Foods that defined your childhood

Mimon

The Mighty Quinn wrote: »

Bright pink luncheon meat sandwiches for me. The dye from the meat stained the bread pink and all. Puke.

We never had it at home but if visiting someone would have to eat it. Would turn my stomach and give me a headache. Must be full of complete muck and chemicals.

NSAman

A fry up on the beach, we never went out to eat. We didn’t have money. Mam hiding behind a windbreaker with her “posh” little two ring propane cooker, frying pan going and sausages, rashers, eggs, and bread. Even a passing rain shower could never take away from the taste of those sandwiches.

The fact you were frozen in the wind, hiding behind a windbreaker, in a pair of togs with a damp towel for warmth never occurred to us that this was not normal….it was pure fun and the food was just amazing.

On fine days, the rest of the beach was always stopping by because of the smell.

Mimon

Was nothing as tasty as Irish grannies dinners.

Never mind your plain turnip, has to be fried with finely chopped onions in a ton of butter. Meat cooked slowly and falling off the bone. Never knew how I got through the mountain of mash that was bottomless as my grandmothers would keep piling it up

dastardly00

One of my grannies fed me for a lot of my childhood. She used to make a brown stew that was amazing. Neither myself nor my mam could ever replicate it. The same granny used to always have some streaky bacon in the fridge for teatime. I'd have it with fresh crusty bread and real butter. So tasty

cecil sapphire

Ham and Cheese sandwiches toasted in a sandwich maker. Scalding hot cheese on the inside but lovely crispy bits that leaked out the side.
Heinz Chocolate puddings in a tin which you'd boil tin in a saucepan.
Pre-made flan sponge base with jelly, cream and tinned fruit on top.
Cheesecake made from a packet.
Rich Tea biscuits with butter on them
Swiss Roll slices in a bowl with hot custard poured over

odyssey06

dastardly00 wrote: »

One of my grannies fed me for a lot of my childhood. She used to make a brown stew that was amazing. Neither myself nor my mam could ever replicate it. The same granny used to always have some streaky bacon in the fridge for teatime. I'd have it with fresh crusty bread and real butter. So tasty

My mum made something similar with floury potatoes and 1 pack oxtail & 1 pack beef+veg soup and any leftover beef\lamb pieces... so thick you could nearly eat it with a fork.
But she had to stop as she was burning the bottom of her pots too often:(

maude6868

At one point in the 80's my mam learned about curry. Remember the boxed curries that had rice and a packet of dried curry with dried chicken and powder, can't remember the brand.
Ham and tomatoes and swiss roll for visitors only.
Meatballs, mince wrapped in mashed potato, rolled in flour and oven cooked, delicious.
Bread and butter pudding.
Sweet potato stuffing for the goose at Christmas, so delicious.
Tapioca and semolina with dollop of jam.

honeyjo

maude6868 wrote: »

At one point in the 80's my mam learned about curry. Remember the boxed curries that had rice and a packet of dried curry with dried chicken and powder, can't remember the brand.

Vesta

Toulouse

cecil sapphire wrote: »

Pre-made flan sponge base with jelly, cream and tinned fruit

Oh god - this! There was always a pre-made flan sponge base in the biscuit press. She used to poke holes in it with a fork and soak it with Sherry before putting the tinned fruit on.

NYmaybe21

Stews / Roasts / Potoates & 2 Veg, Liver...
Semolina, Sweet Rice, Topioca - Does anybody eat those these days??
Tinned Fruit, Angel Delight
Salad Cream, Radioactive Sandwich Spread
Soda Stream drinks...

HeidiHeidi

Toulouse wrote: »

Oh god - this! There was always a pre-made flan sponge base in the biscuit press. She used to poke holes in it with a fork and soak it with Sherry before putting the tinned fruit on.

We used to make the flan sponge - light as a feather, with whipped cream, tinned mandarins, and the mandarin juice soaked into the edges of the sponge.


Divine!!!

notAMember

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

We used to make the flan sponge - light as a feather, with whipped cream, tinned mandarins, and the mandarin juice soaked into the edges of the sponge.


Divine!!!

Yup, this was in our house too. There was a special tin for it I think. Could also be with tinned pears or peaches.

Smashed up flake bar on top and it is epic.

the beer revolu

Those sponge flan bases are still around I think.

elfy4eva

odyssey06 wrote: »

They've popped up a few times on the thread and it reminds me we had them at home also and wasn't a big fan.

I'm always reminded of them when I watch this Eddie Murphy skit. Seems they are universal mam cuisine.

https://youtu.be/AAx553k7W5s

Tree

cecil sapphire wrote: »

Cheesecake made from a packet.

Cheesecake from a packet was soooooooo good. Then it went off the market and reappeared with a different recipe

iamwhoiam

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

We used to make the flan sponge - light as a feather, with whipped cream, tinned mandarins, and the mandarin juice soaked into the edges of the sponge.


Divine!!!

We had it with mashed strawberries on the flan base , then cream and whole strawberries on top . Absolutely delicious , can taste it now !!

Patsy167

Irish Salad - "An Irish salad is an ensemble of cold vegetables, meat, eggs and cheese, carefully arranged on a plate, and not tossed or mixed in any shape or form."

butter lettuce
hard boiled egg
slices deli sliced ham
tomato
cheddar cheese
coleslaw
potato salad

...and plenty of salad cream

Toulouse

Patsy167 wrote: »

Irish Salad - "An Irish salad is an ensemble of cold vegetables, meat, eggs and cheese, carefully arranged on a plate, and not tossed or mixed in any shape or form."

butter lettuce
hard boiled egg
slices deli sliced ham
tomato
cheddar cheese
coleslaw
potato salad

...and plenty of salad cream

Ours used also have sliced banana and cheese and onion taytos. The ham had to be rolled too.

