Fringegestion

It's easy to overdo it at this time of year and trot frantically from venue to venue trying to fit it all in. This greed can produce what I call "Fringegestion", a condition resulting in an overstuffed brain no longer able to discern entertainment from dross.

Some fringers have great tolerance and can take in as many shows as possible in one day, while others need more time between events so as to digest what they've seen. Four shows in one day is my maximum, with one or two exhibitions in between. Over that limit and my cultural lobes crash. Normally takes a day or two for the desire to gamble time and energy on more fringely opportunities to revive. But sooner or later, I gambol off to well trodden venues or in search of new (and more comfortable) theatre spaces.

Gazing vacantly at enthusiastic young acts in the High Street helps regain a sense of perspective in the short term.

Anyone familiar with the concept of the fringe will be aware, or at least guess that it is used to set up fringes to some of the other festivals in Edinburgh. So, the Book Festival has a fringe. The one event I managed was Helen Zaltzman and Olly Mann reading from their book Answer Me This? A very popular event and sort of entertaining in it's way.

Then it was time for Jackie Kay at the Book Festival. This was one of the funniest events I've been to this month, if not this year.

Next up, Bumfluff and Brimstone. This is where the fringegestion kicks in, after the glorious wit of Jackie Kay to a woman in her first Fringe show having decided at 40 that she wanted to do stand up.  She tried, and some material was quite good, but, my perception of her was coloured by the previous event.

Following a short gap and time for a bit of a walk I finished the day with the reliably funny Kate Smurthwaite. After my last year's rant about her not getting enough TV, she is now making a welcome habit of appearing on comment pieces and discussion programmes and speaking up for rational feminism.

Next day brought a change of focus with the Festival of Politics at Holyrood. As with the Book Fringe, I could only fit in one event. Is the far north safe in Nordic hands? Chaired expertly by Lesley Riddoch with presentations from a Norwegian oil and gas exploration representative, and a woman from Murmansk asserting the ecological viewpoint, this did not disappoint.  I knew little of the arguments surrounding this discussion, so I was on a steep learning curve.  Pressure to find new oil, gas and fish stocks will mean that the nations surrounding the Arctic are looking at ways to exploit the resources, developing new technologies to do so and generally panicking those who don't trust nations or companies not to wreck the fragile environment in that area.

That had been all I'd planned to do as I'd had lots the day before and anticipated a heavy fringeathon the next day. But, little goes to plan and as I walked up the road, I was invited into a free Burn's show, free three course, Vegetarian Burn's Supper and free ten year old Tallisker whisky.
I'm not going to refuse that.  I'd not been in Monteith's restaurant before, but I'll be going again judging by the standard of the food. The vegetable terrine starter was sublime, the veggie haggis was ok and the raspberry Cranachan was scrummy. The show was really good fun, especially as this was the final one and they were more than a little demob happy.

Two good days on the fringe, demonstrating that if you wander about the city opportunities sometimes land in your lap.

2010 off to a snowy start

What’s happening with this weather? Is there no end to the cold and snow?

Lots more eating and drinking this year so far: Sig Other just keeps making lovely eats. Yesterday we celebrated Ne’er Day with scrumptious broccoli quiche served with creamy chicory, celery and peas mixed with Quorn fake bacon bits. These are a new discovery for me, although they aren’t too much like actual bacon, otherwise I’d be less likely to eat them. Also, Quorn has changed the recipe in some of their products to make them gluten free which is useful for the GF/veggie meals.

I’ve decided to avoid making resolutions this year. I never keep them and previously assumed that making life improving efforts like taking more exercise/reading less trashy science fiction/being more saintly in general –type resolutions were part of the routine surrounding New Year. But apparently, the practice of resolving to change at the beginning of a year dates back to Babylonian times. And no doubt the ancients were just as good at keeping them as most of us are.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/features/Talkin39-bout-a-resolution.5950474.jp

Seizing a gap in the freezing conditions when the sun even came out yesterday, seemed the best time to go for a walk in the gardens at Dunham Massey. The pic above is of the birch triangle in the middle of the winter garden created a couple of years ago in the grounds near the house.

Zillions of bulbs are due to emerge in the early spring, making this an attraction to revisit in a month or two.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/manchester/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8328000/8328348.stm

I finished my stay in the south with a meal in my favourite place in Manchester, the curry mile in Rusholme. Fingers crossed for a smooth return to Edinburgh normality soon.

Foodly discussions

Being veggie is a challenge at this time of year. This is about creating a feast that has to make do without the centrepiece of a large cremated bird. Starting from an attitude of deficit is not helpful so I prefer to turn this around and look at the positives of creating something (probably) no one else is eating.

For many years, I liked the sheer unplannedness of buying whatever took my fancy and getting into the kitchen early in the morning and while then Sig Other wrestled big bird to the ground and spread salmonella far and wide, I’d assemble bits and pieces around me and see what happened. I realise that this is too haphazard for most people, but it worked for me.

