Burns' Night

Happy Birthday Rabbie! January 25th 2009 marks 250 years since Scotland's national poet Robert Burns was born in Ayrshire.

Burns' supper recipe:

This is an authentic Scottish recipe and the ingredients and methods of cooking may be unfamiliar but well worth the effort.
Ingredients1 sheep's stomach or ox secum, cleaned and thoroughly, scalded, turned inside out and soaked overnight in cold salted waterheart and lungs of one lamb1lb beef or lamb trimmings, fat and lean2 onions, finely chopped8oz oatmeal1 tbsp salt1 tsp ground black pepper1 tsp ground dried coriander1 tsp mace1 tsp nutmegwater, enough to cook the haggisstock from lungs and trimmings

Directions:1. Wash the lungs, heart and liver (if using). Place in large pan of cold water with the meat trimmings and bring to the boil. Boil for 2 hours.2. When cooked, Drain the stock and set the stock aside.3. Mince the lungs, heart and trimmings.4. Put the minced mixture in a bowl and add the finely chopped onions, oatmeal and seasoning. Mix well and add enough stock to moisten the mixture. It should have a soft crumbly consistency.5. Spoon the mixture into the sheep's stomach, so it's just over half full. Sew up the stomach with strong thread and prick a couple of times so it doesn't explode while cooking.6. Put the haggis in a pan of boiling water (enough to cover it) and cook for 3 hours without a lid. Keep adding more water to keep it covered.7. To serve, cut open the haggis and spoon out the filling. Serve with neeps (mashed swede or turnip) and tatties (mashed potatoes).

Some hae meat that canna eat and some wad eat that want it. But we hae meat and we can eat and sae the Lord be thank it !

Happy New Year!!! Wir befinden uns nach 2 Wochen in der schoenen Heimat nun wieder im hohen Norden. Die erste Arbeitswoche ist gut verlaufen und jetzt geht's mit Volldampf in die naechste:-) Die amerikanisch-britische Hochzeit am 3.1. hat uns gut gefallen, leider hat das leckere Bier gefehlt...nun denn, man kann nicht alles haben. Ich hoffe ihr seid in der letzten Wochen nicht erfroren!? Hier oben ist es eher mild und regnerisch...wie meistens halt. Momentan fallen unsere Wochen noch ziemlich ruhig aus, die quirligen "primary school kids" treten erst im Februar wieder in Erscheinung...hat auch was;-) Nach einer Woche Schottland gibt es nicht viel Neues...ausser, dass es uns gut geht und ich - komischerweise - kein heimweh mehr habe...gut das sowas kommt und geht...!!! Bis demnaechst!!!