Notes from Scotland.

Edinburgh, Scotland.

After numerous flights, trains and ferries through various parts of Europe¹, Sharon and I find ourselves in Edinburgh, enjoying a few days of genuinely lovely weather. Just last night, as we arrived from Athens, the last of the rain had moved along, delaying flights before ours but letting us through unscathed. I'll be posting a fair bit about our travels once we return home - and I've had a chance to sort through the more than four hundred photos² - and I can transfer my notes from miscellaneous, brief throughts into a coherent series of narratives.

Until then, a brief bit to keep the post-to-post span from stretching too long:

Stopped into a wonderful little Scottish gem this morning: the Edinburgh Farmers' Market. Situated in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle, it's a dual row of vendor stalls set up along the sidewalk. Walking space is a little tight, but the variety and quality of local Scottish food available at the end of March was a very pleasant surprise. We'd just eaten breakfast beforehand - forgetting that these UK markets aren't restricted from preparing food there, to serve, unlike in Madison - and were wishing we'd had room for dry-aged Aberdeen-Angus burgers, or heritage pork sandwiches, or any of the other sizzling goodies that smelled so wonderful.³

Instead, we picked up some Scottish oatcakes, a mixed bag of gourmet truffles - with flavors like blackcurrant and pastis, and white chocolate with violet - and chatted with Nick Paul, who was busy double-frying up batches of fresh potato chips at The Crisp Hut. He was selling copies of The Scottish Farmers' Market Cookbook, a collection of recipes based on the local meats and produce available at Scottish markets. Specifically Scottish, since he felt that the Scots were underrepresented in some of the most recent British market books published.⁴ For a few pounds, it was worth picking up a copy.

Signed, too, which is always a hoot. I'll work my way through the recipes in the coming months, adapting them for the local Wisconsin markets. Those that work out well - a quick scan suggests that's not a problem - I'll post about as I get to them.

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¹London and southern England, then Athens and the Cycladic island of Naxos, in Greece, and now Scotland.

²So far. It'll be pushing the six hundred mark should I actually end up filling up the memory card; thus far, the battery seems like it's going strong.

³To be precise: I was longing for the meat products; Sharon had her eye on the pastries.

⁴Not to mention that the two popular ones he noted - the names of which I've forgotten - were written by foreigners.