Most of us will recall our childhood holidays with very fond memories; where we went, who we went with, random things we did and maybe even the holiday friends we made. Maybe like me, you can visualise a certain buddy you made one year so clearly, but also like me maybe for the life of you can't remember their name. Sound familiar?
I am sure you will also have favourite childhood holiday memories of what you ate back then. maybe the packed lunches you had, maybe a favourite takeaway meal or maybe a favourite sweet that just screams HOLIDAY!
aunty poltridge's afternoon teas
Aunty Poltridge wasn't a real aunty, but just an elderly friend of the family. She lived just a stone throw away from Home Park, the stadium for Plymouth Argyle. So as a boy I loved going out there with dreams of being taken to a game one day, but of course with no father that was but a pipe dream.
She was as far as I know, a spinster all her life and lived in her latter years, in those years that I knew her, with her sister.
As far as I remember we always went out to see her during the school holidays (and sometimes on a random school week Sunday afternoon) Where we were always treated to the most delightful afternoon tea. Tea was served in proper bone china cups and saucers and it was always piping hot and sweet, with little triangular sandwiches, cakes and biscuits were served from very posh cake stands and there was always plenty of bread and jam. The latter I always remember because she always had 'posh' jam, like Hartley's New Jam, not the run of the mill cheap stuff, but jam that had real, whole berries in it.
Home jam making is such a chore for the most part, for most people. Along with producing fresh pasta or fresh bread, for me it is a delight, a great way to invest a few hours of leisure. But I understand why people think it is too much of an effort. So here is a great little cheat, that most people when I tell them say something like; "duh, why didn't I think of that" ...
recipe - cheffies home made jam
001 jar berry jam (cheap home brand)
001 cup frozen berries of choice
recipe method of production
Defrost the berries. Place into a large bowl with any juice, add the jam and combine carefully so as not to break up the berries. Spoon back into the jar and keep refrigerated.
bovi-sandwiches
Many of my childhood summer days were spent at local beaches. Usually Bovisands, but from time to time we went further afield to the likes of Cawsands in Cornwall, or Drakes Island (a small private island in Plymouth Sound) both only accessible via a ferry trip from Plymouth Barbican. If it was Drakes Island, we would spend hours exploring; beaches, caves and the maze of tunnels that run under the island. Always dreaming that we would one day find some buried treasure
Other times we would all get piled into my aunty and uncle's car and and head off for the day with all my cousins, to Bigbury. Famous for Burr Island where many a TV show or movies have been filmed, and the amazing 'tractor' that transports people to the island when needed. As can be seen by this photo, the island is fairly unique as it is close enough to the mainland, that at high tide it gets cut off by the sea. but at low tide it is easily accessible and can be walked to. I loved going here, as there was the added treat of shops, a big cafe and a penny arcade.
But mainly we went to Bovisands; a beach area close to Plymouth. Sometimes with our cousins in their cars, and other times we would catch the 23 bus into town, walk down to Plymouth Barbican and catch the ferry out there. Once out there, there was either quite a hike from where the ferry dropped all the holidaymakers off, or a trek down to the beach from the carpark. Whichever it was we were all kitted out and carrying supplies for the day. Be it our swimming costumes (or bathers as we called them) all rolled up in our towels and our mask and snorkel, our lilo or our picnic for the day.
Sunscreen was unheard of, covering up was our only defence against the summer sun and even then there was no real slip, slop and slap. As a result we often got sunburnt, and had to deal with the subsequent pain and discomfort. Coming home at the end of the day, feeling that familiar burn to the skin and mum trying her best to cool us down by painting our even pinker with that all so familiar calamine lotion.
