Foodstuffs: More Crisps, Haggis, et. al

Hello! Sorry for the lack of postings lately. To be perfectly honest, I've been pretty boring these last few weeks. An increase in homework combined with a spell of being sick haven't left much time for adventures. I have a whole three-week spring break coming up in a month or so; I'll have adventures then.

For now, I'll try to catch you up on some of my culinary tourism. There has certainly been plenty of it. First of all, the continuing crisps investigation. Two new flavors have been cross off the list. 1.) Flame Grilled Steak:

I liked these a lot better than the bacon flavored ones. They were also much thicker and crunchier, which I think helped. To be perfectly honest, the flavoring on them tasted like the seasoning used in beef-flavored Ramen noodles. My friend Karin called them, "flamboyant". So we're not talking about fine cuisine here, but they sure do make a tasty snack, especially after a pint or two.

and 2.) Worcester Sauce:


This is currently one of my favorite flavors. They're very similar tasting to salt and vinegar crisps, only with a little extra flavor. Though they're not quite as strong and salt and vinegar, they've still got a bit of that same sharpness to them. yum yum yum

And now the moment you've all been waiting for: Haggis.

I'll be honest. I hated it. I had it as part of a Scottish Breakfast spread which included many other things as well. The first bite was okay, the second bite tasted really strongly of blood/iron, and the third bite...well, I didn't make it to the third bite. I'm still willing to give it another try, I think I might like it a bit better when it's not the first thing I've eaten in the morning. I also tried vegetarian haggis, which is made with oats and lentils. That was much, much tastier. I suspect veggie haggis, neeps, and tatties would be a delicious combination.

While we're on the subject of meats and sausages, I had a scrumptious steak and ale pie the other night for dinner. It was the first thing I had eaten after being sick for two days and not having an appetite. I think it, along with the healthy portion of mashed potatoes it was served with, played a large role in my recovery.


Lastly, I've been spending a lot of time at Elephant House (JK Rowling's old haunt). They do in fact have excellent filter coffe, which is a large part of why I keep going back, but they also have really good food and desserts. As an added bonus, they always have a cheap lunch special and give students a 10% discount. What's not to love? When I went a couple of weeks ago, the lunch special (pictured below) was a particularly tasty meatball baguette that came with a salad.


Well that about does it for the food highlights...We went to church at St. Giles Cathedral (the home of Presbyterianism) this morning. That account will have to wait until tomorrow, though. Now it is late and I must head to bed. Until tomorrow....

Happy (late) Valentine's Day from Scotland!!

Here's a little postcard-turned-valentine I made. We all know those big hairy highland cows are all probably just big softies at heart. Here's hoping you all had a wonderful Valentine's whatever you did and whomever you were with. I had a pretty lazy day myself. This weekend was fairly light work-wise, so I took the opportunity to catch up on some sleep and laze about. Finally, I did get a little stir-crazy and went for an outing in the afternoon. I left my building and turned to head for a coffee shop when I heard bagpipes. And yes, I know. I'm in Scotland. They play the bagpipes a lot here. However, our neighborhood is not one where one usually hears Scotland the Brave being piped on the sidewalk. I started walking, looking a bit befuddled, and located the source of the music when I walked by the Himalayan store/cafe a few doors down from me. There was a fact a piper, in full dress, piping away in this tiny, tiny Himalayan store. There were also two people dancing and laughing enthusiastically while another woman took pictures. I almost popped in and asked what was going on, but instead just smiled, shook my head, and walked on. When I passed by later that evening, the store was playing host to a meditation circle with someone playing the sitar. That scenario made a bit more sense.

The first part of the outing was spent reading at a coffee shop. Now, ss fun as it was sitting by myself amidst couples sharing cakes and listening to sappy Elvis songs being played on the stereo, I decided to continue on pretty soon after I finished my coffee and cookie. For the most part, I just walked around in the misty twilight, popping into stores every now and then. I did treat myself, however, to a few poetry books (A.E. Housman and The Mentor Book of Major British Poets) at a used bookstore as a Valentine's Day present to myself. I also bought myself to this amazing sweater from the "Hawkhead Bowling Club" at a thrift store. It features this crest:



So there you go. I spent my Valentine's Day with used clothing, depressed British poets, and incongruous bagpipers. What more could a girl ask for?

