Food Adventures - Haggis

(Sorry I thought I had posted this a couple of weeks ago, but it didn't work!)

Before heading to Scotland I started to look up the traditional Scottish fare.  Haggis, neeps, tatties, rollmops, crappit heid, and potted hough all came up in my search.  Of course I had no idea what any of those were or how they were made.  Then I turned to my UK coworkers and asked them what I should try while in Scotland.  The answer: Scotch and Haggis.  I had no problem with the first, but on further inspection I was nervous about the haggis.  Sure I've tried the traditional mushy peas that go with the fish and chips, but they ware just mashed up, bland peas.  Haggis on the other hand is scary.  It is made with a she eps stomach, heart and lunch of one lamb, onion, spices, and oatmeal.  That's it.  Sounds tasty doesn’t it?

Looks yummy doesn't it?  What is up with these Brits and their mushed up food?  I have a confession to make to you.  I hope you aren't offended.  I love haggis!!!  It is so flavorful and goes perfectly with neeps (mashed turnips) and tatties (mashed potatoes).  If you ever get a chance make sure you try it and if you're vegetarian don't worry.  They make vegetarian haggis , too!

Food Adventures - Pigeon

When I'm at a new restaurant I love to try things I've never had before.  I'm trying to keep that same mentality over here.  On my first work trip to Chelmsford I tried "Pigeon and Pear Salad."  Not squab, but pigeon.  I ordered it and kept trying to think of doves or ducks which are quite tasty.  (WOW!  British English is rubbing off on me. Did you see I just used the word quite!?!)  Anyway, my salad came out and the meat on top looked like pieces of well done steak and tasted like pork.  It actually tasted okay but was a bit greasy for my liking.  At some point I started to think about what I was eating, flying rats, and couldn't take another bite.  At least I tried!  Next time I'd be willing to eat the dish as long as the call it squab.  That way I won't realize what it really is.   :)

Scotland the Brave

In Scotland, beautiful as it is, it was always raining. Even when it wasn't raining, it was about to rain, or had just rained. It's a very angry sky. -Colin Hay  

Wow am I getting behind in posts!  Three weekends ago, I went on my first adventure outside of England.  A fellow expat and I meet up in Edinburgh for 48 hours of Scotland fun.  Oh right, that earlier post about Oscar Blues beer?  Well, that was Scotland.  See I'm not a  complete slacker.  :)

Our first and only full day in Scotland we spent on a tour exploring the Highlands and the Lowlands.  Basically we spent 6 long hours on a bus.  We got to see a lot through the rain but mostly we sat and Robert napped.

First stop was the town of Sterling with the magnificent Sterling Castle.  Well, I had to take the brocures description as fact since we couldn't see the castle through the rain.  We did see the Wallace Monument!  It is on top of a hill where wild blackberries grow.  Random fact from the tour:  Have you watched Braveheart?  Well basically it is all fake and mixed up history.  Also, the Highlanders not the Lowlanders where kilts! Learn the true story of William Wallace

Next we continued North to the Trossachs National Park.  In this park is the Highland Boundary Fault that separates the Highland and the Lowlands.  They actually have mountains in the Highlands, but we couldn't see them.  Did I forgot to mention the rain?  Well, we couldn't see the mountains because of it. We did find Scotch though!  We took a tour of the sjlsdjf and found out how the 'water of life' was made.  Random fact #2: Scotch gets its smoky by drying the sprouted malt grains using peat smoke.

After the tour we loaded back onto the bus and took a nap until we got to Hermitage in Perth.  I was a lovely little woodland path that took us to a waterfall and bridge.  Along the path I found some tiny wild strawberries.  I never ate a strawberry like this before; it was a strawberry explosion in your mouth!  Then we went to Dunkeld Cathedral.  It was build between 1260 - 1501.  It was very pretty but surprisingly half of the working cathedral now lays in ruins.  Oh wait. I forgot to mention something very important.  The rain... it stopped and the sun came out!!!  

Finally we ended the day in Edinburgh for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.  It featured marching bands from Scotland, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Ireland, and Mongolia.  At the end the whole audience joined hands and sang Auld Lang Syne together.  You should have seen my smile!

Edinburgh Castle

Scotland, even with the rain, was amazing.  It immediately felt like home.  I love Scotland!