MY LENTEN HELL!

As we hurtle towards Easter, yet another chance to give something up for Lent is slipping through my fingers!
Lent being from Ash Wednesday until Easter - that time when Christians practise self denial & charitable giving, now i'm all for giving to charity but some people take the self denial aspect as another form of new year resolution....anyway WHATEVER...as a man to whom giving up cigarettes was purgatory its got me thinking about some of my favourite foods it would be HELL to give up.
Here are about 20 i love (in no particular order) which i couldnt live without.......

CUMBERLAND SAUSAGE

From the butcher not the supermarket, in one piece not links, from Cumberland,Westmorland or Furness (Cumbria) but maybe as far south as Preston, as far north as Dumfries & east towards Hexham.

ROAST GARLIC

ROASTING GIVES GARLIC CLOVES A SWEET & MELLOW

FLAVOUR - ADD TO ROAST AUBERGINE, TO HOMEMADE

HUMMUS, USE TO THICKEN ROAST LAMB GRAVY OR

JUST SPREAD ON TOASTED CIABATTA.

GAME

Intense, rich, autumnal, strong & sweet -bacon wrapped pheasant roast pink,

braised red wine marinaded venison, roast wild duck juices mingling with orange

and watercress salad etc etc yum!

CHILLIES

With everything really.

Galaxy chocolate

I also love milk chocolate...& the

most creamy,smooth & delicious is

galaxy(in my humble opinion)

F A S T F O O D

Sometimes nothing else will do!

MY FRIEND JUNEY

I dont see that much of one of my oldest & dearest friends Juney Bea. Shes moved back to Carlisle (the huge bustling capital city of Cumbria) & what with her new horse whispering career, her two beautiful daughters ( hi Quin Dee Mae..hi Delilah!), her search for the perfect lasagne & eccentric family & neighbours shes a very busy lady.
We try & keep in touch though &.... where am i going with this? Oh yes shes also particularly good at unearthing bargains & treasures at charity shops, jumble sales etc, her big mistake however is telling me about them...if its something i covet then to cut a long story...i'll bide my time & it may take weeks, maybe even years but eventually I WILL GET IT!

One of her best finds was a wartime comicstrip cookbook (now in my personal collection!) published by the daily mirror around 1945. The unique feature of the book is showing the wartime housewife in pictures how things are prepared, how they are cooked & served, rather than reading about it or listening to a cookery broadcast on the "wireless". Its well thumbed & a bit tattered now but i still read it now & again as its one of my favourite cookbooks - thanks Juney!

HARD TIMES

PATSYS REFLECTIONS follows young, recently married couple Patsy & Peter in their new life...Patsy can hardly boil an egg but with the help of Mum (& Dad-a bit) & her two neighbours -the motherly & old fashioned Mrs Always & the upwardly mobile & adventurous Joan Featherpenny - Patsy becomes a pretty good cook.

The strips ran each day in the daily mirror before being compiled into a book. Patsy was shown managing food shortages, queues & rationing she receives tips on making food go further, cheaper cuts of meat & all vegetable main dishes, retaining vitamins & nutrients, substitutes for scarce staples like sugar, fat & eggs.

Saving food was a serious business but Patsys recipe strips made leftovers not only enjoyable but a patriotic duty too!

These were hard times & 70 odd years later, we're not exactly starving but these strips have a relevance as the recession lingers, food prices rise & wages buy less. I'll post some of these cheap & cheerful cooking strips on this blog in weeks to come, not them all though, as some of the offal dishes might not appeal & hints on canning & bottling your own garden produce seem quaintly arduous! Also i doubt if enormous hunks of WHALE will be arriving at your local supermarket soon...though if they do have it at your local Morrisons........

Yum..?  More to come, hopefully at the end of each future post. P.S Lost your glasses? click on each pic for a bigger view.



SIMPLE(ISH) DINNER

CHILLI NACHO BAKE

Once all the parts of this dish are ready it only needs about 40 mins in the oven, giving you time to rustle up a fresh salsa. Basically its a layered bake-meat,potatoes,cheese & crunchy nachos. First thing is to make some chilli - heres my recipe:

1: Fry 500g minced steak in a little oil until well browned.
2: Add a chopped onion, 2 cloves crushed garlic, 2 chopped red chillies, 1 tablespoon each of cumin & paprika, 2 teaspoons oregano stir & cook about 5 mins.
3: Crumble in a beef stock cube, add a can of drained kidney beans.
4: Add some liquid - about 1/2 pint - i sometimes use LAGER - very tasty.... but normally just water.
5: Bring to boil, turn down & simmer on low for 1 & 1/2 hours.
6: Check seasoning, add a good couple of tablespoons ketchup.
7: Serve! Or use for the nacho bake.

