cheers pommyjohn1 - fancy it being drunk since 1265!I was drinking it in the 1960s so quite there at the beginning!It looks like you can still get it - I think Mum used to get Hills!I suppose that company is long gone.
samanya,
Aug 23, 6:58pm
Thanks for that interesting read.
knitaddict,
Aug 23, 7:45pm
My mum used to bake oven bottom muffins when I was little - I remember her putting a bowl of water in the oven as well, something to do with the steam keeping them from rising too much.
esther-anne,
Aug 24, 2:08am
We used to regard Dandelion and Burdock as the poor man's sarsaparilla-it being inferior in our not so humble opinions LOL!And like pommyjohn says - the latter came in gorgeous brown stone jars and we used to have it delivered once a week to our place. The next week Mum would hand the empty bottle over and get a new one.We also had ice cream delivered - Mum used to take a large white jug out to the ice cream van and we could only get enough for one day - we had no fridge!
knitaddict - that's interesting - I don't recall if my Mum did that or not!I have the right flour now so will be making them shortly.
nfh1,
Aug 24, 2:28am
LOL - there was no difference between D& B and Sasp in our house, they both came in glass bottles from the Pop Shop!
esther-anne,
Aug 24, 5:01am
Hehe nfh1-I suspect I am decades older than you!No pop shops then.But that HAS reminded me of something quite interesting.When I was about 12 my Mum used to send me to the chippy and along with the pudding and chips she always wanted "that nice orange juice".And believe it or not that nice orange juice was called Kia Ora and it came from New Zealand.I had to get out my map book to find out where NZ was.lol! That was about a year after the war endedand I can only assume now that NZ was exporting to the UK as we still had very tough rationing at that time and fruit was hard to come by.
biddy6,
Aug 24, 9:47pm
Greetings all! Thanks for your get well wishes - much appreciated! I am so damned mad at myself!I am now on good medication for the Rheumatoid and only last week, after a couple of minor slides on the snow, kept telling myself to slow down or I'll come a croppa.I'm so not used to being able to do things at a normal pace and lately my legs have been working faster than the brain ;-)Well, last Thursday I was on my way to check the sheep and was walkiing along the verhanda looking up at the paddock for frollicking lambs when I slipped on the wet from rain, top step, and canned down the rest :-(Initially I thought it just a sprain andmanaged a couple of trips up stairs for shower and leg shave before the Dr's appointment in the late afternoon.It's actually a nasty break and I'm to keep the leg elevated for the next week, and not to put any weight on it for the next 5 weeks!The stitches come out next Thurs. and all going well I'll be able to have leg down and get around more easily.
It brings a smile to my dial reading of the pleasure your David has got out of the thread too, Esther :-)
There'll be few delicious delicacies coming from my dear man, Elliehen as his motto is 'can't cook - won't cook' ! lol.But, tonight with verbal help from me,he is going to attempt one of our easy to cook favourites, sweet & sour satay beef with rice.We've had lovely friends dropping tasty eats in too so we won't starve ;-)
We too now have all the ingredients to make OBM, so between us will give them a go at the weekend.One of our ex-Londoner friends who visited yesterday remembers similar muffins, thinks she has a recipe, and is going to try a batch cooked in her coal range.
Will email you soon John, but right now I need to go stretch out.
elliehen,
Aug 25, 1:43am
Exquisite!
Look after that leg, biddy.Keep your leg up and bark out orders to your kitchen hand.Pretend you're Gordon Ramsay ;)
nfh1,
Aug 25, 3:46am
biddy so good to see you - look after yourself.
The photo is amazing.
nfh1,
Aug 25, 3:50am
LOL - the only place I remember seeing Kia Ora was at the cinema, the usherettes (is that what they were called) used to come in the break between the films and sell that and ice cream.It was in a plastic carton with ribbed sides and tasted like very sweet cordial I think.
samanya,
Aug 25, 6:59am
That photo is a prize winner! She should enter that in the Ellerslie Photo competition ot the like. I'm a lurker in this thread .but best wishes for a hassle free recovery.
biddy6,
Aug 27, 9:09pm
Hi All! Just popping in to say I'm still in the land of the living and hanging out to try oven bottom muffins!
