Haggis hunting in bonnie Scotland!

As you may or may not know, last Friday (January 25th) was Burn's Night! J and I had planned a wee weekend away at Shieldhill Castle in Biggar for a whole weekend of celebrations! As we are both of Scottish descent (although J simply refuses to wear a kilt on our wedding day - he already wore one for his sister's wedding and unfortunately isn't keen to repeat the experience) we thought what better way to celebrate than in Scotland, the land of our forefathers!

I'll be doing a full review of Shieldhill, the ferry crossing and our little adventures in Travel News so I'll be posting that once we've gone to Press.

But here's a quick overview on the food for now -

We took the ferry across to Cairnryan and drove to Biggar over the snow-covered hill - a simply stunning start to our weekend! It was a 2.35 drive, but we didn't mind one bit, Turf was a very good boy and was only carsick once (and only a little bit).

Shieldhill is a beautiful Scottish castle, dating back to 1199. It was the seat of the Chancellor family for over 750 years and only became a hotel in 1959.

Turf made himself comfortable, while J and I got ready for our Burn's Supper! I didn't take any photos of the food as I thought it very rude to do that in such a traditional and intimate setting such as Shieldhill so you will have to picture it in your mind, lol. We both had the Haggis gateaux to start - it was a tower of haggis, tatties and neeps. Tatties, being potatoes (generally mashed if you want to keep it traditional) and neeps being turnip - also traditionally mashed. This was served with a beautiful whiskey cream gravy - what Scot wouldn't love that?!

For the main we both chose the coq au vin, tasty chicken served in a white wine gravy with onions, mushrooms and mashed potato. I had Eton mess for pud... but it beat me! I just can't eat puddings the way I used to!

Traditionally a Scottish breakfast includes haggis and black pudding... however there was no haggis on our traditional Scottish breakfast the next morning. This is the first time we haven't had haggis in our breakfast when in Scotland and I did wonder if they had just run out, with it being so popular over the Burn's weekend!

Lunch on the second day was in The Elphinstone, J went for the thick bacon steak with double cooked eggs, while I opted for something we would normally cook at home (but it's been banned from cookbook since I'm on the 'Wedding Diet'!) - Flying Scotsman, in other words, chicken topped with haggis! The only thing better than chocolate! The Elphinstone served theirs with a wholegrain mustard and whiskey cream sauce and chips (with skins on) - I cleared the plate!

We popped into the butchers for two haggis - freshly steamed and still warm - to take home... I've them sitting in my fridge at home, one is promised to my mum and the other is being saved for my special treat dinner next Monday night - I will take a picture (promise!) and tell you how I make it!

Now Haggis are only found in Scotland... deep in the Highlands... and they only come out on a full moon... lol - although the Scots enjoy telling the tourists that Haggis are a small rabbit-like animal that are caught in the highlands, haggis is really a mix of offal, oats and spices stuffed in a bung (sheeps innards) and can be bought from every butchers shop in Scotland (we always stock up when we are in Scotland because Haggis is our favourite meal!)

 In Northern Ireland you can buy it in plastic wrapping... not as nice, but still full of flavour - you can get a great one in Tesco, Bloomfield (at the new butcher section)! It's already cooked so you just need to heat it - the best way to do this is to steam it. Pierce the bung, wrap it in tin foil so that no water can get in and put it in a pot of boiling water for 45 minutes (for a two person sized haggis) - this is J's favourite method of cooking it. Personally I like to steam it in the oven - prepared the bung in the tinfoil then fill a deep dish with water before placing the bung in it and popping it in the oven for 45 minutes. When it's done it pick it out of the dish, empty the remaining water and dry the dish out (be careful, it's hot!) then empty the haggis into the hot dish.. it will sizzle and the smell is amazing! Because we eat this quite a lot, I like to have my haggis with potato gratin and peas or as flying Scotsman with chips. It's the two most popular ways we eat it in our house! If we have any left over J makes us a lovely breakfast - a heart attack on a plate - black pud, haggis, eggs, beans, sausage, bacon and toast - yummy!

And of course you can't beat a wee bit of Disney's BRAVE - this will be a Burn's weekend favourite DVD choice in our house for a few years to come... and many other weekends as well I'm sure!

And of course Burn's weekend wouldn't be complete with this -

Address to a Haggis by Robert (Rabbie) Burns

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the pudding-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm :
Weel are ye wordy o'a grace
As lang's my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o'need,
While thro' your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic
Labour dight,
An' cut you up wi' ready sleight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like ony ditch; And then,
O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin', rich!

