Otto Bahn wrote:

First of all..... is rhubarb English?
It certainly is not short on flavour. I used to eat it straight from the
garden. If the plants I planted last year thrive I will be eating it straight
from the garden again this year. But you are right that it is easier to take
with sugar.

Unpleasantly bitter or sour, IIRC. I was maybe
ten to twelve when I had it last. Rhubarb is one
of those foods that you can tell is full anti-
oxidants.

It surely has a bite to it. I love it and I have found it to be a bit like lamb in
that people seem to love it or hate it. My wife likes the flavour but hates the
texture.



And not *******izing rhubarb pies by mixing it with strawberries. That is a
waste of good rhubarb and a waste of good strawberries.

Agreed. And I think that's illegal in Vermont
(fashion violation).

If it's not, it should be :-)

limey wrote:

"Dave Smith" .

I can understand tripe being on the list, but never thought of it as being
English. We never had it in our house. have never heard English people or
people of English heritage even talk about it as if it was food.

Yes, Dave, it's a British dish - tripe and onions. I've never had it but
it's popular in the north of England.
Scotland, too, Ophelia? I don't know. I could never wrap my mind around
eating sheep's stomach lining.


Ok. I will have to take your word for it. My grandparents were from somewhere
near Nottingham, I guess not close enough to the north to have had to endure
that.

"limey" wrote in message
...

"Ophelia" wrote in message
. uk...

On Thu, 06 Apr 2006 15:14:24 -0400, limey wrote:


Of course you'll live - I'm living, aren't I?? Here's my favourite
dessert,
a little Americanized. Gosh, I'll have to rack my brains if I can't
give
you mushy peas - and no kidneys? There goes my English breakfast!


You have mushy peas with your kidneys???? LOL

O

My poor sentence construction, O! G

G

IMO kidneys need to be wrapped in streaky bacon and grilled! Ahh food for
the Gods)

"Ophelia" wrote

IMO kidneys need to be wrapped in streaky bacon and grilled! Ahh food for
the Gods)

And with grilled mushrooms. Oh, how I miss them, O. I haven't seen them in
the supermarkets here and "real butchers" seem to be a thing of the past.

D.

jay wrote:
On Thu, 06 Apr 2006 12:13:21 -0400, limey wrote: Dora, now I am
challenging you to post a GREAT British recipe.. (no pies, no peas and no
kidneys) I will make it and let you know how it was assuming I live. L0L

The thing many may not have considered is that a lot of these 'staples'
were derrived during times of great hardship and/or the depression.
Waste was unheard of - a mortal sin in fact. EVERYTHING was used
(tripe, brawn, black pudding, haggis for example) and personally, while
not actually enjoying or ever tried the dishes, you have to take your
hat off to the cooks of yesteryear who were able to come up with a dish
to utilise the ingredients at hand.
Before and after the war - when tea/coffee were unavailable or rationed
- Marmite was actually a drink... tsp in boiling water, according to my
mum.

OK jay, here's another one for you to try - particularly in defence of
bananas in whatever recipe:

Banoffee Pie
This is the original Banoffee recipe as used by 'Hungry Monk' chef Lucy
Baldwin, who devised the recipe.

12 oz uncooked shortcrust pastry (see below)
2 tins condensed milk
1 1/2 lbs firm bananas
3/4 pint double cream (whipping cream, whipped to stiff peaks does the
job)
1/2 tsp powdered instant coffee
1 dessertspoon castor sugar
a little fresh ground coffee

Preheat oven to 190 DegC or 375DegF.
Lightly grease a 10"x 1.5" flan tin.
Line the tin with thinly rolled pastry, prick base with fork and blind
bake until crisp and allow to cool.
Immerse canned of unopened cans of condensed milk in deep pan of
boiling water, cover and boil for 3 hours.
Insure pan does not boil dry or the cans will explode.
Remove the cans from the water and allow to cool competely (before
pouring the cold toffee mixture into the baked flan crust).
Whip the cream with instant coffee and sugar until smooth.
Spread the toffee over the base of the pastry.
Peel and halves the bananas lengthways and lay them on the toffee base.
Finally spoon or pipe the cream lightly over the bananas and sprinkle
the freshly ground coffee on the cream.
Serves 8-10.

Shortcrust Pastry
1 cup plain flour (no added bicarb soda for leavening)
pinch salt
60g butter
2-3 Tablespoons ice cold water

NB: this is the standard Shortcrust Pastry, for a richer pastry I
(always) substitute 1 whole egg lightly beaten and a little lemon juice
for the water, and for a sweet shortcrust pastry add 1-2 Tbls castor
sugar (refined (super fine granulateded) white sugar, not confectioners
sugar). I sometimes like to add a little more butter making it much
richer and more 'crumbly'.

