Room with a View

As luck would have it, one of my favourite restaurants posted on social media they had a few cancellations for this evenings dinner. So, we did. And, whilst this was the second visit here, it was as truly enthralling and fabulous as our first. I'll let the photos do the talking. An utterly sumptuous meal, beautifully executed and presented with flair. Fabulous evening.

A medley of seafood, wrapped in sushi nori with a chilli and oil drizzle. 

A wee Amuse-bouche joined the warm home made bread plate. Oh my.

Seared scallops, smoked Rannock duck breast and a beetroot and balsalto puree.

Starters didn't disappoint. I struggle to see past a pan seared scallop from round these parts. Combine it with duck and beetroot too. Wholly, utterly amazing.

Seared scallops, smoked Rannock duck breast and a beetroot & balsalto puree and micro greens

A cheeky wee palate cleanser arrived, too quickly scoffed to get the full picture, but you get the idea. It was very delicious.

Orange and Prosecco Jelly - Palate cleanser

So one of us went for the seared Tuna, one went for the Monkfish. The hardest decisions in this seafood restaurant, is choosing which fish to go for, they're all utterly amazing.

Seared Tuna steak, with Puddledub Aberdeen Angus mini fillet steak. With a rich tomato and garlic sauce. Wedges, mash, baby carrots and broccoli.

In fact so difficult was it, we agreed to share plates half way through. Which wasn't a bad plan either. Although I can confess to eating the mash potato from both plates. Whilst a fish lover, I struggle to see past good vegetables, and these were amazing.

Monkfish tail, with a garlic prawn stuffing, on a red Thai curry sauce.

Sushi nori kept the fish beautifully moist, I'll certainly try this one at home!

Monkfish tail, with a garlic prawn stuffing, on a red Thai curry sauce. Wedges, mash, baby carrots and broccoli.

And whilst we are not 'pudding people' we have had a pudding sharing plate here before and were blown away by their famous baked chocolate torte. A rich combination of aubergine, honey and almonds makes for a tormentingly moist extravaganza. So we had one each.

Rich baked chocolate torte, Chantilly cream, beetroot & chocolate coulis, chocolate swirly stick.

Room with a View famous gluten free baked chocolate torte. Made with honey, aubergine and almonds. Truly amazing.

Whilst boasting an ample wine list. This place also boasts a good selection of alcohol free wines and beers. Given its location, that's really fabulous thinking.

Our second visit to Room With A View, you can visit their website here.   Our second trip was every bit as magical as the first. It's a truly hidden gem, in a stunning location with views across to Edinburgh over the Firth of Forth. Some great views from their own gallery here.

Our dinner was under £90, with two drinks each, all three chosen courses and chef's extra wee fancies too. So its great value too.

For quality, and sheer fabulousness I'd say its up there with any Michelin starred restaurant in the area. We've done 3 out of the 4 on our doorstep, all utterly amazing, but so is this, and very good value. I'd say its holds it head up proudly with them all and, as it looks over the Forth to the The Kitchin  too, its a real contender.

You can see a sample menu here. And, if like us you spotted a last minute cancellation on facebook you can follow them here.

Did you miss me, (yeah) when I was away.......

Apologies for the lack of food updates. Its not like we've not been eating, we've just moved house to rural Fife. Sad goodbye to Orkney and a big hello to Fife! We're in the lands of the Kingdom of Fife where the larders are full from farm, seas and shoreline. And a fair few food festivals about too. So lets face it, we'll not starve chaps. And yup in good old Nigella style I asked for the lobster carcass home to make stock later with. I don't mind indulging in a wee sea side treat and some grand nosh but I'm certainly not missing out on some stock because of geography. So home it came and into the freezer it was lobbed.

Well if its good enough for Ms Lawson, is good enough for us!  It was retreaved to make a decent stock for a risotto for visitors last week. Much nicer than a stock cube when you can. So what else has been happening, um, I've started a mini-veg patch for this year and its yielding some grub. 

We've also invested in some rescue hens and are beginning to be rewarded by home produced eggs. 

I do love a good boily egg.

The current cheese mountain of the East Neuk of Fife also increased as the visitors arrived too-ing and fro-ing over the summer since we've been here.

So I've missed you too and lets make sure we keep updating where we're at.

Until next time, hope you find lots of good grub to eat in new or old places. I'm off to find a map of the area and start munching my way round the Kingdom!

Happy Scoffing.

Perfect puckle of peedie pakoras

Perfect puckle of peedie pakora's - using leftovers

So, last week when out at a work Love Food Hate Waste event we had a few leftovers - we were feeding a bunch of rather un-hungry teenagers. Now not one for liking food waste, (I mean do any of us?) I took everything left home in a wee tub. A wee mix of cooked ham, sausage, onion and pepper which had been leftover from a 'lobbing on home made pizzas' session, an hour or so before.

