Yes, so am I. Tell us where yours is and we'll tell everyone else to come to it.
More of a focus on health and safety, we did vegetarian and made baked 'falafel' (no oil, no salt) with cous cous, orange, kidney bean and sweetcorn salad. Made me want to go for a Macdonalds. What happened to school kitchens - and chocolate crunch with pink sauce? We weren't obese in those days...
It may not be the only reason I became vegetarian, but lodged somewhere in the back of my memory is the image of a smooth spongy material spread on a well-done piece of buttered toast. It was truly offal – though I see from brief search on the internet such delicacies are not entirely confined to the past.
My memory has stopped short of storing the flavour of it, but I do remember eating brains on toast when I was a kid in the 60’s. I also remember pig’s trotters, brawn, kidneys, fish roes and liver - evidence enough that we didn’t have a lot of money, and that we used every possible bit of the animals that were killed to feed us.
Perhaps we were less fussy then, but I remember fighting with my two brothers at every meal to finish whatever was put in front of us. Seconds! Thirds! Whoever wolfed down the first helpings would get their hands on the next. Oxtail stew, sheep’s hearts anyone? I think our mother drew the line at tripe and black pudding (we lived in London after all), but she put her mind to the best presentation of the least palatable stuff available at the local butchers.
There was plenty of it, and it was cheaper. Of course we had beef stew on rarer days, but there was cod, haddock, sprats, and a plentiful supply of cheese, bread and digestive biscuits. Then, every Sunday, a roast with all the trimmings. At Christmas, the (gravy) boat was pushed out with pork, beef, and of course turkey. But during the year no-one turned their noses up at less glamorous fare. Nor, as my memory assures me, slimy grey sheep’s brains boiled first, then fried in butter, liberated from their membranous sheath and thickly spread on toast.
...made by some young suffolkfoodies - thanks for the picture Arianne and Dominique - I'm coming to your house for tea!
This is a pretty village right in the middle of USA - land Mildenhall and Lakenheath, with a Native American buried in the churchyard and a pub that sells chili!
Vanilla Cream Rice Pudding with Roasted Rhubarb Compote
Written by Claire
For the rhubarb compote - see above
For the creamed rice
300ml/10floz milk (full fat is best)
300ml/10floz double cream
1 vanilla pod
150g/6oz short grain pudding rice
150g/6oz caster sugar
Place the milk and cream in a saucepan or better still, a double boiler.
Split the vanilla pod length ways and scrape out the seeds and add the whole lot to the cream and milk.
Bring the milk mixture to a gentle simmer and add the rice and sugar.
Simmer gently, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes until the rice is soft and the liquid absorbed.
(Watch carefully to ensure that the rice and milk do not burn on the bottom of the pan. If you do not have a decent heavy based saucepan, it is suggested that you bake the rice pudding in the oven, although it will then have a darker colour and a skin on top, but still delicious!)
Remove the vanilla pod before serving the creamed rice with the rhubarb. Delicious hot or cold!
Eggs poached in cling film, food all over the floor, a manic sound track, lots of crying and mackerel with rhubarb on Masterchef. But all is calm at suffolkfoodie, with Inspector x's delicious rice pudding with rhubarb on our recipe pages. Yorkshire's forced rhubarb grows in candlelight and now has Protected Designation of Origin status from the European Commission.
In ASK for a family celebration at the weekend. Clutching our '2 mains for 1' vouchers we ordered a variety of starters. All arrived hot and at the same time, followed by the main courses, delivered swiftly before impatience could build.
The kids tucked into their staples of garlic bread followed by pizza. I had the Capra Grill (goat's cheese on ciabatta with caramelised onions, tomato, salad and a balsamic dressing). Well presented and delicious. To follow a dish of penne with artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. Very tasty, and filling.
Coffee to finish but others had desserts, with the banoffee pie in particular a high scorer. ASK can be disappointing when busy, with service and portions stretched too thinly, but I couldn't fault any aspects of this meal. The vouchers helped.
Parsnip Fritters - crispy and light vegetarian fritters suitable as a starter, light supper or as nibbles with drinks. Who can resist a plate of savoury fritters? This recipe is an original recipe created and served by me at The Chalice Restaurant in the 1980's.
Spent the morning (and at least £50) chatting to the producers and telling them that Gino is coming to town in case they want to enter the competition. We tasted beetroot and chilli relish from The Seasonal Garden www.theseasonalgarden.co.uk, a nice pork pie and liver and bacon dog biscuits (the dog loved them!) from Samphire's www.samphireshop.co.uk. and took home a chicken, bacon and mushroom pie made in Buxhall, bread from flour ground at Pakenham Mill, fudge and a slice of cake. In the cafe we ate deep fried goats cheese with beetroot and apple salad and honey dressing. A nice way to spend a day in the pouring rain with no sign of warmer weather yet.
PS If you're looking for squirrel meat, someone here sells that too.