Then, horn for horn,
they stretch an' strive:
Deil tak the hindmost! on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve
Are bent like drums;
Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
Bethankit! hums.

Is there that owre his French ragout
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad make her spew
Wi' perfect sconner,
Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view
On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
As feckless as wither'd rash,
His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash;
His nieve a nit;
Thro' bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!

But mark the Rustic,
haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread.
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll mak it whissle;
An' legs an' arms, an' heads will sned,
Like taps o' thrissle.

Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer
Gie her a haggis!

Wedding planning and Pinterest...

This week we really got stuck into wedding planning. When we got engaged in July of last year, we thought we had plenty of time... November 2013 was AGES away... but January has come round faster than we thought and the panic has set in. We got the big things booked last September - the church for the ceremony, the reception venue, the wedding cars, the venue decorators and the photographer... but it's the little things, the little details that make a wedding day really special and personal to the couple and their family that we have realised will probably take the most time and thought.

I'd heard of this great website called Pinterest a while ago, but never fully realised what a great tool it is for gathering ideas until I downloaded the app at the start of January. Since then I have made several 'boards' all of which are full of fun, funky and beautiful ideas for our wedding.

It is especially handy given that we are on a particularly tight budget - I have discovered great ideas for home-crafted centrepieces that cost less than £7 each. They are mostly made up of things we already had around the house - now I admit, if I hadn't already been pretty well into crafting and doing little homemade things for our home I wouldn't have had this stuff laying around, but as luck would have it I did.

I have about 100 jars left from the last batch of Cupcakes in Jars I made for a Vintage Fair last year - the jars only come in boxes of 500, so I was lucky to have some leftover, as ordering another box was out of the question.

We have hired a wonderful company called Sweetheart Vintage Weddings and Events as our venue decorator and they are bringing some fabulous pieces to the church and reception venue to add all the major touches that will make our wedding special to us. Because of our tight budget we had to restrain ourselves (well, more like J had to rein me in) when we selected the pieces for our venues, sticking to the things that we really wanted to have and which would give our wedding the beautifully vintage touches that we are after. I really wanted the birdcage centrepieces, but the reception venue has centrepieces included in the package we booked, so I (eventually) seen J's point of view and decided to go with the ones already included in our reception package. BUT of course, now that I had seen the lovely vintage set-up, I couldn't just give it up completely and J agreed that we could have
the wildflowers in the pretty jars - YAY!

This is the sweet little idea I found on Pinterest that I'm going to use to jazz up my reception centrepieces using the leftover jars

I am also being really thrifty and making my own favours, and they are going to also act as the place settings! Two birds, one cheap-ass stone!

Pinterest has been great for helping me visualise what our wedding cake will look like... I already knew I wanted a two/three tier vanilla sponge cake with vanilla frosting and jam filling - the frosting will (hopefully) be in little rose swirls all over the cake. I had seen this idea before at a Vintage Wedding Fair, but the cake was just to expensive for us. I've also seen it with rainbow coloured layers of sponge inside and an ombre frosting, which were quite pretty. I also really love the idea of having a grooms cake - a very America idea, but also a very cute one. J's cake will be a small single tier, three layer white chocolate cake with raspberry filling and blue white chocolate filling. The toppers are something that is very 'us'... all our friends say we have a Fry and Leela love story, so the groom's cake will be Futurama inspired, but still vintage and elegant.

Fry and Leela

After much debate about it, Turf will not be our ring bearer, simply because we couldn't be absolutely certain that he wouldn't get too nervous/excited and wee in the church... but he will be with me in the morning while the bridal party gets ready wearing a cute little tux.

The bouquets, buttonholes and corsages are being handmade by Vintage At Heart who does stunning work with foam and silk flowers and vintage broaches. My brother won't be with me on my wedding day, as he passed away in 2009, but I really wanted a way to have something there with me - Pinterest turned up this wonderful idea (below) and so I have found some lovely round picture charms on ebay for £2.49 for five, and they will be incorporated into my bouquet and the bridesmaids bouquets. This is absolutely my favourite find.

I have also found some brilliant ideas for bridesmaid's gifts and fun little things to keep kids entertained at the reception -

If anyone is planning their wedding (or any celebratioin!), decorating/redecorating their home, looking for home-crafted gift ideas or just even looking for some cute new hairstyles, I would definitely recommend Pinterest, it's free to sign up and the app is free to download to you phone/ipad/ipad mini which is super handy for when you are out and about and want to show someone an idea you have found - saves me carrying lots of bits of paper and magazine cutouts in my handbag now!