But back to the food. Whichever beach destination we ended up at, the culinary fare was the same. Chilly bins or bags were unheard of, taking ice bags to keep the food chilled was no where to be seen, I don't even remember there being any lunch boxes for the sandwiches; our picnic sandwiches were simply wrapped in paper and transported in Mum's shopping bag. Our sandwiches were usually either ham, or cheese and tomato or some god awful meat or fish paste, that invariably ended up warm, limp with the butter melted through. But by god, nothing tasted better when we got out of that water after spending hours and hours splashing around and having fun. Even if they did end up slightly crunchy from the sand on our hands. And if you wanted a drink, it was either water or orange or lemon squash, both warmed by the sun and drank straight from the glass bottle. For the adults of course there was tea from the flask, tea that always had that familiar flavour from spending hours in a flask, especially if it had, had the milk added when made
One day when we were at Bovisands, I remember a submarine surfacing out to see and an hour or so later it headed off to sea closely followed by a ship out of Devonport Dockyard. I never knew what it was all about, but in my young imagination it was a Russian submarine, being chased off by our brave Navy. All the while probably standing there, with a sandy, gritty, warm ham sanwich in hand!
Goodrington duck
One day, during one of those endless summer childhood days, I was taken off to Goodrington with my best friend's family to Goodrington, Devon. Les (aka Deno) remains like a brother to me to this day. We heaed off in two cars; Les' parents car and his sister and Greek brother in law and family.
I have no recollection what we did that day, but three things stick out about that day trip. Les and I had this photo taken in a photo booth, it rained and we sat in the car and I experienced duck for the first time. I think it was cold duck sandwiches. It was delicious, and I have no doubt it is the reason I love roast duck to this day
If you have never had roast duck, you are missing a treat. It is succulent, juicy, tender and delicious. Especially when you get that skin nice and crispy. And if you like potatoes roasted with duck fat, then from an average sized duck you will get approx 500ml of fat rendered down off it.
My favourite way of eating duck is the way I have eaten it many a time in Chinese restaurants and on my trips to China. My simplified version of this classic dish is below.
recipe - roast duck
001 pc duck
recipe - method of preparation
Pre-heat oven to 220C. Using a skewer or the tip of a small sharp knife, gently pierce the skin all over, especially any thick, fatty areas. Ensure only the skin and not the meat is pierced - this is to allow the rendered fat to escape and not the meat's juices. Rub a little oil all over the skin and generously sprinkle with salt - this will help crispen the skin.
Place into a lightly oiled roasting tray, and place into the oven. Cook for twenty minutes, turn down the heat to 180C and allow to roast for another hour. Basting every 10 minutes. After 1 hour 20 minutes, remove from the oven and carefully cut the skin that holds the leg to the breast and gently pull away to expose the thigh joint. This joint is the last point to cook; if it is bloody in apppearance, place back into the oven and cook for another 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven. In the cavity of the bird, there will be a lot of rendered fat. Very carefully tip the duck to pour it out into roasting tray. Remove the duck for carving. Strain the fat and reserve for roasting potatoes or for frying breakfast foods. This fat will also take saute potatoes to a new level of yumminess!
recipe - roast duck pekin style
001 pc duck
001 tsp salt
001 tsp chinese five spice
003 pc manderins
003 pc spring onions
002 pc carrots (small)
001 pc cucumber (small)
012 pc thin flour tortillas or similar
003 tbs hoi sin sauce
003 tbs sugar
003 tbs water
001 tbs soy sauce
001 tsp cornflour
recipe - method of preparation
prepare and roast the duck as above, but rub the skin with the salt and the five spice and place two of the manderins cut in half into the cavity. When cooked, allow to cool slightly and carefully remove all the crisp skin and cut into long strips. Pull all the flesh off the carcasse and slice or cut into strips also.
Peel the manderin, cut the skin into very fine strips (julienne) and cover with boiling water and allow to sit until cold. Drain.
