I've been thinking a lot lately about all the things that I miss from the UK foodwise. I lived there for over 20 years and I think its fair to say that their culture and food became firmly entrenched in my being.
I can remember being told before I moved over there that it rained all the time and that the food was awful. I thought to myself, what the heck am I letting myself in for!
Contrary to popular opinion it doesn't rain all the time, although it does rain a lot. The rain is a part of what makes this such a beautiful green and lush country. I soon learned that you don't melt in the rain and I came to embrace it. There is nothing you can't do in the rain with a good brolly and a pair of Wellingtons. There is naught so bracing as a walk in the countryside in a gentle rain, culminating in a pub trip at the end of the walk and a lovely Pub lunch.
Which brings me to the food. I think it is a fair statement to say that you can come across horrible food anywhere. I have to say my experience eating in the UK was, to be honest, simply wonderful. Admittedly they don't really do salads very well, those are always hit and miss, but living back here in Canada my heart yearns for the meats, cheese, dairy and fresh produce of the UK.
It really was some of the best in the world in my opinion. A fresh British strawberry during Strawberry season is a little taste of heaven. The UK is filled with wonderful producers of meats, fruits, vegetables, cheeses, poultry, etc. and most of them deliver all over the country, usually overnight.
I know it is a much smaller country, and that is a lot easier to do in a smaller country, but I find myself really missing good home food delivery, amongst other things.
There are some foods that the British do better than anyone else. Today I am sharing my top ten list of what they do really well. (Of course this is just my opinion and you are free to add your own in the comments below!)
SANDWICHES
Nobody does sandwiches better than the British. They invented them. They love their sandwiches and the country is filled with lovely sandwich shops selling some of the best sandwiches you could ever buy. Most Brits will happily chow down on a sandwich from one of these shops for their lunch and what Tea Party is complete without an assortment of finger sandwiches.
When I first got there I was astonished by the variety of sandwiches on offer. Cheese and Tomato, Cheese and Onion, Tuna and Sweet Corn, Tuna and Cucumber, Roast Beef,Rocket and Horseradish, etc. That is just tip of the ice berg.
One of my favorites was the cheese and pickle sandwich. Buttered white bread sandwiched together with a nice layer of Branston's Pickle and a good cheddar cheese. I love LOVE Cheese and Pickle sandwiches. Thankfully I can get Branston's here in Canada. Good British Cheddar too. So I am still well able to enjoy them.
Other favorites were Egg and Cress (egg mayonnaise with layer of mustard cress sprinkled over the egg filling), a Chip Buttie ( hot fresh chips (French fries) sandwiched between slices of buttered white bread.) I always loved having a slice of buttered bread with my fish and chips just for that purpose. A bit of salt some vinegar, a few hot chips and that buttered bread and I was in sandwich heaven.
TOAST
Nobody does toast better than the British. Always lovely and crisp. I used to love stopping in coffee shops and having a hot drink and a slice or two of hot toast. They have the nicest thick white bread called Toastie. It has to be about an inch thick.
I worked in a Care Home in the kitchen when I first moved over to the UK and all the staff would enjoy a hot slice of toast on their morning break time. It would pass through this toasting machine which would toast it slowly on both sides so that it came out lovely and crisp.
Toast in the cafe's always arrived at the table un-buttered with butter on the side ready for you to spread onto it yourself. This actually allowed the toast to cool down a bit so that it didn't become soggy once buttered. I think that is one of the secrets to good toast!
They eat a lot of toast and love to top their toast with a variety of things. Beans on Toast are a real favorite. Often, when you can't think of anything to make for supper, Beans on Toast makes a delicious and quick supper that most people enjoy. Cheese on Toast is another favorite.
The British actually love eating things on toast. You will often see them eating tomatoes on toast, mushrooms on toast and scrambled egg on toast. All make fabulous simple suppers for those nights when you can't be asked to cook.
MEAT PIES
The British love their pies and they do them really well. Of course there are cheap and nasty ones (aren't there everywhere!), but if you were willing to fork out a tiny bit more dosh you could always get a really beautiful meat pie. Steak and Mushroom, Steak and Kidney, Chicken and Mushroom, Lamb and Mint, even vegetable pies, etc. Beautiful pastries, ample rich fillings. All a delight served warm with mash and gravy.
Pork Pies were also a lovely British specialty. Made with hot water pastry, they were lovely served cold at picnics with a bit of pickle on the side.
I used to love ordering the pies from Piper's Farm. They had a lovely assortment. I never had one that I didn't enjoy. Thankfully I can make myself my own homemade pies. A favorite is this Steak and Potato Pie. I also make a really good Chicken and Mushroom Pie.
