Sara Samples Scotland 2011

Finally! I am finally posting about my trip to Scotland over a month ago! I have been so busy with bridal showers and weddings... but more on those later.

SCOTLAND

....was oh so amazing. It was sooo much better than I even imagined for so many reasons. I absolutely love the culture and the people and let me tell you, their food was absolutely AMAZING!

I know, I know, Scotland really isn't known for their fine cuisine but when it comes to comfort food, you can't beat it.... not even Paula Dean and her extra stick of butta.

I will just tell you some of the amazing foods I tried and then we will move onto the course you are all waiting for.... dessert. 

On the Menu: 

Haggis (yes I loved it... both times!), Neeps and Tatties

Chicken Goujons

Steak and Ale Pie

Fish and Chips

Gammon with Fried Egg or Pineapple

AmazAZing Onion Rings

Breaded Mushrooms

Sausage Rolls

and last (and definitely one of the best) Crumpets!

And so we begin.....

We started off our adventure with a lovely stroll through the Gallery in Glasgow in which my radar sensed a baking store. I was like a kid in a candy store!....well I do go crazy in candy stores too but never you mind. Of course I had to explore.... and buy something.... and so I adopted a lovely set of crumpet rings.

Sara in front of a cooking/baking supply store in the Buchanan Galleries

Next to George Square in Glasgow is the "Style Mile"....a bunch of fancy pants clothing stores, but amidst the rough I found a diamond.... down a dark and shady alleyway..... under a striped tent! My friend here sold a million different types of fudge, gummy candies and more! I asked him what his best sellers were and he said the Bailey's and Chocolate Covered Fudge.... he wasn't lying! I paced myself and only bought the two types of fudge and some delectable bon bons. One of the many things I loved was how they sell their sugary treats in little plastic baggies. A little sketchy but So cute!

One of the few vendors that allowed me to take their picture!

I bought some Fudgelicious Homemade Fudge ~ Baileys

You can see below that many of the fudges were made out of different types of alcohol especially whisky. :)

Chocolate Coated Creamy Fudge.

In case y'all didn't know. Bon Bons and I go way back. Ever since I started selling them in French class.... I have been addicted. I think I ate more than I sold. Bon Bons have a special place in my heart.... and stomach.

Raspberry Bon Bons.

On the way home from church on Sunday, we stopped for tea (dinner) at a little cafe called BeanScene. My subconscious radar must have been on because little did I know I would be walking into a shop that held one of my favorite treats of the trip. Chocolate Tiffin. It is made of crumbled digestibles (biscuits), raisins and chocolate (among a few other minor ingredients). Sounds gross I know but it was oh-so-amazing. I couldn't believe it. It was rich heaven in between my fingertips. This is one recipe you may be seeing in the near future if I can find one that does it justice.

I had an awesome hot dog on a baguette and it was so tasty and smokey. Mmmmmm.

Jillian decided to feast on a tart for dessert. It was tasty as well.

I loved browsing the aisles in the local shopping market because they had such funny and interesting candy and treats that were often a similar version of one in the US.

Mambas or Maoams?!

Some of the interesting candies I found while I was over there. I noticed that most of their gummy candies were very bland and really not very sweet or sour. It lacked the luster that I love so much but it was fun to try!

Another of my most sacred finds was the caramel shortbread, which they had everywhere! This was the hot shortbread to sell in your cafe or restaurant... and for good reason! I will also being trying to find an amazing recipe for this one! Doesn't it just look amazing (you will have to excuse the appearance, it was in a take home bag. It was beautiful when it went in!)

Caramel Shortbread

Next to the Galleries there was  a very long road of very busy shops. Amongst them was a cute bakery and tea room! The front end had a traditional bakery but in the back of the store was a neat little tea area where you could sit and have tea and a pastry. I love the idea.

One thing I love is sausage rolls. Back in the day I worked at a bakery (Leslie's French Pastries) as a bakery girl and I loved their sausage rolls! The owners were actually Scottish so they sold meat pies and sausage rolls along side their petit fours and eclairs. :)

What is a sausage roll you ask? Below you will see me partaking of said sausage roll. It was tasty.

