Bonnie Oatcakes, Mushy Peas and Borscht
Serious Prepper Food
It’s a sad house where the hen crows louder than the cock.
—Scottish Proverb on marriage
If a man could survive without a woman, God would not have created Eve. Ukrainian proverb on marriage
The year is 1320 A.D.
The Declaration of Arbroath
A letter written in Latin, signed by Scottish Barons and Nobles, and sent to Pope John XXII, the Declaration proclaimed Scotland’s status as an independent sovereign state. Though its effect was largely symbolic, the powerful declaration remains an important document in Scottish history – many historians believe it inspired America’s founding fathers to write the United States Declaration of Independence.
685 A.D – The Picts and the Scots combine their Celtic forces to repel the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Scotland at the battle of Dunnichen. As an omen for victory a white cross appears in the blue sky, a symbol that would evolve into the flag of Scotland, the oldest in Europe.
The ancient inhabitants of the British Isles were a tough lot to be sure. So how did these people survive in their kilts on the cold wind swept, and salty ocean spray of the near treeless highlands? Some claim the Scottish history begins about 1000 years before the birth of Christ. Just writing about Scotlands dynamic, craggy landscape feels cold and brutal. Even today the Highlands are sparsely populated.
Early Scots were hunter gatherers and no vegetable as we know them today graced their table. Later, growing vegetables, however limited, became a thing. And during the 16th century the wealthy lords and ladies began experimenting with herbs and spices to create new flavors and chase away bland meals. Of course, the use of experimental flavor enhancers were used by wealthy Kings and his court to impress high ranking visitors.
“There’s evidence of early Scots brewing heather mead, or heather ale, prior to the arrival of the Romans. When the Vikings arrived in northern and western Scotland around AD800, they brought with them improved brewing methods, as well as techniques like ‘salting’ and ‘smoking’ that would change the way people in Scotland cooked and preserved food. It’s even thought that the famous Aberdeen Angus cattle breed is descended from imported Scandinavian cows.” Scottish Food Traditions, by James Walsh
Imagine the fun I had finding and actually making some of the varied recipes I discovered starting with early Scot cuisine and eventually learning survival foods the Brits ate during WWI and II when food was rationed. Meat, milk, eggs, butter and the like was being diverted to feed the soldiers during war time. We are here today because our British cousins used their brain and came up with some ingenuous meals to keep their family alive.
Most amazing food adaptation came from a Ukrainian friend of mine. Stories of bare bones survival during war and economic crisis, are mostly still in use today. All our cousins from across the pond did not have a choice but to be creative! I hope you have fun exploring these recipes as I did and doing the research.
These are so easy to make and oh so yummy! Pop open a jar of chutney or compote for a flavor treat. Best part is you can freeze oatcakes for later or put them into a jar with a tight fitting lid and use your mason jar vacuum sealer. They will keep for months. What? You don’t have a mason jar vacuum sealer. Are you not a prepper?
Scottish Barley Pudding, yummy!
Country Natural Life The best people anywhere! I have personally shopped at their store in Paw Paw, Michigan. Lovely people with the best product at the best price anywhere, IMHO. They are fast for online ordering, using UPS for delivery.
Hint; Scottish cuisine uses lots and lots of butter. Probably as much if not more than the French or Germans.
What are mushy peas and where Did these peas come from?
Marrowfat (mushy) peas have been around since the 1700s, and apparently the first British fish-and-chip shop opened in the 1800s. Mushy peas as a side dish are thought to have stemmed from the north of England during that time and eventually became popular in most all fish-and-chip shops across the country.
Mushy peas are starchy, filling and tasty, they will adapt to the corner of your plate with whatever you are serving.
True Leaf Seeds, Burpee and Harris sell Marrowfat peas. I have grown these every year since I discovered them. They grow just like any pea and then just let dry on the plant. Cooked with a little butter added is one of the most comforting foods I have come across. Absolutely heavenly! After harvested the dried peas store very well.
Food Rationing Could it happen here? As things are going now, I can see it happening here.
I have a Ukrainian lady friend whose Mother and Father immigrated to this country a year before she was born. Her dear Father never learned to speak much English and her mother only slightly better. At present my friend and her immediate family operate a farm to table restaurant a few miles from my home. All home grown, home made, all organic. What a tasty prize in this day and age.
We Americans are so spoiled next to the lives that her parents lived in eastern Europe during and after WWII. These nice folks are so creative in their ability to coax a meal out of a cabbage, a beet and a few carrots.
One afternoon we drove the 45 minutes to checkout my friends new restaurant. Farm to table had to be good, right? She sells grass fed beef at the farmers market where we organically met her. When we got to the restaurant, we were surprised by the menu being Ukrainian cuisine, with an organic hamburger or sandwich thrown in there too. I really hadn’t thought about it before hand. But hey, I was all in, gimme some of whatever that is, and some of your home made bread, eh? Borscht, isn’t that a beet soup?
I love my veggies but a beet soup? Well, I’ll give it a try. The waitress brought me hot green tea and a few crackers of some sort while we waited for our meal.
I have to be honest, Borscht is a taste treat, ya’ll. I was impressed. It was deeelicious! This is it, this is what kept war torn countries in the cold north alive. Comfort food. Needless to say we went home packing another quart of Borscht soup, cabbage rolls, various baked goods and other stuff. With our meal and all the extras our bill came just shy of $100.00. It was well worth it! I found recipes on the internet for these wonderful dishes and now I make my own. Survival comfort food, baby!!
I need to give a shout out here to their Russian cousins. They have a history of adventurous creations too and totally know what they are doing with a vegetable. Plus anyone who can create an alcoholic beverage out of a potato is a genius in my book.
Borscht recipe here This is real survival food!! Vitamins and minerals galore, grown under less than ideal conditions in a cold country. When I made my first batch of Borscht I used beets we had canned for our pantry. Canned beets worked just as well as if I had used fresh beets. Fresh beets at the grocery store, by the way, are 3 beets for $4.99. That is ridiculously expensive when I can grow them for the price of saving a few seeds.
With supply chain issues being a very real probability I thought it prudent to learn what I could while we are still able. Insider information on what to eat to keep from living on just rice and beans in time of crisis is way ahead of any disaster. So, my next order of business will be to order more seeds, now before the spring rush. I’ll order lots of seeds and keep my friends number on speed dial so I can bug her for some of her recipe secrets.
Bonus- Depression Era meals Its whats for dinner
Grandmas Pantry Yeah, I remember some of these.
December 21, 2024— To give my Borscht soup making an authentic flare of the turn of the century 1899 to 1900 Ukraine I turned off the lights in the kitchen and attempted to cook by candle light. The U.P. of Michigan gets dark at 4:30 in the afternoon, I started my soup about 4:00.
By the time the soup was ready it was totally dark outside. What I discovered, 1) We will need to start our meals earlier if the power is out or 2) use artificial lighting such as a solar lamp. Kerosene lamps are stinky and chopping and peeling vegetables by candle light can be a bit unnerving, not to say, the least bit dangerous.
Eating by candle light, however, was truly romantic but cooking by candle light, I’ll need some practice. I don’t have any little kids around which was helpful so I didn’t have to worry about the open flames on the candles. However did these people get through the winter? Oh by the way, the soup turned out delicious. Just for shits and giggles I threw in a chunk of polish sausage. Dotty, my Ukrainian friend said they would add spare ribs to the soup as a kid, when they had them.
This post was a lot of fun. Thank you for the opportunity to share my experiences with you. Please like, share and subscribe.