Conic Hill, Loch Lomond in Winter
Photo Credit: My Dad
Friday 30 November marks St. Andrew’s Day in Scotland. As feast days go, it passes relatively quietly in comparison to Hogmany or Burns Night. As well as being the patron saint of Scotland, Saint Andrew symbolises fishmongers, gout (!) spinsters and sore throats. Poor old Saint Andrew!
How was I going to celebrate this special day? Well, I could extol the virtues of a 16 year old Lagavulin, or make an attempt at a traditional Petticoat Tails Shortbread but I think I’ll leave that to the whisky connoisseurs and the master bakers of this world.
On this day, and after some 22 months of blogging, I thought it would be fitting to showcase some other Scottish food bloggers I have come across on my blogging journey. Let’s start at the North of Scotland…shall we?
First up is Wendy who lives in the Highlands and writes at A Wee Bit of Cooking. The first thing that struck me about Wendy’s blog is how stunning her photographs are. As well as the more traditional Scottish treats such as Tablet, Wendy also shares her own indulgent version of Pulled Pork. Stonkingly good! From time to time, a little guest makes an appearance, who does nothing but melt the heart. Guaranteed. Every time. Have you met Marco?
The Adorable Marco – Can you feel your heart melting?
Photo Credit: Wendy Harrison at www.aweebitofcooking.com
Does he not tug at the old heartstrings?
Wendy has also drawn up a useful guide for anyone planning to visit the North of Scotland which lists her personal favourites alongside some exquisite photos. Have a look here. A visit to A Wee Bit of Cooking is always guaranteed to lift my spirits.
Next on our journey we head south to Dundee where we find Jac at Tinned Tomatoes. Her blog features a multitude of tasty vegetarian recipes. Currently on my list to try are these Turkish Zucchini Fritters.
Turkish Zucchini Fritters
Photo credit: Jac at www.tinnedtomatoes.com
Jac is very generous with her knowledge. Her blog captures useful blogging tips and tutorials to assist the food blogging community. She hosts blogging challenges such as Bookmarked Recipes and co-hosts No Croutons Required. Jac also created the Food Blog Diary as a way to track monthly challenges and blog giveaways. For those of you interested in counting calories, Jac has expanded her repertoire to include a selection of recipes devoted to the 5:2 regime.
Heading west to the capital we meet Kellie at Food to Glow. Although Kellie is a Floridian she has lived in Edinburgh “for more years than she cares to admit”. I met Kellie at Food Blogger Connect a positive, warm, affable lady who in my opinion, works in a most rewarding role. Her blog is an extension of her profession, illustrating healthy and nutritious meals. A favourite of mine is the Summer Berries Crumble Tart which uses the nation’s own delicious berries.
Summer Berries Crumble Tart
Photo Credit: Kellie at www.foodtoglow.com
Moving on to my home town of Glasgow and we catch up with Graeme of A Scots Larder. Graeme’s blog has a focus on using and promoting local, seasonal produce. A wine lover, you’ll often find Graeme sat comfortably in front of the fire sampling his latest wine delivery. He loves experimenting in the kitchen and is hoping to one day host his very own supper club Chez Scots Larder. Graeme has also challenged himself to accomplish many food and drink related goals before reaching the age of 40. He is progressing well and pictured below is the result of goal 28; making a soufflé. You can read more about it here.
Pecorino Cheese Soufflé
Photo credit: Graeme at www.scotslarder.com
Moving towards South West Scotland and we have Janice at Farmergirls Kitchen. A well established and very supportive blogger, Janice posts a whole range of recipes on her blog. She participates in many challenges, book and product reviews. I was most impressed by her demo on deboning a chicken leg. It is not easy to ad lib for 4 minutes in front of a camera and she does it effortlessly (and with a beautiful Scottish accent to boot!)
Chicken Leg stuffed with Figs and Goats Cheese
Photo Credit : Janice at www.farmersgirl.blogspot.com
During the Summer, Janice hosted the Scottish round up of Best of British so please visit her blog to be inspired by Scottish recipes. More recently and in partnership with other food bloggers, she dedicated a week to wartime recipes as a fitting tribute to all those who made sacrifices during the Second World War. You can read more about it here.
Beyond Scotland but also worth noting are:
Jill at Mad about Macarons. With the success of her foolproof recipes on making macarons, Jill’s book is now in its second edition. Jill lives in suburban Paris and writes frank and humorous tales of her grappling with the French way of life. Although specialising in sweet treats, Jill also does some tempting savoury dishes such as this delicious John Dory recipe and her recent post for Stuffed Mini Pumpkins.
Lyndsey at Vanilla Clouds and Lemon Drops. Lynds now lives in Canada with her family and as shown here, is a serious cookbook fanatic. Her dishes are always a pleasure for the eyes thanks to her excellent food styling and presentation skills. Her recipes comprise a wealth of flavours and I particularly like the post on ideas for Bonfire night. I mean, how could you not be tempted by Toffee Apple Tarts?
Unfortunately I don’t know the author’s name behind the formidable LondonEats blog but he describes himself as an enthusiastic amateur vegetarian cook living in London. Notable posts include Wickedly Sinful Chocolate Tart and Let’s make a Crunchie Bar .A category dedicated to Scottish recipes can be found here.
Hopefully, you have enjoyed the tour and discovered some great blogs along the way.
Happy St. Andrew’s Day to all those celebrating!
Meikle Bin, Kilsyth Hills, Scotland
Photo Credit: My Dad
