Our foray at the Farmers Market

Today (wow, I started writing this two weeks ago) we took a wander down to the Edinburgh Farmers Market. Walking hand in hand, eating things on tiny toothpicks, taking pictures and treasure hunting for farm fresh produce is something very special to us. The first time my husband and I spoke was when he was off to the local farmers market in my home town. Shortly after, one of our first dates was a morning bike ride the the Trout Lake farmers market in Vancouver. So in addition to filling our fridge and cupboards with locally grown produce, supporting the farmers at the most primary level and knowing where our food is coming from, we are in fact quite sentimental about the experience of weaving through stalls and chatting with folk.

This Market runs all year round, every Saturday from 9am until 2pm. It also happens to run in the rain, which we found out the very wet way! It did not deter us, but rather resulted in us investing in some hot lunch of steaming hot venison haggis, neeps and tatties (aka Scotland's signature dish with potato and turnip mash on the side). We were informed that venison haggis was in fact the original, and the sheep version Scots know and love was introduced later. Our meal was totted as being nature's waterproofing, meaning that once it is in you the cold, wet weather can no longer penetrate.

Moving on, the market boasts 55 stalls and is set under the stern shadow of the historic castle. The castle terrace is transformed into a lane of blue and white striped awnings. Items are both local and from as far afield as the west coast Scottish Island of Arran. Something, as a North American, to consider is the scale of Scotland which is hard to fathom both by map or via blog. Scotland from east to west coast is just over an hours drive wide, so local could mean over the border in Northern England or nearer to Galsgow. In tangible terms, Southern Scotland is the distance of a Sundays drive to Vanderhoof, or for my Vancouverites a drive over the Lions Gate bridge during rush hour. I digress...

Hope this helps you find your way to the freshness!

The Edinburgh farmers market website is a great way to plan your Saturday morning. In one handy spreadsheet it lists all the merchants and which weekends they will be present, so you can plan your meals around their attendance. There is even a Slow Food demonstrations on the first Saturday of every month if you are so inclined! The joys of shopping for seasonal produce is just that, it is seasonally available in a county with a shorter growing season and climates better suite to raising livestock. Diets are no longer dependant on what is available locally, but rather we rely heavily on imported goods to satisfy our expectations of a varied and ever more interesting menu. Importing goods dates back to the eighteenth century in Edinburgh specifically, so it is no wonder we exist today consuming with little regard to regional growing restrictions, growing conditions or the effects geographical locations has on production of crops.

This leads me to my next point, which is having to adjust your idea of what farm means. Walking into the market area your olfactory system is overwhelmed with the smells of many cooked meats. Fried Aberdeen Angus burgers, spit roasted whole pig, smoked local venison, barbequed Cumberland sausages and bottomless pots of steaming haggis to name a few. Sheep are better suited to Scotland damp climate it seems, and there is no where more evident of this than at the stalls of this farmers market. It truly makes you think about how many fresh things we are importing in at all times, no longer leading lives where we are satisfied with what our particular area can provide us with. What am I trying to say exactly? Succulent blueberries and gorgeous peaches are not to be found. Game pies and sausages outnumber the vegetable venders. And Scotland is really good at growing things on their farms that have four legs! My ideas of green things has gone out the window, but that is okay, because it has made me think about the ways I eat and how I can amend them. Toto, I don't think we are in Vancouver any more!

So, this is what you will find! This week at least!

Pies, but no sweet fruits to be found here! Pies are more commonly savoury, hearty and packed full of meats! An example is this 'Rabbie Burns Pie', wild rabbit cooked in red wine brandy,topped with Haggis!

This mother-daughter duo sold jams, jellies and chutneys! Also punnets of strawberries and spring asparagus too!

A kiosk by Spokes, the local Lothian Cycle Collective handing out Edinburgh cycle route maps and campaigning to improve conditions for cyclists in the city, promoting safety too! This cause is close to our hearts since Lumberjack (my husband) was hit while on his bicycle a few months back(whilst wearing his helmet and riding with his lights on)! So keep up the plee for bike lanes in the Burgh please!

Arran Cheese of awesomeness! Plenty of samples and an invite for a tour of the fromage factory when we are on the island! Yes please!

Something you would only see is Scotland! A stand serving hot, fresh Poutine...Nope...Porridge!

This is the World's first Porridge bar!

(note- the castle in the background, wha? I know!)

This is what I took home with me! A wheel of Isle of Arran smokey garlic cheese, cheddar with crushed stem ginger and a hank of traditional hand spun, hand coloured wool from Kate Sharps own flock of sheep! I am so in love with the colour!

