Time for breakfast

This week Wigtown has been busy as local businesses, hotels and families have been hosting breakfasts and morning coffees to mark the town's enthusiasm for the Fairtrade movement.

Sharon has been doing her bit, and has enjoyed scrambled eggs, creamy and delicious local raspberry and strawberry yoghurt, cakes and lots of cups of proper tea.

Yesterday she went to a wonderful and historic home which enjoys magnificent views out over Wigtown Bay. The marshes and sandbanks stretch away and there are thousands of geese and other birds to be seen. The geese seem really happy now that the shooting season is over. “I'm sure they know,” said one friend. “They always seem to be more relaxed after the hunters depart.” Apparently, the geese even know that the men with the guns are waiting for them to take off at dawn. So they have started flying in the dark as the night ends.

“I couldn't decide whether it was the date and walnut loaf or the ginger cake that I liked the best yesterday,” said Sharon. “So I had to keep sampling them to try and make up my mind. There were pieces of crystallised ginger in the ginger cake, so it was even more yummy.

“The diet is definitely not starting until the summer salad weather arrives, if it does. Secretly, I'm hoping it doesn't so I can just carry on enjoying myself with all the wonderful local fare.”

www.sharonskitchenworld.blogspot.com

Not an artichoke and not from Jerusalem

Sharon enjoyed a delicious birthday dinner at the guest house of her sister Deborah, with local salt marsh lamb and fresh vegetables.

Deborah had been out earlier in the day digging up the small tubers of Jerusalem artichokes from her vegetable patch at Hillcrest House, Wigtown, Scotland. These had survived the deep frosts and heavy snows of recent months without any problems at all. Debs scrubbed them and roasted them together with potatoes which were served with the lamb, and Sharon's favourite creamed leeks.

The Jerusalem artichokes were delicious – and nothing like the traditional artichoke, which is a thistle head. The vegetable is native to the eastern parts of the United States and the French found it being cultivated there by the native peoples in about 1605. One suggestion for the confusing name is that subsequent waves of immigrants from Italy and Spain arrived and enthusiastically adopted the root into their cooking. The plant grows very tall and looks like a sunflower. That is because it is a form of sunflower. And in both Italian and Spanish the word for sunflower is “girasol.” If you say it fast this could be mistaken for “Jerusalem.” Why it is called an “artichoke” when it is nothing like it remains a mystery.

The tubers are knobbly and look a bit like a ginger root. Apparently, the plant is very easy to grow and the flowers are very attractive.

On the technical front, the Jerusalem artichoke is high in iron, with plenty of niacin, thiamine, phosphorous and copper. However, in some people it causes problem with wind. Perhaps this is because its tubers contain inlulin rather than starch.

Everything is delicious at Hillcrest House and the slow-roasted lamb is outstanding. Deborah cooks it in the oven in a large lidded pot. The pot has a rack which covers the bottom and raises the meat a few inches. Into the pot went the lamb, fresh herbs from the garden, and a bottle of good red Spanish wine. For Sharon's dinner this was Posada del Rey, or guest house of the king. The label informs that Benedictine monks took over this building in the 19th century and established a distillery. In 1959 it was converted into a winery and the wines are made using the best grapes and traditional techniques. “Pousada del Rey has an intense, glowing and cherry colour, aromas of dark berry fruits and a long, velvety finish. We enjoy this wine with garlic-roasted lamb or a simple dish of Cameros goat's cheese and olives.”

Hillcrest House, Maidland Place, Station Road, Wigtown, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, DG8 9EU. Telephone: 01988 402018. www.hillcrest-wigtown.co.uk; info@hillcrest-wigtown.co.uk.

www.sharonskitchenworld.blogspot.com

***

Oyster enthusiasts wanted

Does anyone fancy an oyster feast?

Galloway's Loch Ryan is home to Scotland's largest known oyster beds which have been providing juicy oysters since at least 1701.