THE BRITISH TAKEAWAY
When referring to a British Takeaway you are not just referring to food that you take away to eat in the comfort of your own home, but an actual shop that specializes in this type of food. Every community/village has at least one or two of these and most people have their favorite establishment that they love to buy their takeaway from.
You cannot eat a meal in most Takeaways. You can only purchase food to bring away to eat elsewhere. Popular options include:
- Kebabs - Meat or chicken grilled and cut into slices and then folded into hot pita bread with salad, tomatoes and sauce.
- Sausage rolls and meat pies.
- Fried chicken.
- Burgers
- Fish and chips
- Chinese and Indian food
FISH AND CHIPS
This should come as no surprise. Nobody does Fish and Chips better than the British. Most people do not cook this at home. They will pick up a frozen version or they will get some at their local Chippie. It is a dish that most wouldn't make at home and really, when you can buy really good fish and chips ready made and hot, why would you want to.
I can remember the first Fish and Chips I had in the UK. Bought at the my local Parade of shops in Blacon, Chester. The piece of fish so large it was hanging off the sides of my plate. The chips thick and crisp. Both came sprinkled liberally with salt and malt vinegar and then wrapped in plain newsprint. So delicious.
Most Friday nights the line up at Fish and Chip shops will go out onto the street, filled with people waiting to pick up their Friday night supper and yes, a slice of buttered white bread goes very nicely as does mushy peas.
It is also impossible to go to the Seaside without treating yourself to fish and chips. They always, always have really good fish and chips there. Nothing tastes better, eaten on a bench on the boardwalk, looking out over the water with the smell of salt water and the sound of gulls in the air.
Failing that, I do have a lovely recipe for Homemade Beer Battered Fish and Chips, which is delicious.
SAUSAGES
Oh how I miss the great British Sausage. They make the best sausages in the world and almost every area in the UK has a sausage that they are well known for. I was never enamored with sausage prior to moving to the UK. I just didn't find them very exciting, but I fell in love with the British Sausage, also lovingly called Bangers. Of course there are cheap and nasty ones, but nothing is more delicious than a quality British Banger in my opinion. Plump and meaty and full of flavor.
My favorites are Cumberland and I do love a good Pork and Apple sausage. My sister and I have made our own from scratch back here in Canada and they were really good. There is a shop around the corner from me that sells the casings, etc. and I have a sausage making attachment for my Kitchen aid. I did post a great Tutorial here on how to make your own.
Classic Bangers and Mash is a favorite British Supper as is Toad in the Hole, which is sausages baked in a Yorkshire Pudding batter and served with gravy and mash. Sometimes I wrap the sausages in bacon before making that dish.
Bacon is something else they do really well and it comes in two types, smoked and unsmoked. You can get it with the rind still on, or the rind removed. Streaky (which is like North American Bacon, but meatier) and Back, which is lovely whole medallions. Or you can get middle bacon with is like the one in the photograph above which has a piece of the back with some streaky still attached. Dry or wet cured.
See, no end to the options. I preferred Dry cured myself.
Perfect for a Bacon Sandwich, stuck between two slices of white bread and slathered with brown sauce. I worked at a service station for a time and we sold bacon and sausage baguettes, and bacon & sausage baguettes. The lineup used to be out the door every morning of working class men wanting their morning Butty and hot coffee. Never underestimate the deliciousness of a good Bacon Sandwich.
THE FULL ENGLISH BREAKFAST
I fell in love with what is lovingly referred to as The Full English. Every decent B&B in the UK has on offer one of these lovely breakfasts. When I first moved to the UK, on Saturday mornings we would treat ourselves to a Full English in town at the BHS store. You paid by the item. Baked beans, grilled tomatoes, bacon, sausage, grilled mushrooms, black pudding, hash browns, fried bread.
Only the heartiest eater could manage to eat all of that. I usually just had bacon, sausage, egg, beans, mushrooms and tomatoes. Sometimes I would treat myself to a slice of fried bread. You can get my take on the Traditional English Fry Up here. Bring your appetite! I also have a recipe for Fried Bread here. So good.
Afternoon Tea - a selection of finger foods like cake, scones, tarts, and other treats that is usually served more casually than a High Tea. Included may be small crustless finger sandwiches. The traditional British Afternoon Tea was generally served in drawing rooms, and enjoyed while seated on couches or chairs rather than at a table. This is the type of tea that you would have seen the Grantham family enjoying on Downton Abbey. Basically it is the equivalent of an afternoon snack, and was taken mid to late afternoon at a time when families used to eat their main meal much later in the day. It is this kind of tea that is what most people think of when they hear the words "tea party,' and normally includes china cups and saucers.
