Elyse and I recently got back from a 10 day journey through Scotland. We ate. A lot.
One of the first things we noticed about Scottish food is that it tends to be a little on the heavy side. Take the traditional Scottish breakfast (which we had at the B&Bs we stayed at):
1. Your choice of cereal to start (corn flakes, frosted flakes, or bran stuff that looked like it would cause a colon blow)
2. Bacon, which was actually thick cut salty ham with a good helping of fat.
3. Sausage.
4. Scrambled or fried egg.
5. Haggis (didn’t try it).
6. Black or white pudding (tasted like meaty polenta).
7. Grilled mushrooms and tomatoes.
Scots like their tea time. We would usually get a tea and cake around 11 or 11:30am. Good times.
We tended to get lunch at a supermarket or convenience store. There was always a wide selection of pre-made (and pre-sliced!) sandwiches. We would also select a weird flavored bag of crisps (smokey bacon anyone?) and an exotic beverage.
One bad thing about Scotland was that fresh produce was hard to find and when it was found it was not too great.
High tea happens at 4pm. Time for another cake! Or scone.
Traditional pub dinner favorites tended to be fish and chips and the like. Elyse’s favorite was the steak and ale pie. It was essentially pot roast with a cap of puff pastry. Interestingly peas were usually the side dish.
Fish and Chips:
Steak and ale Pie:
Now we didn’t just have pub food. We did have one really fancy dinner (on our one year anniversary) at the Witchery.
Salad:
Salmon:
Three little pigs (pork three ways)
Lettuce Never Squash Our Love 
WELCOME HOME!! I am so glad you had such a wonderful trip. The food looks great and I want to eat those fish & chips right now! Can’t wait to hear about your trip and see some pictures. Side note-Tell Elyse I think that the water will be warmer next week for a pool day. Love, Aunt Bethy
Such interesting experiences. I always love to see how people from different places think about food routines and rituals differently. The whole tea time is interesting. I have never heard of a steak and ale pie. I love how you took pictures of what you ate – I feel like I get to do a little vicarious learning through you. Can’t wait to see some of the pics of the castles!!
I so love peas! It is very interesting to me that the Scottish people serve peas as a side to fish and chips and also what look meat pies. We would typically think of those meals as having a salad as a side, or in the case of fish and chips- just stick to all grease and no veggies at all (unless you count the fries!) I wonder how many months the Scottish people can grow shelling peas, since we now know and understand the growing season more from joining the CSA!
I am now thinking that grilled mushrooms and tomatoes would always be a welcome addition to the menu when we have a brunch!