It's a dogs life...

Turf is the newest addition to our little family, an incredibly long-legged Yorkie with a beautiful scruffy face. We brought him home in June 2012 and we have been inseparable ever since. We take him everywhere we can with us... to the pub on Friday night, out to Sunday lunch, to visit family and friends, to my office... the list is endless. As I am lucky enough to travel quite a bit for work J and I were worried that we might have to leave Turf behind at some stage, unthinkable! So we got our thinking caps on and came up with a plan. I do quite a lot of hotel/weekend break features that don't involve any flying - usually we take the car and travel by ferry - and recently we had been discovering that a LOT of places are dog-friendly - and we're not just talking about your average B&B's, we talking country lodges, Scottish Castles and top 5* hotels. Pets across the country can be enjoying a weekend break with their owners - lounging in plush dog beds with luxury chef prepared treats, while their owners are enjoying a Michelin-starred meal or being pampered in the spa, and the best thing is... pets go free!

Our first weekend break as a threesome was to the stunning Glenview Hotel in County Wicklow...

It's a dogs life in County Wicklow

Whether it's a village B&B or the 5* Claridges in Mayfair, most hotels now allow dogs to stay with their owners. As a dog owner myself, I think this is a fantastic idea, and one that not many people know about! Our one concern about getting a pup was that we might have to leave him behind when we travelled - but we needn't have worried. On a recent trip to the Glenview Hotel in County Wicklow we simply packed our cases, strapped the dog (Turf) into the car and hit the motorway.
Located just south of Dublin off the N11 motorway, the Glenview Hotel is within pretty easy reach for a weekend break... only three hours from Belfast, and more importantly, welcomes dogs. Nestled high on the hillside in the picturesque Glen of the Downs in County Wicklow, the hotel is perfectly positioned for those who want a country retreat near to Dublin, but don't want to pay out the nose for it!
 

 

 Exterior view of the hotel from the gardens

Dating back to 1914, when it originally opened as a cottage, hunting lodge and guesthouse, the Glenview Hotel used to be part of the nearby Powerscourt Estate, but is now in private ownership. It's easy to find - you can spot it from the motorway - although we still managed to get lost, taking turnoff 10 instead of turnoff 9! It was easy to scoot back towards Dublin again though and five minutes later we were parked and heading for the hotel reception with Turf trotting along beside us.

The staff were very friendly and welcoming (even making sure to wish Turf a 'happy stay'), which set the scene for the rest of our visit. We had very thoughtfully been put in one of the front suites with a balcony, meaning turf could do his business outside without one of us having to take him downstairs - this was great in the middle of the night when he needed a widdle. To say the room was huge would be an understatement, Turf had plenty of room to play. There was also an attached dressing room which led to the bathroom, so we weren't tripping over puppy paws while getting ready for dinner.
While dogs are allowed in the hotel's main areas, they are not, of course, allowed in the restaurant or bar, so we left Turf snuggled up in an armchair while we headed down to the bar.

The bar area is open plan to the bistro, with a large open fire providing a cosy warmth throughout. We chose a table beside the fire for our dinner - nothing better than a roaring fire, good food and a few glasses of wine!
 

Entrance to the Glenview Hotel

I had the Asian chicken salad to start while the other half opted for the soup of the day with fresh crusty bread. We both chose the sirloin steak, chunky chips, onion rings and three peppercorn sauce for mains, while we shared the dessert - a beautifully light fruit cheesecake with whipped cream... and of course more wine. I have to say, the three peppercorn sauce was absolutely divine with the sirloin... it was warm (not mouth-scorchingly hot) with a lovely sweet taste which complemented the meat beautifully. The service was very prompt too, no sooner had we finished our starters than our mains appeared... this pleased the other half no end, as he's not one for drawn-out dinners.

The night was still young, so not wanting to head to the room just yet, we sat a little longer by the fire (we currently do not have a fire at home, so we wanted to enjoy it for as long as possible!) When we did eventually did decide to head upstairs, Turf was still fast asleep in the armchair... his little head popped up only long enough to see if we had brought him any leftovers, unfortunately for him though we had scoffed everything.

With it being very much into winter, and the nights being very dark and our bellies very full, we all snuggled up in the huge bed for some Saturday night TV and a cup of tea - I don't think Turf missed his after-dinner walk too much that night.

