Fruit would appear in the house at different times and for various purposes. We had no fruit bowl. There would never be, say, a bunch of bananas, but occasionally there might be two large ones sitting seductively in the kitchen, waiting to be sliced into custard. Sometimes we had oranges and the tops would be peeled off, allowing us to suck and gorge on the juicy flesh of a whole fruit. Tangerines and satsumas arrived in a large quantity at Christmas and no other time. The same with Coxes Orange Pippins. Both those fruits still betoken Christmas to me.
Other apples came and went - abundant while in season and absent the rest of the time - Discovery, Worcester Pearmain, Laxton Superb, Beauty of Bath, James Grieve. The exception was Bramleys, the cooking apples that were available all year as we had a tree in the garden. Towards the end of summer we would start collecting the windfalls for crumbles and pies and would be allowed to eat the small peeled pieces, sour and juicy, before they were cooked. Later the tree would be stripped, the apples picked over, wrapped in newspaper and stored in crates in the loft where they yellowed and mellowed over the winter months.
Mum grew strawberries, blackcurrants and gooseberries. We would be given jobs tending the soft fruit and spent hours crouched, staring at hard little green berries, willing them to become succulent and sweet, eventually yielding to temptation and having to spit out the bitter disappointment.
As we grew older we started scrumping. At first we didn't need to go far as there was a slightly neglected orchard that was separated from the end of our garden by a broken old fence. Apples and pears were there aplenty, but the real treats came in September with demure Victoria plums competing with the honeyed voluptuousness of golden gages. I sat in the gage tree for hours in the late sun scoffing its wonderful fruit until my stomach cramped.
Further afield throughout the season were damsons, cherries and walnuts, all begging to be taken, which of course we did. At the end of September we would be sent out with all kinds of receptacle - shopping bags, biscuit tins, enamel pudding basins, with instructions not to return until they were filled with blackberries.
My dad worked with two men, Amos from Jamaica and Billy from Pakistan. Sometimes they sent us exotic fruit, so laughingly amidst the general rural poverty of our lives we would occasionally feast on pineapple, coconuts, lychees and mango. These foods were unknown and unseen by the majority of the British public at the time and that to me typifies a certain kind of working class upbringing - harsh, deprived, yet punctuated by the exotic and picaresque.
All this time Mum would be making pies, puddings, cakes and jams, something I later did for my own family and still love to do now. Naturally when I made my own home I also made sure there was a fruit bowl and it was always full.
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Sunday, 28 July 2013
Posted with Blogsy
Sunday, 2 June 2013
Camp kitchen jottings
Day 1, afternoon, drove the van about 500 metres from the pick-up place and parked up in a very quiet area of the Coles car park. So much we had to say and not say, lots to plan and decisions to be made about what food to buy. I think we ate out that evening, expecting more than it turned out to be in a local “bistro” in Inverloch.
But in Coles we had at least bought sufficient for lunch the next day – our first proper day on the road.
Kangaroo hot dogs
These were good enough thanks to the tasty lean meat and notwithstanding the awful bread.
Also in Coles we had found some good looking steak – perfect for the barbecue and we soon discovered that all the campsites had barbies in the camp kitchens.
Steak onions mushrooms with sweet potato mash.
Very acceptable, although I was initially surprised that you didn’t feel the need to peel (or wash?) the sweet potato. It mashed up fine though and we called it rustic.
Somewhere between Lakes Entrance and Eden we stopped in a small town with a few stalls selling local produce, crafts and bric-a-brac. Here we sat outside a bakery-cum cafe in the afternoon sun and had a great Aussie snack of Mrs Mac meat pie and Bunderby’s ginger beer. The bread looked half decent so we picked up a couple of loaves.
Kanga burgers.
Very good with our newly purchased bread and the hot chilli chutney that was neither hot nor chutney but tasty all the same.
In Berry we stopped for lunch and had enormous portions of that extraordinary concoction called Greek Lamb Pie. Somewhere around there we stopped for some local produce, picking up fruit and free range eggs.
Onion and tomato Omelette
Using the fresh eggs and accompanied by sauteed sweet potato and salad, this worked well.
On Good Friday there was not a single shop open on the peninsula. We had a choice at the service station complex between McDonalds, Subway or KFC. Hmmmm. I had a fond memory of returning from a camping trip back home and stopping with you boys for KFC so the difficult choice was made.
KFC takeaway "family meal"
An experience I won’t be repeating. In order the fries were acceptable, chicken abundantly plentiful and extremely greasy, coleslaw had enough sugar to count as a dessert. Then we tasted the free carton of mash and gravy which defies description. People actually like this stuff. We filled the gap, then disposed swiftly of the leftovers.
