Frumetty, Frummenty, Frumettie, Firmetty & Furmenty

Every year I try to eat slightly more frugally throughout the first few weeks of December, and by that I mean consume slightly less food than normal.     It works for me, although I do know that other people think "what the heck..." and decide to eat what like through December and make January the time for a fresh start, and that works, too.   

I prefer to regard the Christmas feasting, as a reward for being 'good'(ish!).

Why am I telling you this?   To set my food experiment into context.    I knew that I wanted to try cooking some of the many variations on Lincolnshire foods - and goodness knows that there are lots to choose from:

Lincolnshire Cheeses  (Stamford and Gainsborough used to hold Cheese Fairs)
Lincolnshire Plum Bread - Yeasted and Non-Yeasted
Lincolnshire Rich Plum Bread & also Plum Puddings
Lincolnshire Ginger Bread
Lincolnshire Curd Cheese Cakes and Cream Cheese
Lincolnshire Stuffed Chine
Lincolnshire Sausages
Lincolnshire Hazelets/Haslets/Haselets
Lincoln Monkey
and let us not forget the mighty
Lincolnshire Pork Pie.

Henry VIII may have had a low regard for Lincolnshire, which I believe he once described as 'the most brute and beastly of the whole realm', or words to that effect.   But what did he know of this glorious county and our local dishes.

Of course I wanted something to fit in with my sensible eating, but also something I could have a bit of fun with.    Plum bread, Gingerbread and Lincoln monkey would have been fun, but very calorific.   I settled on Frumetty, Frumenty, Frumettie, Firmetty, Fermety, Furmenty, Furmety - or however you wish to spell it, I have come across all of these, and more.

The basic dish remains the same though.   It has been eaten since man cultivated grains.   Some make it with wheat, others with barley, while some recipes call for groats or pin head oats.    There are poorman's versions, rich ones, creamy ones and special festive recipes (which I will make nearer to Christmas). 

It was once sold by stall holders at country fairs and the basic recipe remains very much like the pottage which the Roman soldiers made over their camp fires.   In the Lincolnshire Wolds it was traditionally eaten at sheepshearing time, at harvest time, and was also a traditional Christmas Eve dish.

It is, in essence, a kind of porridge.   Now porridge is something which I do eat almost every day.   So with a little bit of planning I can try out the many variations on a theme which my old recipes books have to offer - and I can eat them without any sense that I am over indulging before the official feasting begins.

Perfect!

The first problem I hit was that I didn't have any whole wheat grains in the pantry.   Never mind, I did have barley, so I made Barley Pudding instead.    It was so delicious that my husband pinched most of it, and he had been pretty scathing about my experiment to begin with!

Barley Pudding

2 tbsp pearl barley plus water to cree*
1 pint milk
Honey or Sugar if you want sweetness
A knob of butter if you want to make it slightly richer (I didn't)

Cree the barley in water until soft - approx 2 hours - you can drain off any surplus water to make barley water, if liked.    Put the barley into a saucepan, or your slow-cooker, with sugar, butter, milk and cook very gently for about an hour.   



To *Cree:  Cook the wheat/barley in water in a slow oven for several hours or overnight - I used my slow cooker on a low setting - until it more or less forms a jelly.

Powder Puffs and Catkins

As I drove into Lincoln seven of the Red Arrows were zooming through
the skies in a large 'V' formation.
Spectacular.
Lincoln Cathedral was their backdrop.

Fabulous start to the day!

The day has been cold, with an icy, biting wind.

Cold or not, dogs need their walks.   
Wrap up well, don thick socks, sensible footwear, gloves and a scarf.

Up the lanes, down the hill, past the little church, down by the old farm,

then along the river bank.

Cold, but dry.


Better than elsewhere, at least we don't have snow.

Good clean air and a bit of exercise
beautiful scenery
interesting buildings.

I enjoyed the walk, and so did Toby.

Home again.


A quick rub down with a towel
one dog biscuit
and a snooze for him,

a cup of tea and a browse through this book, for me.

Published in 1938, it was written by a man,
under the pseudonym of  'Aunt Kate'.

It is dated, tooth-achingly 'nice', but interesting.

One page for every day of the year.
A handy hint, a recipe, and a word of cheer.
All written as WWII was approaching.

Think 'Brief Encounter'.


Train Journey Tips

A very important article on a train journey is your ticket, 
use a handbag that provides a little compartment where you can put your ticket 
without fear of whisking it out with your powder puff.
Wear an invisible net over your hair to preserve its set on a railway journey.
Use a much heavier foundation or powder base than usual
to protect your skin from dust and dirt.
Carry a thick wad of cotton wool and a bottle of complexion milk.
The milk will clean up your skin and leave it as fresh as after a thorough wash-up.
If you are addicted(?) to headaches when travelling by train
carry frozen eau de cologne or lavender water.



Here is a cheery little note about Spring.

It is too soon to talk of springtime yet.
Before the bright and sunny days are with us there must be cruel days - cold and harsh.
But we are travelling towards the spring.
That unfailing process of revival is beginning.
Take courage.
Below the cold ground, under the sodden leaf, within the branch which seems so dead,
life is moving.
The days grow longer, the nights grow shorter.
January is done, and February is almost with us.
The spring will come and with all its singing birds
and we shall be glad!

How true this is.

