Mushy Peas--and other ex-patriot cravings

How do you make it from scratch?

i used to eat it. i can no longer get it. most people couldn't give a toss about it. once i found it canned and overpriced as a novelty freak show treat from the UK.


no longer eat fish--vegetarian now, but still crave chips and mushy peas.

and while we're on the subject of food--but i know there's no recipe for this, perhaps there may be places to order it though?...milky bars--which do not sell over here. why, i don't know. ribena in overpriced tiny bottle in indian grocers. i used to get it in china town--before it became global china town with mcdonald's and starbucks, etc... horlicks i've given up on. marmite you can find everywhere. wheatabix too--everywhere (thank the lord hay-soos)

How hard can it be?
Probably just get some peas and cook them to the perfect mushy consistency .... though I suspect they might have dripping or lard or something equally anti - vegi to give them that extra yummy texture .....

I can get Flakes and Aero here on the West Coast, along with Branston pickle which is great. The store even has Spotted Dick in a tin (Bet that sounds awful doesn't it, to all you that don't know what it is?!), but I just don't miss school dinners that much .....

Cant beat mushy peas mate! Here is a recipe ive just found im not sure how it would compare to real chippy peas though!

Mushy peas

Serves 4-6

475g frozen peas (I like Birds Eye)
65g butter
6 mint leaves
Salt and pepper, to taste

1 Defrost the frozen peas in a large pot filled with cool water — this should take a only few minutes. Strain, shaking off as much excess water as possible.

2 Reserve about one-fifth of the peas.Place the remaining peas into a sauté pan, along with the butter and 50ml water. Cook over a medium heat until all the water has evaporated and the peas are cooked through. If your water is very hard, it would be best to buy some bottled water (or, even better, de-ionized car-battery water) to use when cooking the peas, as this will help to keep their colour bright green.

3 Place the cooked peas into a blender (or use a stick blender) and purée. While blending, adjust the taste by adding the mint leaves and the salt and pepper.

4 Fold in the reserved peas and serve.

I have just found another recipe that suggests a completly different recipe so try either i think this one sounds better -

Mushy Peas
Ingredients:

* Dried peas
* bicarbonate of soda
* water
* salt and pepper (at the end)

I have consulted my mother-in-law on this as she produces the best mushy peas I have had. I was no great fan of them until she cooked them for me. What follows is her method.

The peas should be the dried marrowfat ones. The best ones we have found in the UK are Bachelors Bigga Marrowfat Peas. Place the peas in a large dish with plenty of room as they will expand when soaked. The peas need to be covered with two to three times their volume of boiling water. Add the steeping tablet that came with the peas or a couple of teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda if there are no tablets. This is important as the peas will not break down unless the bicarb is added. Cover and leave overnight.

The next day drain the peas and put them in a pan with enough fresh water to just cover them. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes. The peas should break up nicely. Add a little water to the mixture to loosen the mushy peas to the consistency you like. Season only at the end, as if you do so before that the peas will be tough. Mushy peas freeze well.

James,
forever in your debt mate...it's amaizing what you want when you no longer can get it. going with mother in laws recipe--or the blender when i'm impatient. chips i can do already--no need to clap

maija,
school dinners bring back memories. there was a period of about 6 months when--because one could always get chips and milk as a side, i lived on it entirely rather than stomach all the shite that was being served. it was my first time being a 'vegetarian'...i lied that it was part of my normal diet as a way to get eggs, chips, and milk in abundance--instead of mystery meat with no flavor. i'd go on fridays with my mates to get a beef burger with garlic mayo. years after, when i wasn't living off of chips, my appetite for chips and peas returned in a big way. i like the cadbury flakes too. i find them from time to time. canned spotted dick. mmm for all you yanks that are picturing the pick of the dalmation cuisine, rest assured that canned dick, ahem, is not as bad as it sounds...pretty bad though

as for the spotted dick--my dad still eats it, canned or whatever. i stopped the tradition when my grandmum passed. for the last 10 years or so, we were all eating it as sort of a favour to her sensibilities. wax paper pennies and all, heeps of custard, just heeps of it. i think think there's a small chance there's still some undigested dried fruit and curdled custard still hatching small colonies in my small intestines.

...James,
i must have done it right because my Irish "American" wife and mother-in-law were pulling their noses and heading the other way. in the end i went for the buttered one with the blender--with a few whole peas chucked in. i ate a mountain of mush(y), and had some bread along side. no one wanted any...MORE FOR ME. satiated for now...until my next binge that is.

Thats brilliant mate im glad that it went down well .

I used to live near an American Military base that my parents used a lot for shopping in Germany. I really miss pop tarts, i mean sure, you can get them here but they cost a small fortune. I miss the old american cheese cake mixes as well, and the microwaveable popcorn! And well from Germany i miss going to the "imbiss" and picking up "Halb Hanchen mit bratwurst und senf mit pommes!". The alternitives over here just dont do it justice!

...travel and foreign food is the best, init?

i got alot of overseas time as a tag-a-long kid to a journalist, and i can't stop eating chili peppers, etc... but that could be the whole england vindaloo thing, i don't know??? i can't seem to go two weeks without burning my tonsils out with firey food. i go to spitalfields (sp?) every time i pass through london. there's a dish called something like "ph---"...okay, i can't remember the rest, but it's hotter than vindaloo. i had to agree to pay for my meal beforehand because the owners weren't convinced i'd make it through the plate.

once this info was established, they watched hoping i wouldn't win my challenge. what a right of passage that was. i think i was back in there 3 days later before returning to DC.

Haha that is so true, everything i make has chilli in it, wether its curry, bolegnase, lasagne, Chilli con carne. It just gives it that kick and depth (?). Im one for going out for a meal and ordering the hottest dish on the menu and it doesnt half take some effort to get through the lot sometimes.

I just want to suggest that if there is anything over here that is canned, boxed or otherwise packaged and could be mailed to you, PM me and i will try and sort something to send you some over.

Travel and foreign food is by far the best, reminds me of what my girlfriends dad always says :

"Do you like sex and travel"
"Yea why?
"Well fuck off then!"

James,
that's a deal mate. and i'll send you, what was it...cheese cake mix and microwave popcorn, etc...
we can make this symbiotic and be each other's contact people

the plot thickens...like this new development

that's a great quote, by the way...i had to read it twice to get it because i'm thick as a brick...but the laugh came the second time around. i'm going to use that one--count on it

Russel,
Sure thing mate! Like i say if there is anything i can get hold of id be willing to help out

Sure does! Seems ive more revelent things to say about food than self defence . O well

Haha, he doesnt half come out with some jokes, ill try and get some wrote down to share, he cracks me up.