Charleton Fruit Farm, Montrose, Scotland

During our trip to Scotland last month, I managed to find a few Pick-Your-Own fruit farms near Aberdeen. We took a leisurely drive (about 50 minutes) to Charleton Fruit Farm at Montrose. It was raining when we left, but we kept our fingers crossed and luckily for us, when we arrived at the farm, it stopped raining and we were greeted with fine weather albeit a little muddy (but that's what wellies are for).

Brambles... beautiful sight!

Passed by Stonehaven to get to Montrose

Upon arrival, we headed to the shop to get baskets/containers and the staff kindly pointed out the zones where we can pick fruits from. They have a wide range of fruits available here, including strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, brambles, gooseberries, currants, plums and apples. We have picked strawberries before in KL but not any of the other fruits, so the kids were super excited!

We first arrived at the plots with blueberry plants; blueberries are Baby D's favorite fruit. It was definitely a wonderful experience for our kids getting to see/touch a blueberry plant and picking fruits from it :) You could see them beaming with smiles.

Blueberry plant

Picking his first blueberry...

The strawberries are grown under a tunnel. Initially we were told that there were no strawberries available for picking, but we were so happy when we saw loads of plump juicy ones ready for picking. Before long, the kids have already filled a whole container, so it was time to move on to the next plot.

Daddy telling kids- pick the red and juicy ones :)

Strawberry flower

I got a box full of strawberries! Looking mighty pleased with himself

Scotland is known to grow some of the best raspberries in the world (we always buy loads from the supermarket) so we definitely must pick some here to bring home with us. Raspberries are really fun to pick, you have to slip them off the central white seed. And lovely to eat too!

Chloe picking raspberries 

There were apples too, but we didn't pick any - just taking photos! :)

As well as plums

Ooooo and lots and lots of bramble (aka blackberry)- one of my favorites! Very prickly so be careful when you pick them. I think they look so pretty.

Blackberry flower

The red ones are really really tart... u got to pick the black ripe ones.

Once you have finished picking your fruits, simply bring them back to the shop to be weighed. They're really reasonably priced - blueberries £4.00/kg, brambles & raspberries £3.30/kg and strawberries £3.00/kg. I think we paid less than £3 for all the fruits that we picked (almost 600g of strawberries). I was also impressed that the fruits kept really well, we had them in the fridge for about a week and they were still super fresh. Most importantly, we had a really wonderful time picking the fruits.


There is a large play area for kids and a super huge sand pit, unfortunately most of the toys/slides were wet due to the rainfall earlier so we didn't get to play much.

HUGE trampoline

Instead we went to the coffee shop and had hot chocolates to warm ourselves up. The kids shared a bacon butty while we had the warm asparagus soup with roll as well as a big breakfast. :)

Yummy hot chocolate

Cosy coffee shop with friendly staff

Big breakfast

Asparagus soup

They also have ready-picked fruits and vegetables (marrow, courgettes) as well as their famous strawberry tarts for sale in the shop.

Verdict: A great place for a fun family day out! :) Highly recommended.


Opening times: According to their website, fruit picking is available from March to December. March 24th - June: 10am - 4pm; July - August: 9am - 5pm; September/October/December: 10am - 4.30pm.

Price: Total bill at coffee shop £18.00.

Location: Charleton Fruit Farm, Hillside, Montrose, Angus, DD10 9EW (1 Mile North of Montrose on the A92).

Tel : +44 (0)1674 830226

Website: http://www.charleton-farm.co.uk/

If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

Recipe: Traditional Scottish Shortbread (Petticoat Tails)

Burns Night is celebrated on 25 January every year to commemorate Scotland's most famous poet, Robert Burns. I do take a great interest in anything Scottish, and I feel it is only apt to post something Scottish today.

We love Scottish shortbread, and this was actually the first of two (the other being Delia Smith's) shortbread recipes which we tried over the Christmas period. Traditional shortbread is either shaped like fingers or petticoat tails.

To make these buttery golden shortbread, all the ingredients are mixed together until you get a smooth dough, then press into a loose bottomed pie/cake tin, prick all over and score into 8 wedges. This batch of shortbread was made by Baby C and daddy.

This shortbread has a shorter baking time compared to Delia's, however the resulting shortbread is slightly more gritty but nevertheless buttery and delicious.Out of the two recipes, I prefer Delia's.

Some other Scottish recipes here for you to explore: Scottish shortbread (Delia Smith), Haggis, neeps and tatties, mince and tatties, Stovies and Scottish oatcakes.

Baby C did a great job making these Scottish shortbread

Traditional Scottish Shortbread
Recipe adapted from Good Food Channel - Mary Berry
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 25-30 minutes
Makes 8 wedges


Ingredients
120g plain flour, sifted
60g caster sugar
120g salted butter, softened at room temperature
60g semolina (suji)


1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (no fan).

2. Place all the ingredients together in a bowl, and mix well (using your hands) until you get a smooth dough. You can also use a food processor if you like.

Mix the ingredients until you get a smooth dough

3. Press into a 24cm loose bottomed cake/pie tin, or alternatively roll the shortbread out to form a circle with a 24cm diameter and flute the edge.