Some Scottish strawberries, a loaf of bread made by Lumberjack and a big pot of tea was perfect on that rainy afternoon! mmm, so nice to share!

I totally recommend making at stop at the farmers market if you are in town. It is busy and delicious and will provide you some insight into Scottish cuisine and Sottish culture. Check out the Edinburgh Farmers Market website to see when your favourite suppliers will be present and find out when the food you love is actually in season! A mighty tasty way to spend a Saturday.

missing greens but loving what Edinburgh farmers had to offer,

erin x

Edinburgh City Guide

This comprehensive city guide to Edinburgh covers all the spots, and all the shops! The always trendy, always up-to-date dames at Design Sponge posted this a few months back, and do not disappoint! This guide should satisfy the culture vulture, the fashionista, the indie film goer, the foodie, the lover of all things underground and all things Scottish alike.

It takes you around Edinburgh by street name or community area, and was something I actually referred to when I arrived. D*S tends to be a reliable source in the style department, and having been written by a resident/lover of Edinburgh, this was no exception.

Of course everyone is after a different experience and is bound to have different tastes, but whether you are taking a tour, thinking of moving, travelling to the capital city or trying to find something in your home town, this guide seems like a great start!

Bravo Design Sponge, you have taken the pressure off me! This would have been alot of work, so I left it up to Eloise!

Enjoy the link, and better yet, Enjoy Edinburgh!

erin x this link

Click Here for your Edinburgh City Guide by Eloise Leeson For D*S

Stay-cay and a Vaccay!

I have plenty of things I am working on to post from this weekends wonderful stay-cay in Edinburgh! I also have a couple of days off from my job at the camping and hiking store to go...you guessed it! Camping and Hiking! This is where this shit gets real! (ahem)

In search of the perfect travel companion-a book, I used ALL of my time searching for some Scottish fiction or a tale of trails and trials in the highlands, and all of my cheese budget on books. I spent NON of my time fine-tuning the many drafts I have piling up, and though I am excited to share them, none resemble a finished postable product!

Sigh, so much to write about, so little time! So thus I will surely add to the backlog by going on my adventure to the Island of Arran this week! Oh well, I am sure you will agree it is worth it! Wouldn't you say? We will follow the Tastes of Arran trail, this is a real thing, and it looks real tasty too. Arran has creameries, fish smoking facilities, cheese and chocolate factories, and distilleries to wash it all down! Also, all are open for my touring pleasure! We are packing in and packing out so our little laptop did not make the cut. A light load makes for more room for local Arran cheddar to make the trip back. The sacrifices one has to make.

Well enjoy your week, whether in Edinburgh or beyond, and I will report back about my local food related findings post-trail of taste!

erin x

Go Greens!

This is my first year in Scotland and to keep our grocery bill at bay we decided to make use of the window boxes provided with out flat (aka apartment). We planted Swiss chard, round carrots, beetroot (aka beets), salad greens of sorts, garlic chives and the herbs we tend to use/cook/eat the most! They are all snuggled together with a tiny army of mis-matched marigolds to fight off the bugs. Despite Scotland lacking in the sun department and the gale force winds this week, our urban container garden is growing happily perched on our window sill. We also planted a pot of courgettes (zucchini) which are showing their little sprouty heads just now, so we hope they will be ready in time to harvest by late summer.

Having been raised by a gardening family it just feels natural at this time of year to go outside, or in our case into out kitchen with newspaper on the floor, and get your hands dirty. Back then, our acres of vegetables and potatoes took some of the strain of providing fresh food off my parents, I believe more importantly it made me appreciate the work/love that goes into a garden/family. Many hours were spent digging hills of potatoes, picking and peeling peas, keeping the kids from eating all the baby carrots and sharing the wealth with family and friends. The process was just as rewarding as the product!

On an entirely mini scale, me and my Lumberjack got to experience the satisfaction of spending time together in an effort to grow food for our family of us.

And so, I introduce my first bowl of greens, grown in Edinburgh, enjoyed in Edinburgh and worth the effort! I'm not gonna lie, I'm a wee bit proud, and I think my green thumbed Dad would be pretty dang proud too...and then recite all the scientific names for all the plants we planted... and then go on to list at length all the other things I could have planted that would be suitable for this growing season we find ourselves in! If you know my father, I'm sure you will find this account of him both amusing and accurate.

So in conclusion: Having our wee window boxes full of greens to great us when we look out the window makes it feel a whole lot more like home to me!

I will leaf you with this picture...

Potato-Po-tah-toe

Has this every happened to you?

