Howdy from Canada eh? I have now read about 99 AMAZING points of view on stovies. This Canadian feels that a stovie, is simply and most likely a potato cooked on a stove (or stovie as might be explained to a kiddie who may be forewarned 'don't burn your "handy" on the "stovie.").' As far as I can surmise, this now fully and enthusiastically eviscerated Orkney spud, cooked in oil, grease, or lard from an unfortunate goose, in a hot pot on the stovie, is the forerunner of the American junk food of choice, the mighty potato chip. Maybe some enterprising Orcadian laddie should bag up the "Stennes Stovies" in a multitude of optional flavours and promote them wherever ale is sold around the world. "Say there, bartender, when you have a minute could you bring me another ale and a bag of Stennes Stovies and some more Sheep Dip to go with em." THANKYOU!!

One of my favorite cookbooks because it's so historically and regionally informative is "British Cookery: A complete guide to culinary practice in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales," by Lizzie Boyd, ed. (Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press, 1979), but first published in 1976 by the British Tourist Authority and British Farm Produce Council, with a host of professorial research directors and researchers, and recipe testing done at the Scottish Hotel School, U. of Strathclyde. Recipes are not presented region by region but by types: soups, sauces, forcemeats, eggs, fish, meat, Vegetables, savouries, puddings, yeast baking, cakes, preservation, confectionary, beverages and then regional dishes in each of these sections. There are in this book recipes for Orkney clapshot and stovies: "Clapshot (6 - 8 portions) F Orkney Islands 1 lb mashed potatoes 1 lb mashed turnips 1 dessertspoon chopped chives 2 oz dripping Salt and pepper Mix together the hot mashed potatoes and turnips; blend in the chives and dripping. Season to taste with salt and pepper, heat through and serve." (p. 356) On p. 217, there is a recipe for "Limpet Stovies ( 8 portions) F Scotland," in which it is explained that "the term 'stovie' is said to be a Scottish corruption of the French estuvier meaning to shut up; another more logical interpretation of the word is 'cooked on the stove.'" 4 pt limpets Peeled potatoes Salt and pepper 1/2 lb butter Put the fresh limpets in a deep pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Rinse the limpets in cold water, pick them out of the shells and remove the eyes and sandy trails. Weigh the shelled limpets and take three times the amount of peeled potatoes; put a layer of sliced potatoes in a large fireproof pot, add a layer of limpets and season with salt and pepper. Continue with these layers, finishing with potatoes. Pour over two cups of the strained liquid in which the limpets were scalded; top with pieces of butter. Cover with a tightly fitting lid, bring to the boil and simmer very slowly for at least 1 hour." Aren't you glad you asked? On p. 354, there are "Stovies (6 - 8 portions) F Scotland 2 lb potatoes 3/4 lb sliced onions 1 oz butter Salt and pepper 1/2 pt white stock Fry the onions in the butter in a pan, add the thickly sliced potatoes, with salt and pepper and stock. Brush the top of the potatoes with butter to prevent them drying out. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 1 hour. Small quantities of cooked meat, such as bacon, chicken or mutton [where does anyone find mutton any more?--lj], may be added to the pan for the last 15 minutes." On p. 275, under "Bacon," there is a recipe for Alnwick Stew, from Northumberland, for which it says: "Bacon Stovies from Scotland is similar to the Alnwick Stew, but is made with milk rather than water." Here's the rest of that recipe: "For a bacon stew, top or prime streaky flank, prime or end collar can be used as well as forehock. Local variatoins include the Somerset stew which is composed of forehock, chopped onions and mixed, chopped carrots and turnips. It is cooked in half cider [I presume that's the alcoholic variety and not apple juice--lj] and half water and apple rings are added towards the end of cooking. [then sentence quoted above about stovies.] 2 1/2 lb forehock 1 lb chopped onions 2 lb slided potatoes Pepper and mustard 1 bay leaf Cut the bacon into 1 in cubes and arrange with the onions and potatoes in alternate layers in a pan finishing with a layer of overlapping potatoes. sprinkle each layer with pepper and a little mustard [dry mustard?--lj]; lay the bay leaf on top of the potatoes and pour over enough water to come just level with the top layer of potatoes. Cover with a lid and simmer gently for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Now if that don' make everyone happy and hungry, I don' know what will? Lisbeth Jardine ----- Original Message ----- From: <KJEMEM@aol.com> To: <ORCADIA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 2:38 PM Subject: [<orcadia>] Stennes Stovies and some more Sheep .... > Thank you Stephen. I am no longer hungry. > > Karen > > > ==== ORCADIA Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe from the Orcadia mailing list, send an e-mail with the word > 'unsubscribe' in the message body to orcadia-l-request@rootsweb.com > >

