Category: Food

Hoodie – 7 March 2016

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combo bToday I gave in and bought a hoodie. It was another cold grey day. We did have an hour of sunshine around midday but that was it. In the morning we walked to the start of the dunes saw a strange (artist’s?) house with lots of icons on the walls. Just begging to be photographed.  Next door was what we think is a nudist hotel. High industrial looking metal walls and a name that hinted at naturism. We must go back and investigate.

Once I’d decided to bite the bullet and go for comfort over fashion, we walked half way into town and had a look in lots of shops, even venturing into Zara!!  Couldn’t find what what I wanted at a sensible price (€85 for a hoodie? I think not). With that in mind we walked back to our local shopping centre and got one there. Not in the shop where the Indian woman asked “You like it. You not going to buy?”  “Eh, naw”. Finally got one. A bit dearer than the Indian one, but from a much more pleasant seller. The squeaky wheel doesn’t always get the grease.  Just been to the Rambutan restaurant for dinner and it was great. Not the best hotel in the world, but the food is exceptional.

Sunday Stroll – 6 March 2016

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combo bToday after breakfast we walked all the way in to Corralejo. It took us some time.  We passed through a shopping arcade where there was an open air craft market and a group singing folk songs.  Further into town I got a cheap, but really comfortable shirt after waiting in a long, long queue. We saw the most amazingly customized bikes, cycles, not motorcycles, covered in shells and goatskin!

We walked down to the harbour and saw painted fish statues, like the cow parade, but fish!  On the walk back we stopped at a bar where we could have danced last night, had we known. Instead we had a pizza, Scamp had a glass of wine and I had a beer while we listened to a jazz guitarist playing Jimi Hendrix covers. Good guitarist, good pizza and the drinks were very welcome because it was starting to get warm.

Back at the hotel we watched a volleyball game in warm sunshine for an hour.

At night we watched the show – Cabaret and then got to dance salsa and bachata in the disco. Knackered now.

Lunch, the highpoint of the day – 4 March 2016

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combo bNot a lot to say about today again.  Lunch was at The Cotton House where I bumped into a former colleague who worked part-time for us for a while, but who retired a couple of years before me.  Lunch was good as usual.  Barbecued spare ribs are great, but very messy to eat!  I would probably have been better with Scamp’s choice of spring rolls.  Both of us had the same main – chicken chow mein.  Simply superb.

After lunch we drove in to Glasgow, to Staples for me to get a bigger SD card for the new camera.  It was a lovely day with great views of the hills on the way back.  Unfortunately I was driving, so I didn’t get the chance to take any photos.

When we got back, I went out to post a parcel to Hazy (Incoming Hazy!) and break in the new card on the way back home.  I had to wait for about 15 mins while a rain shower made its way swiftly across us.  There were some nice sprinkles of sun across the pond at St Mo’s, but a fair amount of cloud too.  Thankfully the rain stayed away.

That about wraps it up for Friday.

Endorphins – 21 February 2016

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combo bbSometimes when we come out of the salsa social on a Sunday, I feel it’s a duty done. Scamp usually wants to go to The Garage to the Sunday Social and I don’t usually mind. Today when we came out, I was buzzing and could have stayed until closing time. Yes, I’d have been knackered and yes I’d have been starving, but I don’t think I’d have minded. Apparently it’s all to do with Endorphins. If you haven’t heard of them, I’m told they are little smiley faces that bubble round your bloodstream and do happy things. You can read all about them on Wikipedia if you aren’t a sciency type like me. What they don’t tell you on the revered Wikipedia is that the little endorphins like dancing, especially salsa dancing and that’s why I was feeling much better coming out of The Garage than I did when I went in.

Made the rest of the pakora when we got home and although the chicken stuff was ok, the veggy pakora was much too thick and stodgy. Version 2 will be better when I get round to making it.

It’s been a dismal day with constant rain. The temperature is supposed to drop considerably over the next couple of days with ice and snow forecast. Much nicer than constant rain.

Stirling in the Rain – 20 February 2016

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combo bStirling in the rain is like anywhere else in the rain, it’s a bit dismal. We’d only come here because we couldn’t face going to Glasgow again, we’d been to Embra yesterday and let’s face it Hamilton, Airdrie and Motherwell are pretty depressing. Not as depressing as Cumbersheugh, but nowhere is really. We couldn’t be bothered going far, but wanted to get out the house for a while and Stirling would be better than anywhere else within the 30 mile limit we’d kind of set.

When we got to Stirling the rain actually stopped for a while. Did some shopping, Scamp got some Euros to celebrate Big Davie Cameron’s Battle for Britain. Nah, she got them for going to a sunny place next week. I’m not going, I’m not invited. This is a girls only do. I’m going to stay home and paint and maybe fix the battery in the Mac Book Pro. I might even go out a run in the car, but not to Stirling and not in the rain.

There was a break in the clouds when we got home and I ventured out to St Mo’s to get some foties. Got soaked on the way back, but that was ok because I had a few shots in the bag. Well, to be pedantic, the photos were on the card, in the camera which was in the bag.