4. Prick gently over the top with a fork and using a sharp knife/pizza cutter, score the surface of the round into 8 even wedges. Sprinkle with a little more caster sugar (optional- I skipped this).

5. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until firm. It will look pale golden when it's done.

5. Set aside to cool a little, but cut into wedges while still slightly warm. Store in an airtight tin once cooled completely.

I am submitting this to the "Baby Sumo's Christmas Recipes Collection 2013" event which I am hosting. You can link your recipes here.

If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

Tolbooth Seafood Restaurant, Stonehaven, Scotland

Can't believe that I have not blogged about Tolbooth in Stonehaven, a seafood restaurant which we tried during our trip to Scotland last year. This was hands down the best meal we had during our trip. 

After visiting Dunnottar Castle in Stonehaven (chosen as Scottish entry to 8th Wonder of the World Competition in May 2013), we drove down to Stonehaven town centre for lunch. Before going, I did some research on the internet and chose Tolbooth since Stonehaven is a fishing village so it makes sense to visit a restaurant which has been named as one of Scotland's best seafood restaurants. 

The breathtaking view at Dunnottar Castle

The town centre is a short drive from the castle. Stonehaven is also the birthplace of deep fried Mars bar. 

Tolbooth Seafood Restaurant is located in the oldest building in Stonehaven, built 1600 AD by Earl Marischal and was used as a store during the construction of Dunnottar Castle. It was restored in 1963 and now houses a museum on the ground level and the restaurant on the upper level. The restaurant enjoys stunning views of the harbour. It was a gorgeous day when we arrived. :)

Blue and white dominate the restaurant interior, giving it a distinct maritime feel. The decor is understated and the restaurant is bright (thanks to the natural sunlight) and cosy. The best table in the restaurant is definitely the one next to the large picture window, where diners can enjoy the stunning view outside while they dine.

Service is friendly here, and the staff quickly runs through the specials of the day and hands us the a la carte menu. The restaurant sources seafood from the local fishermen, and pride themselves in their crab, lobster and langoustine which is landed at their doorstep, the Stonehaven Harbour.

Photo taken by Baby C :D

A glass of white wine for Hubby

From the go, everything tasted fantastic, even their complimentary bread.  The seafood was undoubtedly fresh and very well-prepared. To start, I ordered the Gourdon Crab and Avocado Stack (£8.95), a combination which I love. The crab was really sweet and balanced by the salty Avruga caviar and creamy avocado. This was served with some crisp bread. A visual and palate delight!

Hubby ordered the specials of the day - Home Smoked Monkfish with Fresh Gazpacho and Pickled Cucumber (£7.50). Since it was quite a sunny warm day, this was just right for the weather. The cold gazpacho was a real treat and the monkfish was meaty and delicious.

We got a partial view of the harbour through one of the smaller windows

Hubby's main consisted of many of his favorite ingredients - chorizo, risotto and the star of the dish, local scallops! He was well chuffed that there were 5 huge, perfectly seared, plump scallops sitting atop the perfectly cooked chorizo and sweetcorn risotto. Since Hubby knows I love scallops, he kindly shared some with me :D

Pan seared local scallops with chorizo and sweetcorn risotto, crispy radishes, purple sprouting brocolli,  and chorizo oil (£21.95)

Our kids both love cod fish, hence I ordered the Roasted Fillet of North Sea Cod (£18.95) with brown crab risotto, roasted celeriac, crispy capers and langoustine cappucino. The fish was perfectly cooked, moist and flaky and most importantly the kids enjoyed it very much. I like what the chef served with the fish - unique and very tasty.

Our spectacular meal ended on a high note, with two gorgeous desserts. We loved the dark chocolate fondant served warm with a liquid toffee centre, yogurt ice cream and candied cherries (£6.25) - doesn't reading the description already give you the warm fuzzy feeling? Our kids ended up having most of this (I have photos of them with their mouths covered in dark chocolate as proof! :P) Hubby and I shared the Coconut Panna Cotta served with tropical fruit syrup and mango sorbet (£6.25). Very smooth and the sorbet was very refreshing.

Plaque on the restaurant's exterior wall - declaring this the oldest building in Stonehaven

Beautiful harbour view in front of the restaurant. It was a very sunny day when we arrived.

"Malaysia"

"Baby Sumo was here"

And then, it was misty

Hand-cranked clothes dryer - so cool to see one of this

Creels outside the restaurant

Verdict: Extremely fresh seafood, well-executed and beautifully presented. 


Opening times: Lunch 12-2pm. Dinner 6-9.30pm. Closed on Mondays.

Service: Excellent.

Price: Total bill approx. GBP95.

Location: Tolbooth Seafood Restaurant, Old Pier, Stonehaven Harbour, AB39 2JU, Scotland.

Tel: +44 1569 762287

Website: http://www.tolbooth-restaurant.co.uk/

GPS Coordinates: 56.960759, -2.202161


If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! Thanks ;)

*My photo of Dunnottar Castle was featured on their official Facebook page. What an honour :)