I was asking about pre-gas/electric. But both are interesting topics. Karen

I have it here.... no signs of Stovies.... It has a few sweets, and some recipes for "Pigg", Mutton, Beef, and "Veall"... and "Calves Head"... Lisa {> on 9/29/04 12:22 PM <} - Fiona wrote -- Margaret Traill's Cookery book A collection of Orkney recipes from the late 17th and 18th century in an A5 booklet.

Speaking of pre-historic food stuffs: the Incas used to freeze dry them by leaving them outside at night. Actually, one of the most interesting lectures I ever attended was back in 1963/4 or so (talk about ancient!) at UC Davis. One of the first plant bio. profs. I ever heard on a talk about relic seeds and trekking through Andes to find the original tomato. He took lots of pics of Inca markets. There's a cookbook, btw, that we translated from Latin in my mother's classes (she was the teacher--I had her for 4 years of h.s. Latin, every day for an hour/day), ancient Roman, Apuleius, I think was the name. He had an ancient version of Worchestershire Sauce based on fermented anchoivies. Altogether now: any town in Britain with "caster" or "chester" or "cester" in the name is a place where the Romans camped 'cause the Latin word for camp or fort is "castrum". Another interesting cookbook, one of my favorites, is the Times-Picayune (New Orleans) cookbook, which has been in continuous print since about 1910 or so. It's definitely not Orcadian cooking, however. And my favorite movie of all time is "Babette's Feast," based on a Karen Blixen novelette about a bunch of uptight religious Danes who don't believe in good food and Babette is a Paris cook who inherits a fortune and cooks them a meal that she would have prepared at Maxim's--and makes them eat it, wine and all. I suspect the gruel the Danes were eating was probably more akin to what Orcadians typically had day-to-day. And, speaking of potatoes, I've heard that around time of Irish potato famine, the average per capita consumption of potatoes in Ireland was 14 lbs./day. Can that possibly be true? It would have taken all day to eat that many potatoes! Lisbeth Jardine ----- Original Message ----- From: "stephen davie" <stephen.davie@sympatico.ca> To: <ORCADIA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 4:49 PM Subject: [<orcadia>] Stovies Stovies and More Stovies > Howdy from Canada eh? > > I have now read about 99 AMAZING points of view on stovies. This Canadian > feels that a stovie, is simply and most likely a potato cooked on a stove > (or stovie as might be explained to a kiddie who may be forewarned 'don't > burn your "handy" on the "stovie.").' As far as I can surmise, this now > fully and enthusiastically eviscerated Orkney spud, cooked in oil, > grease, or lard from an unfortunate goose, in a hot pot on the stovie, is > the forerunner of the American junk food of choice, the mighty potato > chip. > Maybe some enterprising Orcadian laddie should bag up the "Stennes > Stovies" in a multitude of optional flavours and promote them wherever > ale is sold around the world. > "Say there, bartender, when you have a minute could you bring me another > ale and a bag of Stennes Stovies and some more Sheep Dip to go with em." > THANKYOU!! > > ==== ORCADIA Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe from the Orcadia mailing list, send an e-mail with the word > 'unsubscribe' in the message body to orcadia-l-request@rootsweb.com > >

At 09:55 PM 9/11/2004, Lisbeth Jardine wrote: > A., but c'est la vie. Actually, I'm starting to set my sites on > Victoria, BC, as a compromise btw. Seattle, Vancouver, BC, and rather > limited (intellectual resources wise) P.A. I used to live in Victoria, Port Angeles, and Port Townsend :) I live in Central CA now. Denise ~ Ith Ithildin@OnDragonsWing.com Celts In Space: The List! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CeltsInSpace Music, Books, TV, History. You'll find it here.