Now I can't say there was a HUGE amount left over, we're usually really canny with our workshops - but there was enough to half fill a wee box. Not enough for a stew, enough for a tasty snack. To me having seen that lot chopped up so beautifully (thank you Mary) and with the onions shredded so fine, the only thing that came to my mind was 'pakora'.

So as its officially 'egg season' in Orkney everyone I know with eggs is overrun with them and often we end up with a free half dozen or so. Therefore rather than a straightforward omelette with this lovely mix of leftovers, I decided a wee batter mix (1 cup of SR flour and an egg) would bind this lot nicely into pakoras - whilst there wasn't enough for a tasty meal for more than a mouse, there was enough to make a peedie puckle of tasty pakoras for a few hungry folks to snack on. Now we could have done this without the egg, merely water but an egg just gives it some 'ploofiness'. And, ploofiness was required after a long day. 

It literally took seconds to mix this lot up. I do prefer mixing with an old fashioned bone handled butter knife - I think all those lessons at school have left their mark. We often mixed with a butter knife, not an 'eating knife' which is sharper - I found some butter knives in a charity shop and snapped 6 of them up for about 50p - they're so useful. Anyway back to my mix. So the puckle of leftovers were coated nicely with a layer of the eggy/flour batter - enough to smother them but not to drown them, if you catch my drift. You could still see the 'components' of the mix rather than just a swimming pool of batter.

A dessert spoon full of mix was gently dispatched into a small wok of heated cooking oil. And they sizzled away for a couple of minutes on each side.

Now, whilst the wee half box of leftovers would have hardly fed a mouse - we shared a peedie puckle of these tasty treats with a wee bit of a dipping sauce at the side. We could easily have made an omelette or a wee stew or just a sandwich filling with a bit of mayonnaise mixed around the leftovers but I thought about pakora's for a change.

Next time you've a few wee bits leftover I wonder if you'd prefer to pluck up the courage to make a perfect puckle of peedie pakoras too?

So what's your favourite quick leftover idea? If you need some inspiration - why not check out Love Food Hate Waste and see some of their great ideas.

Until next time, happy leftovers and happy scoffing.

PS if you like hearing more of my nonsense please come on and like us on here.

Trenabies Fair Trade Cafe, Kirkwall

A bonnie wee cafe which sits in the middle of Kirwall's main street.  It does everything from breakfast to buns, wraps and french bread pizza's (himself's favourite) to local steak on ciabatta (daughters favourite). They also don't mind if you want your beans on your breakfast in a wee bowl, so it doesn't touch (contaminate) your eggs with bean juice, which is very important in my life (and they serve veggie and normal carnivore brekkies).

Used coffee grains, (not starbucks) just an illustration of the bags you can get full of useful grains for the garden

The coffee is ace and they also let you have bags of used coffee grains for the garden. And whilst this ISN'T a chain - the coffee is utterly fab and yes they do 'to go' although why you can't sit for a while is beyond me. And, they DON'T do internet, nor do you get much of a phone signal - bliss for ten minutes or an hour 'off grid'. 

So if you want a cuppa with superhelpful staff who give you peace but are there is you need them. Pop in. Ironically there are three cafe's in a stride in that area of Kirkwall - all good, take your pick. But this ones a real treat for a cosy, quiet natter either in a booth or on a squashy sofa up the back.

Until next time - take some time out and enjoy the coffee, knowing you're supporting fair trade, local good food and ingredients and by drinking coffee you're also helping someone's garden grow too.

Happy scoffing and mind those beans don't get near your eggs. Bleurgh!

Trenabies Fair Trade Cafe

16  Albert StreetKirkwallOrkneyKW15 1HP  View on map

• T: 01856 874 336

The Captains Galley - Scrabster, Thurso

So whilst we currently live in Orkney surrounded with great grub and fantastic seafood, we've often sat at the ferry terminal looking longingly at the sign by the terminal which shouts 'fresh seafood', 'The Captain's Galley', which opens for dinner just shortly after we normally set sail home to Orkney. A seafood restaurant set in a restored ice house, with a fantastic reputation, we've long wanted to go. So as this winters wee 'break' we decided to pop over for an evening, to sample their fabulous menu and it did not disappoint.

A warm and friendly welcome greeted us as we were shown to a comfy cosy room with squashy sofa's and plenty of ambient music. Drinks and nibbles provided swiftly and a warm friendly smile with the menus. 'Take your time, there's no rush' we were told and indeed there wasn't. What a perfect way to wind down on a Friday night but take in the ambience of a bonnie wee restaurant on the edge of a cheerful busy port. These guys have a reputation for being warm and friendly and they certainly were, we even managed to get a bit of chat about the garden, which as all of you know, is my other great passion. Mary and her staff are attentive, whilst giving you peace to enjoy your evening, that's a real skill, hats off to you all, it was the perfect balance.

And so to the grub, the menus (on a Friday night there are two, the full menu or a 'fish and chip' menu') - both looked stunning but opting for the full menu didn't disappoint. Have a peek at the sample menu here always full of incredibly fresh local produce.

