So my Mammy is from Scotland and I have very clear memories of some of the meals she cooked for us when I was a wean.
Stovies, mince and totties and gallons of proper broth and as I recall everything came with bread and proper butter - of course if there was jam or ham on the bread it would have been called a piece.
I would like to point out right here that looking back on my childhood menu may give me some indication of why I have a weight problem, hmmmm!
My friend Rosina is also from North of the border and I love talking to her about the meals she cooks too. The other week she told me about 'beef olives' and I had never heard of them before but I haven't lived with my mother since 1987 so I may have forgotten.
According to wee Rosina it's basically beef sausages wrapped in beef ( I can feel a meat sweat coming on ) but I have just looked for the recipe online and there's all sorts of high falluting other ingredients. I will cook it Rosina style. Tescos were doing beef sausages on special offer so I have loads in my fridge and I am looking forward to how it turns out. Rosina is alwso having some of them.
Other things my mother did that were very Scottish were - putting salt on her porridge, make a lot of scones almost every day ( pronounced to rhyme with 'gone' and not 'stone' ) and there was always a steamed pudding on the go.
I often wonder what Hattie and Martha will tell their kids about meals I have cooked. Martha is notriously fussy about what she eats and will often whip something up herself rather than eat what I am having. In all fairness, frylited healthy chips or lasagne with a cottage cheese topping instead of creamy white sauce may be appealing to someone that goes to fat club but not so appealing to someone that doesn't have to.
I like food and I find it interesting. I genuinely enjoy hearing about people's favourite dishes from their youth and however much we try to recreate them, it never quite tastes the same.
My Mum's stovies were to die for and I have only attempted them once and they just weren't as good.
She also did a mean bread and butter pudding the 'scottish' way, filling the dish of bread, butter , sugar and sutanas with custard and baked until it set. It always had a thick skin on it and that, to me was the best part.
Oh and it was never served with cream or anything that fancy - it was always milk, which incidentally was what we always poured onto warm apple pie.
Of course, back in the day, we all had full cream milk didn't we? I remember my Granny being horrified when she tried skimmed milk - I think she only tried it once and thought it was water with some white powder stirred in.
I will give you all the verdict on my beef olives tomorrow. I may have a back up meal just incase it all goes horribly wrong!
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