Italian Trip: June 2018

Friday 29 June 2018

Loch Katrine

Great day on the loch

Cheap scapes backpackers eating leftovers ...

Butter from France, bread roll from Copenhagen, homemade blackberry jelly from Italy

Enjoyed on the loch's of Scotland, how multi cultural can lunch be.

Meeting some locals and she wanted to share her scrummy Scottish chocolates with us, so who was I to say no! I'm thinking she felt sorry for us Aussies eating bread and jam!!

A Taste of Scottish food fusion and humour

Settled on the bashed neeps (turnips) which were pickled and looked trimmed and unharmed!

Yum turnips have never tasted so good and pared with the creamy mash and Haggis ... I'M LOVING SCOTLAND

Our view of the river over dinner

Tattie Scones Part 2

Our host thrilled with her new cooking skill and can't wait to cook tomorrow with Sandy's method.
Sharing the passion for food is a wonderful thing when some one wants to learn.

Now ,according to our host no Scottish breakfast would be complete without Tattie scones.

I say just give me a plate of Tattie Scones, hold the Scottish sides.

Image result for Scottish Potato Scones pictures

Tattie being the Scottish term for potatoes and there are many Scottish recipes for Tattie Scones but this is our hosts favourite. She tells us that some argue that Tattie Scones should not include egg, but for her adding the egg helps to glue the potatoes together and makes a lighter scone. So to add one or not is your call.
They are quick and easy to make and are a useful way to use up leftover mashed potatoes.

1lb./500 g. potatoes (cooked and mashed)

1 oz./30 g. butter (melted plus extra for greasing)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 medium egg

4 oz./125 g. flour (plus a little extra for rolling out)

1 tsp. baking powder

Preheat the oven to 395 F/200 C.

Place the mashed potato in a large baking bowl and add all the other ingredients to form a sticky dough.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface to approximately 1/2-inch thickness.

Cut into saucer sized rounds then score a cross into the dough to mark 4 equal wedges.

Grease a baking sheet with butter and bake the scones for 15 minutes until golden brown and risen.

The scones can also be cooked on the stove top on a griddle or heavy-based frying pan.

Cook the scones 5 minutes on either side until golden and risen Eat while warm.

She like hers smothered in butter and so did I.

Tattie Scones Part 1

We are at Heather House in Callander a cute little 2 room B&B
just newly opened.

from my window I can see.

Our breakfast table set ready everyday for our Scottish Breakfast.

Day one the traditional BIG Scottish Breakfast and as you could imagine calories, cooked blood and offal on a plate!
One doesn't need a picture of that, I'm sure you can see it at any truckie stop the world over.
It was Scottish Stunning and I simply loved it!! must be my truckie alto ego coming out, but one per month should be my limit ...
well maybe two then.

Day two smoked salmon and scrambled eggs ... fantastic Scottish Smoked Salmon from the cool waters that surround this quaint little village.

(but dry crumbly and boring scrambled eggs!!!!)
Really Pete did you just write that.
Yes the typical untrained scrambled egg cooking style ...
Milk and cream to make them fluffy but when you overcook them it doesn't make any difference how much milk and cream one adds.

Hmmmm when asked by my new to the breakfast cooking trade host what I thought of the eggs I just had to say ...
Not as good as Sandy's, subtle Pete, good on ya!..
Well she did ask and as we have one more breakfast still to come that was to feature her scramble eggs it was my mouths duty to talk on behalf of my taste buds.

So day three Sandy's is in the kitchen teaching our host her scrambled egg secrets for light moist fluffy scrambled eggs.
(Sandy learned from Michel Roux when we started doing breakfasts @ The Retreat) ... but with one condition that our host shares her Tattie scones recipe, the one we had on day one, it was amazing.

slow and steady over a very low heat

and with some of Sandy dukka that she travels with (as you do)

But even my Sand's can't fix a pale none grass feed chicken egg.

Scotland

The flight from Copenhagen to Edinburgh is about 1 & 1/2 hours and the scenery changes from the Nordic watery little islands over the North Sea to the rolling hills with checker board green paddocks of Scotland, stunning flight.

Leaving Copenhagen with 22 deg days into a Scottish heatwave of 31 deg. Callander is a 1 hour drive west from Edinburgh and is where we are staying for our first 3 days, it has just had its hottiest June day in 5 years and today it was the hottest place in Great Brittan. Welcome two little Aussies when all we want is a mild mid 20's so we can hit the walking track of Scotland, drink some scotch and have a cool traditional Scottish summer.
Normally June day temps are about 18 to 22 deg.

The locals are closing up shop and going to the beach.

Where as we hit the walking tracks.

Dress to impress on the walking tracks my Sand's

Tarmac all the way so accessible.

Mind the stinging nettles our Italians would love it here so many weeds to make Pasta and cook with!

It's nice and cool walking under the shade of the trees
and as Scotland was my thing ... I wanted to go walking so today was a good start. This morning I hit the hills before breakfast to do some more off road stuff, just loved it.