An American holiday in Scotland

Mike and I were lucky to have Mike’s family visiting us from Michigan to help us celebrate the Fourth of July, our first major holiday together in Scotland. Our happy band was also fortunate to include Megan, another American expat living in Glasgow, whom I met through the social networking project called CouchSurfing. Together we cooked a tasty meal of simple but hearty food and spent the evening sharing family stories and talking about the rewards and challenges that uprootedness brings. Mike described what it was like to move around frequently as a child–from Ohio to Phoenix to Michigan–and how this has helped to inform his experience relocating to Scotland. Megan talked about staying with long-lost relatives in China and discovering how much she was able to communicate with them other despite the language barrier. I told a story of how community activism forged strong bonds of friendship and brought recent transplants together in my old neighborhood in Washington, D.C. As we passed steam bowls of bean stew and crème fraîche, all of our conversations in one way or another led back to the transformative effect of food and the important social experience of preparing and sharing a meal with others. Whether in America, China, Croatia, or Scotland, we found that there is something special indeed about the space around the shared table and that it may yet be the best place to create and strengthen a common understanding.

Latin Bean Stew with Bacon and Onions

1/2 lb thickly sliced bacon, sliced into matchsticks
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
Salt
3 15 1/2 oz cans of Roman or small red beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 bay leaves
1 tsp sugar
Freshly ground pepper
Chopped cilantro, crème fraîche, and lime wedges to serve

Put bacon into a large skillet, cover, and cook over moderate heat until crisp, about 7 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper towel to drain and pour off all put 2 tsp of fat from the skillet.

Add sliced onions, cover, and cook over medium heat until onions soften and release their liquid, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 tsp salt and cook, uncovered, stirring frequently until onions are golden brown–about 20 minutes.

Add bacon, broth, vinegar, bay leaves, and sugar to the onions and reduce to a simmer over moderate heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook stirring frequently until thick and stew-like, about 20 minutes. Discard bay leaves and adjust seasonings. Spoon beans into bowls and serve with freshly chopped cilantro, crème fraîche, and lime wedges.

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night

Nor delayed flights nor failed car bombs stay the Harrison women from their appointed travels, apparently. Mike’s mom and sister arrived in Glasgow yesterday, two days late and (thankfully) five hours before the now infamous S.U.V. slammed into the entrance doors of the airport terminal. The Harrisons were originally scheduled to arrive on Thursday morning, but their flight was cancelled due to severe weather over the Atlantic. They were successfully able to make alternative arrangements and arrived Saturday morning instead, a little tired but none the worse for wear. Imagine our shock to learn about the strange attack on Glasgow’s airport yesterday afternoon, at exactly the same spot where the Harrisons hired a taxi to take them to our flat.  After living in Washington, D.C., for several years it feels odd for something like this to happen here.  Glasgow is the least place that I’d expect terrorist activity–it feels so removed from the frenzied security concerns that are now routine in our nation’s capital. Thankfully, according to recent reports, no civilians were seriously injured and the attack seems to have been perpetrated by amateurs. Unfortunately, the recent outbreak of car bombs suggests a large-scale problem amongst certain Muslim groups in Britain. The homegrown element of this is what is especially disturbing. Still, there is not much that we can do except to remain calm and exhibit a certain amount of stoicism–and of course extend a warm, heartfelt welcome to our visiting guests.

101 Dalmation islands

At least it seems as though there are at least that many, and each scintillatingly more beautiful than the last. After flying from Zagreb to Split, Karen and I took a connecting ferry to Supetar, the largest town on the Dalmatian island of Brač. To the tune of the David Bowie song Young Americans on Croatian radio, faintly amused but fairly clutching each other, we careened over the Vidova Gora mountain and arrived in Bol bruised but none the worse for wear from our vertiginous taxi ride. “All the way from Washington,” indeed. Oh boy.

The rolling landscape of Brač is peppered with piles of grey stones cleared away to facilitate the cultivation of olives, figs, wine, and sour cherries. The island’s principal export is the the brilliant white stone used, most famously, to build the palace of the Roman emperor Diocletian in Split. Bol is a popular tourist destination and is the oldest settlement on the coast of Brač. Fragrant with citrus trees and lavender, it’s most famous for its magnificent horn of pebbly beach, the Zlatni rat or “golden cape” that stretches out into the Adriatic just west of the main town. There are a few Roman ruins near the prominatory, including the foundations of a villa rustica and piscina, a farm house and bath, and pieces of an ancient water reservoir. One of Bol’s hidden jewels is the 15th-century Dominican monastery that lies east of the harbor and its excellent archaeology collection and beautiful chapel.

Vinko, one of Karen’s friends from Washington, D.C., grew up in Bol and has recently moved back to be the head chef at one of the restaurants in town. We made arrangements to stay in one of his family’s self-catering apartments and spent much of the next few days relishing his amicable company and truly amazing cooking. One afternoon Vinko invited us to his parents’ house for a delicious mixed grill lunch and wine made from the grapes of the family vineyard. The meal was assembled in the family’s backyard smoke house, which was filled to bursting with centuries old heirlooms and wine-making equipment. Afterwards, Vinko’s father gave us a memorable tasting tour of his wine cellar and a few precious bottles of his prized homemade olive oil, for which I’m most grateful!