Nothing beats Champed Potatoes

John Mactaggart, writing in 1824, described a Galloway dish that could not be beaten.

CHAMPED POTATOES – Mashed potatoes in milk and butter; one of the very best of dishes. I defy the most skillful French cook that ever lived, to make a dish of a more delicious nature; and no confectioner's shop in the kingdom has anything to compare with them: they are truly glorious belly trimmer.

From: The Scottish Gallovidian Encyclopedia, by John MacTaggart. First Edition 1824. Second Edition 1876., London, Hamilton, Adams and Co. Glasgow: Thomas D Morrison.

Wigtown's market will be back in town from Saturday, March 19, which is good news for food lovers in particular. With an excellent fresh vegetable stall and local farmers and producers selling their food there is always plenty to tempt. The cake stalls are a particular temptation. The market is held next to the market cross - as it has been for hundreds of years.

Emergency haggis recipe

You know what it's like, some days you are just so rushed off your feet that you don't have time to make a proper haggis, or perhaps you have run out of sheeps' stomachs.

Here's a quick recipe for haggis that should keep the family satisfied.

Half a pound of ox liver
4 ounces of shredded suet
4 ounces of pinhead oatmeal
one onion
black pepper
salt

Put the liver in a pan with the chopped onion and teacup of water and boil for about a quarter of an hour. Toast the oatmeal in the oven until it goes light brown. Then mince up the liver and onion and make the liquid back up to a cup with more water. Mix everything together with the seasoning. Put into a covered greased bowl and steam for two hours.

No more no haggis misery!

Stuffed Sausages and Baked Bean Flan

Simple recipes are the best – and they don't get much simpler than the recipes for stuffed sausages and for baked bean flan. These come from a recipe book probably published about 50 years ago to raise money for the building of a new church hall.

Stuffed Sausages: For the stuffing – quarter of a tsp of breadcrumbs, one ounce of margarine, 1 desertspoon of chopped parsley, one tsp of finely chopped onion, one egg yolk. Also – half a pound of sausages and four rashers of bacon.

Method: Melt marg and add all stuffing ingredients together. Make cut the length of each sausage, taking care not to cut through completely. Fill with stuffing. Remove rind from bacon and wrap rasher round each sausage. Bake at 425F or mark 6 for 20 to 30 minutes.

Baked Bean Flan: Six ounces of shortcrust pastry, one tin of baked beans, one medium onion sliced, four ounces of chopped and cooked bacon, two large potatoes cooked and sliced, grated cheese.

Method: Line a tin approximately two and a half inches deep with shortcrust pastry. Cover bottom of tin with baked beans. Add a layer of sliced onion, a layer of bacon and a layer of sliced potato. Cover top with grated cheese and cook in oven for 30-40 minutes.

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Political potatoes

Spring is springing

With the snowdrops, narcissus and crocus flowers providing banks of white and of colour, the new gardening and growing season is soon soon to start and so it is also time to revive this blogspot, says Sharon.

“I'm looking forward to getting cracking, even though I've got about the smallest garden in the world I've got great plans,” says Sharon.

A visit to a garden centre at the weekend saw row after row of seed potatoes on offer. In a tiny garden there isn't a lot of room for a potato field but Sharon's sister, Deborah, has kindly given her a plastic/fabric bag which is specially designed to grow potatoes. The idea is that you put a bit of soil on the bottom, add half a dozen seed potatoes and when the shoots grow through, add more soil. Carry on like this until the top of the bag is reached.

Apparently, it's best to plant potatoes in this area in April, when the threat of frosts has receded. But the potatoes are on sale now at the start of March, so they will have to be put away for a month or so. This will let the little shoots develop.

A bewildering display of potato varieties was on offer at the garden centre. We chose two types, with political connections – Gladstone and Lord Rosebery. Gladstone was the distinguished Victorian Prime Minister and Lord Rosebery took over from him when he retired in 1894. However, Rosebery didn't seem to enjoy being PM very much and he resigned in June 1895.

Rosebery came from a distinguished Scottish background and went to Eton and Oxford. At Christ Church he bought a racehorse and was told that undergraduates were not allowed to do this. He was offered the choice of giving up the horse or his studies and so gave up the latter. He had thee ambitions, to become Prime Minister, marry an heiress and win the Derby. He achieved all three, marrying the greatest heiress in Britain, Hannah, the only child of Baron Meyer de Rothschild. He won the Derby three times. Rosebery owned 12 homes, including the magnificent Dalmeny estate, near Edinburgh, which he used for political house parties.

One source says that not much is known about the Rosebery Potato but it is believed to have been grown at Dalmeny. It is a heritage variety and is said to be well suited for boiling, mashing and roasting. The Gladstone Potato was “first listed” in 1930, although it was thought to be the most popular variety in Ireland. It is a “creamy-fleshed potato with a great floury texture.”

Fine fish and chips

With the uncertain weather of early autumn, and recent days of wind and rain, when the sun shines it's time to get out and about before winter really sets in.

Yesterday, Sharon visited Kirkudbright. Though most famous as an artists' town, with many famous artists having lived, and living, there, the little port is also a great place for good food. Down by the harbour you can find the Portabites fish and chip shop and there is a great menu of fish and seafood landed by the fishing boats that are tied up only a few feet away in the harbour.

The waters of the Solway Firth are a great place for scallops but, sadly, most of those harvested are immediately sent to the gourmets of Spain and France. But at Portabites they are an important part of the menu. On offer are King scallops in a lightly curried cream sauce and Queen scallops in white wine and cream. Also amongst the seafood choices are mussels simmered in tomato garlic and wine and a big seafood platter served with oatcakes.

Lovers of fish and chips will be delighted to find that there are haddock, cod, whiting, lemon, sole and plaice, to eat with the lovely fresh fried potato chips. A notice gives encouragement to those thinking of healthy eating. We learn that the average portion of fish and chips has fewer calories and at least half the fat of a cheese and tomato pizza; the average serving of chips contains more than double the amount of fibre found in an average serving of brown rice or a bowl of porridge; an average serving of fish and chips has only half the trans-fat found in a typical burger and fries; fish and chips has no added salt – other fast foods can contain up to three times the daily recommended allowance of 6g of salt.

The wheelchair pusher immediately ordered haddock and chips, with mushy peas. Sharon, went for the smoked haddock fish cakes, with new potatoes and salad. Both were delicious.

Next to the cafe is the shop which sells fresh seafood and fish. There were stuffed crabs, whole fish, mussels, oysters, kippers and a whole range of beautifully prepared fillets of fish. There are also tempting vegetables on sale and we picked up half a pound of fresh red chillies.

Definitely a place to return to. Portabites fish and chip shop, Harbour Square, Kirkudbright, DG6 4HY. Telephone 01 557 339 050. Robert and Margeret Maxwell, proprietors.

While in Kirkudbright, be sure to visit the wonderful Stewartry Museum in an old Victorian building in St Mary Street. Check opening hours by telephoning 01557 331 643. Admission is free. For more information on Kirkudbright see www.kirkudbright.co.uk.

Locals pronounce the name of their town as “Kirkcoobree.” Wonder why?

www.sharonskitchenworld.blogspot.com

Sometimes you have to stop

Not every beautiful day is a sunny day. This picture was taken on the west side of Wigtown Bay on a blustery day when the wind was strong and blowing up white horses on the sea. There were spatters of rain on the car windscreen and the leaves on the trees were being blown about by the gusts. We stopped the car and to enjoy the view, which was described to Sharon. Sometimes you just have to stop, life isn't just all rushing everywhere.

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