Thanks, Ruth, that works fine! We only recently discovered Substack, and we're slowly going through your older posts now and savouring every one ☺️.
Your pieces really strike a chord with us cos we collect and research old recipes too - sadly, so much of our cultural heritage is being forgotten, and will be forever lost to the next generation.
Thanks so much for finding me and reaching out! I’d love to talk to you more about your research and old recipes as that’s what interests me the most too – and not only from my own heritage. Please send me a link to read more about what you do.
Marg from Gosford Australia has shared your post and I was most interested to read about your travels in Nova Scotia. We lived in Canada for a year in 1998 and travelled out to the Maritimes including Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island - such beautiful country with a fascinating history and brilliant music. We also have a Scottish Grandmother so another thing in common.
Thanks so much for writing and sharing something of your travels and background, Bev. We really enjoyed our trip to Cape Breton and wished we might have visited Prince Edward Island as well, but time ran out. I agree about the fascinating history and music of the area. I hope we’ll be able to return someday to enjoy more of both. And Australia is also high on our list of places we want to visit! Thanks again for reaching out--and to Marg for referring you!🤗
Thanks as always, Jolene! I do love sharing stories that include my mom, hopefully without repeating myself too often!😆 She's kind of a muse when it comes to baking, even after so many years.
I think the answer to the rain water question is - if my memory serves - in modern times bottles Scottish mineral water, aka not tap water that has been treated. I think you'd like Felicity Cloake's brilliant book Red Sauce, Brown Sauce which catalogues British breakfast foods around the country and where she visits the home of the Scottish porridge making championships to find out what exactly makes perfect porridge.
Also, very curious if you do another batch and chill them. Unless you need the dough cooler because it is sticky to shape, growing up baking from a steady diet of British WI cookie recipes and Mary Berry I've always seen chilling dough (even though I understand the science behind it) as a very American pre-occupation. Perhaps why the dough with Scottish origins is no chill?
I appreciate the additional info, Rachel! I'm sure that rainwater was purer once upon a time. I would use tap or bottled water these days. Thanks also for the recommendation of Felicity Cloake's book. I just ordered it, so now I'm sure I'll be doing a deep dive into British breakfasts--can't wait! I'm really curious about what makes a perfect porridge. I just made a batch yesterday and was really dissatisfied as it came out watery and not thick and rib-sticking as I remember my mother's used to be.
I may just try making the oatcake recipe again and chilling the dough to see if it does make a difference. You're undoubtedly right about chilling the dough being an American preoccupation. I also don't recall my Scottish mom or any of my aunts ever doing it, but many American cookie recipes I read seem to call for it. As for the science behind it, I will definitely have to do some more research! Thanks for an excellent question!
I really hope you enjoy it - I learned so much, even if I was a little sad that she very much barely touched my home of Kent! If you enjoy it you will also love her first travelogue One More Croissant For The Road which explores the cuisine of French regions by bike - rating their croissants at each stop!
I've not taken a deep dive into the dough chilling thing because I'm more of a cook not a baker but I used to do SEO-copy editing for a baking blogger who was big on explaining the science in her posts so I learned that chilling allows the flour more type to hydrate stopping the spread and usually concentrating flavour - lots of bakers liken it to maturing the dough. Obviously depending on the cookie it also helps alter the texture, when we're talking chocolate chip usually making it a bit chewier. It would be an interesting project on these oatcakes because obviously the oats will have more of a chance to hydrate too.
I’m looking forward to reading it! And thanks for the additional info on chilling dough. I do know it makes a difference with chocolate chip cookies and bread. Now I’m curious enough to make my oat recipe again to find out if it makes a difference.
Thanks, Sam! It really is! If I have nothing edible I want to recreate after a trip, I consider that sojourn somewhat defective, even if I had a great time. That's one of the reasons I'm enjoying your recent posts about Guatemala and Greece. Along with the beautiful scenery, great writing and philosophic musings, you include recipes I want to make!
Sweet and timeless? You mean you know how to make Twinkies?! They're the only baked item I know of that can truly be called timeless. They'll still be as "fresh" as the day they were made long after intelligent cockroaches take over the Earth.
I've often thought if we ate enough of that kind of food, we'd have eternal life too. But the quality of that life might be lacking. I can see that as a subject for one of your excellent cartoons!
A nice mix of food, travel and history. Interesting that Acadian food is quite bland. It is a testament to the value of the melting pot and what mixing Acadians, Spanish, African Americans and Natives can yield. Makes a great gumbo and starts with a roux!!! We're better off all mixed together :)
Thanks, Mark! Gumbo is an excellent metaphor for the value of mixing diverse populations together to create a greater whole (or a delicious dish!). I only wish we might translate the notion to more of our troubled planet.
