Cards, Cortisone Shot, Rabbie Burns.

Funny, Matt has a birthday coming up shortly and for some reason his youngest daughter always has trouble getting a card to him on time. Not this year, her card arrived yesterday, a good two weeks before the date. Well done y’all.

This morning Matt had to leave before the crack of dawn to get to Cambridge (more than 8 miles) for his cortisone shot, but it snowed last night and the roads were not in great condition plus he was getting badly splashed and eventually had to stop on the way there to fill up his window shield washer fluid. Now we wait with everything crossed to see if it achieved anything.

Today is Robbie Burns Day which means that in Scotland some will be feasting on Haggis as will Scottish communities all over the world. I know there is at least one group locally who celebrate traditionally and presumably “Address the Haggis” when it is served. Address the Haggis you ask? Basically they recite the poem by Robert Burns:

Address To A Haggis

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

This is the first verse, the whole poem is “as lang’s my arm”, but if you would like to read it, together with a translation, go to http://tinyurl.com/6h7g9h they also tell you about the traditions behind the occasion. I have never eaten haggis, basically because I have never had the chance to do so.

I have a friend in the UK who’s birthday it is today, her husband used to serve her haggis for dinner followed by a traditional Scottish drink/dessert, Atholl Brose. I tried making this once and it wasn’t very successful, I guess I should try it again. After all I am a Scotch drinker of old. Of course it is difficult to get thick enough cream here, made with the kind of cream we get in the UK it would make one heck of a difference.

Traditional Easy To Make Atholl Brose Recipe

This easy to make Atholl Brose recipe can be made in a few minutes and can be made on the day it is to be drunk but tastes much better if stored for a week.

Ingredients

One bottle of Scotch whisky
10 fluid ounces (Half Pint) of double cream
450g of clear Scottish honey
The whites of six large eggs
One handful of fine ground oatmeal

Directions

1. Soak the oatmeal with the Scotch whisky and set aside.

2. Beat the egg whites until they become stiff.

3. Fold the cream into the egg white mixture.

4. Add the honey.

5. Blend in the whisky and oatmeal mixture at a slow but steady pace.

6. Pour the liquid into some bottles and set aside for one week. Shake each bottle of Atholl Brose each day.

Have a great Burns Day.