Before I moved to America I had never even heard of Peeps®. Now I know that people go crazy for them here, and they are one the most popular Easter candies in America. Peeps are essentially brightly colored chick and bunny shaped marshmallows dusted in sugar. Continue Reading…
The third series of Downton Abbey started last week in the states, and it’s become an absolute hit over here. I am feeling slightly smug as I have already watched series three back in Ireland. There is something really comforting about settling down for an episode of Downton Abbey. The minute I see that Labrador in the opening credits, I instantly feel happy and relaxed. Continue Reading…
Jammie Dodgers are another old school classic. When I was a kid I would always try and prise them open into two halves, but I never could because they were always glued together so tightly with jam as strong as super glue. We never seemed to have them at home for some reason, so I loved it when we were at someone else’s house and I could sample the super-sweet Jammie Dodger goodness! I think the bright red love heart of jam always appealed to me. It’s a simple idea, but it was an effective one to attract a little girl’s attention. They tasted sweet and crispy, with sticky jam like raspberry toffee. I remember the packaging so well too– It was bright red and yellow, with the appearance of jam oozing all over the packet. Somehow it spoke to me and I always wished we had Jammie Dodgers at home in our cupboard. Continue Reading…
These apple tarts are a treat to eat. The slightly crisp apple slices, the tart blueberries, creamy custard and buttery pastry make for one delicious mouthful. They also look totally divine and are sure to impress. In truth, they were a little tricky to make and there was a lot of apple slicing involved! I did harbor some doubts as I surveyed the enormous mound of apple slices in front of me. However it all worked out in the end and my work paid off. These tarts are definitely worth the effort if you fancy something a little bit special. Continue Reading…
In some ways a lot of things have changed in the last twenty years and in other ways they remain the same. My love of rice pudding has always been a constant. When I was a kid I used to love rice pudding. So much so, that as soon as I had devoured every morsel of rice pudding in my bowl, I would grab the empty saucepan, bring it to the kitchen table, and scrape away every last bit. My Mum used to find it funny that I always did this. One day she surprised me by taking this photo of me mid bite at the table. You can tell by my look of surprise that I wasn’t expecting to be captured in the act! I found this picture recently and was instantly taken back on a journey in time. For a bit of fun I decided to recreate this photo just to see visibly what has changed. I also revisited this favourite dish of mine and created a more sophisticated adult version but essentially the same old rice pudding I know and love. Continue Reading…
Update: On July 14th, two days after posting I received an email from Ernő Rubik himself saying that he liked my cake. I guess the world is really a very small place.
‘ Thanks for the nice birthday surprise which sweetens the bitterness of passing time.’
Hungarian Ernő Rubik invented the Rubik’s cube in 1974. He was born on the 13th of July, 1944. Myself and my other half set about making a birthday cake, worthy of the great man himself. Battenberg cakes are constructed of rectangular pieces of alternatively coloured Victoria sponge cake, sandwiched together by jam and held together with walls of marzipan. We decided that the different pieces of cake could by dyed the traditional six colours of the Rubik’s cube – white, red, blue, orange, green and yellow. Then to make the cake a little more Rubik’s like, we decided to have each slice of the cake reveal a different combination of coloured squares, just like a Rubik’s cube. To achieve this, we cut the coloured rectangles of sponge into different lengths. This was definitely a case where I needed the engineering mind of my other half to figure out the maths of this cake. It took a little planning to get it right, however I think it might just be a worthy birthday treat. I’m not sure if Ernő has a sweet tooth but hopefully he might enjoy this puzzling cake.
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.