You are in a self checkout at the local store purchasing a tasty zucchini for your dinner, but wait, you click on "Z" for zucchini and nothing shows up! You panic, you look around feverishly while the line of seasoned self-checker-outers starts to wind down the aisles behind you, shuffling as they get restless and watching over you shoulder as you hunt for the damn zucchini button! Finally you eyeball one of the overworked staff members who looks at you confused, quickly presses the letter "C" and informs you in a tone reserved for such situations that this is not a zucchini, despite popular belief, but a courgette!

This is actually a re-enactment of my everyday life. Language has become something that sometimes alienates me, and in my short time here in Scotland, most commonly in the grocery store. Also, you will be corrected if you call this place that contains the groceries a grocery store because the term commonly used here is supermarket.

I have compiled a short list that I will add on to as new terms to know arise. Assimilate faster? Maybe. Increase ease of shopping? Perhaps. Learn and respect the language of the county, and its country-people, you are residing in? You bet. Not get made fun of and start to cry at the checkout only to be not consoled because it is a 'self checkout' and the kind ladies that you have known for you entire life behind the till are all but obsolete so you just have to imagine that this machine can feel your pain and put your tear stained zucch...courgettes into your tote bag and go home to you apartm...flat? Here's hoping!

In no particular order, and in Canadian-to-UK only out of coincidence:

zucchini-courgette

eggplant-aubergine

bun-bap

hotdog-frankfurter

cilantro-corriander

dish soap-washing up liquid

cookie-biscuit

homogenized (4%) milk-full fat milk

arugula-rocket

ground beef-mince

molasses-treacle

jell-o-jelly (I guess they haven't heard of a guy by the name of Bill Cosby)

super fine sugar-caster sugar

instant noodles or ichiban-pot noodles

bacon-streaky bacon, or else you get thick back bacon that is meaty, not crispy

oatmeal-porridge

And just to add insult to injury, while I was posting this I discovered my spellcheck is British too because it won't accept zucchini as a word either!

'Cup of Tea' Tuesdays

This twiggy tea plate has two tiers and combines pretty china with a touch of the outdoors. The best part is, Toot Toot (the sound made by me whilst tooting my own horn), I made it myself with some sticks I found while walking in the Meadows! It is perfect for serving tea to our guests; it satisfies the traditional function of a tiered serving plate while reflecting our personal style and creating conversation.
If you are feeling like your home could use a woodsy touch, you can make this fine tea plate yourself.

This is my twiggy tea plate in action at breakfast this morning! I served up some fresh baked scones with Scottish strawberry jam and clotted cream from Devon, in the south west of the country. This meal would be called a Cream Tea, so you can ask for it by name when you are travelling over here. This is a fail safe recipe from Darina Allen, an Irish traditional chef that I am obsessed with. I found this recipe in her book, my bible, The Forgotten Skills of Cooking a definitive modern guide to traditional cookery skills.

We made only a third of this recipe and still had a feast of scones!

Mummy’s Sweet White Scones

The smell of freshly baked scones coming out of the oven was one of my earliest memories, and then there was the squabbling over the sugar tops with my brothers and sisters!

Makes 18-20 scones using a 72 cm (3inch) cutter

900g (2lb) plain white flour
170g (6oz) butter
3 free range eggs
pinch of salt
55g (2oz) castor sugar
3 heaped teaspoons baking powder
450ml (15floz) approx. milk to mix

Glaze
egg wash (see below)
granulated sugar for sprinkling on top of the scones

First preheat the oven to 250C/475F/gas mark 9.

Sieve all the dry ingredients together in a large wide bowl. Cut the butter into cubes, toss in the flour and rub in the butter. Make a well in the centre. Whisk the eggs with the milk, add to the dry ingredients and mix to a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured board. Knead lightly, just enough to shape into a round. Roll out to about 22cm (1inch) thick and cut or stamp into scones.* Put onto a baking sheet – no need to grease. Brush the tops with egg wash and dip each one in granulated sugar. Bake in a hot oven for 10-12 minutes until golden brown on top. Cool on a wire rack.
Serve split in half with home made jam and a blob of whipped cream or just butter and jam.

Egg Wash
Whisk 1 egg with a pinch of salt. This is brushed over the scones and pastry to help them to brown in the oven.

My tip- Don't get your egg was on the sides of the scones or they won't rise as well. Just on top!

A Tuesday introduction into the British tea culture which you will find abroad!

enjoy

Flake 99

flake 99:"Ninety-nine n. (also 99) Brit. an ice cream cone made with soft ice cream with a stick of flaky chocolate inserted into it (as 99 a proprietary name in the United Kingdom); (formerly) an ice cream wafer sandwich containing a similar stick of chocolate; a wafer cone or chocolate stick for an ice cream (disused)."