Are we talking about pre-historic cooking, which would refer to how food was cooked before there was writing and history? Or are we talking about pre-gas or electric cooking, which is scarcely 100 years young? LJardine ----- Original Message ----- From: "Fiona" <fiona@deerness.com> To: <ORCADIA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 10:01 AM Subject: Prehistoric cooking - WAS Re: [<orcadia>] stovies > Has >> anyone seen any info on cooking in the open fire days with recipes, etc. >> >> Karen > > I was at a talk a couple of years ago by Jacqui Wood. It as part of the > 'Minehowe Knowhow' event, and was about prehistoric cooking. It was really > interesting - she's an experimental archaeologist. If I remembet right > she's > the one who did the recreation of the Orkney Hood, which there's been > mention of in the past on this list. > > She's written a book, although I've never seen it. There's a little about > prehistoric cooking and a few recipes from her on the Channel 4 time Team > website: > http://www.channel4.com/history/timeteam/snapshot_recipes.html > > I quite like the look of the barley bread and sweet bread recipes and > might > give them a go. > > Fiona > Orkney > www.picturetrail.com/orcadia > > > > ==== ORCADIA Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe from the Orcadia mailing list, send an e-mail with the word > 'unsubscribe' in the message body to orcadia-l-request@rootsweb.com > >

It was making me think more of our scalloped potatoes. Add some milk and a little flour and it all slow bakes with a nice white sauce/gravy. The variations could be/have been endless. I was wondering if perhaps after the initial browning, in days when people cooked in the fireplace, if the slower cooking might have been done in something like a Dutch oven set in the hot coals. Has anyone seen any info on cooking in the open fire days with recipes, etc. Karen (still hungry in Memphis, think I'll have to go find some BBQ)

Dear Charlie, It is NOTHING like hash brownies! The cooking method requires an amount of stock or water, which then is reduced through the potatoes and meat! It is moist, not dry! Yours, Geoffrey

trying to answer Keeliey's request and it comes back to me Mail Delivery Failed ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lerin Keeliey O'Hara" <lerinkeeliey@earthlink.net> To: <ORCADIA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2004 2:44 PM Subject: Re: [<orcadia>] stovies >I would love to have the recipe too, please. > > Thank You, > > Keeliey O'Hara > lerinkeeliey@earthlink.net > >

Thank you Geoffrey. That sounds really good. I'm getting hungry. Perhaps we could organize an "International Stovies Cookoff" contest--part of an Orkney Foods Festival. Sorry, I digress. Hunger makes the mind wander. Karen

As far as Stovies are concerned, you have to shake the pot from time to time, to stop them sticking on the bottom. If the potatoes are cut into thin slices, and layered with cooked meat, you can put in a little stock or water, and some butter, with a tight lid.

Just fat. No liquid. 2 Hours without burning.... I look forward to reports from those who try it, before I am so bold. Karen

