Edinburgh to Dundee

Where do I start?

Wednesday

I woke up and ate my last breakfast at Dunedin Guesthouse before I walked down the road to the next guesthouse (I had trouble booking the same guesthouse for more nights after hearing of the impending airline strike). Both mornings, I requested a poached egg with toast. I ate it while I listened to the other American tourists debate what a poached egg actually is. Dunedin is a good teacher; they can poach an egg.

I rolled my suitcase to Aonach Mor, the second guesthouse. I was greeted by an attractive, young couple who informed me that my room was upgraded. I originally booked a smaller single with shared bathroom. My new room was the Jacobean suite.  The lighting made it difficult to photograph, but it was spectacular.

Since it was my last day in Edinburgh, I decided to visit my favorite pub: Reverie. This place has great service, friendly staff, and consistently delicious food. I did go there three times in three days. 

I ordered the ravioli. It was stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes, basil, and ricotta.  I don’t know if stuffed it is the right word. It was mega-stuffed? Yes, that will work. The sun-dried tomatoes took center stage in the stuffing. It had huge chunks of sun-dried tomatoes. The pasta was thicker than usual ravioli and that is because other ravioli is not thick enough. This is the best ravioli I have ever had in my life. Hands down, ever. This is huge. I eat ravioli all the freaking time.

I ordered (again) the sticky toffee pudding, which was topped with ice cream and this fantastic toffee sauce. If Jon Hamm was a dessert…

And, I washed it all down with a hot toddy. I like saying those words–”hot toddy”–don’t you?

Thursday 

I woke up to a blaring television. I think I kept it on while I slept, because I thought the room could be haunted. And ghosts hate television? Sure. whatever. I packed quickly and ate a delicious breakfast of bacon and pancakes. It was served along with berries in cream and this thick golden syrup. It was a nice send off by Edinburgh, indeed.

I walked about 45 minutes through Edinburgh to make a bus, that would take me to a shuttle at the airport, that would then take my fellow colleagues and I to our new home: Dundee. I’ll be living here for 6 weeks, so more pictures will surely come. Here is one for now (see below). This is the view from the freaking grocery store. “Shoot did I remember eggs….SHABAM BEAUTIFUL VIEW.”

Body Snatchers

This morning Lars and I woke up early enough to make breakfast: broken yolk sandwiches. We had thick-cut peppered bacon on Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat Sourdough with Trader Joe’s Cheddar/Gruyère cheese and a fried egg. I highly recommend this sourdough bread. I thought the whole wheat would take away from sourdough’s bite (that bitterness, I am without words), but it did not.

I also had a small glass of my favorite juice: Trader Joe’s Mango Nector. It just needed champagne.

So, I am officially done with school for now. I head to Scotland early June to take classes and I am super nervous. Since my plane is arriving a day early, I am on my own for an entire day. I plan on making the most of it by staying in some quaint bread and breakfast, but I have to figure out how I’ll get from Edinburgh to Dundee (1 1/2 hour drive). Figuring out transportation is a bitch. But, I found out that Dundee is like the marmalade fucking capital of the world (they actually sell Dundee Marmalade at Trader Joe’s). So, I’ll make sure to bring some back (along with other things) for my first giveaway.

Well, the rest of the day will be spent figuring out this whole Scotland thing, so I don’t fall into the hands of body snatchers or something.

I think I need Scotland, though. I am having a mid-academic crisis. So, I’m in Indiana for the next 4 years, because this PhD thing takes 5 years total (I grew up a hour from here). Two couples in my life are moving to new places, because they want to live in those places. Their moves are not based on school, business, or family. They just want to be someplace new. Someplace fun. More than ever, I have been wanting to just pick up and leave. I would move to San Fransisco or Seattle. I would work as a barista. I would have little money, but I don’t really have money now either. But, just get a job there when you get your degree? Well, I want to be a professor and its so competitive that I won’t have many options. I would be lucky to have 1 option, really. Okay, okay. This whole thing is so stupid. I do not hate my life, I’m just so bored. I’ve been in the Midwest for my entire life. I’ve always thought, “I would totally be fine living in the Midwest for the rest of my life.” But now…NOOOO. I cannot. Wah, wah.

Well, the rest of the day will be Scotland planning, rolling around on the floor complaining, and soccer later. Catch y’all later!

Where is the coolest place you’ve traveled to internationally AND do you have any tips for me? 

Elliot Stabler Came in a Box Today

For the past few nights I have been suffering from a major case of insomnia. Despite that, I have been more cheery than usual. Or I could be delusional. Whatever. zzzz….

For breakfast I had Archer Farm’s Strawberry Granola with Flax and organic low fat vanilla yogurt. I also had two tangerines. I have been trying to eat larger breakfasts, because I have been so hungry by dinner time. Plus, I needed energy after only a few hours of sleep.

After some apartment cleaning, I decided to make some chocolate chips cookies for Lars’s road trip. Honestly, I just wanted to wear the vintage apron I got for Christmas.

