Homemade beef and broccoli used to be hit or miss for me. I marinated the meat in soy sauce, rice wine, garlic and black pepper, but the slices came out tougher than I liked until I learned the secret of including a bit of cornstarch in the marinade. And unless the broccoli was finely cut, there would be pieces that still had the raw, slightly bitter taste. I have also had many disappointing restaurant versions of the dish, with huge, coarsely cut, raw rather than crisp, broccoli.

In contrast, I had learned from my mother a great way to cook all sorts of vegetables in a 12-inch stainless skillet with a lid. This involved heating oil and adding sliced garlic. Then any type of cut up vegetable would be tossed in and stir-fried until the outside turned a bright shade of green and the vegetable released its subtle fragrance. For spinach, that was all that was needed aside from seasoning with salt and pepper. For other vegetables that required longer cooking times such as carrots, broccoli and even cabbage, she would sprinkle on some salt, splash a bit of water on the inside of the lid and cover the pan for 2-3 minutes to allow the vegetables to steam in their own fluids. It was amazing how flavorful and delicious vegetables cooked this way tasted and looked, with their intensified color. The raw edge or bite was gone, but they retained their body and crispness. 

Beef and Broccoli modified from Stir-frying to the Sky's Edge.

When I discovered Grace Young's recipe for Beef and Broccoli, in Stir-frying to the Sky's Edge, a number of light bulbs went off for me. Although the recipe ended up being a bit too salty (to my taste) for the 3/4 lb of beef, the sauce had a rich, complexity that elevated this popular dish to new heights. In addition to unami-laden soy and oyster sauces, she adds a bit of the funky flavors of Chinese dried, fermented black beans (click here for brand info) with a hint of mellow sweetness from onions. I knew instantly that I would never again be happy with restaurant versions.

Watch this American Test Kitchen video to see how easy it is to make this beef and broccoli recipe in either a wok or a skillet!

The recipe makes just the right amount of a light, savory sauce to soak up with rice.

Grace achieves the marriage of perfectly cooked broccoli with tender steak by blanching the broccoli in advance. While this results in a delicious dish, I try to avoid blanching vegetables for a number of reasons. You have to bring a large pot of water to boil so the water is not cooled too much upon addition of vegetables. This takes a lot of time and energy as water has a high heat capacity. Water soluble vitamins are leached out and discarded. And you have to expend energy on ice-making for the ice water bath to prevent overcooking. Plus there are extra pots, strainer scoops and bowls to be washed. While blanching is efficient in the restaurant workflow, it adds quite a bit to the time, energy and cookware used to make a single dish. 

Although J.K. Rowling did not move to Edinburgh or see Edinburgh Castle until after she had envisioned Hogwarts, she admits to a certain similarity "Bizarrely, I've come to live in the shadow of what could be a lot like Hogwarts, excerpt Hogwarts has a lake. (From a 2002 60 Minutes interview)."  

Esplanade in front of Edinburgh Castle

But of course, from 1460-1820 Edinburgh Castle was set on a large lake called Nor' Loch, in which alleged witches and warlocks were routinely drowned. Indeed the loch was so smelly from all the trash, sewage and bodies that Edinburgh once had the nickname of "Auld Reekie" for its clouds of coal-fueled smoke and stench. This we had learned from our Orange Edinburgh Tour our first night here. 

Click to read about our visit to Edinburgh Castle, and the Edinburgh Ghost Tour. 

There are many "day trips" out of Edinburgh run by tour operators, including small van trips to see sights such as Loch Ness to the north, or all the way down to Hadrian's Wall in England. But these 10-14 hour trips typically involve only 70-90 minutes at each of the two main attractions and perhaps one or two short stops to stretch and take pictures. Moreover, the cost paid often does not include entry fees, so you are observing buildings from the outside.

Queen's Inner Hall at Stirling Castle

After reading about the Historic Environment Scotland Explorer Pass and browsing the huge variety of sites that could be visited, we quickly decided to rent a car and plan our own two day itinerary. We rented from Arnold Clark via the Celtic Legend website, recommended by several people on TripAdvisor (see tips below). As our hotel did not have parking, we found a Park & Ride lot on the outskirts of Edinburgh that allowed free, overnight parking and took the bus back in the evening.

From top of Cairnpapple Hill

It's amazing how much you can see exploring the compact World Heritage area of Edinburgh! We were charmed by Dean Village, ventured up and down eerie closes, hunted for the best shortbread from Edinburgh Castle down the Golden Mile, shopped cashmere and wool, followed the footsteps (and hand prints) of JK Rowling, climbed to the highest point and swooned over the concept of a chocolate cafe. 

We were blessed with sunny weather for our main day on foot in Edinburgh. We walked 11.9 miles, up and down the equivalent of 68 flights of stairs visiting Edinburgh Castle and many sights in Old Town. We finished the afternoon with a hike to Arthur's Seat for a grand overview of the city we had just explored while the surrounding green countryside beyond the Firth of Forth beckoned.

Street performer on High Street

In Search of Breakfast.  

We wandered the pedestrian paths of Rose Street and Rose Street Lanes, part of the original phase of New Town designed in 1766, seeking an early morning shop where we could buy sandwiches. We had an ambitious driving itinerary planned for the next day and needed a quick lunch plan. 

We stumbled upon a gem called Social Bite at 131 Rose Street, one block east of Castle St. Painted wall text proudly proclaims their mission to end homelessness, through a combination of job opportunities and donations, including 100% of their profits. The French-Scottish meals are designed by Martin Wishart, a Michelin-starred chef, who personally cooks in the restaurant once a quarter. I had a breakfast potato roll enveloping two divine Scottish sausages (which kept trying to escape), a fried egg and some brown sauce. They also had baked goods, but scones were not their strongest suit. Most importantly for us, they had a fabulous selection of pre-made sandwiches and boxed salads available early in the morning.

Edinburgh Castle - the Crown Jewels

Like many other people, we resolved to arrive at Edinburgh Castle before the doors opened. Once inside the Edinburgh Castle complex, we decided to head straight to the Crown Jewels. We actually saw them twice. The first time, we asked where they were and went in a door that led directly to the Crown Jewels, missing the longer exhibit leading up to that room. Known formally as the Honours of Scotland, the crown jewels had been stuffed forgotten in a chest after the Scottish and English parliaments merged in 1707. There they languished for 111 years before being rediscovered and placed on exhibit. 

Entrance to Edinburgh Castle

Holyrood Park
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.