To get to Inverness from London I took an express train to Gatwick airport, costing roughly $60 return. As soon as I got to the airport and sat down with a latte and croissant, somebody triggered the fire alarm and the entire airport was evacuated. We were herded out on to the tarmac en masse. I had to abandon my latte.

Confusion

Delayed-Delayed-Delayed-Delayed-Please Wait-Delayed-Delayed

Eventually I made it on to my flight and an hour and a half later landed at the charmingly small Inverness airport.

The river Ness

Dinner at Rocpool. I had venison with black pudding.

the evening started out civilized....

The next morning (or early afternoon…okay, mid-afternoon) we packed up the rental car and set out to Loch Ness and the Isle of Skye.

things got misty

My feet were wet for three days straight. I never have proper footwear. Ever.

rocks.

memento mori

Durness

We never made it to a whiskey distillery but we did drink our fair share of the glorious malt. We sampled Fraogh, an ancient Pictish beer infused with heather. Allison also introduced me to the wonders of haggis,as well as square sausage, potato scones, scampi fries, prawn cocktail crisps, and the king of all snack food, the Scotch egg. And then we went for a walk.

I think I’ve contracted food poisoning from the Jamaican patties pictured below. Either that or the coconut cream and chili peppers I’ve been eating have finally pushed my stomach over the edge….

expensive flower-water

what I didn't eat for lunch

pan-asian cuisine at Tanpopo in South Kensington

like the English, Canadians take beer seriously

Tomorrow is Notting Hill Carnival, which I will be documenting in a post in the next day or two, depending on how the party goes.

check out the price tag!

The priciest piece of pig in the world, as seen at Harrod’s food hall.

It’s a slow Sunday night, must be time to take some video!

We make these cupcakes by putting together a batter of rice flour, hydrolyzed lime water, coconut cream, red curry oil, grated coconut and rice. All the ingredients are whizzed together using a stick blender and the batter goes all over your pants. This is crucial.

The batter is poured into a heated brass cupcake pan set over a wok burner. It has been liberally greased with coconut oil. When it starts to set you get out your “cupcake knife”, usually the first knife you brought with you to Nahm that is now so horribly dull it’s beyond sharpening. Using said knife, cut the individual cupcakes out of their molds. Fill them two-thirds of the way up with more batter that’s been let out with coconut cream. Cover with the brass lid. Once the filling is cooked, carefully remove cupcakes from pan. This can be tricky if the pan has not been seasoned properly. Very tricky. I had a bit of an incident the other day when my thumb was burnt with coconut fat, the cupcakes were sticking to the pan, and my cupcake knife was so dull it wouldn’t even cut the cupcakes. Don’t try this at home.

The cupcakes are reheated to order and filled with red curry of crab.

After working several mentally-draining, physically arduous shifts during which I skipped both lunch and dinner, and made up the lack of calories with more than my fair share of champagne, beer and cider (burp), I woke up this morning feeling on the verge of total collapse. I needed sustenance. I needed fat with a side of starch. I needed…to go to the Borough market for melted raclette!

I downed this glorious mess of potatoes, pickles and cheese without scarcely chewing. And all was right with the world.