Denny's, St.Edwards Drive, Richmond, Vancouver, Canada

Before embarking upon a cruise ship headed for Hawaii, we decided we would need some sustenance in the form of bacon and maple syrup.  Around the corner (and next door to the great place we ate last night) was chain diner, Denny's.

We were waited upon by a really lovely chap who brought me a cup of coffee, which he attentively refilled throughout our visit, and Alan a chocolate brownie milkshake.  I heard him speaking to other tables and during one conversation he mentioned that he was relatively new there, which was surprising as he seemed to whizz around the place as if he had been there for years. 

We both ordered the 'Original Grand Slam' which consisted of two big pancakes, two fried eggs, two sausages and two rashers of bacon. As if that wasn't enough, Alan wanted two extra pancakes.  I also ordered hash browns, not because I thought I would still be hungry, but because I'm a total brat and was jealous that Alan was ordering something extra.  'Food envy', I think the grown ups call it, but instead of waiting until the food arrived to be envious, I tried to outdo him.

It didn't work.  I was full by the time I had eaten half of my breakfast and he ended up having to finish some of mine.  I'll never learn.  Food is too tempting.  

We paid and continued our journey, happily wired on coffee and syrup.

Chop Steakhouse and Bar, Richmond, Canada

It's the first day of our honeymoon and we're jet lagged.  It's 5pm in Canada but we're still on UK time after crossing the Atlantic on our 10 hour flight and so it's 1am to us.  I'm tired, and hungry.

Luckily I did my research.  Right down the road from our budget accommodation is a small selection of restaurants.  Chop Steakhouse and Bar is the one we chose based on our love of steak and their Tripadvisor reviews.

It was warm and we sat outside in an oversized booth.  It was massive.  I am aware that things tend to be a bit larger over the pond, however, I did feel that I might need a booster seat.  We ordered local beer which was lovely and cold.  Our waitress was very friendly and chatted to us for a while about the local area.  She seemed to take a genuine interest in what we were doing so far away from home.

I ordered the 'Chop Experience Dinner' which is a set menu of starter and main course.  Alan ordered from the regular menu as he fancied a burger which wasn't on the set menu.  We both had soup; a seafood bisque for me and french onion for Alan.  He said it was the best french onion soup he had ever tasted!  The cheek!  I make excellent french onion soup!  I think he liked it so much because it came with a slice of crusty bread on top which was loaded with cheese and then popped under the grill.  I'll have to up my game...

Our mains arrived along with a new set of cutlery.  My fork was dirty.  One of my pet hates is dirty cutlery and crockery, even a watermark on a glass will make me want to polish it with my napkin.  It drives Alan mad as I'll even do it at home.  I'll often swap drinks or cutlery with him when we're eating out.  However, not one to make a fuss, I tried to clean it on my napkin, discreetly of course, as I am accustomed to.  The attentive waitress spotted this and came over with a new set of cutlery.  Service such as this makes a massive difference to the experience of dining out.

I had prime rib which was the best thing I had eaten in weeks.  It was cooked to perfection, pink and juicy, and was flavoursome.  It came with a selection of vegetables and some wasabi mash, which worked beautifully.  Alan hates wasabi so I probably wouldn't make it at home just for me, but it's certainly something I would consider if I was cooking for more than just the two of us.

We were both really pleased with our meals and service and happy withe price we paid.  A great start to our adventures.  We both left the restaurant with full tummies, ready for bed...at 6pm.

Pitmedden Gardens

I was invited for a cup of tea at Pitmedden Gardens by Mother Hubbard and Monster in Law.

It was lovely.  Although it was a sunny day, it was not really pleasant enough to go for a walk in the gardens, especially at a cost of £6.50 each, as it was quite windy.

We enjoyed our tea though, although in my case, it was a hot chocolate...

The Victoria sponge I had was delicious, definitely homemade.  The Mothers has scones and seemed to enjoy them.

The cafe itself was smaller than I expected and full of ladies of a certain age who 'do tea'.  The staff were friendly and I couldn't have faulted the service.  It was quite expensive, but this was to be expected of a National Trust Cafe.

I'd happily go back.

Freeloaders

Today we were given a kind gift from my father in law, Phil, and his wife, Sarah.  They grow much of their own (award winning) fruit and veg and we were lucky enough to have received a bundle of goodies from them as we visited. 

