Reflections on 9/11, Edinbugh, Scotland

Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh

This photo was taken on September 11, 2001 in Edinburgh, Scotland where I was living and was supposed to fly back to the States that same day. But needless to say, that didn't happen. I watched as the flags were rearranged on the Balmoral Hotel. 

After watching a few documentaries this week about 9-11, it got me thinking (How can any footage not be thought-provoking?)-- I haven't reflected on it much in recent years & that it happened a decade ago is mind-blowing. In retrospect, I can say it was 9-11 that prompted my decision to (eventually) move back across the pond. I had been living between Scotland and France in 2001, and was in fact, due to fly home from Edinburgh that very afternoon. 

September 11, 2001 was as equally gorgeous in Edinburgh as it seemed to be in NYC. A perfect sunny morning. Business as usual. My former flatmate, Stella, helped me put a few things in a storage unit and dropped me off at St. James Mall in downtown Edinburgh to pick up a few last things before catching my flight home.  Much of what was unfolding is recognizable- even on the streets of Edinburgh- in hindsight. It was around 2PM (the UK is 5 hours ahead) and, as we drove toward the Royal Mile, we noticed clusters of people standing on the streets; primarily around the government buildings. Camera crews were outside Parliament and all along the Royal Mile. We even joked about the unusual flurry of activity... chalked it up to the Queen being in town. (I even snapped a picture and will upload it soon.)

After being dropped off at St. James Mall, I noticed a hoard of people clustered around a few TVs pushed up against an electronics store window... "meh! Football." is exactly what I muttered while scurrying off to pick up an over-sized piece of luggage. Another oddity... the mall was silent. 

This is an image from the mall's website.

I never shopped so fast in my life. 15 minutes to buy the suitcase, trousers, jacket, and shoes I had been eyeing up for a month. It all came clear while rolling along with luggage in tow back past the electronic store. I had 2 hours to get to the airport. Loads of time to stop and see what everyone is gawking at on the tele. Little did I know we were watching the world change. It took a while to figure out why NYC was billowing smoke. There was no TV back at our flat, so I was thankful the electronics store pushed a bunch of TVs up to the window and turned the mute/closed caption on. So I along with about 20 others watched breathlessly as a surreal event unfolded in real time. Dead silence. Nothing seemed scary yet. Just confusing and sad of course, a plane crashed into the WTC.  I had a plane of my own to catch, but couldn't tear myself away from the TV.  We watched as the second plane hit the towers and that's when it came clear I wasn't flying home that day. Something in my gut said it was bad. Really bad. Then the towers collapsed. Sickening to see. A sweet, older gentleman (of whom I have not thought about in 5 or 6 years), named Rori, watched my stuff as I stepped outside to use my cell phone, which was sans signal inside. I can't remember exactly how many messages I had, but it was 35 or 45 messages from 3o different people. Family. Friends. Colleagues. Everyone knew I was flying. Where to? Where through? Where are you? That was the confusion and uncertainty of the time. One of those messages happened to be a flight cancellation. The airspace over London had been shut down indefinitely (=3 days). Edinburgh, too, put a lock down on the government buildings and the airport. Not. Going. Anywhere. 

Arthur's Seat from Edinburgh Castle

I had been staying with Stella, who was presently holed up in the basement of a library (also sans phone signal) nor did she own a TV, so I parked myself (and all my baggage) for the next 3 hours at the Balmoral Hotel bar where every TV carried some news coverage of the story. It still seemed unreal. Frankly, I felt very disconnected from my home, family, America in general. But later that evening, an extraordinary group of international people whom I knew from the University of Edinburgh, gathered at a friend's house- he had a giant TV- to listen to Bush deliver a speech that sent shivers of national pride (and sadness) up my spine. After watching the entire tragedy unfold on a TV in a mall, with strangers, I wondered how my perspective of 9-11 was shaped by not being here with my family and friends. But looking back, I wouldn't change a thing.  Opinions of an historic, world-changing event was shared with friends from all over the world... there were no less than a dozen countries represented in this one room. It was both enlightening and poignant to learn of different perspectives. All were horrified and saddened, but not all were necessarily shocked beyond belief.  A few were angry and ended up in verbal fights. Very heightened moods...  We all decided to sleep it off.