Arthur's Seat

Some of our Macalester friends were visiting this weekend, which motivated us to finally do some of the tourist things we've been meaning to do ever since we came here. One of those things was climbing Arthur's Seat, the "mountain" that looks over my part of the city. The climb was not too difficult, but a bit steeper than I had anticipated. Of course, some of my huffing and puffing could have been due to that enormous piece of pie that we split right before heading up, maybe. Whatever the reason, pausing once in a while on our ascent gave on the chance to appreciate the stunning views. Especially since once we got to the top and above the fog, there wasn't much of anything to see. Here are a few pictures from before the fog:

Some ruins of a chapel

I've added the rest of the pictures to the Picasa Album.

The pictures don't nearly do it justice. There was a special sort of stillness to the valleys. A few members of the group even swore they heard faint strains of bagpipes floating through the air. I didn't hear them myself, but it did inspire me to share with them the story of Wee Gillis. I'm sure Munro Leaf would be pleased to know that his story had been told on a Scottish hillside.

We want to make this climb a regular one, so hopefully I'll be able to share some sunny pictures soon.

Speaking of Robert Burns...

I know Amelia Furrow was upset that I made no mention of Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse" in my previous posts. So here it is, in it's entirety, just for you, Amelia...

To A Mouse

Wee sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie,
O, what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an chase thee,
Wi murdering pattle!

I'm truly sorry man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
An justifies that ill opinion,
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion.
An fellow mortal!

I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve:
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen icker in a thrave
'S a sma request;
I'll get a blessin wi the lave,
An never miss't!

Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!
Its silly wa's the win's are strewin!
An naething, now, to big a new ane,
O foggage green!
An bleak December's win's ensuin.
Baith snell an keen!

Thou saw the fields laid bare an waste,
An weary winter comin fast.
An cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro thy cell.

That wee bit heap o leaves an stibble,
Has cost thee monie a weary nibble!
Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble.
But house or hald,
To thole the winter's sleety dribble,
An cranreuch cauld!

But Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best-laid schemes o mice an men
Gang aft agley,
An lea'e us nought but grief an pain,
For promis'd joy!

Still thou art blest, compar'd wi me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But och! I backward cast my e'e,
On prospects drear!
An forward, tho I canna see,
I guess an fear!

The Ceilidh (Finally)

Goodness I'm behind on posting! So many things to tell you about...First up is the Burns Night Ceilidh we went to last Sunday that was put on by the Water of Life Society. It was my first ever ceilidh, and hopefully won't be my last. I can't even begin to describe how fun it was. Everyone was very friendly and the dances weren't nearly as hard as they looked. They had a wonderful live band with a caller, who taught us all the steps before each dance. You soon stop worrying about looking like a fool and just go for it. I have a couple videos from it, but they're are just a little bit too big to post. I'll try to condense them or put them up somewhere else.

It was an absolutely amazing evening and we danced for hours and hours, however that meant when I got out of bed two days later (I felt deceptively fine the day after) my calves were so sore that I looked like an old lady when I tried to walk down the stairs.

Now about what John referred to as the "gerbil haggis"...As per Burns Night tradition, there was the Address to a Haggis, where they recite the Robert Burns poem of the same name, as well as a slaying of the haggis. During the very spirited Address, said haggis was brutally stabbed and slain. The explanation given for the gerbily thing was that it was supposed to represent the haggis that was slain last year.

I keep forgetting...

I meant to mention this in the last few posts, but forgot every time.

I've added a link to my Edinburgh Picasa album on the right of the page. It's titled 'Photographic Snippets'. See it? If you click on the picture, it will take you the album. I haven't captioned any of them yet, it's kind of a daunting task. Hopefully it will happen soon.

Foodstuffs cont'd: Breakfast

After our Sunday morning church excursion, we went out for our first full British Breakfast. It included the following:

• A fried egg
• Bacon (more like fried ham)
• Pork and leek sausage
• Baked beans (verdict: beans on toast is delicious)
• Tomato
• Mushrooms (the bacon/mushroom combo was especially good)
• Chips
• Toast

All in all, it was pretty tasty and very filling. We thought that the menu said it would also come with haggis, but apparently not. That will just have to wait for another day. Perhaps my next Scottish food adventure will be the traditional Haggis, Neeps and Tatties (Haggis with mashed turnips and potatoes. The potatoes and turnips are served separately I believe).

