St Andrew's Day

Happy St Andrew’s Day! Today Scotland raises a dram (and rolls out the fireworks) to the country’s patron saint.

Andrew’s been the patron saint of Scotland since about the middle of the 10th century. According to legend, his relics were brought to the Pictish king, Oengus mac Fergusa, in the 8th century. Around 100 years later, Oengus II led an army of Picts and Scots into battle against the Angles, which were under the command of Aethelstan, near modern-day Athelstaneford, East Lothian. The heavily outnumbered Oengus vowed to appoint Saint Andrew patron saint of Scotland if he won the battle. The next day, as the armies were forming, white clouds formed an X in the sky.

Kind of like this

 Guess who won the battle? Oengus stood by his word and Andrew became Scotland’s patron saint. The allegedly divine cloud formation was immortalised on Scotland’s flag, the Saltire. The X was also used by superstitious Scots to keep witches from flying down their chimneys.
Thanks Andrew! Now, off to the castle for the party!

The Edinburgh Military Tattoo

If you come to Scotland in August for anything, come for the Military Tattoo. It's a hell of a show (and since you're coming here in the first place, I'm going to go ahead and assume you already like bagpipes.)

I'm not a night owl--I'm lame, so there are few things that will tempt me from my cozy home at 10:30 at night, and yet, there I was, climbing to the very top of section 11 in front of Edinburgh Castle, husband in tow, settling in and excitedly waiting for everything to start. It was definitely worth staying up for.

There was a dance paying tribute to tartan weaving:

And a nod to the new Disney/Pixar film Brave (Scotland's really excited about that)

And, because this is Scotland, we had to be reminded of the fact that this is the land o'whiskey, with one of the prettiest dances of the evening:

The Australians showed up and rocked out. They started off singing and playing some old traditional tunes and then turned the whole arena into a disco as they launched into Highway to Hell. The Australian military is clearly the coolest on earth.

The Americans were playful too, paying tribute to comic book characters and superheroes through the years:

A group of highly talented drummers/Three Musketeers extras from Switzerland paid tribute to binary code:

I'm going to assume that they were tapping out some super-important message in code as well, just to bring it all together. The King's Guard from Norway was there, just to prove there are no hard feelings over those centuries of Norse invasions:

This part becomes even more impressive when you realize these are not professional soldiers at all, but conscripts doing their compulsory year of military service. Well done, gentlemen! There was also a piece celebrating the industrial revolution in dance that was much cooler than Danny Boyle's strange phallocentric celebration of earth-rape during the Olympics opening ceremony. Sorry, don't have video of that one, just take my word for it. And, of course, at the end, everybody came out -- bands, dancers, and a shetland pony (sure, why not?) to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in a restaging of her coronation at Westminster Abbey:

After that, we took a few solemn moments to pay tribute to those who have fallen in service to their country (you can't read it, but the projection on the castle is the tombstone of the Unknown Soldier in Westminster Abbey)

And, finally, the pipers played everyone out with a rousing rendition of 'Scotland the Brave':

Freedom Fighter

After managing to evade pursuers for seven years following his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk, Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace was captured on 5 August 1305 when one of his countrymen, John de Menteith, turned him over to English soldiers near Glasgow.

Wallace, who’d been making life hell for the English for almost a decade, was taken to Westminster Hall in London, where he was tried for treason and atrocities against civilians. An oak garland was placed on his head to suggest he was king of the outlaws. Wallace protested the treason charge, as he claimed he was never a subject of the English king, Edward and that John Balliol was really his king. Nonetheless, he was found guilty and, on 23 August, he was taken to the Tower of London, stripped naked, and dragged through the city to Smithfield. There, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered. His head was preserved in tar and placed atop London Bridge and his limbs sent to the four corners of the country as a warning. The Scottish Wars of Independence dragged on, with a brief respite, until almost the end of the century (and, one could argue, they continue to be fought even today).

Haggis, Neeps, and Tatties

Oh, haggis. Robert Burns loved you; most Americans hear about your ingredients and can barely finish their breakfast sausage. But you're a really beautiful, brilliant, delicious thing, and I'm a lucky girl because one of the excellent butchers near my flat makes it in-house and it's fabulous.

For the past few days, my husby's been waxing rhapsodic about haggis, neeps, and tatties--a traditional (I believe) Scottish supper dish, and what Honey wants Honey gets. The dish is typically made with a steamed or baked haggis and mashed root vegetables, but I thought that might be a bit too much soft on the plate, so I opted to make a root vegetable hash. The result: fantastically delicious and wholly satisfying. I paired it with a really lovely, slightly spicy Spanish wine I picked up at Waitrose for the princely sum of 4 pounds. Livin' large, here.

The necessaries

Haggis: Hard to find in the U.S., everywhere over here. Many balk at the idea of eating a food that's mainly offal, forgetting entirely that that's basically what all sausages are. Haggis is a type of sausage and mostly tastes like the spices that are used in it. Be bold and give it a try--you might surprise yourself.

Neeps: We thought the neeps were parsnips, but they're actually turnips. By the time we realised, the parsnips (a root veg that looks like an anemic carrot) had already been purchased, so I threw them in as well and found they added a welcome sweetness to the dish.

Tatties: Potatoes. Get some nice firm ones that stand up to roasting.

Haggis with Neeps and Tatties Hash
Serves 4

1 small haggis, traditional or vegetarian
2 medium-sized potatoes, diced large
1 medium swede (the vegetable, not a tourist) or 2 turnips, diced large
2-3 parsnips, sliced chunky
1 small onion, sliced crosswise
3 slices or rashers of bacon or cubed smoked pork
Brussels sprouts, split lengthwise
Olive oil
Fresh herbs

Bring a pot of water to the boil on the hob. Add the swede/turnips and boil for about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and parsnips and boil another 3-5 minutes, until just starting to get slightly fork tender. Drain and cool slightly.

In a frying pan, saute the bacon until it starts to color or render fat (if you're using streaky bacon). Add the onion and saute together for about 2-3 minutes, until the onion takes on a creamy color.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius/350 farenheit.

Put the parboiled root vegetables and brussels sprouts in a bowl and toss with olive oil and herbs (I used thyme and rosemary). Add the bacon and onion and toss.

If the haggis is in an outer packaging, remove it. Prick the haggis all over with a fork and wrap it in aluminum foil. Set it in the middle of a baking dish and arrange the roasting vegetables around it. Roast for 40 mins to an hour, until the vegetables are browned and the haggis is steaming. Split the casing around the haggis  and scoop out the insides to serve with the veg.