about two thirds of the way through. You should have 8 wedges, like cake slices.
5. Mix together a small amount more of milk and yogurt, in a rough 3:2 ratio, in the yogurt bowl. Brush the loaf with the milk and yogurt mixture to give it a lovely golden colour once baked, then sprinkle on the seeds. It should start to look like a flower.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 150°C fan (340°F), Gas Mark 3½ and bake for a further 15 minutes. To test whether the loaf is cooked, tap the base with your knuckles. It should sound hollow.
7. Leave to cool on a wire rack. The bread will last, wrapped in a damp tea towel, for 1 week.

Recipe published with permission from Kyle Book.