Dirty Dublin

I can't believe I've been home for six weeks and am still posting about travel, and only up to the halfway point! Here's a post about our next destination: Dublin.

After some beautiful weather in Scotland, we were a bit dismayed to be rained on, heavily, for almost the whole time we were in Ireland. We were also dismayed at how expensive everything is. But, there was lots of pretty stuff, our accommodation was great, and we happened upon some exciting veg food finds.

On our first full day in Dublin, it was cloudy but not yet raining. So we did lots of wandering around (continuing to get lost, despite having maps, and having street signs in english, and whatnot). We poked our heads into Dublin Castle and found they were giving free tours, because one part of the castle was closed to visitors. So we said 'yes please!' and had a tour through the central courtyard, which was central to the Easter Rising in 1916.

We looked at the remaining tower, and went into the underground bit where we saw lots of archaeological evidence that showed the occupation of this site since Viking times.

We went into the chapel, which isn't used any more, but is still really gorgeous.

We checked out the really old Church of Audoen, which had gravestones for the floor - a slightly creepy idea, but kind of cool in terms of the history of the place, too.

There were other churches that cost money to get into, so we skipped them. And there was the Jameson Whiskey Museum, and the Guinness Factory, both of which were also too expensive. So we skipped them, looked around Trinity College and Temple Bar, drank pints in pubs, and went to some free museums. These were especially useful when the downpour started.

Trinity College, founded in 1592.

As a result, there aren't quite so many photos from Dublin. But the museums were cool - one about military history, with lots of attention paid to the fight for independence from Britain; one about archaeology, with bog men and medieval religious artefacts and gold; and one about 'natural history', which is referred to by locals as the 'dead zoo' because it is just a vast collection of taxidermied animals.

Food-wise, we did eat plenty of hummus and bread, and chips, and other thrifty meals.  I forgot to take my camera out at Juice, where we had a two-course lunch for €8.95 each. I had nori maki for a starter, which was good but small. Andy started with pitta and crudites with olive tapenade, which was plentiful and delicious. We shared, of course. Then for our mains, I had the bean casserole of the day, which turned out to be green lentils, veggies, and a tomato-coconut curry sauce. With brown rice. Andy had corn fritters, which were not vegan and not big enough for him. Luckily this time my meal was big and heaping, so I shared.  Go to Juice if you are in Dublin, it is good.  

I did take photos at Cornucopia, which turned out to be a cafeteria-style place where you ordered one main and two salads, which were dished out onto your plate from a big pan. Andy found this deeply disappointing, and he talked for days about how much he didn't love it. I thought the food was good, and we got loads of it, so I was happy.

I ate some kind of tempeh stew on rice, with salads of garlic potatoes with roast hazelnuts in vegan mayonnaise, and broccoli couscous something or other.

 
Andy had an eggplant bake sort of thing, with a noodle salad and some other bean-y vegetable salad. One of the reasons I suspect he was unhappy with it is because he ordered wrong - I should have been generous and swapped plates, but those garlic potatoes were just so yummy.

Sweet Chilli Tofu

A few weeks ago, Andy and I were perusing the shelves at our local grocery store when we happened upon an intense mark-down. Singapore sweet chili-marinated tofu steaks. Normally more expensive than we are willing to spend. Reduced to 20 flipping cents.

We couldn't resist, as we can't whenever we see something reduced to 20 cents, and we bought the whole lot.

Now we have a freezer full of tofu which is pretty tasty, and makes an easy addition to a meal.  It just needs to be heated up quickly in a frying pan, and it goes wonderfully with veggies.

It's a good add-in to a stir fry.

 And if you cook it on hot enough heat, it sort of caramelizes, making the perfect accompaniment to pan-fried potatoes and mushrooms.

Now, we just have 15 or so more to get through!

Around the world in... Statues

We saw loads of statues on our trip round the globe.  Here's a few of the ones that struck my fancy enough to take a photo. (Click to see bigger photos.)

