This last week it's all been about the temperatures: hovering around the minus five mark with clear blue skies and picturesque levels of snow. I almost made a clean sweep of walking to work each day with each morning providing another spectacular series of sunrises. Friday was the final day when it would have started to get tricky (rain freezing on contact with the ground so that every tarmac surface was lethal which I wasn't looking forward to negotiating in the dark) but I got a lift home with my new hoover. This mundane domesticity contrasts with the heady glamour of Wednesday which saw a Countryfile ceilidh at Carinis on Wednesday attended by Matt Baker, John Craven and Matt's dance partner Aliona Vilani. Steven (the other Comhairle architect) and I turned up overdressed and skulked around in the background drinking cheap beer and sneaking wee peeks at the famous people. We did join in as extras for the Virginia Reel but it turned out we were too far down the line (or possibly just not good-looking enough) to get filmed. Apparently I did turn up on the BBC Alba Gaelic news but it's not available on iplayer so my dancing is lost to posterity. Still I got to share my views on haggis and black pudding with John Craven.
On a semi-professional level Bonnie Mealand called to say that she and Dave have, after 3 architects and at least 4 different house designs, decided they liked the design I did for them back in November 2009. Hey ho.
On a gastronomic level the cold weather and walking to/from work has led to a craving for comfort food and, after some rather too solid white chocolate muffins, I've struck gold with sourdough lemon & poppyseed pancakes (freely adapted from the Joy of Cooking). All quantities are approximate and it's still fine, although a different shape and texture, without the sourdough bit.
1 egg
1 large handful flour
1 tablespoonful sourdough
juice & zest from 1 lemon
1 dessert spoonful poppy seeds
1 dessert spoonful sugar
1 tablespoonful vegetable oil
milk
mix the sourdough, sugar, flour and milk to form a sloppy dough and leave for a couple of hours or overnight. In the morning mix in the lemon, egg, poppy seeds and vegetable oil with enough milk to get a texture a bit thicker than double cream ..... fry small pancakes about 10cm across and serve with yoghurt and maple syrup
