Food and sightseeing

It appears that I have failed to update this blog for over three months now, and I apologize. It's not that I have done nothing, merely that I have been remiss at writing here.

What prompted me to write today is food. Here in the UK they have a long, strong tradition of savory pies. Nearly every neighborhood has a pie shop,or two or three, which sells a variety of pies, like steak and ale, onion and cheese, and chicken and veg, as well as sausage rolls, birdies and scotch pies and various pasties. All are delightful and should be sampled.

There is also a tradition of pies in home cooking as well. I recently discovered this while searching for recipes that would help me get rid of leftover chicken. I found several chicken pie recipes and decided to try a Chicken and Leek Pie. It is similar to a pot pie, with a creamy sauce, but is mainly chicken and leeks, rather than filled with a multitude of veggies like American chicken pot pies. It was simple since the recipe calls for a pre-made shortcrust, the local term for pie crust (as opposed to puff pastry), and only on top. It was delish, and a welcome change from cold roast chicken.

Yesterday, I used leftover salmon to create a Salmon and Leek Quiche which came out quite well. This time the shortcrust was used as a base, lining the casserole dish, and the leeks (sautéed to soften them)' salmon, eggs and milk were mixed together and poured in.

I expect that I will be trying more pies in the future as the leftovers pile up.

And now for the sightseeing portion of our blog. For the past month or so, I have been trying to walk a couple of miles each day. Most days this is simply walking home from school rather than riding the bus, but on weekends, I try to get out to see something. Several times I have walked up and around Calton Hill, which is nearby, others I go somewhere more distant. Last Sunday I walked to and from the Stockbridge Market, a farmers market over in the Stockbridge district, while another time I went to the National Gallery of Modern Art.

Below are a collection of photos from various walks and journeys. Check the captions for details.

The City Observatory atop Calton Hill

The National Monument on Calton Hill,
dedicated to the soldiers and sailors who died
fighting the Napoleonic Wars. Due to a lack of funds,
it was left unfinished in 1829.

The Old Town from Calton Hill

The Nelson Monument on Calton Hill.
Built 1807-1815 to commemorate Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson,
 his victory and death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

The Nelson Monument

A view of Leith from Calton Hill.
Inchkeith island can be seen in the background

The National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One)
with Henry Moore' sculpture "Reclining Figure" in the foreground

A view of Charles Jenks' "Landform" in front of Modern One

The Lomond Hills, north of Edinburgh
as seen from the top of the Edinburgh Zoo

The view from the North Bridge above Waverley Station
Looking toward Calton Hill (left) Arthur's Seat and
Salisbury Craigs (center ) and the Old Town (right)

The Chippies

It seems that on every block of every street in Edinburgh you can find at least one chippie. Now, before you get the wrong idea, let me clarify; the term "chippie" is commonly used to refer to a fish and chips shop and not so much to a "loose woman".

I have yet to find a chippie that only serves fish and chips. In fact, my local chippies (there are two within a block of me) serve a bewildering variety of food, both fried and otherwise. Chippies these days are your one-stop fast food shop. You want fish and chips? Go to a chippie. You want fried haggis? Go to a chippie. How about a deep-fried sausage? Chippie. Mars bar, deep fried? Black pudding, White pudding or steak pie, all fried? How about chicken, nuggets, mushrooms, onion rings fish cakes or even pizza, deep fried? You guessed it, go to a chippie.

But lest you think that all they do is fry foods for a living, your chippie also offers foods cooked in other ways. Most of them also offer "American food"- burgers, cheeseburgers and chicken burgers. Nor does their international fare end there. You can get kebabs, pakora, doner, and wraps. Most even serve pasta and pizza.

So far, I have sampled food from four different chippies. I've had one bad pizza and from another place two very good pizzas. I had some really disappointing fish and chips (although there was enough there for two mediocre meals), some very tasty fried mushrooms (with garlic dip) and a pretty reasonable hamburger.

So, wrapped up in one shop, you have a peculiar mix of Scottish, British, Turkish, American and Italian food. What more could you want for a truly intercontinental meal...except maybe some veg?


Turkish Carry Out, the local Chippie