Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,/ Great chieftain o the puddin'-race!

For this and more Burns images checkout the National Gallery of Scotland.

Today is Rabbie Burns Day, celebrating Scotland's Bard, the lover of mice, whisky, winter, and, of course, haggis (hey! he even wrote about me and my victories! although it doesn't look like he was too fond of me). The traditional way to celebrate is to hold a Burns Supper. I had the great fortune of attending such an event when I lived in Glasgow and it was an fun experience even though I wasn't sure what was going on or being said most of the time (I will see if I can find and post photos from that later).

The Burns Supper, which dates back to 1796, has a particular format and the menu consists of the following: Cock-a-leekie soup, Haggis warm reeking, rich wi' Champit Tatties, Bashed Neeps, Tyspy Laird (sherry trifle), A Tassie o' Coffee. Toasts and speaches are made, poems are read (even if not understood), and the evening ends with Auld Lang Syne.

To celebrate you can prepare your very own haggis or, if you are running short of entrails, here is a veggie friendly recipe:

• 100g/4oz onion, peeled & finely chopped
• 15ml/1tbsp sunflower oil
• 50g/2oz carrots, very finely chopped
• 35g/11/2 oz mushrooms, finely chopped
• 50g/2oz red lentils
• 600ml/1pint vegetable stock
• 25g/1oz mashed, tinned red kidney beans
• 35g/11/2 oz ground peanuts
• 25g/1oz ground hazelnuts
• 30ml/2tbsp shoyu ( soy sauce)
• 15ml/1tbsp lemon juice
• 7.5ml/11/2tsp dried thyme
• 5ml/1tsp dried rosemary
• generous pinch cayenne pepper
• 7.5ml/11/2 tsp mixed spice
• 200g/8oz fine oatmeal
• Freshly ground black pepper

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C, 375°F or Gas Mark 5

2. Sauté the onion in the oil for 5 minutes, then add the carrot and mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes.

3. Now add the lentils and three quarters of the stock.

4. Blend the mashed red kidney beans in the remaining stock, add these to the pan with the nuts, shoyu, lemon juice and seasonings.
Cook everything, well mixed together, for a further 10 to 15 minutes.

5. Then add the oatmeal, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes, adding a little extra liquid if necessary.

6. Turn the mixture into a lightly oiled 1lb loaf tin and bake for 30 minutes.

7. Serve with mashed neeps and tatties.

So have yourself a dram of single-malt and have a Happy Burns day.

rgsc