Breakfast consisted of a selection of cereals, continental pastries and a hot buffet. We both headed straight for the hot buffet... a fry-up being one of the highlights of staying in a hotel, as it's not something we would make at home. I was very glad to see black and white pudding in the buffet, as not many hotels serve it, but it is absolutely delicious and I had two pieces of each. Not wanting to return to the room empty handed again (after all, this was Turf's holiday too) I cut up a sausage into bite-sized chunks, which the breakfast waitress very kindly wrapped in tinfoil for me, to take back to the room.

We put our overnight things back into the case while Turf enjoyed his sausage chunks... one thing about travelling with a dog is that they seem to have more bits and bobs to fit into the case than you do.

Gardens at the Glenview
 
We wanted to be on our way pretty sharpish for the drive home, so checked out at 10.30am. This gave us plenty of time to put the case in the car and take Turf for a walk around the little garden to the front of the hotel.

With plenty of grassed areas, trees, shrubbery and flower beds there's no excuse for doggy boredom, and Turf careered around them all with abandon, happily running through muddy patches (it had been raining overnight), sticking his nose into every tree root and rubbing alongside the damp moss on the fences. The walk isn't very long and we covered it in 10 minutes at a very leisurely pace (including stopping to relax on a bench or two along the way), so we circled it a few times for Turf's amusement and to tire him out for the journey home.

If you too are travelling with your dog the Wicklow Way is a great way to spend the day - the Wicklow Way is the best known of the wonderfully unspoilt mountain trails in Ireland.

 Our cheeky boy Turf

We had a fantastic time at the Glenview Hotel and as it was the first time we had taken Turf away with us overnight, it gave us the opportunity to make a 'snag' list - a list of things we should or shouldn't have packed for him. A dog seat belt is absolutely paramount, we would never take him anywhere without one - and he sits on the back seat, not on the passenger side incase of an emergency where the airbag would be deployed - safety is everything. 

Turf can get carsick, so plastic bags, kitchen towels, baby wipes and a spare blanket are essential for the car journey. We also like to plan ahead, make sure he has been walked and fed at least an hour and a half before we leave, so as he has burned off some energy and has had time to digest his food. We also make sure he has done his business before we put him in the car, and plan if we will need to stop on the way. A small plastic bowl and a bottle of water is kept in the car with us (not in the boot!)

We take puppy pads for the hotel room (incase he needs to go while we are having dinner or during the night), a kong, stuffed toy and a cushion - although he likes to make himself comfy in an armchair!

We also bring treats (for the kong) and his normal food and bowls. This is what I mean when I say we pack more stuff for Turf than for us!

Our next adventure will take us to Sheildhill Castle in Scotland, and I'll post the feature/review as soon as its printed.

New Year's Resolutions...

NOTE: The post is really a little rant about food, where I find bargains and how I keep spending on food and household items as low as possible. There is also a quick recipe that I use at least three times a week for a filling, balanced, pocket-friendly meal. Please feel free to share your money saving tips with me :)

We're not the New Year's resolutions making types in our household, but this year we have made an exception. We sat down at the kitchen table, note book and bank statements in hand and decided that we needed up our our game and start saving. With houses in our area averaging between £80,000 - £125,000 and mortgage lenders and banks asking for a 10% deposit, we need to really save hard if we want to be able to buy our first home in the next 12 - 18 months. And with our wedding planned for November this year, saving has to be a priority.

I'm sure many of you are in the same boat, things aren't getting any cheaper and with more and more families finding money tight, cut backs have to be made. The most significant cutback we have made is to our household supplies/food bill and our Friday night takeaway and wine.

Our total housekeeping budget is £60 per week... this may seem high, but it covers our weekly electric meter top-up (£10 per week), pet supplies (puppy pads, sawdust, hay, food and treats), Friday night takeaway (one order split between us with store bought prawn crackers and boiled rice made at home), any alcohol (usually a bottle of wine for me and some cider cans for J), general household and cleaning supplies, and food.

I do the shopping on my way home from work on a Friday night, I like to get it over and done with, then go home and enjoy my takeaway and a glass (sometimes two) of wine!

