Life Lately: Tapas in Glasgow, Fading Roses & Summer’s End

JUST A FEW photos of the past days and weeks leading up to summer’s end and the official arrival of fall. There are deep orange roses that faded to pink and photos on old digital cameras; there are dusky autumn skies and late-night tapas after getting caught in the wild Scottish rain and Eggs Benedict the morning after; there are cosy bed linens and hotel vanities lined with makeup brushes and powders and blushes, countryside walks in an old hoodie and Burberry trench. There are turning leaves and fruits and vegetables from the green grocer in market square and even my favourite recipe for refrigerator pickles. Ice cream and late afternoon beer, the houses in the west end of a border town in England, these the moments of our lives…

SPANISH TAPAS, COCKTAILS & WINE FEATURED IN A BUSTLING, DIMLY LIT SETTING WITH A LATE-NIGHT MENU.

A few weeks ago, after we got back to the hotel on a Thursday night, it was late and rainy and a terrible night to decide to go traipsing to the West End to try to find a place to eat. We ended up at a tapas restaurant in Finnieston around 9:30pm and asked if they were still serving, as they closed at 10:00. The hostess checked with the kitchen, who said they would be happy to accommodate us and we’re so happy they did, as the food was delicious. We ordered five or six dishes to share, including pimientos de padrón, berenjena con tartar de salmón, and of course, patatas bravas. When we got home, I looked the place up and discovered that the restaurant is run by a Michelin star chef who previously worked at El Bulli and actually received his first star in 2017, at Sucede in Valencia, the city in Spain where we lived before moving back to the UK. We’d actually thought about moving to Glasgow before we moved to Spain, and then again recently, but have decided (again) that it’s not for us. The layout is too spread out and not enough people live in the city centre to make it fully functional yet, but it’s getting there. There have been huge changes over the past few years and at some point, I’m sure, we’ll consider it again, and if we ever do end up there, this restaurant will be a regular favourite if it’s still there.

Eggs Benedict for brunch and an oat milk flat white at an extremely popular place in Merchant City. We didn’t book ahead, but luckily there was a table outside that was free, and although September in Scotland doesn’t offer the best outdoor weather, at least it wasn’t raining.

There was on exceptionally hot week in August and we made the most of it by taking our laptops and our camp chairs and working outside for nearly all of it. We switched up the locations for the best views and brought snacks and believed we had the best jobs ever. We shall miss these long languid summer days.

Ordered the Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush in Love and absolutely love it. It’s my current favourite and I use it every day, leaving all of my other (really nice) blushes behind. It’s much softer and prettier than you would expect from how dark it looks in the bottle and the formulation is light and blends easily. You only need a tiny amount with this colour and it works great for creating a sunburnt look. Also ordered the Rare Beauty Positive Light Liquid Highlighter in Reflect, but the colour is much too dark for me to be used a highlighter. The Rosie Inc Softlight Luminous Hydrating Concealer is good.

Have no idea about actual canning, but these fresh homemade dill refrigerator pickles are easy and delicious and ready in one to three hours, depending on how you slice the cucumbers. This recipe makes one medium jar of pickles (about 2 cups sliced pickles or 16 spears).

INGREDIENTS

1 medium to large cucumber or 2 small cucumbers (ideally 12 oz. total)
½ cup water, at room temperature or cooler
½ cup rice vinegar
1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup or sugar (I use less)
1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
20 twists of freshly ground black pepper
2 leafy sprigs of fresh dill, roughly chopped (about ¼ cup)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 bay leaf

INSTRUCTIONS

For pickle rounds (“chips”), slice the cucumber(s) into thin rounds, about ⅛-inch thick. Or, for spears, slice them in half lengthwise, then slice the halves lengthwise into quarters, then slice the quarters lengthwise into eighths. If your spears are long like mine (from one long cucumber), slice them through the middle so they’re not too tall for your jar. Set aside.

In a liquid measuring cup or bowl, combine the water, vinegar, maple syrup, salt, red pepper flakes (if using) and black pepper. Stir until most of the salt has dissolved into the liquid, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Set aside.

Place the cucumbers into a wide-mouth jar about 3 to 4 inches in diameter, tall enough to offer at least 1 inch of extra space on top (for pickle spears, it’s important that all the pickles fit snugly, vertically—a wide-mouth pint-sized mason jar would work well).

Top the cucumbers with the dill and garlic. Tuck the bay leaf into the side of the jar. Pour the all of the liquid over the cucumbers so they’re fully submerged. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (for pickle rounds) or at least 3 hours (for pickle spears). The flavour will continue to develop over the next couple of days. These pickles will keep for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.