Mum's Cooking

[sage]

As an offshoot from the nostalgia laden 4 Yorkshireman thread, what fo you remember your Mum (or Dad, but let's face it, Mum) used to cook you back in the day?

What did you love? What did you hate? What do you miss?

[sage]

To start us off my Mum used to make a great Toad in the Hole, usually with mash, carrots and peas. 

Always remember we had it on my birthday when I was 13 or 14 and that day she did Sunday Lunch style Roasties as she knew I loved them.

That day I thought she was the second best person in the world, after Bobby Davison.

 

[ilkleyram]

Roasts and stews with dumplings were my mum’s best. She would try lots of things - she made a mean spaghetti bolognaise in the days when dried spaghetti was hard to find and there was only one italian restaurant in Derby. My dad had taken her on honeymoon to florence in the 1950s and she loved italian food. They went by train in the days when you were only allowed to take £20 out of the country and ran out of money on the way back. I remember she tried for ages to make her own swiss roll but couldn’t ever get the cake to roll without breaking. Tasted good, looked a mess. She baked her own bread. Dad was in India during the war and loved curries. She was good at them too. Miss her and her cooking  

Ham cooked in a honey glaze at Christmas was the only thing I never liked. Still don’t.

[sage]

1 minute ago, ilkleyram said:

Roasts and stews with dumplings were my mum’s best. She would try lots of things - she made a mean spaghetti bolognaise in the days when dried spaghetti was hard to find and there was only one italian restaurant in Derby. My dad had taken her on honeymoon to florence in the 1950s and she loved italian food. They went by train in the days when you were only allowed to take £20 out of the country and ran out of money on the way back. I remember she tried for ages to make her own swiss roll but couldn’t ever get the cake to roll without breaking. Tasted good, looked a mess. She baked her own bread. Dad was in India during the war and loved curries. She was good at them too. Miss her and her cooking  

Ham cooked in a honey glaze at Christmas was the only thing I never liked. Still don’t.

Loved my Mum's bread. Used to sit watching it cool out of the oven, waiting for the nod to cut the end off whilst still warm, just butter or butter and jam after the big shop.

 

[ilkleyram]

2 minutes ago, sage said:

Loved my Mum's bread. Used to sit watching it cool out of the oven, waiting for the nod to cut the end off whilst still warm, just butter or butter and jam after the big shop.

 

Mum always used to complain that we ate it too quickly. 

[sage]

5 minutes ago, ilkleyram said:

Mum always used to complain that we ate it too quickly. 

Everytime. She started making it when we weren't in, because if we smelled it baking, we were like velociraptors

[Rev]

My mum was, and thankfully remains, a terrible cook. 

Not that I've had the chance to find out recently, but in a world of small upsides it's well appreciated.

[ThePrisoner]

Corned beef curry.

[Van der MoodHoover]

My mother was a crap cook. And freely admitted it. She's fearsome bright - designed military aero engines for Royces. 

But cooking? Nah. Didn't stop her in the 70s though. Cos that's what people did. Sunday dinner was a thing of dread. As I stirred around yet another plate of random vegetables so overcooked they'd morphed into a homogeneous beige slurry i wondered why she put herself through it.

The one thing I remember her doing well was something she called a Barbados Sponge. Which was a plain and chocolate sponge mix folded together to give a swirled effect, baked and then covered in about 1cm of caramel flavour icing.

?

[Carnero]

7 hours ago, ThePrisoner said:

Corned beef curry.

My dear old Dad used to do us tinned corned beef with beans and chips ?

[Mucker1884]

No chicken carcass was thrown until it had been stripped and boiled up in a pot... along with veg.  3 days of chicken soup ensued!

Corned Beef Hash was another staple.

My all time favourite though, was her rice pudding.  Bit of nutmeg (I think?).  Massive oven dish... and bagsy I get the skin off the top!  

After she died, dad did a mean spam fritter!  Batter to die for!  ?

[FindernRam]

We used to have milk puddings regularly, Rice, Sago, Macaroni, Tapioca! Nutmeg fresh off the grater! 

But my favourite was my Gran's Treacle Suet Pudding. Boiled for hours in a stone bowl with muslin tied across the top. always knew if it was on the menu when the whole house was full of steam when you walked in! Grandad would be up the "Legion" getting lightly oiled. He was a Blacksmith and could lift a horse, but knew better than to step out of line with Grandma, so always came home with small gift for us kids like sherbet dips or pork scratchings.  

[Grumpy Git]

Mum used to do a fantastic roast dinner. Onion sauce with lamb and Yorkshires with beef, both to die for.

[Mucker1884]

Due to the abundance of them in their garden, Grandma used to be always making Gooseberry Pie (We called the "Goose-Gogs", for some reason?  No idea why!)

Coupled with her world renowned wazzy custard, it was without doubt the worst pudding in the history of crap puddings!  

[Van der MoodHoover]

51 minutes ago, Mucker1884 said:

No chicken carcass was thrown until it had been stripped and boiled up in a pot... along with veg.  3 days of chicken soup ensued!

?

Mrs VdM still does that now. I just stare mournfully at her whilst eating my sunblushed tomato filo pastries with tapenade and remind her how lucky she is... ?

[Eddie]

My mum and granny worked in the kitchens at the Midland Hotel, where the players were holed up during the run-up to the cup final. The players had a curfew, but mum and granny used to sneak them out through the kitchen so they could go for a morale-building scoop or two down the Brunny. I thought about writing a film script about it, but "Escape To Victory" was already taken.

Anyway, back on topic. My father's curries were legendary, and during the 1970's, BMA used to put a staff bus on a couple of times a week to take people down to his pub for lunch. He taught me well in that respect, but goodness, I miss his steak and kidney pudding. They were better than Holland's.

[Boycie]

What a sexist thread. Sigh.

[Bwash_Ram]

Proper trifle with sponge fingers none of that namby pamby jelly stuff.

forced to eat sprouts, even the smell of them makes me heave

[TimRam]

Mum is a great cook but I always remember her and Dad cooking Sunday roast dinner together. 'Pressure' cooker hissing away and the smell was amazing. Sitting down together to eat with brothers and me then feeling full aftwards before 'Star Soccer' started. Great times.

[Boycie]

1 hour ago, Eddie said:

My mum and granny worked in the kitchens at the Midland Hotel, where the players were holed up during the run-up to the cup final. The players had a curfew, but mum and granny used to sneak them out through the kitchen so they could go for a morale-building scoop or two down the Brunny. I thought about writing a film script about it, but "Escape To Victory" was already taken.

Anyway, back on topic. My father's curries were legendary, and during the 1970's, BMA used to put a staff bus on a couple of times a week to take people down to his pub for lunch. He taught me well in that respect, but goodness, I miss his steak and kidney pudding. They were better than Holland's.

Not as good as Belgium’s I’d expect?