I don’t know who Bev is, but she can make a freaking good cookie. I decided to make a healthful batch of chocolate chip cookies from Eating Well: Bev’s Chocolate Chip Cookies. These cookies call for only whole wheat flour. These cookies ask you to grind up rolled oats.  These cookies were delicious. This was a better version of those good Kashi cookies. I used Hersey’s Special Dark Chocolate Chips, which rock obviously. These were so good. Lars ate a lot of them. I hope I have some left. Thanks Bev, whoever you are.

I was famished after baking, so I made breakfast for lunch. I toasted reduced-fat cheddar cheese in a wheat pita, then filled it with turkey bacon and scrambled egg (one egg with yolk, one without). I cut up some carrots for my veggie fix. Of course, I needed coffee.

Lars leaves this evening and he knew I was afraid to sleep in our spooky apartment alone. I got a box in the mail today, opened it, and found a cute teddy bear with a sweet message from Lars (sorry for the mush). I guess this little guy will protect me. I’ll name him Elliot Stabler.

Come back tomorrow to hear about my first night. I’m sure wine will be involved.

My face hurts from reading…

I feel like I don’t have control of my life. It sounds worse than it is, but I am so busy and rarely have free time anymore. When I get busy my body shuts down. My body says: “Hey you, I’m done. You will do something nonproductive.” I know I need this once in awhile, but my body shuts down when I need it the most. This morning was a long one. I couldn’t function. Ugh.

Emo time is over. I need an Emo theme song.

Breakfast was pretty awesome. I stopped at Starbucks for a Pike Place coffee and a low fast raspberry muffin. The muffin made my morning and went well with my fresh strawberries from home. I sat in my office at 7am with this meal and graded. Wah, wah. Grading is not fun. I like reading student work, but I hate stamping a grade on it. I rather give them muffins.

After breakfast I had class, then I taught, then I observed a colleague’s class, then I went to class again. THEN, I went to Zumba. Lunch was slipped in there somewhere. It isn’t important. Turkey on rye: blah, blah, blah.

After Zumba Lars and I grabbed dinner at a Korean restaurant, Green Sprout. Lars ordered the sushi salad, which was not only beautiful, but delicious.

I ordered the omelet filled with fried rice and spiced pork. Lars always has the best meal of his life, and I don’t. The problem with this dish was the fried rice. I’ll go to the place again (because it is spoken so highly of), but maybe I’ll order something else. We had fun removing the egg coating to reveal the solid rice cylinder below, though.

I have been reading all night, so I deserved ice cream. I have had the Breyers Smooth and Dreamy Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream sandwich before, and loved it. This time I bought the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough instead. It was good, but not as “cookie dough” as I would have liked. It was good, but I prefer the brownie.

Ugh, back to reading/writing/planning.

I am having a karaoke party Friday. Any suggestions for party foods would be appreciated.

No one can stop me! Muhahahaha.

Today, I was Martha Stewart on crack. I guess that would make me Rachel Ray, but I dislike her voice. So, no.

Natalie over at The Sweets Life has an excellent blog full of so many delicious recipes. I have been looking at it for awhile, and now I’ve finally baked from it. Twice!

I have a lot of baking goods that expire conveniently in August (before my move), so I’ve been baking. Plus, there are a lot of people I love in my life. Treats for everyone!

The first cookies I made were Coconut Lime Snowballs. These flavors went great together, and the shredded coconut added a great texture. I brought some over to my friend’s apartment and she loved them! A perfect summer cookie.

I didn’t stop there; Natalie created a monster! RRRRrrr. Next, I baked Chocolate Crinkle Cookies. Anything chocolate and surrounded with powdered sugar is a win for me.

They kind of look alike, right? Like cookie cousins?

For dinner, I experimented with pizza. I decided to recreate a recipe from Food Network Magazine: Bacon-Egg Pizza. Now, a warning. It doesn’t look attractive because I accidentally broke the yolk, but it tasted just as well. Further, I don’t know if I would recommend TJ’s whole wheat crust for this particular recipe, but it was still good. I basically sprinkled diced raw bacon onto a small, 6-inch circle of TJ’s Whole Wheat pizza dough. I baked that on 500 for about 10 minutes, until the bacon was crispy. Then I broke an egg onto the pizza, then topped it with olive oil, salt, and pepper. I baked it another 5 minutes. So there is the picture: it wasn’t pretty, but it was pretty tasty. It would be good with some greens on top, too!

"Please don't judge me"-Pizza

It went well with my very classy mini-bottle of wine.

My evening is full of cleaning, folks. I am hosting a pretty elaborate double-date tomorrow with all new recipes! Wish me luck!

If Top Chef was purely a breakfast pizza challenge…

I would win!

Today is Lars’s birthday and I wanted to make something special. So, I made him the best breakfast pizza ever. Go me!

I got the recipe from Cooking Light. I recommend this dish for special weekend breakfasts and brunches. I followed the recipe, but I describe my changes below and a vegetarian alternative.

