I Heart Bakewell Tart

By Vicky in Dessert 2 Comments Tags: , ,

As kids we had a childminder called Mary and she was a great cook. Her bakewell tarts were the stuff of legend. I could never look, let alone eat, shop bought bakewell tarts because none of them would ever taste as amazing as Mary’s. There was something about Mary’s tarts! I loved the crispy lattice pastry she layered on top and the vibrant red jam oozing around the edges. I adored the almondy smell that permeated the whole house when she baked. I used to think that her bakewell looked like the kind of thing that the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland would eat. More …

Asian Twist Fish ‘n Chips

By Vicky in Main Dishes 2 Comments Tags: , ,

 

Today is National Fish and Chips Day. So in honour of this event, here’s a short post about fish and chips…Asian style! I learned two valuable lessons in the cooking of this dish. One- Panko breadcrumbs are the business and make any recipe utterly crispy and delicious. The second valuable lesson was that umeboshi plums really are an acquired taste and though I loved them, my other half is still gagging at the memory of them. I wanted to try something different and when I saw these weird Japanese plums on a TV food programme, I had to have them.
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Oh Cheeses!

By Vicky in Snack 6 Comments Tags:

My name is Vicky and I am a cheeseaholic. I think now is as good a time as ever to tell you. Cheese consumes my life and I consume vast amounts of cheese. And I am not talking delicate thin slivers of cheese; I prefer to eat cheese in big glorious hunks. I’m not one to shy away from cheese rinds or cheeses so stinky they make your eyes water. I relish all cheeses the stinkier the better. A trip to the cheese shop can take quite some time and many of our holidays have been dominated by mammoth cheese buying missions. On a recent trip to the French Alpes, I purchased a large amount of alpine cheese and my heart nearly stopped when customs halted me for a random inspection. Thankfully something else caught their attention, so my lovely cheeses and I returned safely home. I acknowledge I have a problem with this cheese addiction of mine; regardless, I strive to feed it on a daily basis.

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Cherry and Almond Cake

By Vicky in Cake 9 Comments Tags: , ,

My dear departed granddad used to love cherry cake with lashings of real butter and a cup of hot sweet tea. For years my gran used to make these delicious cherry cakes and it’s something that always brings me back to my childhood at home on a Sunday. Lately I have been feeling very nostalgic so I decided to give this cake a go for myself. To be honest I was really proud of my efforts and the rest of the family loved it too. However, my gran had the final word – she liked the taste but deemed it unworthy of the blog! More …

Donal Mc’s brown bread

By Vicky in Sides 8 Comments Tags:

This is my Dad’s very own recipe for brown bread and I almost feel guilty for sharing it because it’s very special to us. It’s actually more of a white soda with a bit of brown as opposed to the traditional brown bread. He makes it every day, and it’s always been a bit of a ritual in our home. He has modified and tried so many recipes for brown bread, honed them and perfected them and finally came up with this one. For me, it is the best brown bread ever. I should point out that the loaf pictured was made by Donal Mc himself and not me. More …

Adventures in Salty Almond Ice-cream

By Vicky in Dessert No Comments Tags: ,

Blogging about food gives you a whole new awareness of other food blogs out there. Now that I read so many food blogs, I feel a lot more tuned into food from all over the world. The downside though is some of the blogs are so amazing, that I get blog envy :-( . But then you get back in the kitchen and take inspiration from some of these great blogs. I am regular reader and fan of the The Kitchn and my mouth literally watered when they posted a recipe for salted almond ice-cream last week. I am a sucker for salty sweet ice-cream with salty caramel ice-cream being my absolute favourite. Maybe the reason I like salty sweet ice-cream is because I have fond memories of eating ice-cream on the beach and maybe some of that salty sea water tainted the flavour. More …

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