Cut the spring onions (both green and white), the peeled carrots and the peeled cucumber into approx. 10cm long pieces, then cut into thin strips, (the carrot is best completed by shaving off strips/ribbons with a peeler and then into strips with a knife)
Combine the hoi sin, sugar, water and soy sauce and bring to simmer, mix the cornflour with a little flour and whisk into the sauce to thicken and simmer for 1 minute (strain if required)
Wrap the pancakes in a clean, wet teat towel and place into a warm oven (160C) for 5 minutes to warm through
Serve all the prepared ingredients attractively on a serving platter and allow everyone to make up their own pancakes
Aunty Poltridge wasn't a real aunty, but just an elderly friend of the family. She lived just a stone throw away from Home Park, the stadium for Plymouth Argyle. So as a boy I loved going out there with dreams of being taken to a game one day, but of course with no father that was but a pipe dream.She was as far as I know, a spinster all her life and lived in her latter years, in those years that I knew her, with her sister.
As far as I remember we always went out to see her during the school holidays (and sometimes on a random school week Sunday afternoon) Where we were always treated to the most delightful afternoon tea. Tea was served in proper bone china cups and saucers and it was always piping hot and sweet, with little triangular sandwiches, cakes and biscuits were served from very posh cake stands and there was always plenty of bread and jam. The latter I always remember because she always had 'posh' jam, like Hartley's New Jam, not the run of the mill cheap stuff, but jam that had real, whole berries in it.
Home jam making is such a chore for the most part, for most people. Along with producing fresh pasta or fresh bread, for me it is a delight, a great way to invest a few hours of leisure. But I understand why people think it is too much of an effort. So here is a great little cheat, that most people when I tell them say something like; "duh, why didn't I think of that" ...
recipe - cheffies home made jam
001 cup frozen berries of choice
recipe method of production
Defrost the berries. Place into a large bowl with any juice, add the jam and combine carefully so as not to break up the berries. Spoon back into the jar and keep refrigerated.
bovi-sandwiches
Many of my childhood summer days were spent at local beaches. Usually Bovisands, but from time to time we went further afield to the likes of Cawsands in Cornwall, or Drakes Island (a small private island in Plymouth Sound) both only accessible via a ferry trip from Plymouth Barbican. If it was Drakes Island, we would spend hours exploring; beaches, caves and the maze of tunnels that run under the island. Always dreaming that we would one day find some buried treasure
Other times we would all get piled into my aunty and uncle's car and and head off for the day with all my cousins, to Bigbury. Famous for Burr Island where many a TV show or movies have been filmed, and the amazing 'tractor' that transports people to the island when needed. As can be seen by this photo, the island is fairly unique as it is close enough to the mainland, that at high tide it gets cut off by the sea. but at low tide it is easily accessible and can be walked to. I loved going here, as there was the added treat of shops, a big cafe and a penny arcade.But mainly we went to Bovisands; a beach area close to Plymouth. Sometimes with our cousins in their cars, and other times we would catch the 23 bus into town, walk down to Plymouth Barbican and catch the ferry out there. Once out there, there was either quite a hike from where the ferry dropped all the holidaymakers off, or a trek down to the beach from the carpark. Whichever it was we were all kitted out and carrying supplies for the day. Be it our swimming costumes (or bathers as we called them) all rolled up in our towels and our mask and snorkel, our lilo or our picnic for the day.
Sunscreen was unheard of, covering up was our only defence against the summer sun and even then there was no real slip, slop and slap. As a result we often got sunburnt, and had to deal with the subsequent pain and discomfort. Coming home at the end of the day, feeling that familiar burn to the skin and mum trying her best to cool us down by painting our even pinker with that all so familiar calamine lotion.
But back to the food. Whichever beach destination we ended up at, the culinary fare was the same. Chilly bins or bags were unheard of, taking ice bags to keep the food chilled was no where to be seen, I don't even remember there being any lunch boxes for the sandwiches; our picnic sandwiches were simply wrapped in paper and transported in Mum's shopping bag. Our sandwiches were usually either ham, or cheese and tomato or some god awful meat or fish paste, that invariably ended up warm, limp with the butter melted through. But by god, nothing tasted better when we got out of that water after spending hours and hours splashing around and having fun. Even if they did end up slightly crunchy from the sand on our hands. And if you wanted a drink, it was either water or orange or lemon squash, both warmed by the sun and drank straight from the glass bottle. For the adults of course there was tea from the flask, tea that always had that familiar flavour from spending hours in a flask, especially if it had, had the milk added when made
One day when we were at Bovisands, I remember a submarine surfacing out to see and an hour or so later it headed off to sea closely followed by a ship out of Devonport Dockyard. I never knew what it was all about, but in my young imagination it was a Russian submarine, being chased off by our brave Navy. All the while probably standing there, with a sandy, gritty, warm ham sanwich in hand!