Here are all the layers:

 

Put the chilli on the bottom of the ovenproof dish, then crispy cooked potato wedges, then cheese sauce: homemade or bought - you decide..bake 30 mins in a moderate oven.
Sprinkle the top with plenty of tortilla chips, grated mozzarella cheese & jalapeno slices, pop back in the oven to melt the cheese. Serve with homemade salsa & sour cream. CAUTION HOT STUFF!

MY SALSA CRUDA

1: You need a very sharp knife to finely dice:
2: 3 large tomatoes, a red & a green pepper, a red onion, & 3 sticks celery.
3: Crush a clove of garlic, chop a large handful of fresh coriander - add to the diced veggies.
4: Zest & juice of 1/2 lime or lemon, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1 tablespoon sugar & 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder are added.
5: Finally add salt to taste, mix well & chill until  you need it...its great on loads of stuff - cheese on toast especially!

FULL ENGLISH DESIGN 1

A BRACING WALK, THEN AFTERNOON TEA

Some charming gems of British commercial art from a time before globalisation spread blandness took over & everything didnt have to be cool,trendy or designed by focus group for worldwide consumption.

Artist Ray Tooby illustrated many a poster & guide book for London transport from the 30s to the 60s. Here he turns the underground logo into the heads of a gent & his dog out for a bracing winter walk & below into one of those seats you used to see around mature trees.These drawings from a London underground guide from 1963.

Tea blenders Jacksons of Piccadilly these days have suitably abstract packs, but i found these elegant & remarkably English looking tagged tea bag envelopes. The design has a early 1950s feel but these were still being sold into the 80s - nice!

COMFORT FOOD 1

Hot,quick,comforting,cheap-a comfort food superstar! I made it at school recently - the kids hadnt a clue, but the teachers loved it, i even got asked for the recipe! Difficult it aint..but its incredibly adaptable - heres some of my hash faves.

Heres my mams recipe,in Cumbria we ate a lot of hash! Its called 'Fatherless' due to its extreme cheapness & so eaten by one parent families & orphans (?)! Usually it was just potato & onion but if there was a little money around, corned beef or more usually bacon was added.

1: Melt a knob of butter over a medium heat.

2: Add a large chopped onion & fry until softened.

3: Add 4 roughly chopped potatoes & a large pinch of thyme.

4: Stir up,add enough veg stock to not quite cover.

5: Bring to boil,turn down heat & simmer for 15-20 mins.

6: Crush the potatoes a bit to thicken the remaining stock.

7: Chop corned beef,add to potato mixture.

8: Stir,try not to break up the meat too much,cook an extra 5 mins.

9: Check if you need salt & pepper.

Its ready to serve! However you can top with the following for a more delicious hash:

Grated cheddar cheese-grill til brown & bubbly.

Fried or poached eggs.

Crispy fried potato cubes.

This is great made with smokey bacon too-add this at the start with the onion.

To make this even trashier use sliced frankfurters or hotdogs instead of the corned beef!

 

1:In a non stick pan fry a chopped onion in oil until soft.

2: Add 3 sliced cooked potatoes-stir.

3: Add corned beef or hotdogs.

4: Cook on a highish heat,pressing down with a spatula,allow the bottom to brown.

5: Turn sections of the hash over to let them brown too.

6: Turn heat down,cover & cook 10 mins.

7: Add a can of baked beans,stir & heat through.

8: Crush a bag of crisps,mix with a couple of handfuls of grated cheese.

9: Top the hash with this mixture,grill until golden brown. 

Cold & crisp dill gherkins are trashily fab with this!

A top breakfast served with eggs & grilled tomatoes,make them the day before & reheat.



1: Cut 4 potatoes in half,boil for 11 minutes & cool.

2: Grate the potatoes into a mixing bowl,add a grated onion.

3: As the potatoes were not fully cooked the mix should be quite sticky.

4: Chop the corned beef,add to the mix with black pepper & salt to taste.

5: Stir until the mixture comes together.

6: Wet your hands & form into cakes,as big or small as you like. 

7: Fry in hot oil about 3 mins each side until nicely brown.

Yum! These are also nice for lunch with a bramley apple sauce.

MY FIRST LOVE

MY FIRST LOVE - CAKE!

Have a happy Valentines day

CHOCS AWAY!

Its half term! Heres a game to download to keep the kids quiet when theyre fed up with wii & bored with xbox...all you need is a dice,egg cup & for counters-some buttons...hey why not use Cadburys chocolate buttons!! No harm in stocking up on chocolate for half term & for that matter gin,tonics,wine & beer!

Mmm..Update its somewhere in Poland now innit?