Home Cooking

I consider myself a foodie. I'm always up for trying the dishes that other people wrinkle their noses at on the menu. I still remember Marrvelous's shock when he found out that not only had I tried black pudding, but that I love it. Although at the time, I referred to it as morcilla (which was what it's called in Spain). For those of you not in the know, I'd tell you to google it, but then you might not try it...

Before heading to Scotland for the holidays, everyone asked me if I was up for trying haggis. I admit, the first time Marrvelous sent me a picture of haggis he certainly didn't do a good job in selecting one that looked remotely appetizing. But I could honestly tell people that I was excited to try it and wasn't going to be hesitant either about the sausage suppers, scotch pies, or deep fried mars bars.

Everything was delicious (Ok, maybe not the mars bar so much), and it only makes it that much harder that we live in an area with little access to some of Marrvelous (and now my) favorite dishes. Grocery stores may have a British or UK section, but it's never very extensive and items are usually extremely expensive. Although we do make it a point to have Heinz baked beans, HP brown sauce and Cadbury chocolates on hand as much as possible.

So if we can't buy it ready made, we're going to have create it on our own. Which I think is important anyway, because it helps him get a little taste of home and helps me feel more a part of where he's from. With this in mind, Marrvelous recently gave me this Scottish cookbook he had - Teach the Bairns to Cook. It's aimed at children, but since they use words like neeps, fuarag, and Arbroath Smokie, I think it's a good thing that the rest of the recipe is a bit spelled out.

As much as this seems to continually shock my family, I cook. Not only do I cook, but I love to bake. And I'm starting to feel that I do each with some pretty darn good results. A few weeks ago I tried my hand at Shepherd's Pie and it was awesome, plus the look on Marrvelous's face after he had a bite, covered in brown sauce, was so worth it. Trying it again tonight - which has me so excited - and looking forward to trying neeps and tatties soon! A bit daunting as I've never bought a turnip before, but should be fun experimenting.

Now if only I could bake us some Cadbury Crunchies, we'd be all set.