These days I’m still adjusting to the fact that current Sig Other wants more than a say in what we eat festively. Being a complete foodie whose interest in cooking began at university, he can teach me a fair amount, but I’m not used to sharing my spontaneous ‘see what happens’ technique with a forward planner.

Here’s what happens: At some point in December one or the other of us will make mention of xmas dinner. We’ll independently have a look online for inspiration. I’ll come up with a list of what we don’t want and make suggestions of what I do think we should have. Sig Other will shudder delicately at some of my ideas, I’ll passionately defend them and then give in.

I’ll do the shopping then he will spend most of the day in the kitchen creating something fabulous while I get relegated to the starter. Pudding is always traditional and we never manage to eat it till next day as we are too stuffed.

I do have some rules for xmas dinner that I have maintained throughout my veggie life:
No pasta
No mushrooms
No tomato sauce
No rice
No cheese
No pastry
No curry/Italian/Chinese/other usual stuff I eat

The reasons for the above are that those foods are the staples of a veggie diet, especially when eating out, so there is no way we’re having them at xmas. The odd occasion I’ve broken my rules is when I’ve been staying with people or on holiday when it is just too difficult to insist on them, and sometimes, I’ve been provided with an M&S concoction that has been adequate.

This year, I’ve got thoughts of celeriac mash and sherry gravy. Discussions about what to go with this have stalled. I normally don’t want pastry, but I bought some little tart tins from Habitat and haven’t yet used them, so I’m considering what to make in them. I began exploring the idea of savoury frangipane as a base on which to lay a vegetable such as fennel. Now, frangipane is almonds and sugar which is in gooey sweet confections, but I think it can be made savoury possibly with chestnut puree. Sig Other has taken agin my idea, and is adamant that this will not go with sherry gravy. Ok, I tend to agree on that point, but I’m sure my idea has possibilities and he’s not made an alternative suggestion yet.

I’m completely stumped for ideas for the starter as soup is too filling and I’ve done everything I can think of with chicory in previous years.

The Vegetarian Society has a useful website with xmas food ideas.

http://www.vegsoc.org/cordonvert/recipes/christmas.html

I avoid American vegan/veggie sites as they all seem to have unhealthy connections to Peta, the woman-hating extremists. These are the people who seem to think that exploiting women is ethical as long as it gets the message over about saving animals – wrong!

North eastern curries

Veggie food is still hit or miss in the Aberdeenshire area. Most small hotels and pub food caters primarily for decaying dead stuff consumers. (Put the emphasis on the words in that sentence any way you wish).

Plentiful venison, game, rare breed pigs and assorted brown shapes drenched in gravy but no respect paid to vegetables. Predictably poor choice of veggie burger, macaroni cheese, and in a completely non-ironic throwback to the 70’s, cheese and peach salad. That last offered in an establishment boasting a vast range of fish, game and other abattoir products.

Mercifully, the fates have located some terrific Indian restaurants in the area. Of all the odd places, Peterhead has one of the best Indian restaurants I’ve ever been in. Their vegetarian Thalli seemed to be served in a steel container nearly a meter wide – an exaggeration, it just felt like the most intimidating amount of food ever placed in front of me. Over an hour of steady munching interspersed with pauses for air, made hardly a dent in the food mountain. Reluctantly submitting to the inevitable, more was left than eaten. I mourn those leftovers yet.

Huntly has if anything, an even better, if less fancy, Indian restaurant. The food is so full of flavour and just all round yumminess, but again comes in improbably hearty portions. The price is in inverse proportion to the portion size. Overcome with greediness, and in order to taste their veggie Samber and the bindi baji as a side dish, along with rice and a chapatti, there was little hope of getting more than half way through.

This run of scrummy Indian food comes to a full stop in Fraserburgh. For somewhere that claimed to have won an award, I was left pondering exactly what the award was for.

The standard of food and the prices in Indian restaurants in Edinburgh is dire, or at least the one’s I’ve tried recently; with the honourable exception of the two veggie ones. On the other hand, perhaps it is just as well that the local take-aways’ nasty habit of adding sweetcorn to their veggie dishes saves me developing a worse curry addiction. Thankfully, I often go to the "curry mile" in Manchester where there is almost infinite choice of regions and cuisines. It will take many more visits before I have sampled them all!
http://www.restaurantsofmanchester.com/rusholme.htm

Fake food and fatuous reminiscences

Recently I heard about vegan black pudding. In a trivial bout of synchronicity, I found it in a farm shop in Lancaster some days later and promptly bought it. It is called V-Pud and contains beetroot and herbs as well as other meat substitutes.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/first-vegetarian-black-pudding-has-lancashire-meat-lovers-spluttering-424652.html
The article is brief, but the comments are worth scanning as clearly, this has divided views in the vegan/veggie world because it is made by the producers of meat products. Some people have expressed opinions that to buy this is to prop up the animal slaughterers while others are simply glad to have an alternative to a food they liked before becoming veggie. I can see both sides of this argument and have felt that before in regard to McSween’s veggie haggis. In that particular case I don’t have to act on any philosophical beliefs as although I quite like the product, it really doesn’t like me. In fact I prefer Hall’s veggie haggis as it does respect my digestive system, but Hall’s also make vast quantities of food out of dead animals.

