recovery, meals, and trip

[winterbadger]

Feeling much better; thanks for all the good wishes! I came home, napped, drank lots of tea, napped some more, played Carcasonne with Chris and Mel, and partook of a very tasty dinner (crabmeat baked in green peppers on a bed of mango and red pepper). Delicious!

Speaking of dinners, not as fancy as a Mel meal, but I did make one I was rather pleased with last night--sauteed zucchini (courgette?) and yellow squash (marrow?), tatties & neeps (mashed potatoes and turnips), and corned beef brisket. Simple but tasty.

So, Chris and Mel have been helping me out with advice on my vacation. I've settled on a rough plan to spend two days in and around Mabou, two days around Dingwall, two days around Ingonish, and a day each at Fortress Louisbourg and St. Peter's and the Bras d'Or lakes. Rservations for the last two days confirmed, and emails in to places for the other nights. Activities to be spread around the trip are lots of sightseeing, lots of hiking and some birdwatching, a whale watch, maybe some cycling and/or kayaking, and of course touring the recreated 18th century fort and town of Fortress Louisbourg.

I need to plan what I'm going to take along. Looks like high temperatures on Cape Breton are running in the 60s (*F: 15*C-20*C) right now with varying degrees of cloudy and showers. So I'm thinking layers: some t-shirts and a couple of long-sleeved shirts with a fleece or two, a rain jacket, a hat, several changes of socks, hiking boots, and some plain comfortable shoes. All the usual necessaries, of course (undershorts, toothbrush, etc.) Camera, binos, a book or two, a journal and pencils. A day pack and my camelback or some water bottles). I'm tempted to get one of those collapsible walking poles; I really liked the ones Chris and Mel have. I have a nice hiking stick, but it's wood and not easy to take on a plane. I suppose I might take swimming clobber, just in case I have a chance to go down to a beach (FWIW, cold water doesn't bother me; I've swum happily off the coast of Maine). What am I forgetting?

And who would like a postcard? Comment with your address and I'll send you one. :-)

Comments

[kevinrtaylor.livejournal.com]

zucchini (courgette?)
Mostly, yes. But I've seen them sold as zucchini too - especially if they are the yellow ones.

yellow squash (marrow?)
No. Usually a marrow is like a giant green courgette with a harder skin.
Yellow sqaush is called yellow squash.

tatties & neeps (mashed potatoes and turnips)
Traditional recipes refer to these, but in seven years of living in Scotland (Renfrewshire) I only ever heard the word "neeps" used in relation to Burns' night suppers.
In School I heard potatoes called "totties" (with the double "t" pronounced as a glottal stop), but "neeps" are swedes or rutabaga, which the people in my area of Scotland called "turnips".
(What I call turnips I think they called "white turnips".)
Traditionally on Burns' Night, they are served separately from the potatoes, and not usually mashed, though the potatoes are mashed, or "bashed".
I think that mashing swedes is more of an English habit, and I've usually seen them here mashed together with carrots.

[winterbadger]

"neeps" are swedes or rutabaga, which the people in my area of Scotland called "turnips".

Brassica napus. I've been trying to learn to think of them as swedes, rather than rutabagas, only to discover this termionological variation between England and Scotland. *isgh* :-)

(What I call turnips I think they called "white turnips".)

Brassica rapa. Apparently often called swedes in Scotland and Ireland (and sometimes in the north of England), just to make things confusing.

Traditionally on Burns' Night, they are served separately from the potatoes, and not usually mashed, though the potatoes are mashed, or "bashed".

I've had haggis in a number of places in Scotland, and it invariably comes with mashed potatoes and mashed "turnips" ("yellow" turnips/swedes), though, as you say, they are usually not combined but served separately, the white and yellow providing a nice colour contrast.

[magaidhbhan.livejournal.com]

I lived with a Glaswegian (his mother was from Skye) on Skye for a month or so, and he did refer to them as neeps (not that we ate them all that often) - again, "turnips," or what I'd call a rutabaga. And potatoes were never anything but tatties. Ever. And he knew so much about the different types of them - I found it unbelievable, as an American who can kind of tell the difference between a waxy yellow potato and a floury white one, kind of.

Incidentally, my balaich informed me that the turnip (rutabaga) is what they used for jack-o-lanterns instead of gourd-ish things (for obvious reasons). I've been told by more than one person about sitting on the barn (or wherever) floor, laboriously hollowing out a turnip and eating the sweet meat of it as they went. I love the image.

[redactrice.livejournal.com]

What am I forgetting?

Trousers would probably be a good idea. It's a rather conservative place.

You're welcome to borrow one or both of our trekking poles, if they'll fit in your luggage.

OTOH, if you want some of your very own, head over to REI before you leave; I think they have some on sale.

[winterbadger]

Trousers would probably be a good idea. It's a rather conservative place.

:-p Yes, I was rather thinking of taking both of my pairs of convertible trousers. It would help to list them, though. :-)

OTOH, if you want some of your very own, head over to REI before you leave; I think they have some on sale.

Good idea. I think if you guys are going to keep all three of yours (at one point you thought you might not), I will get one of my own, in case we all want to go hiking together (or at the same time, separately).

[azbound.livejournal.com]

binos

?? I have no idea what that is.

And I'd love a postcard. I'd send you one. You know, if I ever travelled someplace interesting.

[winterbadger]

Sorry, binoculars.

A card it is! :-)

[magaidhbhan.livejournal.com]

I don't know if this is the slightest bit interesting to you or if you're going to be anywhere in the vicinity, but An Clachan Gaidhealach (The Highland Village) is, from everything I've heard, a fantastically cool place. See http://museum.gov.ns.ca/hv/ for more info.

[winterbadger]

I had seen something about it, and it sounded worth seeing. It's not *quite* on the path I'm planning, but it might well be worth a detour!