Good morning everyone and Pete… time for another post which is this crazy idea from one of my fellow scribes …but food fun…this week it’s food that ends with the letter P…Enjoy! Its that time of the week when my brain gets stretched…although this week there are many to choose from…not so next week with Q which means Q will join forces with R…so all is not lost…As always I will leave a few for Pete he is not going to get away lightly…

Bap:

The British have many names for bread rolls it even confuses me so anyone learning the language must just give up…they are a soft bread roll which is said to originate from Scotland. Baps as traditionally made in Scotland are not sweet, unlike the Irish version, which may contain currants. They are a larger soft roll, roughly 5–6 inches (12-15 cm) in diameter. May contain fats such as lard or butter to provide tenderness. Can come in multiple shapes dependent on the region they can also be topped with sesame seeds and used a burger bun.

Water Caltrop:

Water caltrop, also known as water chestnuts and bat nuts, are the fruit of floating aquatic annual plants. …

Water caltrops are often eaten as a steamed snack, but also make an ideal accompaniment to braised and stir-fried dishes. Freshwater chestnuts are one of my all-time favourite stir fry vegetables.

Cantaloup:

A Cantaloup is a small round melon with a ribbed skin and an orange flesh…it is a variety of the musk melon and melon which I like very much as it is not as watery in taste as some melons…it is also a melon which I use as a starter with a prawn/shrimp filling very tasty.

Carp:

An oily freshwater fish which can be eaten and is enjoyed around the world…not a fish I eat but a fish we would class as ornamental and keep in a fish pond. Carp are bottom feeders and taste very fishy which is not a taste some like…very popular in China and Eastern European countries.

Champ:

Quite simple Champ is an Irish dish of mashed potato with scallions(green Onions) milk and butter…it looks similar to Colcannon but champ is a Northern Island dish and  Pub Food at its best.

Chip:

The potato chip is deep-fried and accompanies fish  & chips its also a word for what I call crisps but many call chips as in the thinly sliced savoury versions sold everywhere.

Chop:

A meat chop is a cut of meat cut perpendicular to the spine, and usually containing a rib or riblet part of a vertebra and served as an individual portion. The most common kinds of meat chops are pork and lamb.

It is also used as a term for cutting meat either through the bone or into pieces.

Gingersnap:

Aptly named as they are a ginger biscuit which is fairly hard and you can snap it…I have always known them as ginger nut biscuits named because the original biscuits in the 1840s were “as hard as a nut”.

Grogshop:

A shop or room where strong liquors are sold and drunk…generally associated with the lower classes

Ketchup:

A table condiment or sauce…Tomato ketchup is the most famous of ketchup known around the world.

Parsnip:

I love parsnips, roasted, mashed with potato or made into parsnip crisps as a garnish or side…a root vegetable closely related to carrot and parsley.

Parsnips have a distinct taste. They have a sweetness similar to a carrot but with an earthy nuttiness. They are even sweeter than carrots when cooked—in fact, Europeans used parsnips to make sweetener before sugarcane became widely available.

Rosehip:

I remember as a child being given a spoonful of rosehip syrup daily…for many years after the war,  Rose Hip Syrup was supplied along with Orange juice for babies, through baby clinics throughout the UK.

Now rosehips are sold as a popular fruit tea…In addition to making rosehip tea, you can make rosehip jam, marmalade, oil (for skin and wounds) they are commonly used fresh or dried in as many ways as they can.

Scallop:

Scallops are on most restaurant menu’s now maybe as a starter or as a main course…so what are scallops? Scallops are a  bi-valve shellfish with a flat, fanned bottom shell and domed fan-shaped upper shell.

Found all around the world, the major, cylindrical adductor muscle of all scallops is naturally sweet, tender and delicate in flavour. The orange (female) or grey-pink (male) shape attached is known as the coral and the roe or milt sacs. These have a more robust flavour and are often removed for sale but the combination of the two makes a very attractive presentation.

There are essentially two types. The bigger sea scallop lives in open waters and the smaller ones, generally known as bay scallops, are more commonly found in sheltered waters. The Isle of Man’s queenie scallop is a variety of the latter.

Shrimp:

Similar in appearance shrimp and prawn are consumed worldwide…In the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, “prawn” is the general term used to describe both true prawns and shrimp.

In North America, the term “shrimp” is used much more frequently and are what I would call prawns, while the word “prawn” is most often used to describe larger species or those fished from freshwater.

Shrimp to me are a lot smaller and what we used to have for Sunday Tea with brown bread and butter…or my mother used to make potted shrimps which is a traditional British dish made with brown shrimps flavoured with nutmeg and sometimes cayenne pepper was also added then set in a small pot or ramekin the butter when set served as a preservative we ate this with brown bread.

Slump:

A slump in culinary terms it is a dessert…with a crumble or dumpling topping similar to a crumble or a cobbler…the difference being a cobbler is baked in the oven a slump is cooked on the stovetop. There is no better time to use your apples, pears, or frozen berries and bake up a comforting dessert that celebrates simpler times and tastes really good with custard.

Soup:

Soup …what can I say…Evidence of the existence of soup can be found as far back as about 20,000 BC…soup can be served hot or cold it can be thick, thin or a clear consomme…it can contain meat, fish, just vegetables …I wouldn’t want to hazard a guess as to how many different varieties of soups there are worldwide…Chicken Noodle Soup is the most popular soup in the world and also said to be the healthiest because of its low sodium content…closely followed by Tomato Soup…I would question that as I would say the difference between homemade soup and commercially made soup is vast…

Soursop:

We call it durian nam [water durian], but the official name is durian thet [pseudo durian]eaten as ripe fruit only… locally you can sometimes find soursop juice and it tastes good.

Soursop, where found in the South of Thailand, is still popular but it has little market value and is not produced commercially…whereas the cherimoya or the custard apple which is of the same family is commercially produced.

Soursop can be eaten fresh or used in ice cream, mousse, jellies, soufflés, sorbet, cakes and candy. Filipinos use the young fruit as a vegetable while in the Caribbean, the pulp is strained and the milk mixed with sugar to drink or mix with wine or brandy…I think I like the sound of this there was no brandy in my soursop juice…

Turnip:

Turnip, part of the mustard family it is cultivated for its fleshy roots and tender growing tops. The turnip is thought to have originated in middle and eastern Asia and is grown throughout the temperate zone. Young turnip roots are eaten raw in salads or pickled, and the young leaves may be cooked and served. The roots are also cooked and served whole or mashed and are used in stews.

That’s all for today I hope you have found something interesting and unknown…I have left some P’s for you, Pete …x

Stay safe, have fun and laugh a lot as you know what I am going to say it is free and proven to be good for your health…..Laughter aside…My thoughts and prayers are with all the people who have been or will be touched by this Covid-19 virus…the new lockdowns and restrictions..stay safe be aware and social isolate where required and we will beat this thing…xx

Thank you so much for your visit today I hope you have enjoyed the read…Please feel free to leave a comment as you know I love to chat…Love Carol xxx