James and I were about to go to the cinema tonight to see "Midnight in Paris" but when James came in a few minutes ago from filling up the car with petrol and getting sandwich fillings for tomorrow, he said "It's kind of dreich out there, do you fancy watching a film here instead?" Now I usually like going out, but we will be walking all day tomorrow and I was delighted with the idea of staying in tonight. So at the moment James is making sandwiches, Davie is watching Scotland v Leichtenstein on television, and in a while we will choose a film to watch. I don't think that Alasdair will be joining us; he is fast asleep in bed which makes me suspect that his party in Dunlop last night went on extremely late. He slept over and arrived back at lunch time today. It has been a drizzly but pleasant day, all the more pleasant for remembering that a week ago I was stuck outside in the rain at Auchengillan. Today we went into town and after a few errands we had lunch with Davie in The Outdoor Experience, where I had delicious cauliflower and stilton soup with a roast beef and onions panini. I have always liked cauliflower soup, which I first tasted at Linda's hen night in Troon twenty-six years ago, imagine remembering that! I often associate delicious food with the place or time I first taste it, like polenta in Tuscany (with a beef stew in Ristorante all' Olivio, Lucca) and bistecca alla fiorentina in Florence (Il Bordino), both in the 1990's, or proper Gratin Dauphinois even longer ago in France in 1981! (the recipe I still use). And the first curries I ever tasted in the 1970's with my family; Chinese chicken curry full of onion! Later I came to prefer and in fact love Indian curries, but when I smell a Chinese curry I get a rush of nostalgia. And back to Tuscany in the 2000's for crostini with various toppings like pesto or tomato or (my favourite) chicken liver, which we would eat outside our villa in the warm evenings with Heather and Ewan and all the children. Scallops in Orkney, smoked salmon pate in Ardnamurchan, steak and chips outside mountain restaurants in Belle Plagne in France, fondue in a wee restaurant in Belle Plagner, piperade tartlets in the Avoca cafe in Dublin, the list could go on and on. I'm sure I have missed out some really important gastronomic experiences. I suppose this shows how much I associate food with pleasure, because I didn't intend to blog about food tonight!
Back to this evening, James has brought in some snacks and drinks so I will go and choose my film.
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