I have very fond memories of Sundays at my late grandmother’s house. Granny Woods always had a jar of sweets for us to pick one out before we went home (my favourite was a stripy jelly rectangle covered in sugar), and on special occasions she always made a chocolate cake covered in Smarties.
However, the recipe that has stayed with me and which I hope to pass on to my children is for her Scottish oatcakes:
6oz coarse oatmeal
6oz medium oatmeal
4oz self-raising flour
4oz butter or margarine
1tsp baking powder
1tsp salt
Water to mix
These were always served with the incredible combination of her black currant jam, and blue cheese! Of course, chutney and cheese is all the rage now but when I was young it seemed completely wild to have blue cheese and jam, and it is delicious. Nowadays I forgo the terribly overstewed tea that used to accompany them!
Decades after she died I made the oatcakes and served them up with cheese and jam to my French friends in Paris, who all thought I was a crazy English girl but even they had to admit how delicious the combination was.
Oh how lovely to see the words up here! Happy memories. Thank you Kelly and Tash for this wonderful project xx
Well my mum-in-laws receipe has evoked yet more memories of life at home then. The oatcakes are equally delicious with cheddar cheese and strawberry jam which she made for us whenever we returned home late at night. My lasting memory was of mum making jam at midnight in full fervour. As a newly engaged, soon to be member of the family, I asked my fiancé if he expected this of me too. I was not to worry he said this was just his mums way – Thank goodness! I have made jam since but never at midnight!