A Language Lesson: Scots

The country of Scotland has 3 official languages- Scottish English, Scots, and Scottish Gaelic.  Well, Scottish Gaelic is a bit advanced for us but sounds so ancient.  Scottish English is mostly the same as any English but with different regional words spoken with a Scottish accent.  Here's a cute video with some of the common words used- You tube Scottish Alphabet.  Now Scots uses some words you'd be familiar with and many words unique to the language, it's very hard to understand, even for some who speak it, because many words chang depending on what part of the country you are in.  I found a You Tube Scots example and found it sooooo hard to understand.  Here are a few words -

brae- hill      breeks- pants     loon- boy        quine- girl       neb- nose        een-eyes           lug- ear
                               
                                     ane leid is ne'er enough - one language is ne'er enough

Hope you had fun in Scotland!  For more Scottish fun you could watch the movie Brave when it comes out on DVD.  Haven't seen it but I'm told it's great.  Not sure where our next journey is going to be - any ideas???  Next week is Halloween so it's going to be busy (and spooky and FUN!)   Bye.

Golf in Scotland

Fore!! Golf, the sport of Scotland

Golf, everyone knows golf, the game where you hit the little ball into the little hole.  Well, I'm here to tell you a little about the origins of the game, and since we're learning about Scotland this week I bet you can guess where the game started.  Right, Scotland.  The modern version of golf was first mentioned in history in 1457 as the game "gowf".  St. Andrews Golf Club in Scotland is recognized as the "home" of golf but some people debate about even older origins of the game.  Could it be the Roman game of "paganica" where a little ball was hit with a bent stick? Sounds logical.  Or was it the Chinese game of "chuiwan" where a little ball was hit into a cup with a stick?  That sounds right too.  Or the Persian game of "chaugan", etc. etc.  One thing for certain the idea behind golf can't be tied to any one country, however the rules and methods used today ARE direct descendants to the Scottish game.  So we got ourselves an old club at the Salvation Army for $3 (still had an $89 price tag!) and some whiffle balls and practiced on our strokes in the backyard.  Let's just say we are not ready for the real game yet - GOLF IS HARD!

 

The Loch Ness Monster

Nessie- the monster, the myth, the craft and the game

Lurking in the depths of Scotland's largest lake, Loch Ness, is a creature most mysterious.  Is it a dinosaur that has somehow survived all these years?  Is it a sea serpent?  Is it a hoax?  No one has ever given definitive proof either way.  The loch is 22 1/2 miles long, 1 1/2 miles wide and 754 feet deep and every inch of it has been searched but still no one has been able to prove what it is that people have claimed to see for years.  Most reports are that it is very long with a long neck that can come out of the water.  Most people see humps in the water that they say are it's body, while other people see a wake in the water that they think is it swimming.  There have been a few grainy pictures but pictures can be so misleading.  So the debate goes on - is Nessie real or fake?  We don't know either but we do know a good project when we see one.  Let us introduce the.................

"Sock" Ness Monster

For the project you will need:

• one large tube sock for each monster
• stuffing (we raided an old pillow)
• googly eyes
• sharpies or fabric paint
• hot glue or regular glue and patience
• a bent up coat hanger or wire
• felt

1. Stuff your sock with the stuffing.  For my daughter's we added the bent up coat hanger so we could make it stand up a little.  Put some glue on the end of the sock and pinch it together.  We also twisty-tied it to keep it tight until it dried.

2. Cut out some flippers and glue them on.  We cut them out of the end of my son's sock but felt would've worked. Glue them on.
3. Glue on googly eyes and any other decorations you'd like your monster to have.  We did some triangle spikes down the back.
4.  Decorate with the sharpies and add the little details that make it your own - eyelashes and hearts, etc. etc.

Voila!! You have now seen the legendary "Sock"Ness Monster!!

 

The Search for Nessie - the game.

So now that you've made your monster you want to play with it right?  We played a fun game called the Search for Nessie.  One person hides Nessie (or "Sunshine" as my daughter named hers) somewhere around the house (or yard, or park) and the rest of the family races around trying to be the first to find it.  Simple and fun.

 

On the Menu: Scottish Food

Yes, we did, but No, we didn't.

Aaah, Scottish food.  When I said to people that we were learning about Scotland this week, EVERYONE asked me (tongue in cheek) if we were going to make haggis.  Well, yes we did. Did we make the traditional dish of sheep innards,spices,oats and suet packed into a sheeps stomach and boiled? Umm, no.  For many reasons.  That dish is probably something that you need to have grown up eating to enjoy, but the basic idea of "meat" with spices and oats cooked together sounded ok.  My friend, Stephanie O'Dea the slowcooker guru, has a hilarious post on her blog about trying to make a "real" haggis.  I learned a lesson from that post and made her Americanized version instead.  I'm sure my family is happier about that.  We also had some Cock-a-leekie soup which got a few jokes going  none of which are fit for family audiences.  And since my husband and brother have been so willing to try all the new foods (the kids had pb&j), I made some delicious Scottish shortbread for dessert!  The recipes are coming but first lets learn a little about Scottish cuisine.

Oats, sheep or lamb, fish, potatoes, onions and leeks are featured in many Scottish dishes.  With lots of rivers, streams and the ocean all around, its easy to see how fish is plentiful and easy to come by.  The sheep have plenty of green grass to fatten them up and the potatoes and onions are hearty and grow well in the climate.  Oats are the grain of choice for a hearty morning bowl of porridge and makes a tasty filler-upper.  Scotch Whisky is apparently the official drink of the country and I tell you my kids have never slept better!  Just kidding, I just wanted to see if anyone actually reads this :)  Like most of Great Britain, tea is a very popular beverage (2nd to whisky).  The names of the foods that are served in Scotland are the best! Rumbledethumps, cock-a-leekie, clapshot, and hotchpotch.  Food should be this fun!  Now the recipes for our Scottish feast.