Made chicken and prawn pasta with rocket pesto, and made it better than that tasteless Brown’s concoction. If they want my recipe I’ll sell it to them. Had a first attempt at chicken pakora tonight. It tasted ok, even Scamp agreed. Maybe veggy pakora tomorrow, but deep frying in a wok on a gas hob is a bit scary.

Sit an infinite number of morons at an infinite number of smartphones – 19 February 2016

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combo bThis blog starts with us sitting in a nice wee French restaurant in Embra next to a loud american who must be important – to himself at least. He rambled on about the wonderful food in this, his favourite restaurant. When his companion asked if the French onion soup was served with cheese he replied after a pause “It’s served the way it is in France.” (fancy that eh? In a French restaurant, now that’s a surprise). “I don’t know” would have been more honest, but then again he was american. Our soup, Scamp’s salmon and my pork chop were really excellent, especially after Wednesday’s disappointment at Browns. We will be back to Petit Paris in the Grassmarket.

On the train home we were stuck in a carriage with the six morons and their smartphones from the title. Three of them were discussing the merits of Twi’ur (sic!). One of them was explaining that she had a created the Genyus Bar (sic again! Although most of the carriage were sick by this time.) and emphasized her spelling of it. She then went on to create an on-line personna for one of them who then found that he had two followers. After that, there was no stopping them. They were hashtagging this and re-tweeting that. Then one of them got her jacket down from the rack. She had an EIS badge on it. Educational Institute of Scotland union. Teachers. Loud, opinionated and terminally stupid. I can say that now, I’m not a teacher anymore. I discovered the error of my ways and got out early. When we got off the train I pitied those left behind with the morons away from their lessons.

In between paragraph one and two, we just wandered down the Royal Mile then down The Bridges, through JL and then headed for the train.

Before paragraph one (are you still following me or do you need a map?) we got some tea in a new-to-us shop just off the Grassmarket as my usual tea shop was SHUT. Not closed, but SHUT. A very Scottish expression I always think. Maybe next time he’ll be open and we can discuss the world, its problems and ways to fix it.

Sit an infinite number of morons at an infinite number of smartphones and they will eventually … discover Twi’ur – well what did you expect? The entire works of Shakespeare? Remember, they were teachers.

Only the sphinx with the surprised expression came from today. The abstract was from Tesco carpark in a hailstorm yesterday (other supermarket carparks are available).

Weatherwise it’s such a lovely day – 18 February 2016

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combo bWe’ve had just about everything flung at us today. Woke to a light covering of snow and temperature of 0.6ºc. Soon after that the snow melted and the rain started. No wind thankfully, for a change. Went to the gym and had a quick swim. I went on the VR bike to start with and cycled on Elba. I now know how Napoleon felt. What a place to be stuck on. Every hill seemed to be about 1:4 and it was constant uphill after uphill. I kept wondering if there was a button on the bike that would let me have a 360 degree view, like Google Street View. I’m sure somebody will be burning the midnight oil somewhere inventing it. If not, then they should be! I was totally knackered after that and did some easy treadmill stuff and some arm exercises because my legs felt like jelly. The worst thing is, that was level 1. Heaven knows what level 4 is like. I don’t think I’m ever going to find out.

When we came out it was still raining, but the sun was shining too, a common occurance in Scotland. It’s what we call “Summer”. This wasn’t summer though. The wind would have cut through you. After lunch I made a Thai Green Curry paste and watched the sleet battering against the window. I kept waiting for a break in the weather to let me get out and get some foties, but every time it looked promising, five minutes later something wet was falling from the sky again.

I eventually gave up and went out in the car to Tesco. The black clouds in the west looked ominous but the sun in the east looked promising. By the time I got to Tesco, hail was drumming on the roof of the car. I decided to sit in the warm and the dry and wait it out. I waited and waited and then there was a respite from the hail and I got to the shop nearly dry. When I came out, it was snowing – large fluffy flakes of the stuff and underfoot was treacherous with slush. Drove home and by the time I got back the snow was off and the sun had come out again. Went down to Broadwood Loch and got some photos of the ducks and geese.

Four seasons in one day? Oh no, we get much, much more than that in Scotland.

By the way, the Thai Green Curry was very nice. Needs a bit of tweaking, but then doesn’t everything?

Forty Three Years Ago – 17 February 2016

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combo bForty three years ago today the weather was much the same. There was snow on the ground and it was cold. Two young folk, one 22 and one just 18 repeated their vows and became man and wife. How their lives have changed.

