Thursday
Day 2 on the wartime recipes went much better than the first. There was enough soup left over from yesterday for today's lunch and it tasted much better too. So, I think this soup will be appearing regularly through the winter.
Thursday's main meal was the wartime version of Irish 'champ'. In fact it is a version of 'colcannon' because it uses cabbage and not scallions but who am I to question the Ministry of Food? Click on the picture to enlarge it if you want the recipe. It was quick and easy to make and we ate it with some locally caught fish and more green vegetables.
More snippets from We'll eat again, this time on waste:
If a sense of guilt didn't make you adopt frugal habits, perhaps social pressure might .....
Okay, I'm planning to use the leftover 'champ' as a pie topping today. No waste in this household.
I'm very fond of champ, M, and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has a delicious and equally cheap variation, using leeks. (It was on River Cottage Autumn last night.)Recipe here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rivercottage.net/SeasonalRecipes~October/684/PotatoandLeekChamp.aspx
If it's as good as his elderflower champagne, it will be pretty fab!
Eek - I had a smoked mackerel sandwich when I met a friend for lunch yesterday - it was on really thick granary bread and I was in a big rush and I LEFT THE CRUSTS!! Arrghh - I shall be ostracised by Colchester society now . . .
ReplyDeleteI expect you will be forgiven if you had no more than 1 small piece of mackerel and not the 4oz I had, J.
ReplyDeleteD, I love champ, colcannon and boxty. It's probably something to do with have 3 Irish grandparents. I'll look up the HFW recipe and try it when I'm back on the normal unrationed food. Thanks for the link.
I had a go at the Champ this evening and for good measure, threw in a couple of shallots (no scallions) as well as the cabbage. It was a bit wet and I think that I may have added a bit too much liquid, or else did not give the mixture a good enough wartime boil. It went very well with a tuna steak however, and there is enough left over for tomorrow. Perhaps I will heat it up then drop a couple of eggs in and simmer very gently until they are cooked. I wondered if a very finely-chopped chilly might add a bit of zest and will try that next time.
ReplyDeleteMy mum, who was no mean cook as you know M, had some things that she would often make the day before serving as she said that it would improve the flavour; such things as hearty vegetable soup, scouse and curry sauce. She reckoned that it enabled the flavours to blend more fully. A sort of marinating I suppose. It does seem to work.
It was of course, the Merchant Navy who brought home the food and not the Royal Navy. A fact often ignored at the time!
Hi Crinny. Yes, I thought the mixture was wet too, although it had good flavour. I made the left over portion with flour to make a topping for a minced beef pie. I resisted adding an egg because I am trying to stick to the rations, but it looked so unappetising when I had cooked it that I sprinkled a bit of cheese on the top and browned it under the grill. It tasted good but I'm finding it all a bit stodgy. I expect that is the idea, really.
ReplyDeleteI know the Merchant Navy carried the goods but the Royal Navy provided escorts for the convoys. They were all very vulnerable on those trips across the Atlantic.
Crinny - I hope that last remark doesn't sound brusque. You can probably tell from the number of mistakes in my typing that I am very tired and rattling off sentences without checking them over!
ReplyDeleteHow interesting and healthy. Doesn't sound that tempting though!
ReplyDelete