Foods Granny Made and other treats.

[gingerbit]

Just had a blast from the past to-night. OH made a mince and potato dish called dutch roast and scalloped potatoes which his mum used to make and was a favourite from her Mum in law.

[jusnoneed]

My paternal Nan was a good basic cook, made lovely pastry so apple pies and baked apples (fruit from their orchard) were favourites. She always had a fruit cake and Victoria sponge in the larder, I still use her method for weighing ingredients for my sponge - comes out lovely every time.
Savoury - she made the best fish and chips I have ever had. Rabbit another favourite, my Gramph used to shoot them for local farmers in the days before myxomatosis was rife.
One of the things we usually did together was make plum jam, my job was to get all the stones out before it was put in jars.
Always a selection of fresh veg from the garden, fruit from the orchard and eggs from their own hens.
She always made her own Christmas puds, kept for one year before use. Gorgeous.
My maternal Nan made a great lamb stew, always enjoyed that for lunch when we went there from school.

[andrewalston]

My dad's mum was a pretty poor cook, but my mum learned a lot of things from her mum, AND when she was a girl household skills were taught. The cotton mill where she started work in Bolton owned a house, and the girls had two half days a week there, learning cookery in the morning session and cleaning, ironing etc in their afternoon one.
Since her father died when she was only 8, money was tight, so wholesome dishes made from cheaper ingredients were the order of the day, and my mum can still rustle them up at the drop of a hat (plus a couple of hours developing flavour in the oven).
One such is "sea pie", the main ingredients of which are dried peas (after soaking), minced beef and an onion, cooked in a deep dish with a suet crust. I don't know whether the name derives from being served aboard ships or from the green colour.
Her mum usually made her own bread, and excellent pastry, though her cakes were said to be awful!
With money tight, it was the children who were sent to do the shopping, as they would not be tempted by expensive "treats". Does anyone else use the expression "half a dozen of flour", meaning six pounds weight?
With their only parent at work when they finished school, my mum and her sister would be pestered by their school friends who wanted to "play house" - so the chores were often done well before my grandma returned home!
The great baker on my dad's side was my great aunt Eunice, who was a trained confectioner. No matter what the job we did for her, full payment was AN APPLE PIE.

[Musicman]

My maternal Gran was a very poor cook.  When I were a lad and stayed with her - on Sundays she would prepare lunch and put the vegetables on to simmer around 9 a.m. Then she would make her Yorkshire pudding - which always had a solid, thick base.  A slice of that with gravy was your first course - to fill you up so you didn’t want much else!  The next Sunday, for a change, she made a Suet Dumpling.  This was about the size of a smallish football - and steamed for about two hours.  You had a slice of that with gravy - so you didn’t want much else! But, if you had room for dessert - it was a slice of the aforementioned pudding served with warmed Golden Syrup.
 
After that, you struggled to stand up - or, as an option, you slid slowly off the chair onto the floor!

My Grandfather was cook on the fishing boats - and made wonderful bread.  Fortunately, his daughter, my Mum, was an excellent cook!

[youngtug]

Aaa, yes,, a version of the dumpling we had was individual suet puddings somewhat smaller than a tennis ball, boiled in water, hence the name "swimmers" and dished up covered in golden syrup

[Gillg]

My mother used to make something my father called "Sudden Death" out of left over pastry and currants, which none of us were very keen on, but her steamed and baked puddings - syrup, marmalade, pineapple upside-down, etc., were delicious.

[Treetotal]

My maternal Gran was a very poor cook.  When I were a lad and stayed with her - on Sundays she would prepare lunch and put the vegetables on to simmer around 9 a.m. Then she would make her Yorkshire pudding - which always had a solid, thick base.  A slice of that with gravy was your first course - to fill you up so you didn’t want much else!  The next Sunday, for a change, she made a Suet Dumpling.  This was about the size of a smallish football - and steamed for about two hours.  You had a slice of that with gravy - so you didn’t want much else! But, if you had room for dessert - it was a slice of the aforementioned pudding served with warmed Golden Syrup.
 
After that, you struggled to stand up - or, as an option, you slid slowly off the chair onto the floor!

My Grandfather was cook on the fishing boats - and made wonderful bread.  Fortunately, his daughter, my Mum, was an excellent cook!

Hilarious....love it 

Carol

[healyjfch]

I have no actual memory of my granny but according to Dad,
Granny used to make Christmas Pudding in a Muslin Cloth.
The pudding used to have a thick skin on it and that it had loads of fruit in it.

Granny always cooked the dinner meat the night before, except for an odd stew.
After Dad got married, he thought it was strange to eat hot bacon,
 but according to Mam, he got used to it very fast.

[sarahsean]

This is a lovely thread so thank you for starting it. My Nan my mothers mother was a fantastic cook. She worked as a cook for a boys school in London and my mother remembered her making cream teas and jam tarts for the cricket team.

I used to stay at her house often and we used to make things together. We also used to go for Sunday lunch every Sunday. She made a tasty meat pie and used to make extra pastry for me.  She also made a gorgeous apple pie.

I often think of her and how lovely she was.

Sarah