Irish Mothers are very smart.....from when I was around 4 years old, my Mom used to stand me on a little chair
beside her when she was preparing a meal, or mixing a cake, cookies or scones.
She made it seem like playing house and we had fun. I had a little apron made from the same material as hers.
Then she would give me a piece of the pastry and suggest ways I could use it....I would put pieces of apple
in the middle of it, or spoon some jam in it, fold it over, brush it with milk, and she would put it in the oven with hers.
I remember feeling dejected when my big brother Peter came home from work....
"Oh no! don't tell me our Margaret's been baking again!" Everybody would laugh of course....except me.
My Mother also took me shopping, and by the age of 8 or 9 I could tell what the cuts of beef, lamb or pork were.
I could tell whether it was fresh or not. I knew what vegetables were in season and cheaper.
I didn't know square roots or logarithms, but I knew how to shell peas, slice green beans, scrub potatoes.
I could help her make a rabbit pie (hey, those were hard times).
My Mom never used a scales, she measured by instinct. Of course she made pastry from scratch, as I do.
She never bought anything frozen or prepared, she never owned a freezer or a dishwasher, she had a little fridge.
What amazed me was, whenever any guest came to the house, even if it was a whole family,
she would feed them somehow, and they never went away hungry.
How she did on on our household income I will never know.
So do I have recipes? Yes, books full of them, from Ireland, England and the USA.
But I very rarely use them. I throw things in a pot, or in the oven, and I've never poisoned anyone yet.
When Dave was in the US Navy in London, he used to bring the new guys home for dinner.
I never heard any complaints.
Dave (and Father Ennis from Church) sometimes request beef in Guinness, my Mom's recipe.
Followed by apple and blackberry pie.
Sorry, I don't have the recipe.....it's in my head. Thank you, Mammy
By the way, I am making a sherry trifle for him to take to work tonight for his crew,
I bought some little US flags made of icing to put on top. Happy 4th July!