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- 1 good quality hot dog bun, split and buttered on the cut sides
- 1 1/2 slices of streaky bacon crumbled
- 2 cooked breaded chicken fingers, keep hot (I do mine in the air fryer, only takes about 5 to 8 minutes)
- 2 TBS grated cheddar cheese
- 2 tsp honey mustard salad dressing
Some other hot sandwich options that you might also enjoy are:
HOT HAM & CHEESE WITH BACON & CARAMELIZED ONIONS - A fresh poppy seed kaiser roll filled with plenty of shaved ham, smoky bacon, swiss cheese and caramelized onions. Wrapped in foil and heated through, this makes a great supper sandwich, especially with a cup of hot soup on the side!
THE ULTIMATE MEATLOAF SANDWICH - You will need leftover cooked meatloaf to make these delicious sandwiches. Slabs of Diner Glazed meat loaf are brushed with BBQ sauce and browned in some butter. A slice of cheese is melted on top and then the meatloaf is layered on a half baguette spread with horseradish sauce and grainy mustard, as well as crisp lettuce and then topped with some crisp battered onion rings. Now you know why I called it the Ultimate!
Carolina Bird Dog
Ingredients
- 1 good quality hot dog bun, split and buttered on the cut sides
- 1 1/2 slices of streaky bacon crumbled
- 2 cooked breaded chicken fingers, keep hot (I do mine in the air fryer, only takes about 5 to 8 minutes)
- 2 TBS grated cheddar cheese
- 2 tsp honey mustard salad dressing
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler of your oven to high. Place the hotdog bun, buttered cut sides up on a small baking tray.
- Pop the bun under the broiler and grill until toasted. This should only take about a minute. Remove from the oven.
- Place the crisp slices of bacon on the bottom half of the bun. Top with the chicken fingers. (I cut mine into 1/2 inch slices) Sprinkle the cheese over top of the chicken.
- Pop the sandwich back under the grill for several minutes until the cheese melts.
- Drizzle the top with the honey mustard dressing and serve immediately.
Can you guess what day this is? You are right! It is Meals of the Week Day! The day when I gather together and share with you all the meals that I have cooked or eaten over the past week.
You have all said that you enjoy these posts, and I actually find this very helpful myself, for a few reasons. One if helps me to look back on how I have been eating and perhaps make some changes in future weeks, and two, it helps me to plan my meals for the week ahead.
The temptation when one lives by themselves is to not cook, or to eat out of cans, bottles and boxes. Frozen dinners, ready meals, etc. I don't want to be that person. Already prepared food is quite expensive for one thing, and it is usually filled with salt, fat, sugar and a lot of other things I don't really want to be eating.
When I lived in the UK, eating small was a lot easier actually. The UK is the King of the Ready Meal! They have it down to an art and some of them are really quite good. Marks and Spencer is the best at it. I used to love LOVE shopping there. Their ready meals were fabulous and did I live in the UK, I would probably eat more of them.
I discovered this American couple on YouTube this week. The Magic Geekdom. They had a whole video dedicated to shopping in M&S. Do check it out if you are interested. They were huge fans. they made me feel quite homesick, and they were in the Chester M&S also, the one I used to shop at.
In any case, ready meals here in Canada cannot compare to M&S. I cook for myself all the time. I might cheat every now and then and buy a rotisserie chicken, but who doesn't!
In any case these are the meals that I cooked for myself, or was treated to over the past week. I ate out twice and had dinner at my sister's on my Brother in Law's birthday, so not everything was cooked at home. I have provided recipes for those alternatives in the place of the restaurant food that are equal to or better then most of the restaurant food I had.
SUNDAY May 28th, Grilled BBQ Chicken
Usually on Sundays I go to my sister's for Sunday dinner. This week I had everyone here so that my sister could have the treat of going out golfing with her husband Dan. Because I had church in the morning, I kept it really simple with some Grilled BBQ Chicken.
I also made a Herbed Potato Salad. I had some baby potatoes that we had bought at Costco the other week that I wanted to use up and had everything in house ready to do it. Its a very simple salad I think. Must easier than the mayonnaise type. It has a vinaigrette and herb dressing that you toss the warm potatoes into. They soak up all the lovely flavors. Light and delicious.
We also enjoyed a mixed salad and some garlic bread sticks from the store. (DON'T! Essentially they were hotdog buns coated in garlic butter. Not that great. Very bready.) For dessert my sister had brought over a Sugar Free Apple pie. Yummy!
THURSDAY, June 1st. - True Newf Poutine, copycat
Here I am with another Sunday Meals of the Week post. This is the day I generally share with you all of the main meals that I have cooked for myself in the previous week. A delicious recap of how I have been feeding myself.