Pleased you got some enjoyment from daughters photo - she's just getting into photography and living on a high country station has no end of good subjects to work with.Will look into the Ellerslie photo competitionsamanya - thanks for tip.
Hubby is doing a wonderful job of looking after me and running the home.And, he cooked a beautiful roast beef dinner last night!
He's just moved the ewes and lambs to a paddock nearer the house so I can see them out the window - oh the babes are so cute and have grown so much in 10 days!He tells me another old girl is looking like lambing soon.She's got a huge belly so I hope she doesn't produce triplets as we don't need a lamb to bottle feed if she doesn't have enough milk for three!
Not likely to get OBMuffins made here this weekend as hubbys hasn't had any relaxing time to himself yet, but maybe we'll get some made during the week.
elliehen,
Sep 18, 4:44am
I've resurrected this thread because I have a book in the Salmon series (Yorkshire Teatime Recipes) with a recipe for Oven Bottom Cake in it, and thought others might be interested.
OVEN BOTTOM CAKE
Originally this dough cake was made with surplus dough left over from breadmaking.It is eaten hot with butter and/or jam.
1 & 1/2 lb strong white flour 2 teaspoons salt 1/2 oz fresh yeast 2 & 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar 15 fl oz tepid water 4 oz lard, diced
Grease and flour a baking sheet.Cream the yeast with the sugar and a little of the tepid water and leave to stand until frothy. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and pour in the yeast mixture and the remaining water and mix to a smooth dough.Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.Return to the lightly greased or floured bowl, cover with a clean cloth and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled in size.When risen, knock back the dough and knead lightly for 2 to 3 minutes.Next, push the diced lard into the dough and knead, using the knuckle.The dough will be lumpy.Press out into a round and place on the baking sheet.Cover and leave to prove until risen.Meanwhile, set oven to 425*F or Mark 7.Bake for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 375*F or Mark 5 and bake for about another 35 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
biddy6,
Sep 18, 6:57pm
Thanks elliehen!Have been wondering if anyone has made these yet.I'm able to have leg down for half hour at a time now without it swelling too much so will see if I can get hubby interested in making some soon.I have a friend who mills organic wheat - she's always asking me if I'd like some so I'll take her up on her offer and use some in these.I will divide the dough in the above 'cake' recipe into smaller muffin type shapes.
Other friends, (pommies) have bought us some sherbert dips from the English lolly shop in Timaru and hope to come down to visit next weekend - it would be great to serve them some OBMuffins in return, aye!
elliehen,
Sep 20, 4:37am
Pleased to know you're on the mend, biddy.I hope you get your wish!
nellbee,
Sep 20, 4:48am
The things you learn - and the places you go - in these threads! I sound like a Dr Seuss book, but it's fascinating.
biddy6,
Aug 10, 2:21am
Hubby, (export from Oldham,Lancashire)is hanging out for some Oven Bottom Muffins.Does anyone have a recipe, please! Naturally I've googled and recipes for them are like hens teeth!
I did find one that I'll try at a UK website of the said muffins name, but still very interested in learning of others. This recipe states 1 sachet of dried yeast - how many grams or teaspoons would that be! TIA
esther-anne,
Aug 11, 3:22am
Huge hug to your hubby biddy if I'm allowed-I'm also from Oldham - and I have never found a good oven bottom muffin recipe - they are soooo lovely, I'm drooling!
Will follow closely to see if we can get an authentic Lancashire one!
davidt4,
Aug 11, 3:28am
I hadn't heard of these so did a Google search.There is a Facebook page devoted to them which has this recipe:
Thanks so much for that link davidt4.Looks like a work of art to produce those if, like me, one no longer has a powerful mixer!
