Something completely different

What a lovely evening we had last night – sitting in the garden of our host and hostess for a game of mahjong. I mentioned last night that I had read up about the game and had reminded myself about the principles of it, and the different pieces we play with – tiles bearing different symbols, the suits – bamboo, circles and characters, and the honours – the four winds and red, green and white dragons (I think). It’s played individually but because I’m such a dunce I teamed up with crime writer Brian Price (who was about the same proficiency level as I am) It was a most enjoyable evening, so sociable and such fun and I look forward to the next time, whenever that is!

Turning to something completely different, I’ve been looking at the family cookery book which I put together which contains recipes from not only our family, but my cousins dishes as well, and those of our two mums, Monica and Beryl. This is the introduction I wrote, some time in the first decade of this century, when I produced it:

The Family Cookery Book!

We as a family have always loved food and everything to do with it! Growing it as Ken and Donald did on their allotments, gathering it (think Beryl and blackberries, Monica and sloes, Audrey and strawberries) buying it, or cooking and eating it… We all love it, and even more when we share with each other. We love getting together to eat, any excuse will do! We also love swapping and exchanging recipes.

Here is a selection of a very few of the hundreds of recipes we have as a family. Some of them are direct from source, some I have gathered from Monica’s scrapbook of family recipes, but many I have taken from Audrey’s collection. It would be a unique social document to bring them all together – but what a huge volume that would be – and think of the potential calories! I have tried to be as accurate as I can, but sometimes there are errors (I am not sure there should be one pound of pearl onions in Beryl’s soup!) and timings and quantities seem somewhat erratic. However – above all, enjoy!!

There are such recipes as Midnight Soup, the one and only recipe for beef stew which has the added ingredients of pickled pearl onions, mushrooms, grapes, cream, brandy and port. Curries, casseroles and lamb hotpot, Libyan liberty lamb couscous, meatballs and spare ribs, Australian flan, fluff, melting moments, and date and walnut loaf – these are just a few of the recipes in the collection.

Here are Aunty Audrey’s Italian Chocolate Slices

1/2 lb milk chocolate

2 oz margarine or butter

4 oz castor sugar

1 egg, beaten

4 oz desiccated coconut

2 oz glacé cherries (halved or quartered)

2 oz sultanas or currants