Goodrington duck
One day, during one of those endless summer childhood days, I was taken off to Goodrington with my best friend's family to Goodrington, Devon. Les (aka Deno) remains like a brother to me to this day. We heaed off in two cars; Les' parents car and his sister and Greek brother in law and family.I have no recollection what we did that day, but three things stick out about that day trip. Les and I had this photo taken in a photo booth, it rained and we sat in the car and I experienced duck for the first time. I think it was cold duck sandwiches. It was delicious, and I have no doubt it is the reason I love roast duck to this day
If you have never had roast duck, you are missing a treat. It is succulent, juicy, tender and delicious. Especially when you get that skin nice and crispy. And if you like potatoes roasted with duck fat, then from an average sized duck you will get approx 500ml of fat rendered down off it.
My favourite way of eating duck is the way I have eaten it many a time in Chinese restaurants and on my trips to China. My simplified version of this classic dish is below.
recipe - roast duck
001 pc duck
recipe - method of preparation
Pre-heat oven to 220C. Using a skewer or the tip of a small sharp knife, gently pierce the skin all over, especially any thick, fatty areas. Ensure only the skin and not the meat is pierced - this is to allow the rendered fat to escape and not the meat's juices. Rub a little oil all over the skin and generously sprinkle with salt - this will help crispen the skin.
Place into a lightly oiled roasting tray, and place into the oven. Cook for twenty minutes, turn down the heat to 180C and allow to roast for another hour. Basting every 10 minutes. After 1 hour 20 minutes, remove from the oven and carefully cut the skin that holds the leg to the breast and gently pull away to expose the thigh joint. This joint is the last point to cook; if it is bloody in apppearance, place back into the oven and cook for another 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven. In the cavity of the bird, there will be a lot of rendered fat. Very carefully tip the duck to pour it out into roasting tray. Remove the duck for carving. Strain the fat and reserve for roasting potatoes or for frying breakfast foods. This fat will also take saute potatoes to a new level of yumminess!
recipe - roast duck pekin style
001 pc duck
001 tsp salt
001 tsp chinese five spice
003 pc manderins
003 pc spring onions
002 pc carrots (small)
001 pc cucumber (small)
012 pc thin flour tortillas or similar
003 tbs hoi sin sauce
003 tbs sugar
003 tbs water
001 tbs soy sauce
001 tsp cornflour
recipe - method of preparation
prepare and roast the duck as above, but rub the skin with the salt and the five spice and place two of the manderins cut in half into the cavity. When cooked, allow to cool slightly and carefully remove all the crisp skin and cut into long strips. Pull all the flesh off the carcasse and slice or cut into strips also.
Peel the manderin, cut the skin into very fine strips (julienne) and cover with boiling water and allow to sit until cold. Drain.
Cut the spring onions (both green and white), the peeled carrots and the peeled cucumber into approx. 10cm long pieces, then cut into thin strips, (the carrot is best completed by shaving off strips/ribbons with a peeler and then into strips with a knife)Combine the hoi sin, sugar, water and soy sauce and bring to simmer, mix the cornflour with a little flour and whisk into the sauce to thicken and simmer for 1 minute (strain if required)
Wrap the pancakes in a clean, wet teat towel and place into a warm oven (160C) for 5 minutes to warm through
Serve all the prepared ingredients attractively on a serving platter and allow everyone to make up their own pancakes
- smear the pancake with a little of the sauce
- neatly arrange your chosen ingredients
- roll up and enjoy
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