To start, I chose the Langoustine bisque with a skewered prawn kimchi, himself Oysters cooked with pork belly and seaweed. For mains, I devoured pan seared Hake with mussels in vermouth, himself, blackened Saithe with corn succotash, colcannan and guacamole.

I do love it when you see fish you've never tried, like Saithe, or fish you love like Hake on a menu, its always good to try something new in a place where you know it will be cooked to perfection. And perfect it all was, which given my own pickiness when it comes to eating out, was never in doubt - but when you try a new place you certainly want it to live up to is reputation, and they certainly did!

A wee 'Amuse bouche' of Jerusalem artichoke soup sprinkled with artichoke wafer thin crisps, was perfection and a grand start to what was to be a fantastic meal. Take a tour through some of their special dishes here, although to be honest, its all pretty special. The portions are so generous we didn't indulge in a sweet or the local cheese board all of which looked stunning as they were given to other diners. Whilst we didn't expect it, our bill was reduced to reflect our choice to skip dessert, a nice thoughtful touch as we'd certainly signed up for the whole experience.

So if you find yourself in the far north east of Scotland, possibly enroute to Orkney, take some time either end to sample the hospitality and great grub cooked at this wee gem. You certainly won't regret it. And so lovely to see folks practise what they preach - they're a strong green ethos and certainly stick firmly to their own principles.......didnae see much of Jim, I guess he was too busy cooking, great chap! We certainly appreciated his efforts. And don't just believe me - gets a great write up on Fish2Fork too!

And, once you get to Orkney, whilst there's a plethera of fabulous places if somewhere like 'The Captains Galley' inspires, you'll surely love 'The Creel' in St Margarets Hope, Orkney. These restaurants may just be long lost siblings, sharing many great traits, fabulous service and stunning local produce cooked to perfection.

As we sat at the ferry port the next night to return to Orkney, we also saw that Jim has a wee 'takeaway' on the far right of their restaurant. We peeked up to see that as well as a lot of great looking fish and chips he had a board crammed with specials. Maybe next time we can try that out too! Opening hours listed below.

So, that place you've always wanted to visit - why not give it a go? That's what we did and we were certainly well impressed. As we were finishing our meal a couple of fisherman sat at the table next to us and ordered their tea - cannae be bad if the boat chaps use it too eh? Sorry no photos of the grub - himself and I were oot for a wee romantik evening, so phones were banned. Much nicer to just enjoy things too rather than keep snapping at them!

Back to the frugal eating for us for a while, another adventure around the corner soon, no doubt!

Until next time - happy scoffing!

The Captain's Galley, located here

Phone - 01847 894 999

Email contact page here

Jim and Mary Cowie

The Captain's Galley

The Harbour

Scrabster

Thurso

KW14 7UJ

01847 894999

Winter timetable serving Thursday Friday Saturday 7pm till late. Monday Tuesday Wednesday available for private parties minimum of 6 people. New Quality Takeaway Open Tuesday thru Saturday 4pm till 6.30pm

Home grown

Home grown - tatties. Nothing tastes better. Boiled, butter or olive oil. Pepper/salt to taste. Yum. OK so I have enough tatties to sink a battle ship and lob like snow balls if I wish. Does life get any better.

Whatever's great to eat in your patch or at your local market I hope you enjoy it - happy scoffing!

Humble Tattie - Frugal grub

As far as instant nice grub goes, you'll not get much better than the humble tattie. Boiled, mashed, fried or baked, its one of my favourite veggies.

 

Instant grub too if quickly baked and served with some butter. Or as my favourite - with some prawns in mayonnaise with a dash of chilli sauce to give it a bit of a kick.

 

You've heard of Mr Potato Head haven't you.

I'm Ms Tattie Heid with her trusty potato hunting hound.

 

Until next time, look again at that potato you often put at the side of your meals - its the star of the show.- happy scoffing!

Mackerel - eat it!

Now I love fish, I don't eat enough mackerel. Silly lass. This fine beastie made for a wholesome lunch then turned into fish cakes for tea and 16 Peedie cakes later, 12 ended up frozen. At £1.53 a fish, now that's frugal food. And, local. Yum.

Until next time, viva la fish. Happy scoffing.

Roasted tomato, lemon and red pepper fish soup

More of a stew than a soup started with a base of chorizo and green onions and the stock from a kilo of mussels quickly steamed. Delicious.

Add to this bubbling delight some gorgeous roasted-lemon and infused veggies, then lob the fish of your choice chunked coursely. I made this for a chum once, inspired by frozen lemons. Frozen lemons roast beautifully and break down into a sauce magnificently. If you find fish thats in season its generally a relatively cheap dish (tusk and mussels in here). Whenever I see reduced lemons, they get quartered and frozen quick style waiting for the catch of the day to land. Yum.

Until next time, freeze some lemons! Happy scoffing.