Best camp supper after a hot day
We had bought local fruits and vegetables at the market then stopped on the road for fresh fish and seafood straight from the Pacific Ocean that morning. We pinched the end off freshly picked green beans and steamed them on the campervan stove. Roughly chopped large cloves of garlic and mixed with butter. Carried the lot down to the camp kitchen barbie and cooked up garlic prawns with shells on. Two flat breads bought near Melbourne had travelled hundreds of kilometres with us and were a bit tired. We toasted them last on the barbie, soaking up the remaining juices which revived them perfectly We ate everything with our fingers, sharing the prawn heads with the resident kookaburra. All was washed down with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc from the nearby winery. Wonderful.
Best camp supper on a rainy day
This meal was cooked entirely inside the van. We couldn’t even open a window as the rain was so hard. Pan fried Atlantic Salmon fillets, deep red and glossy. Sliced and par boiled a chokoe, then gently sweated it in butter and garlic. Made a salad from local lettuce (Webbs Wonderful, which I hadn’t seen for years back home) proper ridge cucumber and avacado. Finished off the wine, made our last assault on the Laphroaig and fell asleep earlier than ever with full bellies and happy souls.
It was our last night on the road.
Kangaroo hot dogs
These were good enough thanks to the tasty lean meat and notwithstanding the awful bread.
Also in Coles we had found some good looking steak – perfect for the barbecue and we soon discovered that all the campsites had barbies in the camp kitchens.
Steak onions mushrooms with sweet potato mash.
Very acceptable, although I was initially surprised that you didn’t feel the need to peel (or wash?) the sweet potato. It mashed up fine though and we called it rustic.
Somewhere between Lakes Entrance and Eden we stopped in a small town with a few stalls selling local produce, crafts and bric-a-brac. Here we sat outside a bakery-cum cafe in the afternoon sun and had a great Aussie snack of Mrs Mac meat pie and Bunderby’s ginger beer. The bread looked half decent so we picked up a couple of loaves.
Kanga burgers.
Very good with our newly purchased bread and the hot chilli chutney that was neither hot nor chutney but tasty all the same.
In Berry we stopped for lunch and had enormous portions of that extraordinary concoction called Greek Lamb Pie. Somewhere around there we stopped for some local produce, picking up fruit and free range eggs.
Onion and tomato Omelette
Using the fresh eggs and accompanied by sauteed sweet potato and salad, this worked well.
On Good Friday there was not a single shop open on the peninsula. We had a choice at the service station complex between McDonalds, Subway or KFC. Hmmmm. I had a fond memory of returning from a camping trip back home and stopping with you boys for KFC so the difficult choice was made.
KFC takeaway "family meal"
An experience I won’t be repeating. In order the fries were acceptable, chicken abundantly plentiful and extremely greasy, coleslaw had enough sugar to count as a dessert. Then we tasted the free carton of mash and gravy which defies description. People actually like this stuff. We filled the gap, then disposed swiftly of the leftovers.
Best camp supper after a hot day
We had bought local fruits and vegetables at the market then stopped on the road for fresh fish and seafood straight from the Pacific Ocean that morning. We pinched the end off freshly picked green beans and steamed them on the campervan stove. Roughly chopped large cloves of garlic and mixed with butter. Carried the lot down to the camp kitchen barbie and cooked up garlic prawns with shells on. Two flat breads bought near Melbourne had travelled hundreds of kilometres with us and were a bit tired. We toasted them last on the barbie, soaking up the remaining juices which revived them perfectly We ate everything with our fingers, sharing the prawn heads with the resident kookaburra. All was washed down with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc from the nearby winery. Wonderful.
Best camp supper on a rainy day
This meal was cooked entirely inside the van. We couldn’t even open a window as the rain was so hard. Pan fried Atlantic Salmon fillets, deep red and glossy. Sliced and par boiled a chokoe, then gently sweated it in butter and garlic. Made a salad from local lettuce (Webbs Wonderful, which I hadn’t seen for years back home) proper ridge cucumber and avacado. Finished off the wine, made our last assault on the Laphroaig and fell asleep earlier than ever with full bellies and happy souls.
It was our last night on the road.
Sunday, 18 November 2012
Christmas pudding
6oz fresh breadcrumbs
6oz plain flour
1-2 tsp spices
6oz butter
8oz sugars
24oz dried fruits
3oz nuts
Half lemon
Half orange
1-2 apples
2 small eggs
Booze
Later
So I ended up with three sorts of booze but all brandy based. Into the fruit mix I snipped some organic glacé cherries - nothing like the usual bright red ones and still had a slightly tart cherry taste. Only used almonds although many times I have included Brazils or pecans as well.
Filled a lot of mismatched bowls and cups to make five puddings. They are steaming now and filling the kitchen with a divine smell.
I had bought so much dried fruit that decided to also make mincemeat which commits me to making mince pies thIs year. Unlike last year when we were in Kenya. Hey ho austerity calling.........
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