Why have I chosen to define Britain's favourite summer seaside vacation treat? Due much in fact to the prompting of my husband to taste his 'motherlands' ice cream of choice, I discovered a sordid past to the origins of the name of the aforementioned soft serve snack.

So what's in a name?

First off with a warning-Do not assume 99p is all you will need to purchase your ice cream cone because the origin of its name by no means reflects on its price. My introduction to Flake 99 cost me two pounds fifty! A 99 is soft ice cream in a cone with a Cadbury Flake bar protruding out of it. Sounds simple enough, but the reason for its name sake has been lost over history, so if you really must know-you will be left wanting.

A Flake is a half milk chocolate- half air, layered stick that comes in original size and a '99' specific size for the purpose of lending itself to an ice cream treat. Not having the emotional attachment my British husband does to this product of his youth, I find it resembles a twig or worse yet a a little log of dog poop. Sorry fans of the Flake, I tell it as I see it. The Flake 99 was introduced as early as the 1920's and won its way into the hearts of the UK, still present as the main attraction of ice cream trucks today.

Was it named after the location of a high street shop in Portabello, Edinburgh where it may have originated ten years before Cadbury launched their version?

Is the flake in question 99 mm long even though it is marketed in a country that wouldn't have used the metric system back then?

Was it in reference to the King of Italy's elite guard consisting of 99 soldiers and a prevalence of Italian ice cream purveyors? I am not making this up friends!

Are there 99 layers of chocolate or do the layers consists of patterns that resemble tiny nines?

Nobody really knows for sure, but apparently the 99 is as fun to speculate about as it is to eat.

The Flake 99 is available at ice cream trucks everywhere, taking into consideration I am located in the UK, and in a pre-packaged form marketed by Cadbury. Why not save a tree and eat a cone instead?

I think Shakespeare may have had it right that sometimes it doesn't matter what things are called, but rather what they are. So take the opportunity to try this traditional treat for yourself when you arrive. And enjoy!

edinburgh x erin

Food for Thought Thursdays

Dine In: Huh, what a concept!

We are faced with a choice every time we consume (ie. Purchase) and every time we consume (ie. Eat) food! Even if you are pressed for time I believe one should have healthy options at their disposal if they so choose. If you are anything like me, you want to have it all, and by that I mean a successful/rewarding career and a family and a tasty/healthy dinner with a fastfood price tag AND dessert. The dlemma is this- How often is healthy food fast or cheap? Well when it happens to be one of those nights where you are pressed for time and can't get to your garden, you can feel good about this meal deal without getting asked it you “want fries with that”.

Marks & Spencers offers a meal for two for a tenner (an affectionate UK term for the ten dollar bill)! With a choice of fresh, seasonal side, meal, dessert and a drink according to my calculations that makes for 8100 different choices for dinner! All packaging is listed as recyclable and the selections I checked contained no artificial colors, flavours or preservatives too!

Ten quid (UK slang for ten pounds)seems to satisfy the :

local eater-offering British grown potato wedges, local Leicster cheeses, British beef and Scottish Lochmur Salmon

vegetarian- serving up a plenitude of veggie friendly sides including a filling pot of mash (a popular choice of side dish for Scots), Mediterranean Roasting vegetables or for the finer tastes perhaps petis pois with edamame in a minted butter to start followed by the trio of mushroom & Stilton risotto. Wha? I know, mmm!

the big appetite- a whole Scottish slow-raised chicken or a pound, yep, a pound of spaghetti bolognese with a salad that would last me a week

lighter fare too- how about the comforting steamed peas and carrots with the pair of Scottish chilli& coriander (aka cilantro) salmon fillets, topped with a honey ginger glaze and a "fabulous fruity fiesta"(real name for assorted fresh fruits) to finish it off

the straight edge- an alternative to vino, for your bevvy you can choose from a duo pack of sparkling grape juice, including both white and red grape or a two pack of Valencia orange juice

*also noticed the mussels in garlic & creamery butter were sustainably sourced

So now that everyone is satisfied and dinner is on the table I want to assure you I am not sponsored by M&S but rather that I appreciate delicious dinner options that are quick and easy, cheap and cheerful and also easy on both the conscience and the waste-line!

Oh, and there are nine different desserts and seven bottles of wine to choose from, so though this might not be that meal for the indecisive, I must remind you we have all spent more on ONE bottle of wine than you have to for this entire meal for two!

In the words of Dan Akroyd playing Julia Child in SNL (pop culture references totally lost in the UK so I shall use them on you) Bon Apetit!

Design Your Dream Dinner on a Dime Here