Today we took it easy. We had intended going to Edinburgh, but it being the middle of the week and with the prospect of more snow on the way, we decided to cut our losses and go to Glasgow instead. Rather than suffer the long bus journey through the wilds of Moodiesburn and Muirhead, I offered to drive. We eventually got parked in the third carpark we tried, despite the electronic signs telling us that there were spaces in the other two (they lied). Walked down through town me looking at a couple of cameras on the way, but still undecided which or even if I’d buy if it came down to it. Just like a girl can never have enough shoes, a photog can never have enough cameras. Decided on Browns for lunch and were mightily disappointed in the lack of flavour from both our meals. It’s feels like they have a reputation now, so they don’t have to try so hard. I think we’ll try somewhere else next time, but it’s a shame when it was a celebration meal and we rejected a few good restaurants before opting for Browns. Maybe it’s something to do with the name “Browns”: ordinary, nondescript, boring. Sort of sums it up really.

Went from there to the Art Store and picked up a couple of small Pink Pig sketch books and a wonderful bargain of a watercolour box reduced from £79 to £25!! Unfortunately, as I guessed, the Art Store is closing for good at the end of the month. According to one of the assistants, “the company is kaput”. Short term bargains for artists, but long term loss for art in Glasgow. They will be sadly missed.

After we came home, the weather brightened up and I managed an hour in St Mo’s just walking in the snow taking shots mainly with the 9mm. Some of the results are above. No plans for tomorrow, it all depends on the weather.

Exercise, Fuel and Pink Pigs – 16 February 2016

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAToday we did it. We got up and went out to find some exercise. To be honest, it was such a terrible day, the gym sounded like a good move. I may regret it tomorrow, but for today, it felt good to do some honest exercise.

All that exercise needs food to fuel it, so we went directly to Muirhead where the award winning butcher has his shop. Jic, we may have found a Scottish butcher that’s the equal of Chapman’s. Bought a fair load of meat and Scamp bought some fish. Even better, she got a haggis pie for lunch and I got a bridie. As I said at the start, exercise needs fuel. The fuel tasted fine. Almost as good as petrol does to a Crojian (probably only understood if you were brought up in Cumbersheugh)! After our low calorie lunch, we didn’t do much. The rain had been torrential when we left the gym this morning and it wasn’t getting any better as the day progressed. For a while I tinkered with that Nexus I was trying to do CPR on a week or so ago, but still no luck. What I did find was a fairly probable sounding explanation from a supposed IT specialist on a Nexus forum. Long story short, it’s a hardware issue that can’t be fixed at home. It would, of course, cost more than the value of a new Nexus to repair it. This time it goes into its pink folder and that goes into its poly bag and it goes back to its owner marked BER (Beyond Economic Repair).

Couldn’t get out to get a photo today, so I’d decided early on that today was a still life. Then, look, I even managed to include some architecture. Not real architecture, but straight out of my imagination. Last week I’d passed the Art Store in Glasgow and noticed the 50% off sale. I wasn’t greedy (for once) only getting a couple of Pink Pig sketch pads. I really like the texture of the paper and Fred has introduced me to A4 pads. The combination of good paper and large pads are good to draw and paint on. Hence today’s picture.

Had intended going to Embra tomorrow, but judging by the weather forecast, that may be postponed. We’ll see in the morning.

By the way, Happy Anniversary to Hazy & N D’Ag.

Curry – 7 February 2016

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combo bI had to drive in to Glasgow today to go to a curry making afternoon at Cafe India in the city.  It was a really interesting two and a half hours which started with making pakora – Potato, Spinach and Chicken varieties.  After we sampled them, we moved on to mains.  I made the Lamb Lazees (pronounced Layzee) which was really rich and a little bit creamy.  I think I’d he hard put to make it myself, but it was an experience discovering just how quick these dishes are to make.  Granted the meat was all pre-cooked, but one woman was vegetarian and she made a standard vegetable curry in the same time as the rest of us, which was about 10 minutes.  Next was a demonstration of making nan bread and chapatis.  We didn’t get a chance to make our own, probably on health and safety grounds as the tandoor oven operates at 300ºc!  Finally we had a sit down lunch where we got to eat the fruits of our labours.  I’ve told Scamp that the next time she sees this offer, she should go and then we can compare notes.

We should have gone to the Sunday Social today, but I couldn’t be bothered and Scamp was feeling the after-effects of yesterday’s late night at Kul’s surprise birthday party at Gusto in Bothwell Street in Glasgow.  Table should have been ready for 7.45pm, but the restaurant were running late.  Finally got our mains at just after 10.00pm.  I don’t think we’ll be back there again.  My main was good – roast chicken, but the meat was finished before they brought the potatoes and veg.  Totally disorganized and not cheap either.  So, we agreed to forego salsa but did have a practise at the bachata steps we learned last week.

Only got one shot today in a dull rainy Glasgow.  It wasn’t raining in Cowcaddens underground where I got today’s PoD.  It should have been the full view across both tunnels, but I was rushing and didn’t notice the camera strap obscuring the left hand tunnel.  One of the problems of the 9mm lens is the remarkable field of view.  Sometimes it’s too big a field.

Saw a couple of lovely paintings in the restaurant (top right) and tried to copy one tonight.  Not totally successfully, but an interesting diversion from my usual “style“.  Yet another work in progress.