Sift the flour and salt.
Rub in the butter with tips of your fingers until the mixture resembles
coarse breadcrumbs.
Add half the water (or if using egg, half egg) and mix the dry
ingredients with a round bladed knife or spatula.
If there is not sufficient moisture to bind all dry ingredients, push
the moistened pastry to one side of the bowl and gradually add enough
of the remaining water/egg to bind the remaining dry ingredients.*
Form the mixture into a ball and turn onto a lightly floured board.
Roll to size and shape required.
Bake at 180DegC for approximately 15 minutes**

* the amount of moisture the flour absorbs will depend heavily on the
weather - hot humid days require less moisture, while cold wintry days
require more.
** cooking time will depend on your oven - whether gas/electric,
standard/fan-forced. Check on the pastry after 10 minutes and if golden
brown, it is done.

Still racking my brain trying to think of an inherently British main
meal which doesn't use kidneys or mushy peas.....when I think of one,
I'll post it

LadyJane (ex-pat Brit now naturalised Aussie)
freely admits to liking if not loving, banana custard
--
"Never trust a skinny cook!"

limey wrote:

I would give jellied eel a try. Eel is good stuff. It is especially good
smoked.

I haven't eaten it smoked or jellied. I have eaten it fresh (the first
time, under duress) when we caught it and DH fried it on the boat.
Delicious and sweet.

I have never had it raw, but would gladly give it a try. I had it smoked in
Denmark, despite my mother's warning that it was disgusting, and I found it to
be delicious, much better than the smoked eel I can buy here.



Banana custard can be very tasty, but the last time I checked bananas were
not exactly traditional English cooking.

My mum used to fix a dessert I loved as a kid - spread a baked pastry shell
with raspberry jam, add sliced bananas and cover with a very thick custard.
Yum. I must fix that one day soon.

Yes, but do you think it is the sort of tradition English food that her mother
would have fed here, considering that bananas were rare in northern areas before
the 1950s.


Tapioca....... ? What the heck of wrong with that. I love it. My biggest
problem with tapioca theses days is finding it. Thanks to someone in this
group I was successful in finding it in an oriental grocery store.

Yes, weird. Not only is it hard to find, but it's like parting with Fort
Knox to buy a small box. Why?

I was never expensive. The minute tapioca is still readily available, but it is
the pearl tapioca that I was interested in. Fish Eyes and Glue is one of my
favourite puddings.

Ophelia wrote:


Yes, Dave, it's a British dish - tripe and onions. I've never had it but
it's popular in the north of England.
Scotland, too, Ophelia? I don't know. I could never wrap my mind around
eating sheep's stomach lining.

I can remember people eating it when I was a child but I have never eaten
it, nor have I ever heard of it being eaten since. I suspect it was eaten
during lean times after the war.

As for Scotland I don't know. I haven't heard of it being eaten during the
20+ years I have been here.

That's what I was wondering. I have some English ancestry, so lots of friends
and relatives who are English. I can't remember any of them ever having tripe
or talking about it. The only people I knew who ate it were Czechs.

On 2006-04-06, Ophelia wrote:
As for Scotland I don't know. I haven't heard of it being eaten during the
20+ years I have been here.

one of the many benefits of the Scotland Act of 1998, that one. those
damn poms'll eat ANYTHING.

you never wondered why the Hebrides seem so nibbled-about-the-edges?
Aedilric of Deira had to invent special cutlery for that, he did.


butting

--
I am very new to programming drivers so if I sound un-knowledgeable
then it's because I am.
-- first4internet's Ceri Coburn on writing Sony's DRM rootkit

Right Jay - GOOD British recipes, here goes:

Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pudding and horseradish - the three are
inseparable
Steak & Kidney Pie or Pudding
Corned Beef
Pea & Ham soup
Fish & Chips - BATTERED not crumbed
Toad in the Hole - Thick pork or beef sausages, par boiled, fried,
placed in yorkshire pud batter in a large baking dish & baked till the
'pud' browns & rises.
Chicken & Leek pie
Rabbit pie
Beef OIives
Pork Pies - eaten cold made with hot water pastry and plenty of
aspic!!!

and for dessert?
Treacle tart
Syrupy dumplings - sweet dumplings boiled in golden syrup
Trifle
Flummerys & Fools (Rhubarb fool is delish)
Summer Pudding
RICE PUDDING.... ooh almost forgot that on
Spotted Dick - steamed suet pudding with currants & golden syrup - not
the contagious malaise suffered by some males...hehehe

The tinned tomato soup in our house always ends up in my Spaghetti
Bolognaise.... and adds a lovely flavour and texture. Should add that I
also use tomato passata, tomato paste and roasted tomato and capsicum
flesh as well.... and it's pretty bloody awesome.

LadyJane
--
"Never trust a skinny cook!"

On Thu, 06 Apr 2006 14:41:51 -0700, LadyJane wrote:

Right Jay - GOOD British recipes, here goes:

Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pudding and horseradish - the three are
inseparable

We have the above most every Christmas with fresh and hopefully painfully
hot horseradish. I love it.

