Oats and Scotland

Oats are part of Scottish life, from porridge to oatcakes to haggis. I have a theory that oats created the great Scottish character. From the 1700's onwards Scots became a race that travelled and worked all over the world and are reknowned for their hardiness in all climates.
My chiropractor was telling me to stop eating wheat products as the human body just doesn't work well with wheat, our digestive system cannot easily absorb it. This led me to think maybe thats why Scots have a reputaiton for being hardy, mostly they didn't eat wheat until the last 50 years or so. I know that oats are good for reducing cholesterol and are very healthy.
We eat old fashioned rolled oats and we love it the taste is just very good.

A Good Printer in the Borders

Yesterday I spent running around Galashiels trying to find "legal" paper for an insurance. No one had any and then one shop recommended Bordersprint  in Selkirk. They are just off the main sq and can be contacted at 01750 723200. What a nice little company that understands customer service and is willing to go the extra mile. What I wanted was not available but they used larger paper, printed my stuff and cut it to size all the same day as I had to have it ready for today for a meeting. I would recomend them wholeheartedly. This is just the type of small friendly business that a place like the Borders has and makes it a special place.

plain breid

We went to Berwick yesterday to find a man selling a rabbit hutch. Long story really but we want to try raising quail as we like the eggs and the meat. Apparently they can be reared in rabbit hutches. We found the man who made it himself and his main interest is making authentic gypsy caravans which he has 3 in his yard. Memories of wind in the willows and toady, the open road and a life of freedom.

He does sell them so anyone interested mail me and I will put you in touch. He started making rabbit hutches for Christmas as a way to make a little money. The hutches are very nice and only 30 pounds very reasonable, but would not suit our purpose as you cannot lock the rabbit (or bird) in one side while you clean the other, an essential for quail as they fly.

Went to get bread from Fords and found a loaf style they pronouce "plenbraid". It is apparently a traditional Scottish loaf where the top and bottom are very dark and brown and crusty and the sides are soft with no crust at all. This is done by panning them so close together that they touch and then pulling them apart after baking. I must say the bread was delicious, it brough back memories of childhood with the thick crust so crunchy and tasty and the very soft white inside. Fords remains the premium bread maker in the Borders and maybe even the Northeast of England.

December 4th - First snow

Well I got up today to our first snow, not a lot but enough to make everywhere white. The met is predicting more today later on. Its amazing how that first fall changes the landscape and enhances many things so you see the world differently. Walls stand out with their white topping and trees look a lot starker against a while carpet. The grounbd becomes a carpet with small uneveness smoothing out into a unifrom whiteness. Nice to get the first snow but I am sure we will soon feel very differently when deep snow arrives and disrupts our lives.

Hardiesmill Aberdeen Angus Beef Butchery

On the Gordon to Kelso road, just after the right turn to Mellerstain is a left turn to Hume. Along that road less than 250 yards is Hardiesmill Farm which has its own onsite butchery. They are very good and the meat looks exceptional. Their website hardiesmill.co.uk does not work but one can call them at 01573-410797 or 410375 and order and they will cut to order.

I bought some shin beef from them (2lbs for 10 pounds) which I will trial kitchen against my own very good butcher in Earlston (2lbs for 6 pounds!) and see if the Aberdeen Angus name means anything. They also say they have a smokery and do smoked guinea fowl, lamb and chicken as well as some cheese and hams. But I saw no evidence of it and no one mentioned smoked products to me so this might be a dream at this point. We find many of these farm shops a bit dear frankly, its like you drive into the middle of nowhere and then they want to charge you more than Edinburgh prices. We have found the same for many stalls at "farmers markets" which I find baffling as the prices clearly put people off. Whay do they want to gouge the public so?

LATER
We tested the meat against my butchers own. It is better and tastier but I am not sure it justifies the huge price difference. 2lbs of meat cost 10 pounds from Hardiesmill and 6 pounds from my butcher, thats 60% dearer, an awful lot.

Stanley Baynes - Baker in Musselburgh

A friendly bakery that sells good pies and snacks and quite good bread. On the right hand side after the bridge. Certainly worth a visit.

Lanna Thai - Musselburgh Updated)

I have never been in a Thai restaurant where you can eat Pad Thai and follow with beans on toast. But that is Lanna Thai on the High Street in Musselburgh (before the bridge). My wife and I went there for lunch and found it full of pensioners eating egg and chips. Having said that we had two good Thai dishes that while not outstanding were good quyality food at exceptional prices. We had two main courses and drinks for 12 pounds, almost unheard of nowadays even in a fish and chip shop.

Revisited Lanna this week and found again very good food at reasonable prices, not gourmet Thai but decent home cooking.