MaC
Moderator
Both for the fire, and for dinner 
It's the quiet tidy up time in the garden. I don't do it harshly because it's too soon, but I do take off dead branches, broken bits, the pieces that stick out and catch me as I pass by.
Where I worked I often had a fire, and I made up faggots from all these prunings. Oftimes I built them up around a fire bundle (pretty sure I've shown those before) of tinder and extender stuff, and the faggots ended up about the size and thickness of my forearm. Sort of tapered logs. They end up burning brightly, and they are all scented in their own way. Every place I'd been and gathered adds to the faggots, and the burning of them releases scents and memories.
This last lot has rose and sage and bog myrtle in among the pine, apple, holly and cherry. I'm kind of itching to see how well they burn, but also how they smell.
I have no open fire or stove in the house, but if it's dry Hallowe'en night, then I'll light up the wee brazier outside and sit with a glass of something hot and mellow, and mind old friends and family long gone.
The other kind of faggots, the dinner kind, are an old fashioned food. Basically, like haggis they used up bits and pieces and offal, mixed in with what is really seasoned stuffing. Made into little rugby balls, they were wrapped in pieces of the caul that comes from around the kidneys. Most organ meats; kidney, liver, heart, lungs, cook quickly and easily. Nowadays faggots are usually pork mince wrapped up in streaky bacon rashers, one wrapped either way around to cross over and cover, and then either fried or baked, then served in gravy.
If you're careful with them though, they can be gently poached in milk with mace or bay leaves and that milk then turned into a seasoned white sauce to serve with them.
It's one of those easy to substitute kind of meals though. Use breadcrumbs, onion, good seasoning of salt, pepper, ground mace and sage and thyme, as the base and add in whatever scraps of cooked meat you have, or even open a tin of corned beef and use that. Cook them like doughballs/dumplings, even just added to a simmering soup.
Venison's good in them, if you add some fat, and so are pigeon breasts.
Vegetarian version are very tasty too. Coarsely grate up fresh mushrooms, add good black pepper, and roll the faggots in cornflour before frying them. You can roll out bread very thin and use that to wrap around them if you want too, though those don't take so well to being soaked in gravy.
It's just that time of year I reckon. It's old fashioned comfort foods, tasty, warm, easy eating, filling food.
Right now the kitchen smells wonderful, I've been making mincemeat
M
It's the quiet tidy up time in the garden. I don't do it harshly because it's too soon, but I do take off dead branches, broken bits, the pieces that stick out and catch me as I pass by.
Where I worked I often had a fire, and I made up faggots from all these prunings. Oftimes I built them up around a fire bundle (pretty sure I've shown those before) of tinder and extender stuff, and the faggots ended up about the size and thickness of my forearm. Sort of tapered logs. They end up burning brightly, and they are all scented in their own way. Every place I'd been and gathered adds to the faggots, and the burning of them releases scents and memories.
This last lot has rose and sage and bog myrtle in among the pine, apple, holly and cherry. I'm kind of itching to see how well they burn, but also how they smell.
I have no open fire or stove in the house, but if it's dry Hallowe'en night, then I'll light up the wee brazier outside and sit with a glass of something hot and mellow, and mind old friends and family long gone.
The other kind of faggots, the dinner kind, are an old fashioned food. Basically, like haggis they used up bits and pieces and offal, mixed in with what is really seasoned stuffing. Made into little rugby balls, they were wrapped in pieces of the caul that comes from around the kidneys. Most organ meats; kidney, liver, heart, lungs, cook quickly and easily. Nowadays faggots are usually pork mince wrapped up in streaky bacon rashers, one wrapped either way around to cross over and cover, and then either fried or baked, then served in gravy.
If you're careful with them though, they can be gently poached in milk with mace or bay leaves and that milk then turned into a seasoned white sauce to serve with them.
It's one of those easy to substitute kind of meals though. Use breadcrumbs, onion, good seasoning of salt, pepper, ground mace and sage and thyme, as the base and add in whatever scraps of cooked meat you have, or even open a tin of corned beef and use that. Cook them like doughballs/dumplings, even just added to a simmering soup.
Venison's good in them, if you add some fat, and so are pigeon breasts.
Vegetarian version are very tasty too. Coarsely grate up fresh mushrooms, add good black pepper, and roll the faggots in cornflour before frying them. You can roll out bread very thin and use that to wrap around them if you want too, though those don't take so well to being soaked in gravy.
It's just that time of year I reckon. It's old fashioned comfort foods, tasty, warm, easy eating, filling food.
Right now the kitchen smells wonderful, I've been making mincemeat
M
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