Scots wa hea

Hallo every wan.
It's Burns night tonight. Just another excuse for us Scots to get pished. So I'm making haggis, neeps and tatties, wearing tartan and listening to bagpipe music.


Don't worry. I'm not gonna make you eat haggis. It is an endangered species after all.

No, today's recipe if for Cranachan which is a traditional Scottish "puddin" made with whipped cream, toasted oats, honey, raspberries and whisky.
It's bloody good so it is.
You can have this for dessert after your environmentally farmed haggis.

But back to the haggis.............

Now for all you haggis virgins out there, here's a wee clip from one of my favourite films "HIGHLANDER" to help describe what haggis is.

Does that make you want to eat it?????

As it is Burns night tonight we will be addressing the haggis so here is the Rabbie Burns poem below.
And no, I don't know what half of it means either.

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 worthy 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 slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like onie 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;
The 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 mak her spew
Wi perfect scunner,
Looks down wi sneering, scornfu view
On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
As feckless as a 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 make 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

Aw, the wee haggis. coochy coooooooo.

Run haggis....... ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun.

So, here's a video from a band called Clanadonia called Hamsterheid.

Cladadonia are not technically speaking "Metal" but the beat is heavy and they are bloody good fun to watch.
If I meet a nice man I would like to Marry, I'm having these guys as my wedding band.

I actually bolted up Buchanan Street in Glasgow once to catch these guys to get a CD for my pal Fabiano. He's Brazilian. You'll hear about him in the next blog.

Watching the video though, I have a sneaking suspicion that some of the guys may just like their Metal.

Metaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!





OK, here's the recipe.

Cranachan

Ingredients

100g  medium oatmeal toasted
700ml double or whipping cream
1 punnet (150g) fresh or frozen raspberries
honey
Whisky

Shortbread to serve.


Whisk your cream till it forms soft peaks.
Add all the other ingredients and fold in lightly.
Serve with shortbread fingers and an extra wee dram 'O Whisky to sip.
Easy peeasy.

Git it doon ye! As we Glaswegians would say.