The oysters are now carefully harvested in an ecologically friendly way by Rossmore Oysters, which makes sure that the 10 million or so oysters and spat in the bay are in no danger of over-exploitation. The loch is, in fact, a sea inlet, with Stranraer at its head. The company rents the beds from the Wallace Family, which was given a Royal Charter to them by King William III. In the past oysters were harvested all along the Solway coast and in the 19th century there were at least 50 boats involved with many of the oystermen coming from Essex and the harbour at the Isle of Whithorn (see picture) being the main base. Today Loch Ryan is the only operation.

The oysters are taken down to Worthing, in West Sussex, where they are purified before being shipped all over the UK and Europe. The Spanish and the French are particularly keen on the Loch Ryan Oysters and huge quantities are consumed at top London restaurants, such as Le Gavroche, and at swanky hotels such as Scotland's Gleneagles.

Neil, of Rossmore, explained that Loch Ryan produces “a good fat oyster” and said that he personally found it had a bit of a peaty flavour – rather like Scotland's famed malt whiskies.

The oysters are supplied by express courier anywhere in the UK at a pound each for the large size. The problem for small orders is that the delivery charge is 12 pounds per order as obviously, they have to be despatched and arrive quickly.

So, we are looking for oyster enthusiasts who would like to join us in making an order of a dozen each so that we can have a big box sent to Wigtown for an oyster feast – with only one delivery charge having to be paid.

If you would like to join us at the feast, ordering say a dozen oysters per head, then send an email to sharon888bruce@gmail.com.

Of course, the only thing to drink with oysters is Black Velvet, made in a big jug with a bottle of champagne and an equal quantity of Guinness. Should you, sadly, not happen to be a banker in a state-owned bank with vast bonus to spend, you can always substitute cider for the champagne.

If you want to order your own Loch Ryan oysters, the website is at www.oysters.co.uk.

www.sharonskitchenworld.blogspot.com

***

Sharon tells God where to go

Two years ago today Sharon suffered a massive stroke when a blood vessel in her brain ruptured. Things looked very grim and doctors warned it would be best to prepare for the worst.

As she was sped to hospital in an ambulance a stop had to be made at the side of the road while paramedics fought for her life. She arrived at hospital and was rushed into an operating theatre where an emergency operation was carried out to relieve the pressure of the blood that was pressing on her brain. Then there was a high-speed dash to a major surgical hospital where in another operation, as Sharon explains it: “They cut the top of my head off.” She lay in intensive care for a few days and then an intricate third operation was carried out which saw tiny coils of platinum placed at the site of the break so that clots could form and block the leaking blood. More weeks unconscious in intensive care followed, living through machines. But Sharon was not ready to go. She describes what happened at one stage of this critical period.

“I was in this big open area that was very brightly lit by ginormous yellow lights on the top of poles around the edges. All these people kept floating up to me and telling me that God was ready to meet me at the gate round the back.

“I told everybody that I was not going to meet God because I was going back to be with my family. That was more important to me than meeting God.

“I can still see it all in my minds 'eye now.”

www.sharonskitchenworld.blogspot.com

***

The Garden Of all The Senses

With Spring not so far away Sharon has had an idea for a Garden of All The Senses that would give blind and other disabled people an opportunity to enjoy the pleasures of the garden.

“Before I went blind and then had my stroke I was a very keen gardener and loved bringing things on from little iddy-biddy things to fully-fledged plants, especially herbs.

“My idea for a Garden of All the Senses is so that those people who cannot garden themselves because of their disabilities can come to the garden and enjoy smelling strongly perfumed herbs and flowers and seeing bright patches of colour even if they are blind or have low vision. I think it would be a perfect opportunity for immense pleasure in people who have difficulty with more traditional gardens.

“I think it will probably be temporary during the summer months and feature mainly potted plants that can be moved. I would like people to lend plants for display that they think might be suitable and, of course, they can have them back afterwards.”

