Tag: Banchory

Snapshots

Scolty

minceandskirlie

Scolty

I’ve been making the most of the awesome spring weather over the last days and retrieved my road bike from the shed where it’s been hibernating for the last few months. I got home from work tonight and the car was still claiming a temperature of around 15 degrees in the sunshine so I jumped on the bike for a 14 mile loop round the back roads of Deeside. Normally if I take a picture of Banchory’s Scolty hill it’s from the top but cycling round the back roads gives you a great view from the west of the hill, especially when the sun’s shining in the early evening haze like it was tonight.

Snapshots

Stumbling across some local honeycomb

minceandskirlie

On a long bike ride through sunny Deeside I happened to pass a house with a hand painted sign outside simply saying “For Sale Comb Honey”. Well you have to stop to check it out don’t you? I pulled up to the side of the house to find an elderly gentleman who keeps a few bees and when he has an excess of honey (didn’t happen for him last year but this year has been a bumper one apparently) he packages up a few sections of honeycomb and sells it for a fiver from his house. Continue reading “Stumbling across some local honeycomb” →

Snapshots

Menu tasting for my wedding

minceandskirlie

image This was one dish out of about eleven that I ate on Sunday night during the tasting session for my forthcoming wedding. This was roast loin of pork with mustard and sage stuffing. Don’t worry, I’m not giving anything away. While I loved this dish my fiance wasn’t a fan of the mustard stuffing so this one won’t be appearing on the final menu.

The new chef at Banchory Lodge Hotel really did a great job though and it’s going to be tough to decide on the final menu. Maybe I’ll just have to ask for another tasting session…

Review

Quick lunch – meat board at Buchanan’s

minceandskirlie

I’m off for a couple of days which gave a great opportunity to meet my brother for lunch. He’s recently started working for Woodend Barn, a local arts and music venue. Last year it completed an extension to the main building which includes a small restaurant called Buchanan’s.

The room is bright, sometimes a little too bright should you sit by the large glass windows on a sunny summer’s day. However the views over the fields towards Crathes are worth that little discomfort. It feels very comfortable with a relaxed atmosphere and a varied range of tables. They’ve also added a long table in the centre with newspapers and books for their more casual visitors. Continue reading “Quick lunch – meat board at Buchanan’s” →

Food and drink

Roast loin of venison

minceandskirlie

Another quick post while I finish typing up last week’s trip to Edinburgh. Today was farmers market day and I had a good reason to head down to Scott Skinner Square anyway (needed a haircut) so took the opportunity to fill our freezer with meat.

One of my favourite stalls at the market is Mortlach Game, a local company that provides cuts of venison, pheasant, pigeon and rabbit. Today I was shopping for venison and picked up a fantastic little joint of venison loin that was going to make a perfect Saturday night tea. Continue reading “Roast loin of venison” →