This dish is kind of like an alternative cheese plate, a cross between cheese tapas, and cheese and crackers. As it’s summer, there is a huge array of delicious ripe fruit out there, so I decided to pair (pear!) them with some of my favourite summer cheese. This cheese plate looks so impressive, but only takes minutes to make and works great as canapés with a glass of sparkling wine or champagne. The cool thing about this dish is that you can mix and match as you like. I sliced up some fruit, a selection of herbs, and some cheese. Then I just tasted and figured out what worked well together. Continue Reading…
You may not know it, but, the 6th of April is in fact Tartan Day. It’s a day to celebrate Scottish heritage and a day for the Scottish diaspora all over the world to celebrate tartan and Scottish culture. April 6th marks the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath which confirmed Scotland’s status as an independent sovereign state. During the 18th century there was an attempt to ban tartan in an effort to bring warrior clans under control. Thankfully it never happened and tartan remains as popular as ever today. As a McDonald, I feel I should pay some attention to my roots and wanted to celebrate this quirky feast day with some food. I think Tartan Day is a great way to wear some beautiful colours, cook up some Scottish food and celebrate our ancestors. So what better way to celebrate tartan day, than with a tart. A wee tartan tart *to be said in a Scottish accent*.
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Today marks my 75th post on the blog and also S’tasty’s very 1st Birthday. It’s hard to believe that a whole year of writing, cooking and creating has passed by so quickly. Through writing the blog, I’ve met a whole host of new people and have discovered some other amazing food blogs at home and beyond. The Irish Food Bloggers Association have arranged lots of great events and linked together a whole community of enthusiastic food bloggers from all over the country. When I first started my blog….my traffic consisted of me and the OH. Then it increased to three (me, the OH and my Dad). Next a few other family members started checking in and one day I had a whole 20 visitors! Then with the help of Erno Rubik, Rusty Blazenhoff @Laughing Squid and Vidya Rao @Today.com my audience began to suddenly increase. For the amateur food blogger – it doesn’t pay, so it really helps when your efforts are at least seen and appreciated. Continue Reading…
This creamy panna cotta is made entirely of full fat cream, so it’s a pretty decadent but you know it tastes delicious. The accompanying cherry compote is rich, fruity and it has a flavour of Christmas for me (perhaps it’s the brandy in it!). I made the panna cotta’s quite small as they are devishly rich. However it does serve as a small but perfect dessert that is sure to impress. The mint on top is apple mint and is just to decorate and give a nice minty aroma. This is a super easy pud to make, twenty minutes to make and totally foolproof. However, you will need at least three hours to set the panna cotta or leave it covered in the fridge overnight. It’s a great easy dinner party dessert that you can make in advance and wow your guests! Continue Reading…
I can’t get enough of fresh cherries this summer. And ever since I got my new cherry pitter, there really is no stopping me. This cherry and almond muffin recipe is so simple to make. In fact they were ready to come out of the oven by the time I had washed up all the dirty dishes. Then, I got to sit down and enjoy these warm nutty buttery cherry muffins with dollop of crème fraiche and a nice cup of tea. Sometimes the simplest things in life really are the best. Cherries in season are so sweet and go so well with almonds. I am a crazy about nuts so I kind of went a bit mad with the flaked almonds on top:) Continue Reading…
You can find some of my favorite gluten-free recipes in my eBook available from Amazon.
I'm Vicky and Stasty is my simple and tasty food recipe blog. I love to cook and I love to talk about food, so this blog is really my ramblings and thoughts about cooking and eating. Some of the recipes are my own and some are ones that I found on the net or picked up from my favorite cookbooks. I cook everything in our little kitchen in beautiful Washington. I am aided and abetted by my I.T guru/tantrum-trouble-shooter/editor and chief-taster otherwise known as the OH or Nelius.