I meant to make more things for the Confined Cookalong this weekend - I had a couple of other recipes planned - but as so many weekends at the moment, I was just too knackered after yet another week poorly separated between working hours and other hours. But I completely missed the Heritage element, and I think there was a reason for that.
I ate some good things, growing up. Generally, we'd have a traditional Sunday Dinner; we'd do Christmas Dinner (pork, apple sauce, the family stuffing, good roasties, a million veg), Easter (lovely roast lamb). I remember excellent beef stews and pork casseroles; meatballs/burgers (same mix); mince and onions with suet "yorkshires" (baked, but tasting fried; have never got the hang of those).
I don't (practically speaking) have a heritage from anywhere outside the North East (technically, half Irish, quarter English/Viking mix, quarter Scots). And those dishes aren't terribly special. When the things you grew up with were the things everyone ate all the time by default, it doesn't feel like "heritage". (Realise I'm treading on dangerous language-of-the-oppressor territory here; but that's not how it's intended. Just that if 1970s default British food is all you eat, all the time, it's pretty bland and un-special.)
We were a "latchkey" household, both parents working full time; so weekday dinners were sometimes a bit random and generally a cause of stress. And Mam was always on some sort of diet. Friday nights were generally fish and chips from Shaws down the road but otherwise it came from the fridge/freezer/pantry.
When I was about 12 (late 70s), Mam and I would go on shopping/theatre/cinema trips to Newcastle on Saturdays. I discovered that Mam and I liked salads, and various sprouting things like mung beans, and we had quiches and frittatas and all sorts of exotic things. Years later when I was living in London for a year, Mam came down for a weekend to visit and we went to Indonesian and Eritrean restaurants.
When I look at what I cook these days as "staples" - risotto, pasta with pesto, green lentils, curry - none of them are things I grew up eating. And they're still not something I could take back to my wider family and cook because they wouldn't enjoy them...
About 4 months ago, I remembered a spice subscription from the Spicery my cousins gave me for Christmas several years ago, and renewed it. A box of spice packs arrives through your letterbox once a month, with A5 recipe cards...
It was good to make something new.
Mmmm, that does look delish. And I have lasting admiration for anyone who manages the 'and make a 'quick chutney' as an accompaniment' part of a meal. (There's a reason I sent you to try and panic buy garlic pickle!!)
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for sharing your thoughts on food heritage, too. I needed the reminder that childhood food memories aren't necessarily as cheering or inspiring to others as they are to me. I'm glad you and your mam were able to go out and broaden your horizons together.