A bag of chips please.....

Fish &Chpis

Fish and chips are one of the foods us brits are probably most known for (the other being Roast beef & yorkshire pudding).

A few facts about fish & chips.(according to the Fish & Chip Takeaway Guide)

* Cod and haddock account for around 45% of all fish consumed in Britain.
* In 1999 fish friers served up more than 283 million meals a year making it the most popular takeaway among the British population.
* There are over 8,600 fish and chip shops in the UK who served up around 49,200 tonnes of fish last year.
* The record for the most portions of fish and chips served up in one day by a fish and chip shop is over 4,000!

A few facts about fish & chips according to me.

* The chips are usually soggy and (very) greasy. And very bad luck on you if you get a re-heated batch.
* I have never yet been able to finish a full portion of chips. The top ones with all the salt are nice but once the salt has gone, there is nothing to soak up the grease.
*Chips are smothered in salt & vinegar( The salt is yummy, I don't know why but it always but chippy salt always tastes better then home salt. Perhaps its the months of being in such a greasy atmosphere?). I tend to pass on the vinegar.
* in my days of eating fish it was pretty good but the batter was a little too greasy for me to finish it all. I used to pick it off and give it away.
*"Chav" families love fish n chips and cam be seen standing in line down there for the kids "*tea" at least three times a week.
* I prefer them served wrapped in paper although some shops now serve them in the polystyrene/styrofoam lidded carton. The downside of the paper is that unless you are eating them at once they tend to be all "sweaty" by the time you have got them home.

*People from the North(that's me) almost invariably refer to the midday meal as dinner, and the evening meal as Tea, whereas Southerners will call the midday meal lunch, and the evening meal dinner. Tea is a light afternoon meal, usually cakes or light sandwiches, accompanied by the drink Tea.

Mushy Peas

They look horrible but they are yummy( I prefer the chip shop ones over the canned though, its funny that anyother canned green veg is a sludge colour but canned mushy peas are like bright bright green and the chip shop ones are sludge colour)

Mushy peas are dried marrowfat peas which are first soaked overnight and then simmered until they form a green lumpy paste (the better the mushy peas, the less obviously bright the colour - peas with few additives tend to form a more grey-green end product). Sodium bicarbonate is often added to soften the peas and to inhibit fermentation during soaking which reduces later flatulence. They are a very traditional northern English accompaniment to fish and chips, or in the North West are commonly served as part of the popular snack of pie and peas (akin to the Australian pie floater, although using mushy peas instead of a thick pea soup) and are considered a part of traditional British cuisine. Mushy peas can be bought in tins; one of the most popular brands is Batchelors.They are also sometimes served in batter as a pea fritter. In the North West (Cheshire/Merseyside areas) it is commonly served with two fried eggs on top as a latenight snack.that's news to me, I have never heard of fried eggs being served with them ?

Mushy peas are dried marrowfat peas which have been soaked overnight and then boiled. They are a great favourite of the north of England and are a traditional accompaniment to fish and chips.

INGREDIENTS: Dried marrowfat peas - 225 g, Bicarbonate of soda - tsp, Unsalted butter - 15 g, Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

COOKING:1. In a large basin, soak the peas overnight (or for at least 4 hours) in three times their volume of cold water, with the bicarbonate of soda.
2. Rinse the peas well and put them into a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer for approximately 1 - 2 hours stirring from time to time, until the peas are cooked and have fallen to a softened mush.
3. If they appear too wet, continue cooking over a low heat to drive off any excess moisture, but take care to keep stirring, to prevent them burning on the base of the pan.
4. Beat in the butter, salt and pepper to taste.

They sound much much worse then they are honest!

My Grandmother used to help out on a Saturday lunch time at the local chip shop, as a result when we had mushy peas at home she would make them the chip shop way (not too think and not an acrid green colour) Yumm.

Mushy Peas can cause chaos too.