Purple Potatoes

Due to some sad circumstances, my old friend Duncan and his family are up in Langholm for the week. For a good lump of the 70s and 80s we knocked about together and had many an adventure and indeed our fair share of misadventures and I've well an truly learned my lesson about mixing my drinks - at least in the same glass. For all we've spoken on the phone from time to time, I don't think we've met each other this century, so I took this opportunity to pop over and see him. Since it was a Sunday, I only public transported myself as far a Lockerbie and got a lift for the last 18 miles over the hill (Kirkcudbright to Lockerbie takes about two and a half hours - to get that extra 18 miles on a Sunday takes about double that).

There was a little afternoon pyrotechnics (1 match of course) and some evening beers and much reminiscing but, for the attention of you lot out there in blog land, there was purple potatoes.

Here in their raw state

And here on a plate, roasted by Fiona (Duncan's better half), keeping some beef and peas company - pregravey. 

Technical bit - the colour in these potatoes is caused by a substance known as anthocyanins - sturdy old stuff that survives twenty minutes in a pot of boiling water or in this case, half the afternoon in the oven. Anthocyanins have antioxidant qualities which means purple potatoes are good for you in much the same way as red wine is - that's not to say eating an entire 5 pound bag of them is going to make you topple over, or talk even more gibberish than usual.

And what do they taste like? Well, without a doubt, I can categorically categorise them as potatoy - they taste just like ordinary potatoes only purple. All very tasty Mrs F-B, thank you.

A couple of sociable beers are highly compatible with snoozing and while I was snoozing, all the heat of the day sidled off, so that by the time I was reteaing myself the next morning, the entire outside world was white with frost, but if nothing else it brought the birds to the feeders right outside the kitchen window - I was delighted that they included a pair of nuthatches - a bird I don't see that often, so it counts as a wildlife moment.

Time to bid farewell to Duncan, Fiona, and co (and of course an honorable mention to Stephen, who's trip down from Edinburgh overlapped slightly with mine yesterday) and wander down into the town itself but that is another blog for another day.