Rose of Arden

 

Covid-19 Lockdown Ramblings:

I'm sat in the kitchen, surveying the cupboards while trying to decide what I will have for my next meal. My diet has become a bit restricted, by only doing a once every three week shop, rather than my normal twice a week. 

 

I only have a few wilted potatoes, half a dozen carrots, a large shallot, a red onion, half a clove of sprouting garlic, and a red pepper, as 'fresh' veg on offer. So it looked like I was in need of some culinary inspiration. 

 

Had a look on-line, and surprisingly I found a recipe for a vegetable soup that included red pepper, onion, garlic and carrots. I included the three small potatoes to the mix for good measure.

All chopped up and placed in a pan, with a couple of vegetable stock cubes brought to the boil, then left to simmer for an hour on a low flame.

 

When it was ready, I drained off the liquid, and put the cooked vegetables into a blender. A few quick spins saw them all turned into a soft paste before being put back into the pan. Then I added a couple of spoons of vegetable gravy granules to the liquid in the other pan. Then poured it on top of the vegetable paste. 

 

I had already toasted a couple of slices of bread, then flash fried them in a bit of olive oil to create some croutons. As I sat down to eat, a long forgotten memory returned.

 

Some 65 years ago, I had returned home from school, I was soon going out onto our playground - known locally as the piece. Football and cricket would have been the game of choice, or rounders if any girls showed up. It must have been summer, because I remember that some kids had their wellington tops turned down. 

 

But I digress, one of my mates got called in for tea, and I was invited in as well. We had "oxo pobs" which consisted of bread broken up like croutons into small pieces and then had oxo gravy poured over the top. I had never had it before, I quite enjoyed it, though it tasted different to my usual fare. 

 

Later when I returned home, mother said where have you been? Dad whistled for you twice. (We had a signal, dad would whistle two sharp blasts, and we would answer with a whistle back.) Then make our way home for tea. I told mum, that I had had my tea at my mates home. And that I must have been inside when dad whistled. 

 

A few days later, mum asked what I wanted for tea. I said 'Oxo Pobs', she looked askance, and asked me where I had eaten oxo pobs before? I said at my friends house. She was aghast, and said, never tell anyone that you have ever eaten oxo pobs for your tea. 

 

Dad was a coal miner, so we were always warm (home coal) plus he had a second part time job. Plus we never went hungry because dad had a very big allotment where he kept chickens, ducks and pigs. Plus he grew most of our vegetables. 

 

Being the youngest born and mother being a housewife, though she also had a part-time job. I pretty much had her undivided attention, until I attained school age. She wasn't a snob, but she had certain standards. I was the first in the brood to go to University, and they were both proud of that. Dad died in 1995 and Mother passed in 1996. I'm sure she would forgive me for saying out loud I've' eaten oxo pobs!