I determined when I moved into my own place that I as not going to become one of those people who ate out of cans and boxes, not while I had the ability to cook for myself that is. I am a person who loves to cook and I think I would be rather bored eating ready-meals and frozen dinners. So as long as I can cook, I WILL cook!
I also hate waste so I always try to use up everything that I have as much as possible. Its very hard sometimes, so I tend to shop for myself every few days now rather than once a week. I find that the fresh ingredients like salad, etc. just don't last any longer than a few days. I would rather go a bit more often and throw out less.
If, along the way, I can inspire some of you with some of your menu planning, then that makes me very happy.
Here are my meals for the past week. If I have eaten out, I have endeavored in most cases to provide you with a recipe that you can make at home. I hope you enjoy reading this post as much as I enjoyed eating the meals and writing it up!
SUNDAY, May 21st - Most Sunday's I have Sunday Dinner at my sister's place. I love these Sunday dinners. It is something I missed when I was living over in the UK. There were no family dinners. I had no family there and my then husband's family lived far too far away from us to entertain such an idea. Needless to say I really appreciate these family times.
This week it was Air Fryer Roast Chicken with all the fixings.
For dessert she had a made a homemade Banana Cake with whipped cream. It was a simple and easy cake, no frosting, but it was really moist and delicious.
MONDAY, May 22nd - Amish Country Casserole
On Monday I made a half batch of this delicious Amish Country Casserole. The recipe posted is a small batch version, which makes four servings, but I cut it in half yet again as there is just me, which gave me some to enjoy on the day and some to pop into a freezer container for another time.
This is a fabulously tasty casserole. Those Amish really no how to cook. Cheap, cheerful and delicious. I enjoyed this with a salad on the side and some Easy Stuffed Cheesy Bread. It was a great meal!
TUESDAY, May 23rd - Macaroni and Cheese Meatloaf Casserole
I wanted to take something delicious over to my sister's for their supper. I knew she would not mind me removing a small serving for myself. This is a wonderful casserole that I got from a blog called Full Bellies Happy Kids.
This was simply wonderful! What you have is a base composed of BBQ glazed meatloaf. On top is a rich layer of macaroni and cheese. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed this. I had a nice salad on the side.
WEDNESDAY, May 24th - Dinner out with Dad
On Wednesday nights I always have dinner out with my father and his friends. We go to a local eatery. I had the Hot Turkey Sandwich with potatoes and coleslaw. It was really delicious.
Slices of turkey meat in between two slices of bread slathered with gravy. Carrots (not peas) on the side. This week I did not have any dessert. The best part is having dinner with my dad.
THURSDAY, May 25th - Lunch out at Jonny's Cookhouse
My sister and I had to take my father into Kentville on Thursday morning to see his heart specialist. We decided to stop at Jonny's Cookhouse on the way back and treat us all to some fish and chips. Sorry I had already broken into my fish before I remembered to take a photograph! The pieces of fish were huge. We could not eat it all. There was also coleslaw and tartar sauce.
This is a photograph I took of my father enjoying his fish and chips. Everyone in my family enjoys fish and chips. Most of the time when we go out it is what we all order. Jonny's fish and chips was really good. All of their food is really good. Usually my sister and I order the True Newf Poutine when we are there, but this time we fancied a change. You can find my Copy Cat recipe for the True Newf here. Its fabulous!
FRIDAY, May 26th - Sausage, Beans and Boursin Stuffed Jacket Potatoes
After eating out for two days in a row, it was nice to enjoy a meal at home. I had some chipolata (breakfast) sausages which I cooked, along with some tinned beans and baked these delicious stuffed jacket potatoes to enjoy on the side. Home cooked meals are always the best.
There was one time back in the late 1970's that my ex husband and I were moving with our family from Northern Alberta to Southern Alberta. While we were waiting for our furniture to arrive, believe it or not, I spend 21 days living in a motel room with two toddlers, a new born baby and a cat. I was never so happy to move into my own place and eat anything but restaurant food in my life! You do get tired of it!
SATURDAY, May 27th - Crispy Chicken Salad
After all of the heavy eating and eating out this week, I fancied something light and so I made myself one of my favorite Chicken salads. It was also a lovely and warm summery day, so a tasty salad was more than welcome.
This one boasts a lovely mixed leaf base with some carrots, cucumber and tomatoes. The chicken itself is lightly coated in a Parmesan Bread crumb, and briefly fried until crispy, finishing it off in the oven A delicious creamy Parmesan and Lemon dressing is drizzled over top. Yep, tis salad season for sure!
And there you have it, my meals of the week for the past week. I wonder what the next week will bring??? Its exciting to think about! (Or is that just me!)
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
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