Thank you, Marion - this seems to be a lot like our hashed browns, eh? Charlie from Washington ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marion" <marion@pivot.net> To: <ORCADIA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2004 5:28 PM Subject: Re: [<orcadia>] stovies > STOVIES > > Put some dripping or cooked fat cut small in a strong stewpan and allow it > to become smoking hot. Slice an onion or a few shallots and fry. Peel > the potatoes and slice them, and add to the pan with a little salt and > pepper. Cover closely and cook gently for 1 to 2 hours, depending on the > number of potatoes. When ready stir up from the bottom with a strong > basting spoon. If desired left over meat may be cut up and added to the > cooked potatoes. The secret of good stovies is to be able to cook the > potatoes without burning at the proper temperature and without lifting the > lid of the pot during cooking. > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <WnGriepp@aol.com> > To: <ORCADIA-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2004 8:08 PM > Subject: Re: [<orcadia>] stovies > > >>I would like it. Thank you >> Wanda >> >> >> ==== ORCADIA Mailing List ==== >> To unsubscribe from the Orcadia mailing list, send an e-mail with the >> word >> 'unsubscribe' in the message body to orcadia-l-request@rootsweb.com >> >> > > > ==== ORCADIA Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe from the Orcadia mailing list, send an e-mail with the word > 'unsubscribe' in the message body to orcadia-l-request@rootsweb.com >

You are welcome. Marion (from Maine) ----- Original Message ----- From: "pat" <orkney48@monarch.net> To: <ORCADIA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2004 8:38 PM Subject: [<orcadia>] stovies > Hi Marion - Thankyou for the recipe - best wishes, pat. > > > ==== ORCADIA Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe from the Orcadia mailing list, send an e-mail with the word > 'unsubscribe' in the message body to orcadia-l-request@rootsweb.com > >

STOVIES Put some dripping or cooked fat cut small in a strong stewpan and allow it to become smoking hot. Slice an onion or a few shallots and fry. Peel the potatoes and slice them, and add to the pan with a little salt and pepper. Cover closely and cook gently for 1 to 2 hours, depending on the number of potatoes. When ready stir up from the bottom with a strong basting spoon. If desired left over meat may be cut up and added to the cooked potatoes. The secret of good stovies is to be able to cook the potatoes without burning at the proper temperature and without lifting the lid of the pot during cooking. ----- Original Message ----- From: <WnGriepp@aol.com> To: <ORCADIA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2004 8:08 PM Subject: Re: [<orcadia>] stovies >I would like it. Thank you > Wanda > > > ==== ORCADIA Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe from the Orcadia mailing list, send an e-mail with the word > 'unsubscribe' in the message body to orcadia-l-request@rootsweb.com > >

I would like it. Thank you Wanda

Hi Marion - Thankyou for the recipe - best wishes, pat.

I have one from an Orcadian recipe book if you want it. Marion ----- Original Message ----- From: "pat" <orkney48@monarch.net> To: <ORCADIA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2004 12:39 PM Subject: [<orcadia>] stovies > To those who replied - thanks for your help regarding a recipe for > stovies. I was hoping there would be an Orcadian version but my > grandmothers family came from Edinburgh so will try for that and there is > certainly lots of selection on google! > > > ==== ORCADIA Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe from the Orcadia mailing list, send an e-mail with the word > 'unsubscribe' in the message body to orcadia-l-request@rootsweb.com > >

I would love to have the recipe too, please. Thank You, Keeliey O'Hara lerinkeeliey@earthlink.net > [Original Message] > From: Marion <marion@pivot.net> > To: <ORCADIA-L@rootsweb.com> > Date: 9/28/04 1:53:43 PM > Subject: Re: [<orcadia>] stovies > > I have one from an Orcadian recipe book if you want it. > Marion > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "pat" <orkney48@monarch.net> > To: <ORCADIA-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2004 12:39 PM > Subject: [<orcadia>] stovies > > > > To those who replied - thanks for your help regarding a recipe for > > stovies. I was hoping there would be an Orcadian version but my > > grandmothers family came from Edinburgh so will try for that and there is > > certainly lots of selection on google! > > > > > > ==== ORCADIA Mailing List ==== > > To unsubscribe from the Orcadia mailing list, send an e-mail with the word > > 'unsubscribe' in the message body to orcadia-l-request@rootsweb.com > > > > > > > ==== ORCADIA Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe from the Orcadia mailing list, send an e-mail with the word > 'unsubscribe' in the message body to orcadia-l-request@rootsweb.com