The craggy castle cliff

It took several days to sort out my flight because I bought a cheap ticket through the Student Travel Association (STA) and, let's face it. I wasn't exactly their priority customer to get on the next flight home. In fact, I didn't come home for two more weeks. For as many people as I knew (and spent time with) over the next few days, I felt disconnected and introspective and wanted to be alone. At this stage in life, I was researching Scottish castles and it was instinctual to go to a castle when I wanted time to myself. Edinburgh Castle is seemingly impenetrable, unmovable, safe.... like the Twin Towers.  I wandered around the castle imagining what it was like being inside, while attackers were trying their darndest to scale the impossible crags. I kept comparing this castle to the WTC and then something struck me. A comment about how a formidable fortress such as Edinburgh Castle was taken by stealth and not by storm. I guess having two planes crash into iconic NYC buildings is more or less a 'storming' of America, but still, it was pretty darn stealth.  I had to go somewhere else. Strangely, the castle didn't make me feel very safe. I wondered if this was the general mood everywhere. Uncertainty.

Inverness

And so, I went to the Highlands for a while... Inverness, Drumnadrochit, Nairn, Ullapool... amazing outpouring of sympathy (and whisky) by the locals.
Reflections Part 2 to come...

My Latest Obsession- Philip Johnson Glass House, 1945

The Philip Johnson Glass House was a remarkable achievement when it was completed in 1949. Inspired by Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House (Ill.), its exterior walls are of glass with no interior walls, a radical departure from houses of the time. It began a fifty-year odyssey of architectural experimentation in forms, materials, and ideas through the addition of many new "pavilions"—Guest House, Lake Pavilion, Painting Gallery, Sculpture Gallery, Ghost House, Studio, and Visitors Pavilion—and the methodical sculpting of the surrounding forty-acre landscape. 

http://philipjohnsonglasshouse.org/

Visionary Glass House in New Canaan, CT,

designed1945-49 by architect, Philip Johnson & David Whitney

Rhubarb Rosemary Ice Cream, By Genevieve.

http://hamsandwichindicted.blogspot.com/2011/06/rhubarb-rosemary-ice-cream-ah-may-zing.html

SALAD AS A MEAL: Four week challenge recap

I have thoroughly enjoyed participating in the Salad as a Meal challenge and having the opportunity to connect with the other bloggers who are wonderful food-loving writers. I'll list the links to their food blogs at the end of this post. Though the end draws nigh, I am not sad because I'll continue to use this amazing cookbook and blog about the recipes.  My favorite recipes to date have been the Vietnamese Chicken, Socca and the Potato Galette. I was most surprised with how filling the Rancho Salad is and that I took a liking to peas because of the Spring Salad. There's a dozen more recipes I intend to make throughout the summer using herbs and vegetables from our garden. Watch for future Salad as a Meal blogs, but for now, I have an idea.... read below to learn what the next round of blogging entails.  

 Thanks everyone for following and commenting. And don't forget, Sunday April 17,  I'll be posting the final winner of a copy of Salad as a Meal. Good luck!

And the winner is.... Deborah Thompson

Good Narrative. Good Recipes.

I love stories. Especially when they involve food and/or travel. In my opinion, a good cookbook MUST have a good story behind it.  If it doesn't, I lose interest in everything about it, including the recipes.  One thing I'm most fond about Patricia Wells's cookbooks is their readability. She's a fine story teller and goes to length to include the history or background of a dish. Her opening narratives are welcoming, as if she is having you to dinner, yet still read like fine prose. Not what one might expect from your average cookbook, but something I've come to appreciate and admire about hers.  

I've been enamored with Patricia Wells's cookbooks for the past decade. They've taught me a lot about technique and the reasons why it is important to do things certain ways. Some techniques stick, others... well, let's just say I'm not always good at following directions. But I'm getting better. The first of her books I purchased 14 or 15 years ago was Simply French. I love French cuisine, but let's face it. French cooking comes across rather intimidating, especially to novices.  Wells spent several years in the kitchen of the great, Michelin-laden Chef Joel Robuchon, translating his craft into recipes that can be used in "everyman's" kitchen. This everyman has used every one. Successfully and unsuccessfully. Simply French taught me the processes and principals of cooking, which help make complex recipes more approachable. I read this cookbook years before I ever owned a copy of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. So to my mind, Patricia taught me to cook. I am presently revisiting this cookbook because my culinary skills have significantly evolved since I first bought it. Not to mention, I'm better at following recipes.  I'll probably end up blogging about this.