"Americanized" Haggis

Recipe came from my friend Stephanie's blog. Her cookbook is pictured in the crock pot.  You should buy it :)
For the recipe you will need:

• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1/2 lb ground lamb
• 1 small red onion chopped
• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 tsp each cayenne pepper and black pepper
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp salt
• pinch each of ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground cinnamon
• 1/2 c beef broth

1.  Mix all the ingredients (except the broth) in a bowl. Smush to combine really well.

2. Form a ball or loaf or whatever shaped you'd like and put it in slow-cooker.
3.  Pour broth over top.  Cook on low about 7 hours or 4-5 on high.  I put mine in at 12 on low and at 4 turned it to high and it was ready to eat by 5.

I've never had the real haggis and I don't think I'm brave enough to ever try, but many people say it's actually very good.  I'll never know but I can tell you that this version IS actually very good.  My husband and brother both made faces when I broke it to them that we were having haggis but they both liked it - especially with ketchup.  It's basically meatloaf but with a different flavor from the spices.

Cock-a-leekie Soup

This is another traditional dish - different recipes had potatoes, rice or barley.  We made the barley version.
For the recipe you will need:

• 4lbs chicken - bone in and most of skin removed
• 10 c water
• 1 onion chopped (I left this out because there were already so many leeks and I love my husband)
• 1/3 c barley
• 1 can condensed chicken broth. (I used boullion)
• 5-7 leeks cleaned and thinly sliced
• 2 stalks celery sliced
• fresh thyme - 1 sprig
• fresh parsley - 1 T
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Put chicken, water, barley and onion (if using) in a large soup pot.  Bring to boil then reduce heat to low.  Simmer one hour.
2. Remove chicken from pot and separate the meat from bones.  Return meat to pot and add broth, leeks, celery, herbs and salt and pepper.  Simmer 30 minutes until leeks are tender.

I thought for sure my husband was going to hate this soup.  I have never had leeks before and thought they were very oniony because they look like giant green onions.  And there were LOTS of leeks! Once they boiled in the soup for a few minutes they were delicious - not oniony really, almost like a celery taste.  We crumbled some crackers into our soup and really enjoyed it on a cold night.  The kids ate some of the broth with their crackers and had a sandwich. 
Because we all ate our dinner like good little Scots, I made dessert.

Scottish Shortbread

This recipe was given to me by an old friend whose mother was from Scotland.  So easy and delicious!
For the recipe you will need:

• 1/2 lb (2 sticks) butter unsalted
• 1/2 c sugar.  I used Splenda 
• 2 c flour
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t baking powder

1. Cream butter and sugar together.  You can use a mixer but a spoon or fork works fine too.
2. Add rest of ingredients and slowly fold it all together.  It will look totally not like dough - sort of like crumbs
3. Dump it onto pan and press it out about 1/4" thick.  See how it all came together? Poke it a few places with a fork.  It should make a rectangle about 10X12 inches -give or take.
4. Bake at 350º for about 20 minutes or until lightly golden.
5. When they come out of the over score it with a fork where you want them to separate.  When they are cooled you can just break them on the score lines.

These are flakey and delicious and buttery and YUM!!! You can incorporate all different kinds of flavors with fruit zests or different spices and they are so easy to make!

I hope you try some of these recipes and that you are enjoying the blog.  Please leave any comments you have - I'd love to hear it!!

Week 14: Scotland

Welcome to Scotland!

Ok, so next week is Halloween and we've covered mummies from Egypt, vampires from Romania, and now we're in Scotland for......the Loch Ness MONSTER!!  The most famous lake monster in the world lives (?) in Scotland's most famous lake, Loch Ness.  Along with Nessie, Scotland is also supposed to be chock full of ghosts, so it is a great place to visit for Halloween!  But we're going to learn more than that this week.  I've got some treats in store for our Scottish menu, maybe we'll play a little golf, and we'll get a little lesson about the language.  Ready?


Scotland is the second biggest country in Great Britain, lying to the north of England, it has been a part of the Empire of Great Britain since 1603, when the King of Scotland also became the King of England and united the two countries.  The country also includes 787 islands, many of which are uninhabited except by migratory birds. The capital of Scotland is Edinburgh, located on the map at 55.95ºN/3.22ºW.  Scotland is famous for its wool and wool products, tweeds, and its tartans.  Tartans are the different plaids that are used in kilts and other garments.  Each plaid (tartan) comes from a different clan (family group) from different areas of the country. Scotland is also known for kilts, which are basically  traditional skirts worn by the men.  I'm not sure why traditionally they wore skirts since the country is rather cold and blustery a lot of the time but they did. Another Scottish tradition is playing bagpipes, although, supposedly, bagpipes originally came from Central Asia!  Know another Scottish trademark that might have come from Central Asia?  Red hair!!  The gene mutation that causes red hair has recently been traced down to Asia.  Red-headed Asians are not unheard of - remember Genghis Khan from Mongolia?  He had red hair.  Coincidence? Who knows? One thing that goes with red hair is a fiery temper and judging by Scotland's motto, "No one provokes me with impunity" or "Nemo me impune lacessit" it seems that they have a bit of a temper (also like Genghis Khan) and they are proud of it.  Also, their national plant is the thistle - spiky but beautiful.  There have also been many inventions that have come out of Scotland.  A few include: the telephone, pnuematic tires, penicillin, chloroform and, not surprisingly considering the damp climate, the waterproof raincoat!  All this and their national symbol is the Unicorn!!  How cool is that?!  Everyone loves a unicorn :)