My cooking skills are limited although I do love to make up recipes on a trial and error basis.  

I used up some veg in a stir fry as suggested by Phil as he messaged me to let me know that the peas that Sarah had included in our bundle were of the sugar snap variety and so didn't need podded.

I included beetroot in the stir fry, however, I wouldn't do this again.  Although the stir fry tasted great, it's a shame the other vegetable colours were masked by the pink hue.  I like a colourful supper. 

I had been wanting to try to make fruit liqueurs for some time - and this was my opportunity!  Perhaps not the most nutritious way to use up fruit but definitely the easiest way as far as i was concerned.  I had previously made limoncello as wedding favours so I figured it would be similar.

So, I have attempted blackcurrant gin and pineapple chilli vodka.

 Looks good so far!

Slutty Brownies

I have been fortunate enough to have had these made by a work colleague, otherwise I may have never known that such an exquisite delicacy existed!  

They were delicious and, like many other tasty treats, I had no idea what they were or how to make them.  They looked complicated, so I didn't ask, assuming it would be too much faffing around for my liking.

As much as I enjoy baking, I have a teeny weeny kitchen and no dishwasher, so the small space rapidly becomes really untidy and messy very quickly, making me grumpy.  Also, I'm not a very good baker so when recipes don't turn out like the picture in the book it makes me grumpy.

I am a grumpy baker.

A bittersweet moment occurred recently, the lovely colleague who introduced me to this culinary delight reached the end of her time with us, going on to higher climbs, before returning to us in a year's time.  A sad day.  But...she had baked.

As it turns out, they were made with packet mixes!  Hallelujah! Maybe I could even manage these?  I gave it my best shot.

So, on the bottom there is cookie dough, followed by a layer of Oreos (*other white cream filled chocolate biscuits may be available for purchase*) and then brownie mix on top.  It is then baked in the oven for however long you think is right.  I left mine for half an hourish.  Also, I added some extra chocolate chips because chocolate makes everything better.

Here is my photo timeline of events...

Yet another disaster.

They actually taste good, maybe a little bit crunchy around the edges, but I'd score myself an eight for taste, but clearly I'm a really terrible baker.

Stag Do

Alan's away on a stag do so this is what my daily intake was:

Poached eggs on crumpets.

I love how the yolks fill the wee holes in the crumpets.

Cheese, biscuits, homemade bread with lots of butter and port.

As you can also see in this last photo I also subsidised my very healthy diet with strawberries and Cava.

I have no guilt.

Melt, Aberdeen

I finally got to try Melt today after months of lusting after their cheesalicious Instagram pics.

It was everything I had imagined and more.  

The shop is little and works on a takeaway format.  There are a couple of wee coffee tables at the window, but they seem to be used as a seated queuing area, but could be used as a place to eat if the shop were a little quieter.

Geometric orange wallpaper adorns the walls of the wee shop.  Vintage pin up style paintings are hung upon those walls.  There is a formica cabinet filled with the sort of crockery that my granny might have had in her cupboard, nothing particularly fancy but a little nicer than the everyday stuff she used, and the sort that would only be taken out when other folk were there for supper.

The menu is great.  They clearly know what they're good at and have stuck with it, much to my delight.  It's great to see a new business flourish on their strengths.  

I opted for the 'Classic Melt', a blend of three cheeses, costing £4.20.  Alan opted for a 'Hag and Melt', consisting of  haggis, bacon, cheese and rocket, costing £5.00 - anything with haggis in and he's sold!

We waited for not much longer than five minutes and were presented with our wee bag of goodies and toddled back to the car.

My toastie was delicious!  The cheese was melted perfectly.  It was stringy.  It was gooey.  It was tasty.  It was filled to the edges of the perfectly toasted bread.  Alan had no complaints about his either.  I asked if he wanted a bit of mine, hoping he would offer me a bite of his.  He didn't want a bite of mine, knowing my game.  We're married now though - what's mine is mine and what's his is ours.  I sneaked a bite when he was too busy cooing over a passing shar pei.  His was fantastic too.  I might even have that one next time.  Although there's a chocolate one I had eyed up too.  I might have both!

I'm so glad there's a place like Melt in Aberdeen - it's just what the place needs - more small independent businesses to take it into line with other Scottish cities.  

I can hardly wait to go back for another cheesefest.