memories of a sheep's head

07 Apr 2014 - 6 comments | Translate title into English

I have a chicken casserole going at the moment and the smell of the herbs particularly the rosemary and thyme reminds me of the smell often emanating from my maternal grandparents house. That smell signaled my granddad's favourite dish was on the hob namely sheep's head. These days there is a lot of talk about what is in our food although I think that is mostly processed stuff. Any Brit of my age and older will have eaten a fair number of unusual things in the early post war years and horse meat was amongst them along with dog fish.There is a lot of more traditional food still around but mainly fallen from grace with the general public such as lambs heart, tripe and onions pigs snouts and trotters.Even an nice piece of lambs liver is sure to make some folks pull a face and rabbit was very popular and free if you lived in rural areas as we did.The herbs mentioned above and a host of others were picked from the wild.

When I was a child one of the most popular mineral waters,or pop as we called it,was Dandelion and Burdock,something I haven't seen for years.
It's funny how a smell can see you drifting back through time

I give you my thought of the day. Surely a book on self help is a misnomer,think about it.

Finally a photo of sparrows feeding at sunset taken yesterday during one of the brief dry spells we had.

6 comments - The latest ones

Jenny McIntyre ^club

You can still get Dandelion and Burdock in Morrisons. Even cherry pop, all sorts. My favourite is American Cream Soda. The photo is gorgeous, you've captured them so well. As for tripe and onions - my dad's favourite. I still see Lamb's heart, liver and the others you mention. Certain smells take me back too, like sweet biscuits my grandmother used to make.

Yep self help book is a misnomer indeed, unless of course you've written it.

11 years ago.

Bee Orchid

I loved dandelion and burdock! Not so sure about sheep's head lol, though we did eat other things that I avoid now.

11 years ago.

Stormlizard ^club

Great photo to begin with.

True, us "Oldies" may remember by Aroma provocation lots of what Teenagers are totally blank about.
Traditional dishes differed greatly from zone to zone but at times only by Local name. Offal was never on any of our family or Relatives menu's nor was Black pudding, Tripe, Trotters, or Jellied Eels to name just a few of the old dishes.
Rabbit was very popular also in towns down south where I lived, most people kept and bred them in garden hutches simply to stretch the meat ration. Many also kept Chickens for both Eggs and Stews.

11 years ago.

Stormlizard ^club

Talking of fizzy drinks I remember being wild about "Tizer"

11 years ago.

Mickey fez

I was lifted up to kiss and elderly relative laying in an open coffin in the parlour,I was 4 years old,we were closer to death and the aftermath back then and nobody thought it was strange I should kiss a dead body.

11 years ago.

Gracie

Sheep's head or "caposole" as it's called in Italian. My mother would make it for Easter way back.. There was just something about eating a thing that stared at you that had me refuse.. And tripe.. Eww the smell alone! The man in the truck would come around the neighborhood. He'd be calling "Tripe" (sounded like treepa when he said it) to announce what he had that day. Or calves brains, which my mother would deep fry. Tried to trick me by saying it was fried cauliflower.. Not quite... And liver is never going past these lips. My aunt made me try it once.. Only once!
Picture is a very good one..

11 years ago. Edited 11 years ago.

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memories of a sheep's head