Steak & Kidney Pie or Pudding

Another pie and filter meat.

Corned Beef

Had that for St. Paddy day.

Pea & Ham soup

We do the split pea version.

Fish & Chips - BATTERED not crumbed

I like fish and chips.. ate at a place in London called something like
Geils.. or Geals..great fish and chips.

Toad in the Hole - Thick pork or beef sausages, par boiled, fried,
placed in yorkshire pud batter in a large baking dish & baked till the
'pud' browns & rises.

Have not tried this one.

Chicken & Leek pie

I love leeks.

Rabbit pie

Have not had bunny rabbit pie.

Beef OIives

Ok I give up on that one. What is it?

Pork Pies - eaten cold made with hot water pastry and plenty of aspic!!!

And another pie.

and for dessert?

Dora also gave me a dessert to try.

Treacle tart
Syrupy dumplings - sweet dumplings boiled in golden syrup Trifle
Flummerys & Fools (Rhubarb fool is delish) Summer Pudding RICE
PUDDING.... ooh almost forgot that on Spotted Dick - steamed suet
pudding with currants & golden syrup - not the contagious malaise
suffered by some males...hehehe

This spotted thingy..which is better the disease or the dish? g

The tinned tomato soup in our house always ends up in my Spaghetti

Tomato soup in a can..tinned sounds much better than canned.

and roasted tomato and capsicum
flesh as well.... and it's pretty bloody awesome.

LadyJane

Thank you!

On Thu, 06 Apr 2006 14:09:38 -0700, LadyJane wrote:

I saved the recipe..thank you

Still racking my brain trying to think of an inherently British main
meal which doesn't use kidneys or mushy peas.....when I think of one,
I'll post it

writtenlaughter

LadyJane (ex-pat Brit now naturalised Aussie)
freely admits to liking if not loving, banana custard

dee wrote:

Arri London wrote:
Cross posting removed

snip

Have eaten everything on the list and like most of them. Except the
sandwich spread, spaghetti hoops and tinned tomato soup.

Not surprised the list contains so many relatively traditional foods. A
foodie will normally avoid such things in favour of perceived
'creativity'. So while the 'Olive' readers may not like them, all those
things sell well and are eaten regularly in the UK. Which is how it
should be LOL.

I hadn't tried a few from the list when I was in UK e.g. 2/3. Would
quite like to try the Deep-fried Mars Bar!

Freeze the Mars bar, dip in fritter batter and fry away.

This reminds me of an old joke;

Definition of Hell ?

Hell is a place where;
The guards are German
The politicians are French
and
The cooks are English.


rj

"Dave Smith" wrote

limey wrote:

I haven't eaten it smoked or jellied. I have eaten it fresh (the first
time, under duress) when we caught it and DH fried it on the boat.
Delicious and sweet.

I have never had it raw, but would gladly give it a try. I had it smoked
in
Denmark, despite my mother's warning that it was disgusting, and I found
it to
be delicious, much better than the smoked eel I can buy here.

Just to keep the record straight - I didn't say I ate it raw, but fresh and
fried. Yum.

Banana custard can be very tasty, but the last time I checked bananas
were
not exactly traditional English cooking.

My mum used to fix a dessert I loved as a kid - spread a baked pastry
shell
with raspberry jam, add sliced bananas and cover with a very thick
custard.
Yum. I must fix that one day soon.

Yes, but do you think it is the sort of tradition English food that her
mother
would have fed here, considering that bananas were rare in northern areas
before
the 1950s.

That puzzles me, Dave - I ate bananas at home when I was a child and that
was much earlier than the 1950's. (I'm not saying when!!!!).

Dora

"LadyJane" wrote

Right Jay - GOOD British recipes, here goes:

Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pudding and horseradish - the three are
inseparable
Steak & Kidney Pie or Pudding
Corned Beef
Pea & Ham soup
Fish & Chips - BATTERED not crumbed
Toad in the Hole - Thick pork or beef sausages, par boiled, fried,
placed in yorkshire pud batter in a large baking dish & baked till the
'pud' browns & rises.
Chicken & Leek pie
Rabbit pie
Beef OIives
Pork Pies - eaten cold made with hot water pastry and plenty of
aspic!!!

Right on with all of it, Lady Jane!

and for dessert?

Treacle tart
No, sorry, not this one.

Syrupy dumplings - sweet dumplings boiled in golden syrup.
Or this one.
Trifle
Flummerys & Fools (Rhubarb fool is delish)
Summer Pudding

Also Autumn Pudding.

RICE PUDDING.... ooh almost forgot that on
Spotted Dick - steamed suet pudding with currants & golden syrup - not
the contagious malaise suffered by some males...hehehe

Oh, dear. Very British but I have had so much bad S.D. that it's at the
very bottom of my list!

Don't forget gooseberry pie/or fool/or with custard!

Dora

LadyJane
--
"Never trust a skinny cook!"