Still and all I think I'll give them a go with manual power!Rather old manual power - could take a while - or, with your broad knowledge would you recommend not trying them without a mixer. dough hook etc!
davidt4,
Aug 11, 4:01pm
I don't think you will need a mixer as long as you're prepared to do a bit of kneading.It looks like a plain bread dough with the addition of a little fat, so nothing to worry about.Bread doughs are very good tempered as long as you develop the gluten by kneading for at least 10 minutes.
biddy6,
Aug 11, 10:55pm
LOL esther-anne.Hugs back from Hubby, and he wants to know if you're the girl he used to walk home from the baths with, chewing oven bottom muffins bought for a ha'penny, from the bakery on Heron St!LOL
He got a bit nostaligic ( not that he'd ever move back to England) seeing the riots on tele and looked for his old haunts on google earth.His old school that was near Heron St is no longer there (think he said that was demolished about the time he started college) neither are the 'baths'.
He still likes some of the old tucker every now'n again and I enjoy making it for him.I had to stop making eccles cakes though as once started on them he couldn't ration the buggers out and the lb's started going on!We love a traditonal Meat & Potato Pie in winter.
I also don't own a machine that kneads, but hubby's offered to help with that part of making some OBM's, once I get some lard. We live rural but don't keep pigs anymore (such a shame) and shop once every few weeks in the city, so they'll have to wait.We want to try our hand at OBM's asap!Funny how there's really only the one recipe on the net, aye!
Thanks davidt, we had a giggle when we found theLancashire Oven Bottom Muffins Appreciation Society, especially when one blokes story of where he bought his, was near identical to my man's!
Be sure to let's know how yours turn out, esther-anne and I'll do the same :-)
.
esther-anne,
Aug 15, 3:26am
Oopsie biddy-sorry I'm late getting back - had a lousy cold for a few days and not doing much thinking about food at all.
Tell hubby that I'm rather long in the tooth - been here 44 years - and much as I might have liked it I am very unlikely to be the girl he walked home from the baths-I did go to the baths but mainly the Royton baths, I was born in Royton but quite near Oldham, near the Latics, I'm sure he'll know where that is.There was a bakery right behind us! 'My' Oldham was in the days of the huge fabulous Saturday open market, Granellis icecream, stalls selling all sorts of crockery amongst other things, and the 'covered' market adjacent where you got hot 'Vimto' or hot Oxo in the winter.Lovely stuff.
Enough nostalgia!Back to topic-I make Potato Pie at least once a month - with HP sauce - and yes, eccles cakes too - though I use bought frozen puff pastry these days - I make fiddly quite small ones and they get demolished almost immediately.
Yep - I'm up for the oven-bottoms- and hell I only have to drive to the supermarket to get the lard, such a townie! Iwill let you know how they go of course.Probably try them this weekend.Will this qualify us all for Master Chef I ask myself!Lol!
Many thanks to you david from me too and for going to trouble to find that delightful Appreciation Society piece - I have noticed too that your opinion/advice on just about anything is very respected on this forum so I appreciate your comments.
esther-anne,
Aug 15, 4:36am
Hi nfh1-Clitheroe is a pleasant little place isn't it!I just remember vaguely from a school day trip to Clitheroe Castle in a charabanc!
I make my potato pie mainly with suet crust pastry - I usually have a packet of shredded suet in the fridge because we also like stew and dumplings!If I have no suet I just make a short crust pastry - my Mum always made it with a short crust.It's just so simple, so tasty and satisfying, real comfort food!Used to love it with pickled red cabbage but I have never found any in NZ to my liking and my only attempt at making it was a dismal failure.I often make Lancashire Hot Pot too!Old habits die hard lol!
biddy6,
Aug 15, 6:51pm
Hi there esther-anne, nfh1 and pommyjohn My old boy is long in the tooth too esther-anne - he came out as a 17 year old in '66!He chuckled when reading your post as he remembers well all the places and names you mention.
I too used the bought pastry for my eccles but after creating wee ones the first few times I made them, I took to making it as one large one slice and dividing it up when/if it wasn't eaten before it cooled!Less pastry to be consumed by hubby ;-)
nfh1 dumplings - yumm!Good on you using suet :-)Personally I think natural fats like suet, lard and butter are much better for your health than oils that have been processed to death.I used to keep Jersey cows and raise a few beefies so we ate our own meat, drank raw milk/cream and made our own butter and some cheeses, for many years.We just run a few sheep on our new property.
Have googled Hollands Pudding pommyjohn and once again can't find a recipe - is it a steak and kidney pie that is steamed!The images for it look very tasty!
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