All week I have been patiently resting, letting my back recover. Calmed down the spasm, let the knot just be, take lots of pain pills and rest, rest, rest. As a result, this week when it comes to food it has been very, well, interesting. I have been living on my Spicy Peanut Noodles, adding whatever protein and lingering vegetables I had left. Last night I used the last of the freezer mystery meat as well as my potatoes when I made the British classic Toad in a Hole with Latvian Sour Cream Potato Casserole.
This is my mom’s favourite way of eating, what she has always called peasant food. Making food out of very little and it always seems to be delicious. It is comforting to eat these high carb and fat meals which I normally do not allow myself. I came across these two recipes last year when I started looking into my food culture. My mom is Latvian and my dad’s background is British. These were my two favourite dishes and last night my food cultures married into comfort food bliss.
All Toad in a Hole really is are sausages cooked in Yorkshire Pudding. I mean what could be bad? Except that I should have chosen a bigger cooking vessel. I did not think I would be able to make this because I was out of milk but I found a can of evaporated skim milk in my pantry, thank goodness!
The Latvian potatoes are par boiled potatoes sliced and slathered with a sour cream and egg mixture and sprinkled with breadcrumbs and cheese. I also added some bacon, leeks and thyme to the recipe because that is what I had left!
Normally the pudding souffles more around the sausages but that is fine, it was delicious and for me, flavour-wise, very decadent.
The decadence continued with cholesterol-coated potatoes. Not food I would normally allow myself but we are talking about survival here.
No grocery shopping at all in an entire week? It is amazing at how little there is left and yet I can still make a giant meal. This is true liberation, having enough food knowledge to not only survive when there is so little left but really thrive when it comes to flavour.
The more recipes we try, the more techniques we learn, the more we can do with very, very little.
What is your peasant food?
Yours is the second blog I read this week that featured Toad in the Hole! Is there a British cuisine revival going on, LOL? Glad you’re feeling better, Suzie!
I am always amazed at the delicious dishes I can come up with with just rice, beans and whatever fruit/veg/nuts I have in my fridge. Not your typical North American peasant food (I would assume I’d need some potatoes and bread in there)… but that’s usually my go-to dish when I haven’t been shopping!
Wow, those potatoes are like a Latvian version of scalloped potatoes, only better! It’s funny how so many “peasant foods” we grew up with are now considered high end trendy, gourmet dishes in restaurants. Glad to see you’re feeling better and up and about working your creative magic in your kitchen, delicious survival skills!
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ooops,double posted, sorry!
Oh that looks so good! I love Toad in the hole. I think my comfort food is fish and chips, it’s my ‘no thinking meal’ we have it every Tuesday night and make it in the oven rather than the frier so it is not quite so bad in terms of fat! Roast potoatoes are another of my favourite comfort foods, Roast Chicken, roast potatoes and gravy with any vegetable just delicious.
beans, macaroni or orzo, braised meats and veggies with chicken broth, lots of garlic, and sherry is our peasant food. your potatoes look positively scrumptious.
latvian potatoes look delish!!!!!
Rice n lentils! They cook in ~ an hour, & I add veggies part way through (sometimes) & garlic n onion.
Growing up, we had potatoes with most meals (central oregon, where we GREW lots of potatoes) & when my son or daughter makes mashed potatoes it transports me right back!!