The foot-and-mouth outbreak has had a
dramatic impact on many traditional summer events in Scotland, such as
the cancellation of The Royal
Highland Show and The Turriff Show. The outbreak has also affected the
Border Common Ridings where, instead of hundreds of riders, at most,
these have been reduced to a handful. In Selkirk last week four
horsemen, Alastair Hogarth, Steve Squance, John Wilson and Russell
Grieve did the honours, but had to remain within the lands of Linglie
Farm. This year the Soutars of Selkirk even abandoned choosing a young
chiel to fill the role of Standard Bearer who also casts the Colours
in the market square. Instead the honour went to a previous Standard
Bearer, Jimmy Heatlie, who first cast the Colours in 1976. He did not
let the Soutars down. Hopefully next year will see a resumption of all
events in their traditional manner. In spite of being Mid-summer the
weather has been anything but summer-like. Hopefully things will
improve and we can enjoy the great outdoors to the full - including
picnics. In readiness for the good weather to come, here is a recipe
for Scotch eggs.
Scotch Eggs
10 eggs (8 hard-boiled)
4oz. (1 cup) approx. breadcrumbs (crisp)
1 lb 8 oz pork sausage-meat
deep oil for frying
a pinch of mace
salt and pepper.
Boil 8 of the eggs for 10 minutes in
boiling water, then drain and let them run under the cold tap, and
when cool, shell them. Beat up one
of the remaining eggs and add 1 tablespoon cold water. Season the
sausage-meat and add the mace, then dip the hard-boiled eggs into the
beaten egg, and cover each one entirely with the sausage-meat,
pressing it on with the hands. Beat up the remaining egg and gently
roll them in this, then dip them in the breadcrumbs (you may need
slightly more than the amount given, depending on the size of the
eggs) again pressing the breadcrumbs into the sausage-meat. Have the
oil good and hot and fry them singly until the outside is golden
brown. Lift up with the basket, and drain well before serving either
hot with mustard, or cold with a chopped raw apple and celery salad
dressed with 3 tablespoons olive oil to 1 of wine vinegar for the
perfect picnic salad accompaniment. Serves 4.
