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The Millers Tale

A short East Anglian with plenty to say

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Tiny Letter

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My TinyLetter is called Tales From Topographic Kitchens and it collects all my food writing and cookbook recommendations in one place.

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Recent posts

  • Christmas leftovers: a turkey, lingonberry, and bacon monte cristo
  • Why diabetes has made me detest clean eating even more
  • Fried barley and wild garlic, to eat at your leisure
  • Some thoughts on oyster soup
  • A chat about Spam with Chef Jeremy Pang

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Towering quiche edifice and an even more towering lemon meringue cheesecake.
When the children of the Kindertransport arrived in Harwich they were housed at a holiday camp in Dovercourt. The huts were unheated so they slept in their coats with water bottles but despite this, many of the now-adult children remember their time there as happy. This is a typical bill of fare. It took a few of them some time to adjust to a British diet, but adjust they did. If you visit Harwich's Redoubt Fort, there's an exhibit on the Kindertransport, carried out by local schoolchildren.
I have long been fascinated by the history of copycat recipes. This week's newsletter carries an interview with Todd Wilbur whose books are the most reliable and meticulously researched in my opinion. Please do sign up too if you are looking for food writing recs. Link 👉https://tinyletter.com/talesfromtopographickitchens/letters/copycat
English Pastoral
Who has read 'Below Stairs', Margaret Powell's account of her life as scullery maid and then cook for a series of grand families in both London and Hove? I read all her books although they reflect the vernacular and attitudes of her time (ie dodgy racist language) . Today I visited below stairs at Ickworth House where the cook, Mrs Sangster, ruled supreme, turning out meal after meal for not only the family and its guests, but servants and visiting servants too. Mrs Sangster did not write down her recipes or give an account of her trade secrets and that's not surprising. As she aged (and developed a gastric ulcer) her vulnerability to replacement by a younger cook must have been a real concern. Ensuring she retained maximum agency and fiscal currency in a sphere still regarded as domestic and therefore 'female' was crucial. Making oneself indispensable was the best, if hardest, way. Picture 1 is of the servants hall. The elm tables and benches are original, their thick elm polished by decades of tired bottoms and elbows. Then we have the finishing kitchen where living history demos take place. The dresser is original too.
And I made a roly poly pudding with spiced red grape jam. We need to eat more grape jam (jelly) in the UK. It's divine, especially with bacon.

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Towering quiche edifice and an even more towering lemon meringue cheesecake.
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