Meal Planning Monday. What's for tea Mum?

Monday 14 October 2013
It's the Tattie holidays and boy, girl and myself are staying with my parents for a week. Don't know whats on the menu. Hope its up to standard. Sunday dinner yesterday was a good start. Roast Lamb with all the trimmings followed by Spotted Dick and Custard. Thanks Mum. Keep it up.
Last week's menus pretty much went to plan although unfortunately the Gourmet Gals Food Swap was postponed for a week so I will miss it and Pinnies and Petticoats Cake Club which are both now taking place this Wednesday night.
Chicken, Mushroom & Bacon Pie with Filo Pastry
Sausage and Gnocchi Bake

The rabbit dish was really wonderful. Rich, sweet, boozy and unctuous  Perfect comfort food with creamy, buttery mash. Admittedly I did not fess up to girl what she was eating until she was halfway through her plate. However she took it in her stride after being assured that that it was wild rabbit not a pet. The Guinea Pig we are pet sitting at the moment did eye us suspiciously as we were eating. Reckon she's pretty safe though as not much meat on her. Big thanks to Lisa and Dougal for sourcing the bunnies. The sausage and gnocchi bake went down really well and I'm definitely going to try using gnocchi as a topping for other dishes. It would work very well on a fish or shepherds pie as a quick alternative to mash.
Pumpkin and Rosemary Pasta was a big hit and I'll definitely be making it again. Cubed squash cooked in lots of butter with finely chopped rosemary, plenty of nutmeg, lots of Parmesan and a good splash of the pasta cooking water to loosen. 

Also managed to squeeze in a wee afternoon treat at the Old Post Office Tearoom & Shoppe in Auchenblae. Amazing selection of home baking with everything being made from scratch and locally sourced. Well worth a visit, my lemon meringue pie was affa fine. Was sorely tempted to stay for dinner when I saw the mouthwatering steak pies coming out of the oven.

Saturday saw us heading out to the National Trust for Scotland's Leith Hall, Garden & Estate for a Family Wilderness Skills Event. We spent a fantastic few hours in the woods learning bushcraft skills. Fire making, leaf shelter building, boiling water in kelly kettes and tracking. A Kelly Kettle has gone straight on Boy's Christmas wish list. Huge thanks to the NTS Rangers for a fantastic time in a magical setting. 
No visit to a National Trust property is complete with out a Cuppie in the Tea Room. We enjoyed an Eccles Cake, Chocolate Brownie, Fruit Scone and a rather confusing Cheese Cake. No cheese contained in it but a pastry case with jam and sponge. Can anyone enlighten me? Fantastic garden including a beautifully kept vegetable patch complete with a greenhouse full of pumpkins.
So my #MealPlanningMonday is somewhat scant this week but I do know that I'll be enjoying...

Afternoon Tea at Culloden House Hotel with my Mum
Night at the House Over By and Dinner at The Three Chimneys with hubbie
B&B at Larchside

I also have a few places on my wish list to visit whilst we're up north. Its a veritable #HighlandFoodieRoadTrip

The Storehouse Farm Shop & Restaurant, Foulis Ferry
The Cheese House Dutch Cheese Shop, Cromarty
Velocity Bicycle Workshop & Cafe, Inverness
Soutor Creek Seafood & Wood Fired Pizza Restaurant, Cromarty
Connage Highland Dairy Cheese Pantry, Arderseir
Black Isle Brewery Organic Brewery, Munlochy
Corner On The Square Deli & Eatery, Beauly

Please do let me know if you can recommend anywhere else in the Highlands that I should be visiting. Especially keen on suggestions for when we get to Skye.

Feels like I'm cheating slightly linking up to #MealPlanningMonday this week but hopefully Mrs M will forgive me. Head on over if you want some proper meal planning action. Meanwhile I've got a #HighlandFoodieRoadTrip to plan.



4 comments

  1. If you'd like some west coast cheese, try http://www.westhighlanddairy.co.uk/index.htm at Achmore near Kyle of Lochalsh we went there on our road trip

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  2. Poolewe Market on Tuesday mornings in Wester Ross has a fab selection of local food and produce!

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  3. Check out the Cromary Brewing Company when you're at Soutars! And good choice with Corner on the Square - that's my auntie's place!

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  4. I've never eaten rabbit....Don't think I could....lol I do like the sound of the Pumpkin and Rosemary Pasta though :) x

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