Coffee today is from a small village at the gateway to the Cairngorms, known as Blair Atholl.
The 5 mile Scotland radius lockdown was lifted on Friday and we couldn’t wait to escape. We’d managed to hire a small lodge in the woods for the week as a replacement to a usual summer road trip into Europe. In one way we were sad as the usual adventure had been cancelled and in another….just relieved to break away mentally from the confines and routines of home.
The view from the bedroom window is one of trees, an abundance of green….and rain, lots of torrential rain. The rain drops almost the size of golf balls, then with moments of blue sky and sun. To me though the rain didn’t matter we were going to get out to soak up the fresh air and absorb the life forces that just seem to emanate from the cycle paths, the trees and the hills.
Foodwise it was a strange one…..we really had to think ahead, put a weeks’ worth of a meal plan together. We knew there was a local village store, which we counting on for bread. The watermill (dating back to 1590) was only for pre phoned through orders for the Saturday….and it looked like the local chippy was coming out of hibernation.
The meal plan roughly:-
- Friday – Chicken Stew, Rhubarb Crumble
- Saturday – Chippy (Fish and Chips)
- Sunday – Chicken Stew, Rest of the Crumble
- Monday – Scrambled Eggs, Beans on toast followed by Chocolate Puddle Pudding
- Tuesday – Bacon, Pasta and Crème Fraiche rest of the Puddle Pudding
- Wednesday – Backed Potatoes, Smoked Mackerel – Pancakes
- Thursday – Grains, Chicken Legs – Roast Apricots with a crumble topping
- Roughly gave me the idea for the following post around a few tips for self-catering for the home cook.
We managed some of the mighty big hills (Munroe’s) in the area and my lungs and mind are feeling all the better for it. A break from the screen, the escape and that feeling of euphoria that you get by challenging the mind through excursion.
So home now and the weekend has flown by, with jobs in the garden to catch up on. Amazing how the weeds shoot up whilst your away. It’s like they were sat in waiting, for that moment when nobody would be looking!
Hope your choice of beverage is both relaxing and refreshing and that you have a great week ahead.
The #WeekendCoffeeShare is an informal weekly link-up hosted by Eclectic Alli that serves as weekly heart beat and sort of of a mind-dump. Helps me reflect on my week, with a list of achievements, thoughts and rambles normally whilst drinking a beverage probably listening to music.