Burns Breakfast

Just spent a few nights in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. So many places to revisit and things to see from the Georgian new town to the Medieval old town, Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace and the Scottish National and Portrait Galleries to name but a few.

This would be writer spent a little time in The Elephant House cafe where J.K. Rowling apparently wrote Harry Potter whilst eating their delicious cakes and coffees. My mocha with salted caramel brownie was delicious but inspiration did not flow and, if anything, I just felt rather conspicuous!

Our last morning in Edinburgh was Thursday (January 25th), the day when the folk of Scotland celebrate the birth of their poet Robbie Burns. Had we stayed until night-time I may have indulged in some vegetarian haggis, neeps and tatties (swede and potatoes) with a wee dram of whisky on the side. As it was, we were homeward bound on the 1pm train from Waverley Station so brunch was the order of the day.

I can highly recommend Urban Angel cafe on Hanover Street, ranked 2nd on Trip Advisor. So much so in fact that we went twice! The first day I tried a Peanut Butter & Maca Bowl and the second day the Acai Bowl. We also had Eggs Benedict and French Toast with berries, aniseed sugar and orange. A nice touch was the little egg timer showing me when it was time to pour my tea.

We'll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld Lang syne.

The Proof of the Pudding is in the Eating

Hosting a Friday supper for 6 and a mixture of carnivores and vegetarians I opted for two lasagnes with salad on the side. Very time consuming and faffy but at least the prep was done in advance so bish, bash, bosh - sorted!

On to pudding and with temperatures dropping outside, comfort food was required. I plumped for sticky toffee pudding but remembered that one friend did not like it made with dates. To the drawing board and googling a recipe I came upon good old Mary Berry with her dateless sticky toffee pudding. As is the norm with Mary's recipes, it came out perfectly and the accompanying sauce was equally good. She must like big portions as the recipe said 6-8 whereas ours made twelve! Having said that, I referred to the other Queen of Cooking, Nigella, and made salted caramel ice cream to serve with it.

Now the above saying was definitely relevant. It was delicious. If it had been bread and butter pudding made with home-made bread then the proof would have definitely been in the pudding. 

Soup and a soupçon

The temperatures have dropped, my waistline has expanded and the diets and gym memberships have risen. Lots of people are channeling their inner resolutions to do Dry January and Veganuary. Personally I like the sound of Ginuary (trying a new gin combo every day of the month); certainly it might be an antidote for tomorrow's Blue Monday when we supposedly hate the weather, our post Christmas debt and the fact that we haven't stuck to our resolutions.

So, a combination of comfort yet healthy vegetarian food, minus alcohol and without too many calories on a cold January day. What to have?

The Answer? Soup of the day. Soup every day. Super soup.

   Roasted tomato soup with creme fraiche and basil

    Roasted pumpkin soup with yogurt and pumpkin seeds

There are so many recipes for soup using a myriad of ingredients; you could probably have a different one every day of the month. And if that doesn't blow your mind, you can add a different topping every day too. There are no limits.

Below are a few ideas, just compliment the flavours:-

Oil - a drizzle of your favourite (ie truffle) or just good old extra virgin olive oil

Condiments - mustard, soy sauce, hot sauce, Hendersons ...

Seeds - toasted pumpkin, sunflower ...

Cream - creme fraiche or yogurt if you're watching your waistline, or coconut milk

Herbs - fresh, lightly fried or dried

Spices - for a warm kick

Fruit and Veg - grated in to compliment the soup - carrot, beetroot, apple ...

Dried onions - for a slight crunch

Nuts - chopped and sprinkled

Cheese - dabs of goats cheese or a Parmesan equivalent (Gran Moravia)

Croutons - any size or shape with any flavouring to float on top

Puff pastry - ditto

Cheese straws - ditto

Popcorn - plain or salted

Go on - make it a souper day.

Living Life on the Veg

My last meal of 2017 was prepared at a friend's dinner party by a private chef! Way to go! My vegetarian menu consisted of:-

Chestnut, watercress and whole grain croquette with beetroot puree, mulled poached pear & pomegranate salad - festive flavours and very tasty.

Sweet potato, red onion and feta pithivier with tomato provincial and toasted pine nuts - delicious.

Frozen chocolate marquise with berry compote and coulis and chocolate soil - lovely and rich.

Well sadly that hasn't set a precedent and during 2018 I will be cooking my own meals. However, my husband has volunteered to go vegetarian midweek in order to eat healthily and be supportive. That's great as it will hopefully make me up my game a bit. Can't imagine he will be happy with jacket potato, cheese and beans for his main meal of the day!

So, we might not be doing Veganuary but it's certainly a step in the right direction.