Tuesday, December 1, 2009

St. Andrew's Day and my first haggis

Last night Elizabeth and I went to a St. Andrew's Day party at a local villa here in Umbria, Italy. St. Andrew's Day is an  annual event here in the Niccone Valley and there was a party for about thirty Scots, Brits, Aussies, Germans, and a couple of us Americans. We had a very nice time, eating haggis and drinking good Scotch whiskey, wine, and dancing Scottish reels!

What can I say about haggis? I have never eaten haggis, so I was as mystified about it as you might be. It was more like a meat and grain casserole than a cohesive slice of meat. Apparently, though I didn't see it, it was about 18" long and wrapped in a synthetic "stomach". They don't use real sheep's stomachs much anymore. I found that out when I asked a Scotswoman.  They do not actually serve the stomach muscle itself; it is just the “packaging” for the grain and meat cooked inside. The stomach acts like the casing of a salami. The haggis was cooked and then was removed from the casing in the kitchen and served from a platter. I took a big spoonful. It was in for a penny, in for a dime!

It was served with pureed cabbage and pureed potatoes alongside. A wee bit of good Scotch was poured into a glass, or in some cases over the haggis and you started to eat. I know its history, and I was a bit skeptical. But I found it had a great flavor and was quite interesting and good.  The texture was a bit strange, sort of like a fine-grained corned beef hash, but I enjoyed it nonetheless and had a small second helping. Not because I didn't want more, but because I was reaching my eight bites. A more typical Italian dinner followed where we were served roast pork, roast chicken and grilled sausages, oven fried potatoes, and a salad. Dessert was a light fruit cup with fresh fruits. A little of bite of this and a little bite of that. I did fine and survived another party as a bariatric eater.

After dinner and a few more of those wee bits of fine scotch, we moved on to the dance floor to dance Scottish folk dances. The dances were taught to us by a tall, good-looking guy in a kilt. Al and Betty were our hosts for the evening.  Al is quite a handsome guy and his wife Betty is absolutely adorable. Both are retired British military officers who live locally. Elizabeth's feet were a bit sore from her surgery and she didn’t want to dance so I danced with some of the other women there. Dancing is also a new experience in my post-surgery and lost-weight world. It has been a very long time since I danced folk dances which tend to be a bit vigorous. At 300 pounds I could never have done it. But at 165 pounds now, it was fun. It was a good evening. Learned three new dances, danced with some nice partners, and had a great time with the somewhat inebriated couples out on the small dance floor. There was a lot of banging into one another out there. A lot of laughter as well.

To close this post, you can and should go to holiday parties or any other type of party, but think about what and how to eat. Then eat what you should and can, join in the dance and have fun. I have finally discovered that being a bariatric patient gives you a new life and a new outlook. Dance on!

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