I have spent a lot of time, this last week, working in Owl Wood, spring cleaning the woodland floor of all the branches and sticks which have fallen during the last few months.      Sounds easy, but it takes a lot of time and effort.

This foreground of this photograph shows what I have collected, it may help if I tell you that that heap of sticks and branches is between five and six feet high,all hauled up to an area where they can be crunched up to make some wonderful wood chip for the pathways and gardens.    Recycling.

The woodland floor is coming to life.   There are snowdrops everywhere, the early signs of the bluebells to come

and, most excitingly, the very earliest signs of the wild garlic!  Tiny, thread-like green strands, pinch them between your fingers and the smell of garlic is already in them.

One of the reasons I wanted to get the woodland floor cleaned up and ready, was so that I could watch the garlic grow, without danger of damaging plants by dragging fallen branches through them.

Spring is just around the corner.    All the trees and shrubs are preparing themselves.    It will happen.

Stay warm, stay safe, stay cheerful.

x

Steampunk: Be Nice to One Another

We hadn't realised that the annual Steampunk Festival was to take place this weekend, but we soon cottoned on when we saw people dressed in the most wonderfully stylish and individual outfits.   These two women were enjoying a chat by the side of the cathedral.  I didn't get them from their best angle, but I didn't want to interrupt their conversation, although I know that I would only have been met with smiles and politeness.

Steampunk began as a title for a particular genre of science fiction, but it has broadened, it is the label for a style of dressing which combines historical fashion and accessories which could have come from the Victorian era, they are mostly quite romantic and often very individual indeed.   
   

Hundreds of Steampunks were walking around Lincoln, all were delighted with the attention they were receiving. 

The man and girl in the previous photograph, and this woman with a little boy, were a family group and were happy for me to photograph them as they walked up the middle section of Steep Hill. 

These two were at the bottom of the hill, they would certainly have felt the chilly breeze blowing around their legs, but they were having a great time.

The top of the hill was a little busier and it was difficult to get a clear shot of costumes, but I liked the way this woman had done her hair to echo the colours of her dress and also the costumes which the other Steampunks were wearing, pith helmets, old furs, every one of them beautifully turned out and feeling fabulous.

This woman was patiently posing for a serious photographer to get snapping.

Quite different from most of the others were these two.    I loved her outfit, it was made from an assortment of old ties.       They had gone for a slightly different approach and they looked superb.   I asked whether they would mind me taking a photograph and they very happily put down their supermarket shopping bags and posed in front of the cathedral. 

I have just read that there is one rule for Steampunk:  Be Nice to One Another.   They were all embracing that, the atmosphere was superb.

This, that and the other.

As we parked at the top of the hill,  next to the castle and the cathedral, the clock began striking the hour, loud and sonorous.

It was cold, but bright and dry, perfect for walking down Steep Hill and into the High Street.   A short walk along the canal and then cut along the side of the High Bridge.
It's the oldest bridge in UK which still has buildings on it.  It was built around 1160 AD.
This photograph shows the back of the building.

We were heading out for a quick look at the marina.

It was good to see that narrowboats are also moored here, so perhaps The Writer may be able to bring his narrowboat across the country and moor here one day soon.    This would be a lovely place to meet up and perhaps go for a jolly jaunt along the canal.

Max disappeared to a bookshop/coffee shop, a good place to rest quietly while I got down to a little light shopping.

I was in M&S with an armful of items which I wanted to try on, when a fellow customer asked me whether I had a voucher... she gave me a 20% discount voucher which can be used multiple times over the next few days, it can even be handed on to friends and family for them to take advantage of the discount!

I was very chuffed indeed.    I still stuck to buying the two jumpers which were on my list, great to find that I got them discounted by so much though.   So kind of her.

We had lunch out - it was pleasant, but that is about the best I can say.  The food was very average, the coffee was tepid and the service was poor.    Oh, well, can't win them all.  We took a steady walk back up Steep Hill (which is VERY steep, by the way, a one in seven gradient for one section) and for once we didn't take any breaks for a breather.

Dobson and the cats had been well looked-after by Hector and Merry, they'd played so much 'fetch' with him that eventually he picked up the ball and asked to be let back into the house!

*     *     *

This afternoon we hosted a little tea party.   Max and I have been married 40 years this month.   He's not in the best of health at the moment, so a holiday is not really on the cards.  Still, we wanted to celebrate so we invited Alice, Richard, their children, plus The Writer to afternoon tea.

When we said the children could eat the food in any order they liked, their faces were wreathed in big grins.

There were smoked salmon sandwiches, cucumber sandwiches and ham sandwiches for the carnivores, along with a bacon and egg flan, like Grandma used to make, and lots of very naughty cakes.   The custard slice was mine - I just love that combination of custard and pastry.

Tomorrow is definitely a day for light food and lots of exercise!

These two little tykes ate heartily, so did the rest of us.     It was fascinating to see how,  given the freedom to pick and choose, the children ate lots of the raw vegetables as well as sandwiches, cakes, etc.  

Then we all got stuck into a game of charades.   Little Merry had a very sketchy understanding of what was required but that made it all the more fun.

She had us in stitches over her interpretation of Jungle Book.    She pretended to be Balloo the Bear and scratched her back on the table leg...         She followed it up with a repeat performance,  but got very cross when we suggested that she was miming Balloo, she insisted that this time it was Bagheera scratching his back ...of course!

We all had a wonderful time.

Perhaps we can have something of a re-run when you two come back home?
xxx