Home-made butter is one of life’s little luxuries. Good butter can make anything taste better. So far, I haven’t been that impressed with American butter. It’s kind of anemic and greasy and not salty at all. We have great shellfish here, but it’s so disappointing when you get some delicious crab and it comes served with a dish of mediocre melted butter. It’s such a simple ingredient, but it can really make or break a dish. Continue Reading…
As this was a sunny Greek inspired dish I thought it only natural to try and capture some sunlight for the picture. As I have a normal nine-to-five job I only get time to do my blog outside office hours, so I have a very small window of opportunity to capture the light. So, I waited and I waited and I waited. By the time a few watery rays of sunshine appeared, I was almost falling down with hunger. When the photos were finally taken, I grabbed the closest available prop and tucked in with gleeful abandon. The evening sun was now warm and bright and had illuminated the entire balcony as I savoured this sweet and salty summer salad. This is my favourite kind of summer snack – light, fruity and fresh with a bite of salty olives and crispy pistachio nuts. Haloumi and Watermelon are a match made in heaven and the honey and lemon dressing really brings out all the flavours. This salad takes only minutes to make and is a perfect after work snack. Continue Reading…
You may have noticed I got a new camera! So hopefully my photos will begin to look a little better. I got a bit carried away with this one and went rooting through my cupboards trying to find Middle Eastern style props. Hope it looks suitably exotic and makes you think of far off places as opposed to Dublin 16. Baklava is basically lots of thin filo pastry layered with chopped nuts and spices, then drenched with honey syrup. It’s crunchy, nutty and it’s a really nice alternative dessert . I like it served with creamy vanilla ice-cream and a strong dark bitter coffee. I based this recipe on Rachel Allen’s recipe but made a few tweaks. I have eaten some great baklava in my time, but I’ve also had some really sickly sweet versions that would melt your teeth. So I was interested in making one for myself. This recipe worked out really well and though it seems complicated, it’s not at all and it’s actually kind of therapeutic to make. 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.