On average I spend £25 per week on food and household items - and this is all I'm willing to spend. I add everything up as I go around the shop and always get the more essential things first - and trust me it isn't easy sticking to this budget, but I know it will be worth it when our savings start adding up :)

I start at the pound shop... here I can get a pack of 14 puppy pads for £1.79 - compared to a pack of seven at pets at home for £3.49, that's a great saving. One pack of 14 puppy pads will last us about a month now as Turf is learning to go to the door to let us know when he needs to do his business (although when it's raining he simply refuses to go outside and will use the pads instead, cheeky boy).

I also stock up with a large jar of jalapenoes (89p for a large jar), marshmallows (£1 for a 50% free bag), curry noodles (25p per pack) and filters and rolling papers for J (approx £2 for both which last two weeks).

Turf's pet food costs £6 for a bag that will last us a month and Goose's costs £6.49 and will last for about 6 - 8 weeks. I buy Goose's hay and sawdust from Tescos (£1.49 for sawdust and £3.49 for hay) - these will both last two weeks.

I hate spending a lot of money on food, I find it a complete waste if I have something go off and I have to throw it out. I buy a lot of frozen veg and also freeze all my meat to defrost as I need.

Here are some of the things I buy on a weekly basis -
At Tesco I will buy a 4-pack of chicken breast fillets (£4), tub of goldfish brand curry paste (£2.89), 1 box of value stuffing mix (15p), 1 value loaf (79p), 1 bag of long grain rice (40p), jar of value cranberry sauce (50p), 1 bag of fresh rocket (£1), 1 pack of own brand 'mars' bars (£1.29), 1 bag of own brand pasta (80p), 1 bag of frozen value roast potatoes (£1.59), 2 litre skimmed milk (£1), Tescos own brand prawn crackers (89p), large pack of Value ham (£1.89) and a bag of grated cheese (approx. £2).
I then go to lidl and stock up on carrots (between 39p-89p), frozen roasting parsnips (£1.46) and potatoes (1.89).
Every two weeks I will buy 1 bag of onions (£1), 1 bag of frozen peas (89p) and 1 bag of frozen value broccoli from Tesco.
I only replace what I need to, for instance if we run out of butter, but have some mayo or salad cream we will use that instead until everything has run out.

This has seen the biggest saving increase for us - normally I would have spent between £60 - £80 on food and household items alone, buying lots of meat, ready-made potato gratin, pasta 'n' sauce, wine, various cleaning products, microwave snacks for J and other things that we really didn't need.

A really filling meal that I make quite a bit is chicken/veg curry with rice -

This makes enough for two people (and sometimes I get a lunch out of it too)

1 Chicken Breast (optional)
1 Carrot
Handful Frozen Peas
Handful Frozen Broccoli
1 Tin of Sweetcorn
4 Small Onions
Long Grain Rice (measured out for two portions as directed)
1/4 tub Goldfish Curry Paste

Cook long grain rice as per instructions on packet (for two portions).
Chop chicken breast (if using) into small pieces and fry in a wok on a low heat.
Cook broccoli and peas in a pot of boiling water and drain.
Add onions to wok with chicken breast.
Using a potato peeler, peel ribbons of carrot and add to wok
Add peas, broccoli and sweetcorn to wok.
In a separate pot cook curry as per instructions, add to wok

Dish out the rice and chicken/veg curry and enjoy!

You can also add any veg you have laying around into it... lentils, chickpeas, cauliflower, they can all go in.

Fresh beginnings

It has been almost one full year since my last post and a lot has happened since then...

In March we had a big family holiday to the Canary Islands - my partner (J) and myself travelled with my mum, dad, aunt, uncle and three cousins to the sunshine for an amazing week of family time, which was much needed and which we all thoroughly enjoyed.

In May J and I moved into our first home together, a beautiful little ground floor apartment by the beach.

In July we introduced a new member to our little family, he is an absolutely beautiful little Yorkshire Terrier named Turf who adores his Guinea Pig brother Goose.

This is our beautiful little man... look at those long legs!

In August I got a wonderful surprise when J asked me to marry him! And of course I said yes! We are now busy planning our wedding for November this year (2013) so expect lots of wedding related posts! We are both very excited to start married life together and are looking forward to buying our very first home, hopefully sometime this year!

My beautiful engagement ring

Last year brought us many blessings and we are very thankful for the lives that we have and the people who share it with us. We had an excellent Christmas and New Year, of which I will be doing a proper post - this year I cooked Christmas Dinner AND New Year's Day Lunch, which was very exciting for me - and I'll also be starting to post regularly again.

I am very excited about 2013, we have lots of things planned and hope everyone has a happy and healthy New Year!