chapter XXV - mamon wellman cooks 01

Happy Mother's Day, Mum xox

There is of course no better time to commence a series of blogs about Mamon Wellman's (nee Prowse) culinary prowess, than just before Mother's Day. At which each year, she always received our home made card from us kids and tea and toast in bed. Home made cards, that she squirreled away and kept. Mum was the ultimate sentimental hoarder. 

No recipes this week, instead just some of my food related memories of the great lady .......

Sweet Fanny Adams more than Fanny Craddock
I have already alluded to the fact my mother, was not exactly what you would call a home cook. Never big into the home baking of biscuits and cakes and the likes, or into spending hours in the kitchen. Our meals growing up, were simple meat and two veg, a philosophy mum held all her life. But we always had a choice at dinner time, "like it or lump it" was one of mum's favourite sayings! 

No matter what the situation, we always came home from school to a hot, cooked meal. If we asked what was dinner as soon as we walked in the door, the reply from her was usually the same "thit and treacle" :-)

I say no matter what, because times would have been tough for my mother, bringing up three kids as a widow in the UK in the 60' and 70's. There was no massive government hand outs as there are now. Just how tight things were I did not fully realise, did not find out until much later in life.As kids we didn't take much notice when mum said she wasn't hungry, was feeling poorly etc as the reason she wan't eating. We didn't take it under our radar when we got home that things were missing (had been sold off). Mum provided, she always ensured we were warm, clothed and fed. We never went hungry. 

I grew up knowing we were loved, I grew up with the most happiest of childhoods. Mum was a shining jewel, and loved by all who has the honour to come into contact with her. God bless her ........ she never batted an eyelid when our friends invited themselves to stay. Even when in my teenage years, she would wake up to fine spare bodies asleep in the lounge or on a few occasions, asleep in the bath! (you know who you are!)

mum's favourites
She didn't like anything fancy, taking her out for a meal later in life one could almost lay one's life on the line and bet she would have steak and chips. The steak always (to my horror) well done. It could be as dry as the Sahara Desert, as charred as coal and she would love it. Her other great culinary joy was good old fashioned fish and chips, the other great stand by if we ever went out.

Later in her life, she loved nothing more than a trip to the seaside, an hour or so in a penny arcade and a fish and chip dinner, with a nice cup of tea and some bread and butter. I am pictured hear with Mum, in the last year of her life, on one such trip to Looe, Cornwall. I had returned on holiday from New Zealand where I had recently had all my hair shaved off for a cancer charity and it was a cold, cold winter's day. We are pictured outside the local fish shop, and just to turn the childhood tables on her, I had just bought her a bucket and spade, plus a net to go fishing.

But for some reason; maybe the howling gale and lashing rain or maybe just her fraility, she declined and wanted to go to the pub instead!

what mum cooked
The following few months of chapters will mostly feature dishes mum would frequently serve to us as kids. Mostly just dishes I remember, many for no particular reason and no attached memories. In subsequent chapters, I will not only describe dishes and memories attached to them, but also give notes on the main ingredients and then give both mum's recipe for them and then follow it with my refined version of each. But lets just kick off with some basics ......

cheese and biscuits

If ever there was a plate of food that my mother would happily devour any time of the day, whatever the circumstance, whether well or poorly, was cheese and biscuits. Mum loved cheese. Is it any wonder then that I turned out to be a cheeseaholic and my sister's son ended up working on the Wallace & Gromit series?

Cheddar was the staple, accompanied by Jacob Cream Crackers, with either pickled onions, branston pickle or pickled beetroot. But she loved most cheeses (within reason) and unusually for a plain eater loved blue cheeses. I remember going shopping with her as a child, going into Woolworth's and standing there gobsmacked at all the cheeses on offer, as mum ordered her quarter pound of delicious crumbly textured cheddar.

When I was staying with for her towards the end of her life, more often than not we would share a supper consisting of a slab of cheese (never grated or sliced thin), two pickled onions, a packet of crisps and a nice cuppa.

bangers and mash

Good ole bangers and mash, what more could a kid wish for, for dinner, when they come home from school wet and cold during the winter? Quick, easy, tasty and filling. Which is why probably it always seemed to be the signature dish of every scout troop in the UK, well it was when I was growing up. 

I have very fond memories of peeling spuds for the mash and a big pot of baked beans simmering away ready for when we had all cooked out own sausages over the open fire. There is nothing like, nothing more satisfying than hearing the sizzle of sausages, no better aroma than a banger cooking over an open fire. Sometimes we even cooked them impaled on a stick and sat there holding them in the flames (I bet health and safety wouldn't allow the cubs to do that these days)


hamburgers

Nothing special here, apart from it holding special memories for me as one of my favourite 'home cooked' meals. No flash burger bun, no pickle, tomato, lettuce or special sauce. The bun was a crispy crust bread roll, the meat pattie was either freshly made by out local butcher down the road or Cap'n Bird's Eye frozen ones and essentially that was it. It was simply good honest food, cooked and served with love and a firm favourite.

next week - mum's passion with "on toast" .......