There is also the illogical argument from some carnivores who fail to think through why some veggies would want acceptable substitutes for common foods. In our culinary tradition, it is just easier to cook sausage shaped stuff and to continue with some form of non-meat and two veg.

I had no inspiration for a recipe with the V Pud, so cooked a full vegan breakfast for my daughter and self. This consisted of hash browns, baked beans, V Pud and fake bacon. It was fine and my daughter who has never eaten non-veggie black pudding enjoyed it, although she said it was a little bit minty tasting. Her other comment was that she'd prefer to have a veggie version of Lorne sausage. I never liked that, so had never thought of it. I can't see this happening as Lorne sausage is probably only eaten locally hereabouts so there wouldn't be much of a market for a meat free version.

On the whole, the V Pud was ok, but unless I was doing brekky for a vegan I probably won’t buy it again for some time.

Daughter graciously pretended to listen to my reminiscences about black pudding while eating. I recalled buying black pudding suppers from the local chippy as a teenager on the way home from the youth centre disco’s in the 70’s. These were ideal snacks as they were halved puddings deep fried in batter and cost 10p.

10p was half of my pocket money in those days, the other half being spent on entry fee to the youth club disco. My friend E was given 50p for her allowance. I’m not sure if that underlay some of the adolescent conflicts that frequently arose between us, but it did not help!

E and I were either “awfy, awfy close” or “awfy, awfy in the huff” throughout the mid 70’s. In time we drifted apart, aided by her marriage to an Eastern European missionary and their eventual settlement in Scandinavia. Is it cynical of me to comment, that if you fancy being a missionary, selling your god in Scandinavia is more comfortable than some other places? But wherever she and her family are, I wish her well.

Nae-pressure cooking

I made the first lentil soup of the season today. It marks the passage of the seasons when I dig out the pressure cooker, look it over to see if wear and tear means a trip to the hardware shop for a new gasket or other little fiddly bits. But it seems to have survived the last few months in its cupboard.

Pressure cookers are a great long term investment. This is only my second in thirty years and I can't begin to calculate how much gas and electricity I've saved by using this form of cooking in preference to boiling soups conventionally.

Its not just soups I make this way, but steamed puddings, suet puddings (using vegetable suet of course) and baked custards. My favourite is Stovies a traditional dish which is made quite differently depending where you live. There is yet another Scottish east /west divide here as some folks make it with only potatoes and onion, maybe with a little gravy; some add corned beef so that it becomes some odd Pictish version of corn beef hash, while those who grew up in the centre of the central belt do it the correct way with potatoes, onion and sausages.

This presents a challenge for a vegetarian. Most veggie sausages don't have the texture for this, so I use a combination of Linda McCartney sausages and vegetarian burgers in a ratio of 2:1. So my veggie stovies in the pressure cooker is a process of frying the sausages and burgers then cutting into pieces, chopping potatoes into cubes and chopping some onion. I only use half an onion but that is easily adjusted to taste. Put everything into the trivet with some water and cook according to the pressure cooker instructions. If doing this on the hob, it takes ages and needs a lot of stirring so nothing sticks, but creates a softer texture to the dish.

As for lentil soup, everyone has their own recipe, but mine is made with vegetarian stock, red lentils and anything I feel like putting in that day. Of the few foodstuffs that would temp me away from the veggie straight and narrow, it would be my Granny's lentil soup even though she made it with some dead beast or other - probably ham bones. I still miss her soup even after three decades.

To kick things off .......

Jeez I've finally done it. After muttering vague threats about blogging for several years, today I took the plunge and signed up for a google account and created a blog.

To my surprise and after reading the warnings about how difficult finding a blog-name would be, I got Circuitous Meandering right away, first try no less. Does this mean that my blog name reflects my unique personality or simply that no one else would care to admit to meandering in circles?

It also looks as if the helpful googleites want to make this as easy as possible for the non-nerdish amongst us (me). Three little steps and my shiny new blog is launched out into the blogosphere (hope you are impressed with the jargon).

So, why have I done this? What makes me think that you, dear reader, would be remotely interested in whatever maundering meanderings I spout hereafter? Nothing really, just that I find myself without immediate audience for comments, feedback and general human contact, often at the point at which I decide to venture into the kitchen to create something edible (well, usually edible) and now, I can share, if only electronically, whatever strange thing I have made for dinner.

Just to tantalise; I have a surfeit of pears to find a way of using other than by making pear tart which is my customary response to pears. I'm tempted by the thought of roasting them with some almonds which need rescued from refrigerated abandonment. Amaretto will come into this somewhere too. There is also some lonely spinach and many carrots which deserve a wholesome denouement.

I will report back after the foodly attempts with the results.

Other than my admittedly veggie foodiness, I intend to circuitously meander through the thoughts and experiences of being a feminist of a certain age.

I welcome comments and will soon find out how to reach out to fellow-foodie feminists.