Dia is Mhuire díobh go léir a chairde, and welcome to my report.
Shrove Tuesday and don’t we all love the pancakes. The custom is as old as the hill behind the house and is greeted with glee every time. Like everything else in the kitchen the job of making them gets easier all the time and the pancake today can be so varied. Gone are the days when you shook a bit of sugar on them and rolled them up. First of all, the mix. The old ritual of making the batter by beating flour, eggs and milk is gone. The mix can now be bought in powder form, mix with milk and pour. Or they can even be bought made, stacks of them ready to be warmed and add your own flavouring, sweet or savory. Either way the humble crepe was always with us and is here to stay.
In a way I suppose it acts as the last laugh before we immerse ourselves in the penance of Lent. Tomorrow Ash Wednesday is one of the only two days of Fast and Abstinence that we have left in the Church Calendar year, the other is Good Friday. I have often wondered how having fish instead of meat could be called a penance. I love fish and with the variety of it that is available today it’s a treat. In ways it has passed out meat, even in name. All the best places refer to it now as seafood, which elevates it to a very lofty status. It wasn’t like that long ago when the choice of fish for Lent was confined to salted hake or ling. It came to town heavily salted, dried and in the shape of the whole fish flattened out, like you’d see a sheepskin . Shops displayed it hanging outside the door, regardless of wind or weather and cut it to the required amount for the customer. Wednesday and Fridays were the fast days all through Lent so hake was in great demand with some people buying the whole piece rather than bit by bit. But even then many people relished this fish, because it was cheap, portions were big and there was a great feeling of reiche (plenty) about it. It had to be steeped in water overnight, sometimes changing the water a few times to get the extra salt removed. Then into the pot and boiled. It was turned into a feast when dressed with oceans of creamy buttery white sauce with loads of onions, and flowery spuds to crown it.
[read more …] “Eily’s Report – 25th February”