While I'm on the subject of breakfast foods, I. miss. coffee. Apparently, good ol' plain brewed coffee does not exist here. There is no shortage of espresso, however. If you ask for a cup of coffee in a restaurant, they bring you and Americano. I think by the end of this semester, I'm never going to want another Americano. Also, almost all of the coffee sold in the grocery store is instant, freeze-dried coffee. I bought some and gave it a try today, but it's just not the same. So attention all of you reading this who have been to Edinburgh/know someone who has been here: is there anywhere I can get drip coffee?

Church of Scotland

This past Sunday I had my first experience with the Church of Scotland. We went to a morning service at Greyfriars Kirk, and I thought it was very nice. It was a pretty standard protestant service, so nothing too new or different there. The sermon was a bit strange, however. I think part of it may have been that the minister who gave it (I think she was an assistant minister or minister in training or something) did not have English as her first language. Some parts of it were kind of hard to follow just because of the difficulty in writing in a language that's not your own. I think the other reason it felt a little strange was just due to the fact that the style was different than what I'm used to. Another difference was the way they took communion. They brought out four goblets and a couple loaves of bread, so I assumed they were going to take it by intinction. nope. They had one side of the church come up and gather in a circle, then the minister served one person and the elements (first bread and then wine) were passed around the circle, with each person serving to the person on his or her left. The bread was all fine and dandy - standard serving style. The wine, however, was passed around and each person drank from the same goblet, wiping the rim with a handkerchief afterward. Nothing wrong with that really, except I was sort of taken out of the experience by hoping that the man next to me didn't have a cold.
Anyway...the church itself was lovely, and the people very nice as well. The head minister's wife came up and introduced herself afterward and chatted with us for a bit. I think I'll definitely come back a time or two. Maybe if I work up enough courage, I'll stay for the Gaelic service at 12:30

The pictures are various views from the kirkyard.

Oh! And of course, I took a picture of the statue of Greyfriars Bobby on the street out front. If you don't know the story of Greyfriars Bobby, check out the link.

So.Many.Things #1: Aberfeldy

Hello all,

Well! It has been quite the week: a whisky distillery, encounters with the Church of Scotland, my first British breakfast, and a ceilidh. I'll try to divide them up into a few posts instead of rambling on in one ridiculously long entry. I suppose we'll just do this chronologically. Now that I've gotten into sort of a routine and the daily grind of classes and homework (well let's be honest, I don't always get to the homework) the days all sort of blend together and before you know it I've been here almost a month! Seriously, it's February, when did that happen? It seems this semester is just going to fly by; I had better get cracking on all the things I want to do and that long list of places I want to visit.

Speaking of visiting, last Saturday we went on of the International Student Center's day trips to go visit the distillery at Aberfeldy. It was perfect weather for the two hour drive. Clear, bright blue, sunny skies - not a rain cloud in sight. The scenery alone on the drive up to Aberfeldy was worth the 12 pounds for the ticket. Lots of rolling hills and mountains off in the distance and more sheep than I could possibly begin to count. We saw at least a thousand sheep. seriously. Probably more, actually. A large group of them were grazing in an enormous turnip patch, which of course made me think of my father. (Anybody who knows him will know of his great fondness for all root vegetables, especially turnips and rutabagas) I tried to take a few pictures out the window of the van, but was not too successful. Here's one from the drive home:

The tour itself was fairly interesting. It's nice to now know about how whisky's made and the difference between single malt and blended whiskies and all that, but I don't think I'll be headed to any more distillerys anytime soon. There really wasn't much to see as far as the distilling process goes, just lots of various containers of fermenting grains and liquid. mmmm...let me tell you, this place smelled lovely, if you like the smell of fermenting grains anyway.

After the tour, we got to investigate the kind of silly museum they had set up. One exhibit had you try to guess different smells (leather, heather, smoke, woody, and digestive biscuit, e.g. Yes that's right, digestive biscuit) that might be in the nose of a whisky. A really neat part of the museum was a display of what the blending room of Dewar's first master blender might have looked like.

We did get to sample some of the whisky at the end. My friend and I each tried a different one. Mine was quite smooth and very nice. Hers on the other hand, though it had a very interesting flavor (kind of like heather) it was a bit hard to drink.