On 9/2/2013 9:00 AM, Ophelia wrote:
>
>
> "S Viemeister" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On 9/2/2013 6:41 AM, Ophelia wrote:
>>> "James Silverton" > wrote
>>>> Have you tried the Irish dish Colcannon? It's also called
>>>> Rumbledythumps in Scotland.
>>>>
>>>> Ingredients:
>>>> 1 pound boiled and mashed potatoes
>>>> 1 pound boiled cabbage, drained
>>>> 1 ounce butter (or margarine)
>>>> Salt and black pepper
>>>> Method:
>>>> Mash the potatoes and finely chop the cabbage and mix in a large
>>>> saucepan in which the butter has been melted. Keep the saucepan over a
>>>> low heat to keep it hot. Season to taste and serve piping hot.
>>>> The mixture can also be put into a greased oven-proof dish and cooked
>>>> at 400F/200C until the top is browned.
>>>
>>> I don't know why but I am always surprised that you know these
>>> recipes
>>>
>> Having lived in Scotland as a child could explain it!
>
> I know, which is why I said I don't know why I am surprised

My mother cooked simple food very well mostly but I had to leave home to
find that cabbage did not have to be stewed to death and was good with
only a few minutes boiling or even shredded and uncooked. Another thing
that was overcooked at home was beef tho' fish was not. We could get
really fresh fish since Oban, Argyll had a small fishing fleet. I
learned then that fresh sea fish has a special flavor that is readily
lost with aging. The only fresh-water fish that I ate was salmon. It was
the age old privilege of crofters (small farmers) with access to the sea
to net salmon by rowing a net around and then pulling it to shore. The
salmon made the difference to their lives since crofting is pretty
nearly subsistence living.

Lobster was readily available. They were kept alive in tanks near the
railroad station. One of childhood's treats was to visit the tanks and
see people picking out lobsters bare handed for shipment in ice to London.

--
Jim Silverton (Potomac, MD)

Extraneous "not." in Reply To.