Sharon knows that other sensory gardens have been established around the country but hasn't heard of any near her home in Wigtown, Dumfries and Galloway. She would like to hear from anyone with ideas and suggestions.

She has put the idea to a group and it is currently being considered by various people.

“I think it would be lovely to have it in the public garden in the middle of Wigtown,” she said. “There is plenty of parking, it is all on the level and ideal for the disabled,” said Sharon.

www.sharonskitchenworld.blogspot.com

***

Souper time for Sharon

At this time of year with the continuing freezing weather people have been turning to soup for warmth and comfort.

Sharon enjoyed a visit to Wigtown's County Buildings for a soup lunch organised to raise money for the Guides and Brownies. The place was packed and there were all sorts of soups on offer. She chose Italian courgette soup, served with proper fresh bread and butter and said it was: “Creamy, tasty, and delicious. So warm and filling.” After the soup the sweet treats arrived, with “proper-sized” cups of tea. She enjoyed the chocolate shortbread and the Malteser squares, an open-topped mini mince pie, and other temptations.

Sharon is not the only one enjoying soup at the moment. Heinz has announced that soup sales have soared during the big freeze. In January, it sold 57.3 million tins of tomato soup, a 23 per cent rise on the same period last year. Households stocked up nine Olympic swimming pools worth of tinned soup.

Lentil soup is always a good standby for a warming boost.

Take a couple of handfuls of small red lentils and rinse them in a strainer. Chop a large onion finely and soften it in a little oil or butter with a couple of rashers of bacon chopped finely. Then add the lentils to the pan with the onion and bacon, add some stock (use a stock cube), salt and pepper and a scattering of herbs if you like. Simmer until the lentils are soft. A can of tomatoes or a squirt of tomato puree can be added during cooking.

www.sharonskitchenworld.blogspot.com

***

Try a recipe for real haggis

Scotland's national dish is, of course, the haggis. Our local supermarket even sells a frozen haggis pizza.

If you would enjoy making your own traditional haggis, here is a recipe from an 1847 cookbook:

Sheep's Haggis. The principal national dish of Scotland is the Haggis, of which there are two kinds, sheep and lamb. We believe that the following is the best receipt that has been published for making a genuine Scotch haggis.

Procure the large stomach bag of a sheep, also one of the smaller bags called the “king's hood,” together with the pluck (the lights [lungs], liver and heart). The bags must be well washed first in cold water, then plunged in boiling water, and scraped. Great care must be taken of the large bag; let it lie and soak in cold water, with a little salt, all night.

Wash also the pluck. You will now boil the small bag alone with the pluck; in boiling, leave the windpipe attached, and let the end of it hang over the edge of the pot, so that impurities may pass freely out. Boil for one hour and a half, and take the whole from the pot. When cold, cut away the windpipe, and any bits of skin or gristle that seem improper.

Grate the quarter of the liver (not using the remainder for the haggis) and mince the heart, lights, and small bag, very small, along with half a pound of beef suet. Mix all this mince with two small tea-cupfuls of oatmeal, previously dried before the fire, black and Jamaica pepper, and salt; also add half a pint of the liquor in which the pluck was boiled, or beef gravy. Stir all together into a consistency.

Then take the large bag, which has been thoroughly cleansed, and put the mince into it. Fill it only a little more than half full, in order to leave room for the meal and meat to expand. If crammed too full, it will burst in boiling. Sew up the bag with a needle and thread. The haggis is now complete.

Put it in a pot with boiling water, and prick it occasionally, as it swells, to allow the air to escape. If the bag appears thin, tie a cloth outside the skin. There should be a plate placed beneath it, to prevent its sticking to the bottom of the pot. Boil it for three hours.

It is served on a dish without garnish and requires no gravy, as it is sufficiently rich in itself.

From: A Household Book of Practical Receipts, by Susannah Frances Reynolds and William E. Hall, London, 1847.

www.sharonskitchenworld.blogspot.com

***