One word ... Tripe.

It defined my attitude to offal for life. Absolutely despised it and did my best to stay out of the house for at least 2 days afterwards because of the smell.

jester77

Spring onions, tomato and a hard boiled egg mixed with salad cream, and put into sandwiches which were wrapped in the sliced pan paper. That along with a flask of tea and off to the bog.

dxhound2005

Duck (mallard, teal, wigeon), pheasant and woodcock. Pick out the lead shot. Pike and eels from the lough. An old hen sacrificed for soup. Tiny wild strawberries from the banks along the country lanes. Honey from bumblebees and red bees nests in the banks and meadows. Also from the single hive in the orchard. Beauty of Bath apples with pink flecks in the white flesh. Home made plum jam and apple tarts. No electricity and the butter smuggled from the North was often rancid.

Memories from a place of poverty where I grew up, not where I live now.

reap-a-rat

Mimon wrote: »

I lived close to my secondary school so me and a couple of friends would go and have these Knorr Quick soups with a few slices of Spicers bread. We would watch Neighbours . Think I advanced on to making a packet of soup in a saucepan for everyone.

I had the flu in college in 2014 and I can't look at one of them since - I couldn't stomach anything but I tried to manage a cuppa soup with a slice of bread every day for a week or hell and even looking at that picture now I can smell them and I just have flashbacks to such a shocking week, I wouldn't have one now if you paid me!

Crispy pancakes were something I loved. Loved the mince ones but sometimes we'd only have the chicken and sweetcorn ones, they were ok but the mince were better. It says Tesco still does them, Birdseye took them over from Findus. Id be sceptical of the new recipe but I'd love to give them a go for nostalgia's sake!

Something I keep in our freezer that we used to have as kids are Pizzinis and Baguettes. Baguettes are probably better quality than Pizzinis but sometimes I just love them. I know they are awful I just don't care at all!

I was a fussy eater as a child so I used to have whatever meat we were having (overdone as a rule) and raw veg (carrots mainly). I used to like baked beans but at some point I went off them.

Someone mentioned toasted sandwiches - to this day when I'm visiting mam will whip out the sandwich maker, butter white bread on both sides, cheese in the middle (and I sprinkle a bit outside intentionally to burn it) and they are so yum! They were a treat though back in the day.

When I think back, we always had the best of meat but I never remember mam actually eating it, which I'm sure was the case in loads of houses - she made sure we were nourished but she'd eat hardly anything herself, maybe the spuds and veg.

My granny was a fan of the tinned fruit - either the fruit cocktail or the strawberries in syrup (not juice) was often served up for dessert on a Sunday. I preferred just a simple ice cream sandwich (Hb vanilla between two wafers). I'd happily eat just the wafers if the ice cream was gone!

Somebody asked if Donegal Catch was still a thing - we have the Super Valu version always in the freezer. Some weeks when work might be busy or there's stuff going on that makes the meal planning awkward they can be a handy one to throw in the air fryer with a couple of waffles and have with some carrots and broccoli (I still eat my carrots raw even if I'm steaming some for my husband anyway!)

I'm happy to give hope to parents of fussy eaters everywhere though that by the time I got to college I broadened my horizons considerably and there is very little I wouldn't eat or at least try nowadays (snails being the number 1 thing I will never eat due to a massive phobia of them alive or cooked).

tickingclock

Smoked haddock in milk every Friday from the fish van. Hate it now. If we'd roast beef on Sunday we'd also have it on Monday and my mother would stretch it for the Tuesday also with sausages in the gravy for us and the few slices of beef for my father. A pizza made from on odlums recipe in a frying pan. The base about 2 inches thick.
I fondly remember Findus crispy pancakes. I'd nag my mother for them!
Desserts on school days were rice pudding or semolina both of which I loved on a cold day. Regularly have rice pudding now. Rhubarb tart or apple crumble that I still love would've been on Sundays.

Atlantic Dawn

I loved mashing up schpuds and beans, I would mix them until it was like mortar, delish.

Fine Cheers

Crispy pancakes anyone ?
Egg bread aka french toast with tomato ketchup.

mojesius

Marble cake
Romantica on a Sunday
Mixing club orange with coke
Homemade chips in the deep fat fryer
Leathery steak
Plain ham rolls for lunch with vitalite
Kimberly biscuits
.
Basically fcuk all veg.
I love my veg now ðŸ˜

Recliner

I remember another one.

When we were sick, hot Fanta and sugar. No idea how this was meant to make us better but we'd fake illness just to have it.

Ish66

iamwhoiam wrote: »

We had it with mashed strawberries on the flan base , then cream and whole strawberries on top . Absolutely delicious , can taste it now !!

Flan is no longer used these as a word, kinda like frock hit the dirt too !

whomitconcerns

KP Tobago chilli peanuts. Used to motor through them with points when starting out!

black & white

We had the usual food in the late 60's & early 70's but I remember the Old Lady bringing home yogurt for the first time and trying it, same with celery. Probably around '71/72. Also remember coming in from school and she was making sausage risotto, thought it was very exotic at the time.