Is it just me, or does this Boy Scout statue in Washington DC seem a little inappropriate?  Small child, two scantily clad adults... One holding flames in her bare hand - ouch!

At the base of the Big Buddha, on Lantau Island, twelve Chinese warriors like this one had different hats on.  This one's hat is a bunny rabbit.

Though technically not a statue, this eagle pulpit in a Dublin church was cool enough for Andy to specifically request a photo.

In NYC's financial district, there are mushrooms growing.

In Central Park, some eagles attack a goat.  Anyone know what this one is about? I'm really stumped as to the symbolism...

Philadelphia, the city of statues, brought us this giant clothes peg...

A bit of love...

A lightning bolt, key, and kite in honour of old Ben Franklin...

A chunky guy in a suit...

Some board game pieces...

And... whatever this is.

In Scotland, we were a bit scandalised by this creation, outside the Kirk of the HolyRood (Church of the Holy Cross) in Edinburgh. Photos don't really do this justice: it is a goat, with horns draped over a man's naked ass, while the man cuddles a lion.

Whisky, Heylan' Coos, and Haggis

Now we leap back in time once again as I continue to regale you with tales from our Round the World trip.  When I last left you, Andy and I had climbed Alps, eaten chocolate, and seen a cow parade in Switzerland. After only 90 minutes in the air, we found ourselves in the UK. A night in Manchester, a train ride, and - tada! - we were in Edinburgh.

Now, the plan, when we originally conceptualised our trip, was to spend a few days in Edinburgh, before moving on to Aberdeen, where Andy had to present at a conference.  Though the conference started Monday, we thought the chances of him being scheduled on the first day were slim.  Well, would you believe that he was scheduled for the very first session on the very first day?  As a result, we got a bit less than 24 hours in Edinburgh.  But didn't we make the most of it!

Edinburgh was the most tourist-iest place we'd been. Red double-decker tour buses, wall to wall people, camera flashes everywhere you turned... (Not that I can complain too much, seeing how we both contributed to the mass of tourists.)

Because we had such a short visit, we didn't bother spending money to go into the things - our logic is that if you have to pay for it, you want to spend lots of time to make it value for money.  And we didn't have lots of time.  So we went to the gates of Edinburgh Castle and admired from outside.

We looked around a church. An old church. Where, like, lots of important people have sat. And lots of important weddings and funerals and stuff have been held. 

Peeked at the Castle of the Holyrood - the Queen's official residence in Scotland.

And ate dinner at the fabulously amazing Henderson's Bistro. There was seriously not a thing on this menu that I wouldn't have happily devoured.  We began the meal with a Hot Toddy, since it was bloody freezing. I couldn't say no to veggie haggis with neeps and tatties, since we were in Scotland for goodness sake!  Andy had, I believe, the Nut Burger.  For dessert, we each had cherry pie with soya cream.  All food was delicious, and I wish we had more time in Edinburgh just to come back to this restaurant.

This isn't where we ate. This is the Scottish Parliament, and some impressive bluffs nearby.

In fact, Edinburgh was the home of good food for us - our two meals both turned out to be delicious. Breakfast on Monday morning was at our accommodation, the Claymore Vegetarian Guest House. This place was comfortable, adorable, and Cathy was very friendly.  And, most importantly, breakfast was huge, and really good - quality food, and lots of it, is a winning combination.

This isn't where we stayed, but check out the blue door!

But sadly, we had to head off quickly to Aberdeen. Andy presented his paper. Then we wandered around the small city, looking at the gray, granite houses.

And the gray, granite buildings.

And the gray sky.

And William Wallace.

The food at our guest house in Aberdeen was not so good. They said 'sure we can do vegan breakfast!' when we made our booking, and then forgot about it. By the second morning they had bought soymilk, and the fruit salad was good. But basically, I ate a lot of tattie scones and baked beans.