At Home in Provence, a collection of farmhouse recipes is indeed my favorite of her cookbooks. It squashes that idea that French food should be drowned in oil and heavy sauces. They can be, but not always. The cookbook is loaded with flavorful, aromatic, homey recipes and luscious photography. She also uses an occasional rebellious technique, as far as traditional French cooking goes. My kinda cooking!  Chapters are dedicated to pastas and salads and breads, proving that French cuisine can be relaxed, yet abundantly flavorful. This particular book inspired a series of classes my sister and I will teach this spring and summer at Upper Arlington's Lifelong Learning; one of the country's largest adult enrichment programs. View the link here, if you'd like to register.

One of the more recent additions to my cookbook collection is, Bistro Cooking, which was published way back in 1989 and contains 200+ recipes from bistros and small family run restaurants throughout France. It's a simple, well-written cookbook with recipes that exude the warmth and coziness brought to mind by the word "bistro." I embrace Wells's preference for hearty, homier recipes and this book does not disappoint. I'll be trying my hand at a ratatouille recipe this weekend. The first I'll be making since buying the cookbook, because I have been busy for the past month participating in a cookbook challenge celebrating Patricia Wells's new book, Salad as a Meal. 


I just participated in a month long challenge making at least three recipes per week for four weeks from the Salad as a Meal cookbook (SAAM). I will not go into too much detail here as there are about a dozen blogs just prior to this entry about the extremely fun and gratifying experience that I and seven others were selected to blog about.  Like her other cookbooks, SAAM offers a fun, story-telling narrative with stories about each recipe, where they came from or a little about the region. Overall this cookbook's recipes show a huge range in the definition of salad, with which I wholeheartedly agree after making nearly twenty of them. When it comes to fabulous story telling and darn good recipes Patricia Wells continues to be my culinary hero(ine)!!
SALAD AS A MEAL challenge wrap-up tomorrow!

Provençal Ham & Cheese Bread - by Mandy Jones

My sister, Mandy (with whom I teach cultural-culinary classes) ended up getting a copy of the Salad as a Meal cookbook and (aside from the socca and chicken salad we made together two weeks ago), her first go at a recipe was the Provençal Ham and Cheese Bread, which has been on my radar from the start. She has so kindly sent over her pictures and comments for blogging purposes.  In her words:

It was a cinch to make...took about 5 minutes to prepare and get into the oven.  I set the time for 25 minutes like the book called for but it took an additional 5-7 minutes longer.   We used low sodium ham because of my diet restriction and it was still yummy, but the lack of extra salty flavor was obvious.  Next time, I'll use regular ham.  The olives gave it a nice kick against the subtle Petit Swiss Cheese. For a little extra zing, my husband Brian added a splash of Tobasco to his piece. Because of its egginess, it seems like a breakfasty type of bread to me. However, I'm eating it for dinner!  And we're drinking a California zin with it... The Prisoner.  OMG...such a heavenly wine. It's so bold, but smooth.  Love, love, love it!  My new fav!!

Thanks Mandy, for participating in the challenge! I will eventually make this bread and will be sure to use regular ham. Also, I believe I saw a picture of a bottle of The Prisoner on one of my fellow blogger's site. Beth- from Dining & Dishing- apparently likes it too.  

Click here to purchase: 

Salad as a Meal: Healthy Main-Dish Salads for Every Season [Hardcover]

Week Four of the Salad as a Meal Challenge: Hummus

I HEART HUMMUS and have made it countless times over the years, so to whip up this recipe was going to be a cinch...   or so I thought. Once again, it was the pilot and not the plane. The recipe is fabulous, but I overloaded the blender with too many chickpeas and realized I didn't have my food processor handy, so it turned out really thick initially. However, after packing it up in containers, taking it home and reprocessing it with the proper blending tools, the hummus turned out DELISH.  Suppose you'll see a theme this week too. I've been on a chick pea kick and made the Socca (chick pea crepe) recipe from Salad as a Meal cookbook.
One thing I can say is that I enjoyed following the recipe for a change. In a decade of experimenting with hummus, I've made really good batches and some awful ones.  In my early hummus making days, I often went too heavy on the garlic but we've remedied that.  Sometimes, in the summer, I make it very lemony. A personal preference. This time I just followed the firections and it turned out traditional and beautifully smooth and tasty. Drizzle a little oil on top with some cilantro. Just add pita. Perfect for dipping. I saved some of the thicker hummus from the early batch to use as a spread on pita pocket sandwiches, which went over well. I'll certainly use this Salad as a Meal recipe as the base for my future hummus endeavors-- of course, adding more lemon at times and possibly adding bits of chopped roasted peppers or garlic.

This is one the recipes several of us latched onto. Click my fellow bloggers names to see how their versions of hummus turned out: Hillary Davis of  MarcheDimanche and our lovely Beth of Dining and Dishing.