Regular visitors will have seen that I intended to return to my cauf-kintra, the Granite City of Aberdeen, on 7 February 2009 for the Aberdeen-East Fife Homecoming Scottish Cup tie. Unfortunately the game was postponed owing to snow, not on the Pittrodrie surface, but on the roads around the city, however the East Fife team bus finally made it this week (Tuesday) and, apart from the result, The Fife’s supporters enjoyed their day out against a ‘big team’. After taking in the East Fife kit, I enjoyed the game from the comfort of a hospitality box (including a steak pie and coffee at half-time) with my Don’s scarf in my pocket!  For the benefit of the Australian- based East Fife supporters who visited Bayview last season, you can click here for a match report courtesy of Alan Henderson and James Corstorphine.

I will be making a swift return to Aberdeen to take in a touring exhibition celebrating the 250^th anniversary of the birth and life of Robert Burns. From now until Sunday 11 April 2009, ZIG-ZAG: The Paths of Robert Burns will be on show at Aberdeen Art Gallery. Zig-Zag has already been on show at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh and will following the Aberdeen dates move on to Dumfries from Wednesday 1 July to Monday 31 August 2009 (venue TBC), and finally Glaswegians can enjoy it at the Hunterian Museum from Monday 21 September to St Andrews Day 30 November 2009.

The title of the exhibition comes from Burns’ famous autobiographical letter of 1787. In it Burns explores the course of his life, insightfully observing that “…keen sensibility and riotous passion may still make him zig-zag in his future path of life.” The exhibition examines all the contrasts in Burns’ life and shows in his own words, how he travelled through it. Visit www.zigzagburns.com for full details of this major tribute to our National Bard, which is part of Homecoming Scotland 2009.

Prior to Tuesday’s game I enjoyed a mammoth haddock which inspires this week’s recipe – Smoked Haddock with Chive, Pea and Potato Crust.

Smoked Haddock with Chive, Pea and Potato Crust

Ingredients:  300g small salad potatoes , halved;  2 handfuls frozen peas; 50g butter; 2 smoked haddock fillets, about 150g each; a splash white wine or chicken stock; ½ small bunch chives , chopped

Method:  Cook the potatoes until tender, then add the frozen peas for the last 2 minutes of cooking. Gently crush with half the butter. Heat the rest of the butter in a pan and cook the haddock for 3 minutes on each side. Remove the haddock then add a splash of wine or chicken stock and reduce a little. Stir in the chives. Put the potato on 2 plates, top with the haddock and the chive butter.