A Pig in a Poke; a recipe by Celia Wakefield

 JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: No, dear readers, you haven't fallen asleep and awakened to find it's Sunday, and time for another delicious recipe with Celia. She's here on Friday because she's going to be busy Sunday on a very special project she wants you all to know about...

 

 

Good morning JRW’s and readers, what a beautiful, hot summer it has been. Last night we had our first chilly Maine weather but perfect for a good nights sleep. Anyway I am most grateful to Julia for inviting me back again and hopefully you will enjoy my experience and recipe with Buying a Pig in a Poke.

But I want to start with asking everyone a question. What did you do during 2020 that was completely new to you? I joined a class on writing memoir led by a visionary woman, Pat Taub, who has changed my life and my writing. I had wanted to write down my growing up as it is a little out of the ordinary, plus it was a way to remember the family members who are dead now and to whom I wish I could ask a whole bag of questions now I’m old enough to formulate them. However back to the class. Pat set us a writing topic each week, then the following class on Zoom we would read our stories and best of all listen to each other. I heard many inspiring tales, sad and funny too. I felt that my writing really did fall short. But with the groups encouragement and Julia’s too, I continued. 

 

At the class end, the group had bonded, yes we bonded on Zoom, and we wanted more. So Pat took time and continued with us. Then we discussed wanting more still. Should we think of publishing our stories? Words from older women? In the end we agreed on a public reading and have been working toward making that happen. And it is. This is why you’re hearing from me on Friday, 16th, not Sunday, 18th, as that is THE day of our reading. I invite you on Sunday, September 18th, at 2pm, to join us at the State Street Church in Portland, Maine. I am sure we have some JRW’s living in Maine. Do come and see us. Julia will be there to cheer me on. I will be doing something new to me, and a little scary too.

 

Now onto today's story and there is a no recipe recipe too. Thinking back to my childhood I have very few memories of food shopping in the places we lived. How the food arrived on the table or from where never concerned me as a child. There were no supermarkets in Trinidad or Ceylon. So this was a new experience, and an air conditioned one, when we got to Ghana in the late ’50’s. But I do remember going to the local market in Sri Lanka with my mother to buy fresh, very fresh meat. This part of the story is not for the faint of heart so please skip the next paragraph. 

 

My family would go down to the market once a week where the smells and plenty of flies made it a less than salubrious venue. At the butchers stall my mother would eye the meat offerings. I am sure she had preferences and the butcher would have known them. My eight year old eye was drawn to the little calf tied to the front of the stall with some hay to eat. Eat up little calf. I realized that this was next weeks dinner as on the far side of the stall I could see the hide from probably this weeks dinner. I can’t recall any feelings of disgust but rather an acceptance of life.

But back to my ‘pig’. I did a little googling and this phrase seems to have originated in the sixteenth century. But I found this nineteenth century reference to it in a London periodical on Wikipedia. It’s too good not to share -

 “In the April 1929 edition of the literary magazine London Aphrodite, a story by Rhys Davies, titled "A Pig in a Poke", was published, in which a Welsh coal miner takes a woman from London for his wife and regrets it.[11] (Boulton 1993: p. 278)

In the 1985 film National Lampoon's European Vacation, the Griswold family wins the vacation on a game show called "Pig in a Poke”.

I noticed during one of my runs through Facebook, that a farm, not five minutes from me, was selling half chickens. Now I do love to find our food as local as possible and supermarket chicken evokes those awful videos of factory farms, but local chicken and it was within our budget, what’s not to like? 

 

I called up, ordered  and went to collect my four half chickens already frozen hard. I was a little surprised to see that each weighed at least three pounds. Wow, I thought, those are big chickens, more on the lines of beef than veal was my  comparison. This would need slow gentle cooking. A trip to my local MOFGA Farm Store gave me beautiful fresh veggies and I was set. Welcome to another of my no recipe meals

INGREDIENTS

A half chicken or approximately 3# chicken parts 

Mixed veggies: I used a leek, cubed onion, carrots, new potatoes, mushrooms, garlic, peas

I didn’t have fresh mushrooms but used Dried Porcini Mushrooms which need to be soaked in water. That water then becomes part of the stock. 

Olive oil

1/2 Cup Dry vermouth

1 Cup mushroom water or stock

A heavy saute pan with lid, mine is a le Creuset

Salt, pepper or herbs are left to choice here

 

METHOD

1. If using dried mushrooms, follow soaking instructions leaving enough time before cooking

    

2. Prep the veggies and cut into reasonably uniform sizes. 

    

3. If using fresh peas shell and keep to add later.

    

4. Defrost the chicken if frozen and cut into parts if using a half chicken. I had trimmings from the half chicken as I removed the backbone and wing tips plus some extra skin etc. I used them in the saute but removed before serving.

    

5. Heat enough olive oil to cover the pan base comfortably, and heat to medium.

    

6. Arrange the chicken pieces and trimmings so that they are not crowded, and brown over medium heat. If the pan is smaller than a 10”+ brown chicken in two lots.

    

7. Remove chicken from pan and add veggies (leave peas for later) for a little browning, add more olive oil only if necessary.

    

8. Return chicken to pan fitting it in among the veggies.

    

9. Add vermouth and bring to the boil.

    

10. Add drained mushroom water or stock and reduce to low heat.

     

11. Add shelled peas.

     

12. I cooked this on the stovetop for approximately 40 minutes. When I tested the chicken it is was ready.

     

13. Add peas at the end if frozen to keep their color.

     

14. If you wish, remove the chicken and veggies to a warm serving dish and reduce the stock for a sauce. Add herbs, cream whatever you like.

     

The whole point of a no recipe meal is to choose what you want to cook, so please don’t be limited by my veggie or wine choices. Meals like this are great ways to use up that last glass in yesterdays wine bottle.

In conclusion my question again to you: What did you do during 2020 that was completely new to you?