.
Foody requested a foodie blog.
Well, I’ve done Bananas and somewhere I’ve done Cheese. I have a song about Marrows and even Black Puddings but I can’t think of much to say about them.
So how about something close to every Englishman’s heart.
"Fish and Chips".
.
.
What is it about the phrase ‘Fish & Chips’ that produces at best a smile and at the worst a smirk? Perhaps it is perceived as a dish from the ‘North’ and eaten out of newspaper by men in cloth caps.
There is nothing inherently humorous about the word ‘fish’, whereas the word ’chip’ has a happy and cheeky sound to it. Put together, they conjure up a feeling of warmth and contentment and of course being thoroughly British.
Fish and chips would have been a weekly meal when we were kids. None of your take aways……it was fried up in the kitchen at home in deep fat or to be more precise lard.
And……yes you’ve guessed ……I still have Mom’s old chip pan. Probably older than me. It must have fried many, many hundred-weights of chips for us…..clogging up all our arteries.
(I was going to take photo of it but changed my mind).
Now there must be song somewhere extolling the virtues, the smell, the taste……but not that I could think of. I did find “Home on the Range” but perhaps not quite right.
However I did find this little song from Merseyside.
Illy-willy apple pips,
Sally Taylor’s got big hips;
Saw her knickers full of rips;
All the sailors of the ships,
Say that she’s got greasy lips
‘cos of eating Fish and Chips!
I also found an extremely long Monologue by Brian Ashurst which I have abridged greatly.
You ‘Chinese’ connoisseurs with palates fine,
May sing the joys of ‘No 59’.
You vulgar rich with wallets gaping wide
May boast the savour of Kentucky Fried.
A nobler theme awaits my trembling lips:
The merits and the praise of Fish and Chips.
It finishes……
What pen can catch the glory of this sight?
This scrumptious fish, a vision of delight?
Well-cooked and crisp, with joyful crackling hiss!
Taste and enjoy, with sighs of happy bliss!
Your natural heritage and right! The Chip!
Hot from the pan (just feel it burn your lip!)
And now my song is sadly at an end;
I must put down my pen and homeward bend,
But e’er I go, dear reader, grant my wish:
When hungry, that you’ll ask for Chips & Fish.
And of course I like to finish with a limerick.
A travelling fryer named Phipps,
Called at Heaven on one of his trips.
He quickly sold God
Ten penn’orth of Cod,
And St. Peter - two penn’orth of chips!
.
How's that Foody?
.
For days now I am unable to leave comments on Mrs Successful and Grumpy Old Ken blogs. All others seem OK.
ReplyDeleteWhat is up? Sorry to you both. I have commented but......nothing.
Aaaaahhhh.... lovely fish n chips. Did your Mum let the lard go solid and just re-use and re-use it? Mine did. I have to say I prefer them from a shop. There's no other smell or taste like it. You just can't replicate it at home.
ReplyDeleteYes, re-use it and re-use it, although she would gently warm the solid block and then lift is out of the pan and scrape all the brown burnt bits off. Wipe out the pan and stick the solid bit back in. It was stuck to the wire mesh so came out as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI love Rock and chips. I believe this is a "southern" taste. When I was living in Rutland and pregnant, I fancied rock and chips and couldnt buy it anywhere. Someone told me, Northeners regard rock salmon as a dirty fish, because of it's slightly grey flesh.
ReplyDeleteNow you have gone and made me feel hungry!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, the old lard!
ReplyDeleteI remmeber that as well, used over and over again.
It always reminds me of the soap. yes soap!
when I was living at home money was short and we lived on a tight budget, so, when the soap got low it was always wrapped around another bar so you had one mesy blob all of different colours.when it got wet it just dissolved.
YUK!
it wasn't for years later, I told my mum about this, how we laughed!
She had no idea how much I hated it, but as I said I never said anything because I knew money was short and rather the blob than nothing.
But, what a thrill when we bathed and had a new bar of soap!!!
oh yes, and I love fish and chips as well!
ReplyDeleteAh!One of life's great delights.The best shop I ever found is at Skinningrove in North Yorkshire.Their potato fritters are to die for..no not that much cholestrol just good old fashioned taste.
ReplyDeleteLove to see a blog on Yorkshire puddins Bernard!
I wish you could hear my laughter for a possible photo of "clogged arteries" and the Merseyside song. And, with CherryPie, I'm hungry now. I discovered Fish and Chips in my mid-twenties, when I moved from French Canada to English Canada. The smell is heavenly. The best ones in Toronto are from a British Pub. Thanks for a fun post.
ReplyDeleteCherie: You had better rush off down to the 'chippy' with Annette then.
ReplyDeleteHi Annette, we did exactly the same thing with those little bits of soap. In fact if I remember correctly you could buy a little gadget that you stuck the small pieces of soap to.
I can't remember if there was a shortage of soap in 1950's?
You better go with Cherry Pie down to the Chippy too!
Hi Liz, I expect it was because the best batter is made in Yorkshire.
I am no expert on Yorkshire Puddings I'm afraid.
I'm glad you liked this one Claudia. I love to dig out these little rhymes and publish them. It would be a shame to lose them. Some I remember myself, but not those from other parts of the country (like Merseyside).
I got that Javascript:void(0) message here also.....but it seems to work OK. Perhaps it has something to do with typing in the word verification.
ReplyDeleteReally at a loss.
I've forgotten if I asked you if you tried PB in an ordinary sandwhich, and if I did ask, I've forgotten where I asked it and have forgotten the reply. I'll forget my head one day!
ReplyDeleteNo you didn't ask. Kath did however, and she suggested putting it in a sandwich with mashed banana. I did't try it as I had eaten all the PB off the end of a knife!
ReplyDeleteYou ate it all off the knife?! Hooray! Well, you must have liked it then. It's lovely, isn't it? You are now initiated. I must say I prefer it unadulterated by any other ingredient except bread and toast.
ReplyDeleteWell done!
It's OK but I'm afraid it's not the sort of thing I would have on my shopping list every week. Did you hear about that chap who was not allowed to take jar on a flight? They thought it might be explosive! He offer to eat it but they wouldn't even let him do that. They confiscated it.
ReplyDeleteWhat exactly kind of fish do you use in your area for fried fish? Being a life long Alaskan, beer battered fish and chips is a much beloved recipe in many homes. Halibut is the best fish to use, coated in a delicious Beer batter. Reading your food blog has given me my dinner menu for tomorrow eve. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Kim, I shall do a post on fish for you tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteCheers.....Bernard