Author: minceandskirlie

Writer, poet, musician, and sometime IT professional in the North East of Scotland.
Booze Haul
News

Deeside Drinks Emporium

minceandskirlie

The guys at Dunnottar Wines and Spirits in Stonehaven have recently opened a 2nd shop in Banchory, called Deeside Drinks Emporium. Located on Dee Street, across from Bellview car park, they’re still not fully up to speed but they do have a fine selection of wine, whisky and some beer. Personally I think this is something that’s been sorely lacking in Banchory and I expect it’s arrival could prove quite expensive for me in the future!

I popped in for a look today and came away with a bargain in a bottle of 18 year old Fettercairn from independent bottlers Gordon and MacPhail, and a few interesting beers – a raspberry beer, a black double pale ale from Brewdog, a single hop ale with elderflower and a pale ale from Orkney. I’m really looking forward to opening them!

EDIT: As this post seems to get a lot of hits from people searching for information on the shop you can find them on facebook here:
Deeside Drinks Emporium

The Marine Hotel
Review

Lunch at the Marine Hotel, Stonehaven

minceandskirlie

We had a trip to Stonehaven this afternoon to look after the family dog while my folks were away for the day, so we thought we’d take the opportunity to have some lunch down at the harbour. Stonehaven harbour on a sunny summer’s day is a great place to go and spend some time. When the sun’s shining the sea wall is full of people sitting around enjoying a few pints from the pubs on the quayside and contemplating which one to have dinner in or whether to trade up to the well regarded Tolbooth seafood restaurant further round the bay or to head into the town centre for other fare. There’s certainly plenty of choice anyway. Continue reading “Lunch at the Marine Hotel, Stonehaven” →

Pad Thai
Food and drink

Pad Thai

minceandskirlie

I used to make a lot of stir frys. By which I mean I used to buy a pack of stir fry veg, some noodles and chuck it in a wok with some chopped chicken and soy sauce. It wasn’t bad, but it never really stood out or tasted close to anything from a good restaurant. So eventually I thought I’d give a pad thai recipe a try. Continue reading “Pad Thai” →

Boiled egg with anchovy soldiers
Recipe

Egg with Anchovy Soldiers

minceandskirlie

Today I’m at home and feeling a bit under the weather, but also hungry. I didn’t feel like going to the shop which meant the only option was to hunt in the cupboards for something edible. Skipping past a packet of super noodles (green thai flavour) and the jars of pasta sauce (not worth opening for a light lunch) I eventually dug out some eggs and a tin of anchovies. 5 minutes, a hot pan of water and some toast later and lunch was done. I felt a lot better after eating it as well! Continue reading “Egg with Anchovy Soldiers” →

Review, Thoughts

My food weekend – Franco’s and a Sunday Roast

minceandskirlie

I’m still warming up to this blogging lark so I left the camera alone for a few days at the risk of offending my girlfriend, who’s probably getting a bit fed up of having to wait for food to be photographed before it can be eaten. However, that doesn’t mean we stopped eating so here’s a quick summary of my food weekend. Continue reading “My food weekend – Franco’s and a Sunday Roast” →