One happy puppy!

Delicious sausage in a flaky pastry pocket

You can sea the sign in the back that says "Tea Room"

The front bakery was so cute!

They sold some things that were similar to American bakeries such as cupcakes, cakes, cookies, petit fours but they also had a very large selection of truffles, chocolates, tarts, cream filled donut things, shortbread (not as much as I thought though) and other desserts I couldn't even identify. I loved it!

Cupcakes on display in their front window

6 cupcakes for 4.99 pounds. This is about $8.50 USD

Along the same strip was another shop but it was closed already (All the shops close at 6pm!). I just thought the name was really cute. They had another location in the gallery and they sold chocolates....obviously. 

When I saw this store (below), I busted up laughing! Americandy. I wanted to check it out to see if they really had stuff that we sold here. They did! The most intriguing part of this visit was actually the beverages they sold. Apparently you cannot buy Root Beer or Mountain Dew anywhere in Scotland except for the imported shops like the one below. A single can of Mountain Dew goes for 1.50 pounds. That's $2.55 USD! A single can! A 12 pack was marked as 16 pounds or $27 USD. I could not believe it. We spoke to a young man who happened to be purchasing a can of Mountain Dew and asked him if it was worth it. He said it was definitely worth it. He could live off of it. After we told him that we get it for like 25 cents or 15 pence he said "That's reason enough to move there!" He couldn't believe it. Anyway, they sold a lot of candy that I have never seen before as well as the normal candy bars we carry. They also had some more gummy candies in baggies. I thought the Blues Brothers and Wonder Woman was a nice touch for the front of the store.

As I said, one of my favorite new experiences in Scotland were the crumpets. They were amazing. period. I bought some crumpet rings and tried to make them in my flat but it just wasn't working with not having measuring cups, a frying pan, oil...you know, the necessities. I will try them again here though soon! Mmmmm......sooooo good. Just a fine shmear of butter and I am in heaven.

From Thornton's Chocolate Bar, mint and toffee chocolate bars! Can't go wrong with these flavors.

You will notice a few things in the next picture.

Exhibit A- The bag says "Walkers" but looks EXACTLY like a Lays bag. Hmmmm......

Exhibit 2- Yes, the bag does say prawn cocktail.

Exhibit C- Yes, they tasted exactly like I thought they would....

The popular local drink over there is IRN-BRU. It's their Coke or Pepsi but with a million grams of caffeine in it. Of course I had to try it. It tasted like bubble gum, orange soda, fresca and another ingredient I can't put my finger on all combined with an aftertaste of nasty.....so it was ok.

We high-speed trained it on down to Ediburgh for a day and fully soaked in the culture and the atmosphere. It was so full of energy there. Truely awesome...not in the "awesome like a hot dog" sense but I was actually in awe of the history of the town. 

This was a cool shop in Edinburgh on Cockburn Street.

I bet you can't guess where I bought these fine looking chocolates.

We ate the chocolate on the way home from Edinburgh on the train but it was almost gone before I could get my camera out!

One thing I found hilarious was the number of Italian restaurants in Glasgow. I bet you can find 4 italian restaurants for every normal scottish restaurant. They love their Italian! 

Strawberry and Pistachio Gelato at an Italian restaurant. It was great!

My first taste of Sticky Pudding was a success!

So, I may not have mentioned the reason for my visit to the homeland. I went to compete in the World Pipe Band Championship with my bagpipe band! (I play the tenor drum not the bagpipes) Wow! What an amazing opportunity it was! I really loved every minute of it. This is a vendor at the actual championship. There were actually quite a few candy vendors there. I'm ok with that. :)

I was so excited I thought I was going to pass out!
They had so many different kinds of treats crammed into such a tiny space! 

Well the 9 days I was there was a huge succes and I certainly hope to go back their again. It was an experience to remember!