TODAY'S TWD: BUBBLE AND SQUEAK

In the first season finale of 'Mulberry', which has been playing on Long Island's Channel 21 as part of their Friday evening of Britcoms, Alice told Bert that she was going to eat all the bubble and squeak and there'd be none for him. And she'd make him watch her eat it all.

To me, it sounded like she was going to have a heaping helping of cleaning products.

It's not a familiar term over here in America, but apparently it's quite popular up to the manor, squire. It's a way of getting rid of the leftovers from Saturday dinner and Sunday breakfast - leftover mashed or roasted potatoes, leftover cabbage, perhaps some ham or bacon and flavored to taste with salt, pepper, butter and and other spices.

It's no wonder I didn't know about it, at least. In my household, leftovers was a foreign word!

And speaking of foreign words, bubble and squeak is known by other names around Europe:

"Stamp-pot" in the Netherlands
"Trinxat" from Northeast Spain and Andorra
"Biksemad" from Denmark
"Pyttipanna" from Sweden
"Colcannon" from Ireland
and my favorite,
"Rumbledethumps" from Scotland.

(That sounds more like the condition of your bum and your thighs if you eat too much of it.)

Here's a typical recipe for Bubble and Squeak, in case you want to add it to your own menu of international cuisine:

1/2 medium head cabbage, sliced
3 slices bacon, diced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 cup cubed cooked ham
1 tablespoon butter
3 cups potatoes - baked, cooled and thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan, cook cabbage in a small amount of water for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Drain, and set aside.

In a well-seasoned cast iron skillet, cook bacon and onion until onion is soft and bacon is cooked. Add ham, and cook until heated through. Add butter, then mix in the cooked cabbage and potatoes. Season with paprika, salt, and pepper. Cook until browned on bottom, turn, and brown again.

Apparently you serve it up as a side dish to your Sunday night meat with some fried tomato, or even serve it in the morning as a substitute for hash browns.

Get your week off to a good fart - er, start with all of that cabbage from the weekend!

BCnU!
Toby OB