Great Flying Scots

Recipe: Classic Shortbread Plus Variations

January 28, 2016

Classic shortbread has been called "the jewel in the crown" of Scottish baking. With its buttery texture and slightly sweet flavor, is certainly a signature treat of Scottish culture.

Although shortbread has its origins in the 12th century, the version we enjoy today is credited to bakers at the court of Mary, Queen of Scots in the 16th century.

It's delicious year-round but especially popular at Christmas, Hogmany (Scottish New Year's Eve), and weddings. Another fun fact: January 6th of each year is National Shortbread Day (apparently first celebrated in America but now in the UK also).

Shortbread typically comes in three shapes: one large circle (called "petticoat tails") that is divided into triangle segments; individual round cookies/biscuits; or a thick oblong slab (about 3/4") cut into "fingers"/skinny rectangles.

Here are a few recipes to try (recommended by BM):

Classic Shortbread Cookies
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour

Pre-heat oven to 325. Cream the butter until it is light. Cream in powdered sugar, then add vanilla. Work in flour.

Roll out 3/8" thick and use cookie cutters and put on a regular cookie sheet.

Bake for 11-13 minutes until they are pale golden. If the cookies are thicker you might bake longer. If thinner bake shorter. Cookies should not be brown when you pull them out - if they are brown they are overcooked.

Ginger shortbread
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp ginger
1 cup flour
1 tbs cornstarch

Same directions and cooking instructions as classic shortbread.

Chocolate Shortbread
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 tbs cocoa powder
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour

Same directions and cooking instructions as classic shortbread.

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Notes:

To mix with a wooden spoon/by hand or with an electric mixer? Using a wooden spoon or mixing by hand is said to create a better result, but an electric mixer sure is convenient!

Do not over mix the ingredients, and avoid the temptation to knead the dough. Less handling = a more delicate texture.

Sources:

Thanks BM for the recipes!

Also this.

Places of Significance: Aberdeen Harbour, Aberdeen

January 23, 2016

On workday mornings, George Findlay, Ella's father, would ride his bicycle down to the Aberdeen Harbour, on the east side of Aberdeen looking out over the North Sea. This was where he worked as a shipwright (a ship's carpenter), repairing the trawler fishing boats.

George's livelihood was significant to the local economy, considering that fish was such a staple of the Aberdonian's diet - Ella particularly remembers eating haddock and herring.

And his work was especially critical during World War II: There was severe rationing of imported goods, with fish being some of the food that was more easily available. It was thus imperative that the trawlers be repaired that were damaged by mines planted off the coast. And the work continued despite blackout conditions: George would sometimes finish work long after the sun had set, and he and his fellow shipwrights would have to crawl down the planks back to the dock in the pitch black darkness.

A trawler being tied up to the quay at
Aberdeen Harbour, 1923
Image Source

We're not sure of the exact location in the harbour where George worked, and perhaps it's changed quite a bit in the last 70 years. But it was somewhere near here, working up until he and his family emigrated in 1948/49.

The harbour today
Image Source

There aren't trawlers in this harbour anymore for the fish industry (maybe a few that are privately owned), so we're told by the staff at the Aberdeen Maritime Museum.

Thinking of you George!

Looking out at the harbour from a vantage point outside the Aberdeen Maritime Museum

30 Sept 2014

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Would love to know:

At what age would George have started his apprenticeship as a shipwright? in his late teenage years, in the early 1920s?
Would George have apprenticed somewhere at the harbour as well?
What company did he work for? (Ella thinks it might have been called Strath/Straths/Strath's? A Google search on that name doesn't generate any clear leads.)
Is there a specific type of trawler he worked on?
Ella mentions that one of her uncles, one of George's brothers, was was a ship builder. Which one?
Any photos of the harbour from the early 1920s to late 1940s, the time period when George worked here?

Places of Significance: Duthie Park, Aberdeen

January 20, 2016

Whether with a picnic in hand, or to listen to music from the bandstand, or to participate in an egg-rolling contest at Easter, Duthie Park was a favorite spot for Ella and her family to visit.

The park’s 44 acres, situated near the banks of the River Dee, boast fountains, statues, ponds, children’s play areas, and an indoor Winter Garden. When returning to visit in October 2014, we sure enjoyed leisurely walking, listening to Ella reminisce, and sampling ice cream from the park’s cafe. Next time we visit, let's pack a lunch and a toy boat!

Ralph and Ella near
an entrance to the park
1 Oct 2014

The bandstand on the expansive lawn
Image Source

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Sources:

Video filmed on location, 1 Oct 2014
Also this.

Places of Significance: City of Mesa Cemetery

January 8, 2016

Among the Italian cypress and orange citrus trees of the City of Mesa Cemetery, lay buried several members of our family - possibly the largest gathering of our family's graves. If you happen to visit sometime, here’s a PDF of the cemetery map, with locations of each family member noted below.