Breakfast Pizza from Cooking Light

• 1 can of reduced-fat refrigerated crescent dinner roll dough
• 12 ounces turkey breakfast sausage
• Cooking Spray
• 1 cup frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed (I used some from the refrigerated aisle to cut down on prep time)
• 1 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used kosher salt)
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 (8-0unce) egg substitute carton
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese (I didn’t measure; just shredded right onto the pizza)

I preheated the oven to 375. I popped open the crescent can and separated it into the triangles, which I then situated to form a round crust. Make sure to connect the pieces. Then I rolled up the edges to make a crust (this will also help hold the liquid part in).

I topped it with the potatoes, cheese, and turkey. And then I topped with a mixture (which I whisked) of the egg, salt, and pepper. Then I topped it with the Parmesan cheese. I cooked it for 25 minutes. The crust was nice and brown.

Notes

• The crust had issues holding the liquid in and we had some spillage. It tasted great though, and we were able to cut off those egg blobs after it came out of the oven. I might next time let the crust brown a little on its own to make it stronger, but it didn’t seem to be much of an issue.
• Vegetarian changes: Comments on this recipe tell us that replacing the turkey with veggies is so delicious. Choose any veggies you want, yum! I think broccoli would work well.

The triangles are not big enough to create a whole circle.

The pizza was hands-down…fantastic! I think the crust tasted more like a buttery biscuit, which I don’t think is an issue at all. I was worried it wasn’t going to have enough flavor, but the cheddar, salt, and pepper were quite enough. We also had it with fresh strawberries. Best breakfast ever.

Toasted

Sorry, I have been missing. Though, it is for your benefit. I have been a hot, moody mess. The three best words to describe my mood for the past few days is: indecisive, tired, and numb. I am constantly tired, which is not helping me concentrate. Coffee isn’t even working. I don’t know what my deal is, but I may soon go to the doctor to find out. I’m happy, though. I don’t now. I am talking about this because for me mood and food are so tightly intertwined. I have been impressed with my restraint, though. If this were last year I would be on the couch, watching Lifetime, eating a pie, and most likely crying and/or drinking. So, go me!

In other news, it is Lars’s birthday weekend. I’m trying to be extra happy and energetic for this event. I do have to admit I am slightly jealous. I was sick on my birthday, and he gets an entire weekend. Okay, complaining over.

Yesterday for lunch we had some of our leftover pork and a handful of almonds. I just know you want a picture, but I passed. Again, for your benefit. I am such a nice blogger. I also ate a Luna Protein Bar (Cookie Dough) on the ride from Indy-ish to Cincy.

We stopped at Starbucks for a latte. I accidentally forgot to add “iced” to my order. I didn’t finish this latte; too hot! Sorry for the pic; facing the sun!

We met Lars’s family for dinner at Gordo’s Pub and Grill. The decor was lame, but the food was fantastic. I had a hamburger with roasted veggies. I only asked for ketchup and mustard on my hamburger and I’m glad I did. The beef was mixed with an onion mix, bacon, and herbs. So, although my toppings were minimal, it allowed the juicy, flavorful taste of the hamburger to come through. I didn’t finish my veggies, but I ate two pickles!

After dinner, our waitress brought in the cake. It was made by Servatii Pastry shop, a German pastry shop in Cincy. It was yellow cake with a vanilla frosting. Lars loves the frosting because it is made with some special shortening, or something. What you do need to know is that it was awesome.

After dinner Lars and I watched Please Exit Through the Gift Shop, a very funny documentary about street art. It is in my top five documentaries now.

Lars and I had the best sleep of our lives when we got to Lars’s Mom’s house, and slept in until 9:30. It was freaking awesome. But then the morning took a dark turn. We went to this local coffee shop that Lars and his mother love, but I dislike because of a few bad experiences. Oh, sidebar: Lars always has the best meal of his life, and I always have a crappy experience. Lars got a yogurt parfait (a sad one in Yoplait cup) and I asked for PB&J on a wheat bagel. They were out of bagels. So, I asked for it on wheat bread. They were out of peanut butter. Thus, I ended up with a jelly, grilled (?) sandwich.

I ate barely half. Also, the jelly tasted like lumpy grape juice.

Worst Sandwich EVVVVER.

Oh, I also had tea to wash down this crap-wich.

We drove back home to Indiana, but stopped at Petit Chou in Broadripple (the hipster part of Indy) for some brunch/lunch. THIS PLACE ROCKS.

Lars had the Broken Yolk (I am warning you I sometimes spell this yoke for some reason) Sandwich with avocado and bacon. This is his favorite thing to order here. It is awesome.

Best Breakfast Sandwich in Indy.

I got the Tomato Artichoke Soup. The soup’s awesome taste made up for the fact that I was handed cinnamon-buttered toast instead of the dry toast I requested. Although, the cinnamon toast was the bomb (on broiche). I didn’t eat the bread that came on the soup.

Sorry, it looks messy. I basically put my face right in it. Yum!

My Favorite Mistake

For the rest of the evening I will be thesis writing/deleting/rewriting, while Lars goes to a local food festival. What the F!

I’m going to have one more slice of cake. Don’t judge, I’ll eat a light dinner. And just so you know, I almost ate a second piece of cake before bed yesterday. I said no. Score! I’m talking to my self now, right? Haha, nothing like a misdirected pep talk.

What do you do for a pick-me-up?