This isn't where we stayed. This is the library.

Then, the best part of the trip: whisky. We hired a car, drove 2 hours into the heart of "Speyside", and paid a visit to a friend-of-a-friend at Glenfarclas, a family-run whisky distillery. 

We toured the place, watching barley turn into what was essentially beer.

And then into the copper stills where it becomes whisky.

Then they dump it into wooden casks, and put it in the shed for a decade, or lots of decades.  All the while, it soaks up some yummy burnt-oak flavours from the cask, and sooty-looking lichen grows on the outside of the buildings, feeding on the alcohol fumes and getting drunk.

We tasted some delicious whisky: a 10 year old, a 40 year old, and a 1961 cask strength. At about 60% alcohol, the last one needed watering down, but the 40 year old was like drinking butterscotch. We ate a giant baguette and a whole container of hummus between us afterwards, to soak up some booziness.

And then we drove down the road to Speyside Cooperage to watch some guys repair casks - not barrels, though, since they're a smaller size. These are, I think, 'hogs head' sized casks.

And we learnt lots of  fun facts about barrels. Like, did you know they can only use American oak trees, because they grow the straightest with the least knots? And they only use second-hand barrels for scotch whisky - the flavours from the sherry or bourbon goes into the flavours of the whisky and gives it a certain somethin' somethin'.  And, casks are deceptively difficult to make, but Andy and I conquered the display model anyways.

We had a quick look at Bonlivet Castle.

But I was distracted by the furry cows.

I fed this one some good grass from our side of the fence, and was rewarded with a sloppy lick.

And that was the end of our surprisingly short visit to Scotland. Definitely a place I'd like to go back to!

Mango Pancakes

What to eat for breakfast when you have no soy milk, no bread, and a pile of mangoes? While you could just eat, well, mangoes, our extreme glut led to a bit more creativity in terms of how we consume them.  Thus, the idea for mango pancakes was born.  These are fluffy and orange, and perfect topped with more mango.

I will post the recipe as I made it, but note that I didn't add any sugar - I thought the mangoes would be sweet enough.  And if we had used Bowen mangoes, they probably would have been.  Instead, we used the variety royal red mango, which is less sweet.  So next time I make these I will add just a touch of sugar - maybe a tablespoon - to the batter, to enhance the flavour of the mango a bit.  Use your judgement, and your taste preferences.

Also, if you don't have fresh (or frozen) mango on hand to blend up, I suspect mango juice will work perfectly - you just may need to reduce the amount of water that goes into the batter, because the juice won't be as thick as the puree. If you're feeling decadent and have fresh coconut juice around, I think that would make a fantastic substitution for the plain water.

Mango Pancakes
serves 2 hungry adults

1 1/2 c. plain flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. pureed mango
3/4 to 1 c. water
2 Tbsp. rice bran oil (or other plain-tasting veg. oil)

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.  In a separate jug, stir mango, 3/4 c. water and oil together.  Add the mango mixture to the flour and stir until just mixed.  If the batter is too thick, add additional water as needed.  It should be pretty thick - these are fluffy pancakes - but it should be viscous enough to pour, just.

Let the batter rest for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat up your pan - preferably cast iron or non-stick. Lightly brush it with a coating of oil.  When it's good and hot, pour a small spoonful of batter into the pan.  The first pancake never works well for me, so I get around this by making it a really tiny one.  While you're eating the test-pancake, pour a larger amount of batter into the pan and spread it slightly into a circle.  I use a serving spoon for this, as I find it gives me the right amount of batter for easily-flippable pancakes.

The pancakes are ready to flip when the edges look dry and you can see bubbles in the surface.  If you're not sure, peek under the edge.  Flip, and watch the pancakes puff up and go super-fluffy.  When the other side is brown, transfer to a plate and keep warm in the oven while you finish the rest of the batch.

Serve warm, with more mango, or with a tropical-ish jam, or with some kind of syrup.