Bruschetta with Jerte Picota Cherries, Serrano Ham, and Goat Cheese

Post in collaboration with Jerte Picota Cherries

Perfect for a light lunch or as a canape, crunchy melba toast is topped with salty Serrano ham, piquant goats cheese, seasonal Spanish Jerte Picota Cherries and a sticky balsamic cherry drizzle. Cherry Bruschetta is an ideal quick and easy seasonal nibble for a Summer party.

I'm back with more seasonal Jerte Picota Cherries for which I make absolutely no apology about. These delicious fruity treats are only around for a short six week season so you need to make the most of them whilst you can. Following on from my recipe for Bulgar Wheat Salad with Cherries, Feta and Pistachios I'm once again channelling my savoury tooth and forsaking the traditional cherry and chocolate or cherry and almond combinations. The Flavour Thesaurus tells me that cherry and goat cheese are a perfect match - so who am I to disagree? 

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Newtonhill Pipe Band, Pipers for Peace 1918-2018, Amiens

I've mentioned on both the blog and my social media channels on countless occasions that I am either a pipe band widow or a pipe band groupie. All three of my family play with Newtonhill Pipe Band. Foodie Loon is a piper, boy a snare drummer and girl a tenor drummer. I have the choice to either stay at home in blissful peace or join them on their musical adventures. This usually entails trips to local school fairs, village galas, highland games and suchlike, but sometimes the opportunity arises to venture further afield.

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Bulgar Wheat Salad with Jerte Picota Cherries, Feta and Pistachios

Post in collaboration with Jerte Picota Cherries

A fresh and colourful bulgar wheat salad recipe that's sure to be a crowd pleaser. Sweet and juicy Jerte Picota Cherries combine with salty feta cheese, peppery rocket and crunchy pistachios for a flavour explosion. Edible flowers provide the finishing touch to this oh so summery dish.

I can't believe that I missed National Cherry day on 16th July. Here I am a few days later posting a recipe using cherries and on the 13th I posted a roundup of over 50 perfect pairings using Jerte Picota Cherries. So near but yet so far! Thankfully the cherry season lasts more than one day, but you still need to make the most of them when you can. Of the fabulous fresh cherry recipes I rounded up from my fellow food bloggers the vast majority were sweet in nature. Cakes, pies, smoothies, gateau, cupcakes, jam, crumbles, cheesecakes and more. There were a couple of nods to savoury with a salsa and a salad but no sign of any pairings with the savoury suggestions of lamb, goat cheese or smoked fish as hailed by the Flavour Thesaurus. 

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50+ perfect pairings with Jerte Picota Cherries

Post in collaboration with Jerte Picota Cherries

A collection of over 50 recipes using fresh cherries. Perfect for the short but deliciously sweet season of Jerte Picota Cherries. Sold without their stalk, these delicious juicy Spanich cherries are the ideal fruit to snack on this summer. Ideal for bakewell, black forest, cocktails, clafoutis, crumbles, cakes, scones, compotes and so much more.

Better late than never - or so the saying goes. That's definitely the case this year for Jerte Picota Cherries which are officially back in UK stores this week (you'll find them in Sainsburys, Tesco, Morrisons and Aldi). They are usually available for a six week natural growing season from the end of June but a cold winter set them back this year. The Jerte Picota Cherry is a special variety of cherry, sold without stalks, that is native to the beautiful Jerte Valley in Northern Spain, 200km west of Madrid. 

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Hush a bye don't you cry, Mammy’s off to the WRI

Originally published on the Scottish Women's Institutes website as a guest blog post

www.theswi.org.uk

My maternal grandmother Jean Benzie was what I’d call a stalwart of the SWRI. Born in 1900 she was an active member for over 50 years. From the 1930s to the 1980s, she sewed and baked her way through Institutes in Turriff, Culter and Dingwall, along with holding various positions and participating in drama and singing events. My Mum vividly recalls her singing a WRI themed lullaby ‘The Goat of The Rural’.

Hush a bye don't you cry, Mammy’s off to the WRI, 

Here am I, what a guy, oh for the wings of a dove to fly

Off she goes powered nose, all dressed up in her Sunday clothes

Left alone, all on my own, I’m the goat of the Rural.

Jean Benzie

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Edible Scottish Adventures - June 2018

JULY. How on earth did that happen? School's out for summer! Hasn't the weather been absolutely glorious - long may it continue, as for us this will be a summer of days here and there rather than the usual fortnight abroad (roll on Orlando in October) Meantime the new seasonal logo has been installed, but before July can start in earnest I need to take a look back to June and share what you might have missed. The algorithms of Instagram, Twitter and Facebook don't always want to let my followers see everything I post so this retrospective monthly roundup is my cunning way of attempting to beat the system. Expect culture crawling, kitchen tables, vending machines, chariots of fire, cranachan and peacocks!

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