Another month, another post without photos.
My newish job has taken up a lot of my brain space, leaving me woefully ill-placed to remind H to bring a camera and/or take photos with it. However faced with not telling you about an awesome ice-cream shop or telling you about it without photos, I’m going to err on the side of food.
Man, this post has taken a long time!
It’s mostly because I don’t enjoy making maps. I kept putting it off and putting it off, and now we’re well into December when I actually did the walk on a frosty day in November.
As a result of postponement the details have receded into the fog slightly, so it is not the most detailed tour I’ve compiled, but there are a plethora of places to check out.
Continue reading An On-Foot Food Tour of Glasgow’s West End: Route 1
I’ve often thought that if I worked in food production in any way, making cheese would be the thing for me. That or baking cakes for a teashop where presentation was low on the list of priorities.
I’ve been to cheese festivals, seen umpteen programmes about how cheese is made, eaten I have no idea how many different cheeses, and even wasted a couple of hours messing around and making a song about it (I know…I’m not sure what came over me). However I’ve never actually made any.
I have recipes for soft cheeses kicking around, and keep meaning to try them, but until I do, I’m going to content myself by supporting the industry and eating yet more cheese.
That’s why I was thrilled to come across a new local cheesemaker earlier in the year: Barwheys Dairy.
While down south sunny days and unseasonal heatwaves have been occurring, up here we have been having a lot of rain, broken up by grey skies, strong winds and the occasional burst of hail.
Noting the potential arrival of a single sunny day, I reserved it for another food tour, and some research and a print-out later, I was in the seaside town of Troon.
I have only been to Troon a few times before, and never into the actual town. Instead I’ve gone to the harbour to Wee Hurrie, a great fish and chip shop that fries while you wait, and the neighbouring McCallum’s Oyster Bar, where I eschewed oysters in favour of some wonderful fish. I really must write about them sometime.
However though the town itself is small, it’s definitely worth a saunter round, followed by a bracing walk along the beach to burn off a few cake calories.
I am a big fan of French macarons. The stunning colours, delicate flavourings and chewy textures… the only thing I don’t like is the price. Seriously. Considering the price just one of those tiny little delights retails for, I almost expect them to be diamond-encrusted.
Of course I appreciate they are a fiddle to make. I’ve had my fair share of cracked tops, sandy textures and uneven splodges to contend with, and after watching a recent episode of one of my favourite tv programmes “The Great British Bake Off”, I can see I am not alone.
Coconut macaroons are a very different beast, and something that are strangely Scottish. I say strangely, because coconut palms don’t line the shores here, but perhaps they come from the same tropical stable as pineapple tarts.
Continue reading Scottish Food Analysis: Macaroon Bars and Coconut Macaroons