The United States is really the only country on Earth that has tried the melting pot over a long period of time. It is so amazing to me despite the broad success of immigration, it seems most every other nation on Earth is unwilling to try it! Change and "the other" seems to be deep in our DNA.
So well put, Mark. Sadly, I’m afraid you’re right. But that should never stop us from trying to change things for the better. Hope is also deep in our DNA.
I don't know when it will come to be but when I have the right inspiration I am going to write about the difference between genetics and epigenetics. I wonder how much of us is passed on, how much is nurtured and how much is enabled based upon a bit of nurturing and action on our part???
Well that means at least one person will read it. I am not a black and white thinkker and generally figure when that is what we are presented the deeper knowledge is lacking. We've all heard the nature vs nurture. I just figure there might be something in between that explains how different people in very similar circumstances navigate differently. By the way those oat cakes look like they take some patience to pull off!
I love oatmeal for breakfast and in cookies. Thank you for the history. I also love the plate in the first photo. Antique? Today I have just begun a thorough house cleaning in preparation for Thanksgiving. Hopefully, it will make the task quicker in the days before the event. Very enjoyable post, as always.
I was going to say more about the plate, so thanks for asking, Vicki. It’s a Royal Stafford bone china piece I inherited from my mother. I have about four or five of these plates that I cherish, but not a complete set. I do wonder sometimes what happened to the rest, but I do find I enjoy pastries more when I eat them off of those plates! Good for you for starting housecleaning early in preparation for the holiday. It definitely makes life easier. Thanks again for your comments.
Hi, appreciate your honesty about fruitcakes. I think for some people they’re probably just decorative. But I do think they can be delicious. Anyway, it’s my mission to make one that is! Always a great pleasure to bring back recipes from my travels to share on my blog. Thanks for your comments, Lisa!
I happen to love fruitcake so will be looking forward to your recipe ! also --- you never "go on too long" as far as I'm concerned ... I love your writings and yes !!! make time slooow down !!!
Fruitcake recipe coming soon, Beth! I’m hoping to win over a few naysayers with one in which there are no unidentified neon-colored candied fruits. Stay tuned--and thanks a million for your supportive comments!🤗
Sugar in oatcakes! 😱 Oh, Canada! 😂 Shows what happens when food travels. I did like the rainwater as an ingredient for the real thing. A lovely idea, because it wouldn't have all those chemicals. And in Scotland, all you have to do is put out a bowl, and you'll have all the rainwater you need in short order.
Ok, the Scottish Tourist Board just demanded I retract that last statement, or they will send round the Kelpies with the sharpest teeth to.sort. me out. Fair enough!
Is sugar in oatcakes a sacrilege? Probably it is in Scotland. My mother never made them at all, but sacrilege or not, they do taste good! Rainwater here (should we
Be lucky enough to get rain to speak of) might not be so good--it would undoubtedly taste of smog, smoke and gas fumes! Thanks so much for your comment, Annette! I’d love a true Scottish oatcake recipe!
Let's just say I've never seen sugar in oatcakes before! I've never made them, because it's more a bought thing these days. and sounds like same was true in your mum's day. Yeah, I wouldn't use L.A. rainwater, good call! 😂
Another great article! We'd love to try the Nova Scotia oatcakes recipe but the link doesn't seem to work 😞.
Thanks for reading, @Nepheleana. Hope the following link works better, please let me know if it doesn't and I'll try again:
https://kellyneil.com/nova-scotia-oatcakes/#recipe
Thanks, Ruth, that works fine! We only recently discovered Substack, and we're slowly going through your older posts now and savouring every one ☺️.
Your pieces really strike a chord with us cos we collect and research old recipes too - sadly, so much of our cultural heritage is being forgotten, and will be forever lost to the next generation.
Thanks so much for finding me and reaching out! I’d love to talk to you more about your research and old recipes as that’s what interests me the most too – and not only from my own heritage. Please send me a link to read more about what you do.
Ahh most of what we've been doing is still quite hotch-potch. We'll try to get it more organized and share it with you, Ruth ☺️
Marg from Gosford Australia has shared your post and I was most interested to read about your travels in Nova Scotia. We lived in Canada for a year in 1998 and travelled out to the Maritimes including Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island - such beautiful country with a fascinating history and brilliant music. We also have a Scottish Grandmother so another thing in common.
Thanks so much for writing and sharing something of your travels and background, Bev. We really enjoyed our trip to Cape Breton and wished we might have visited Prince Edward Island as well, but time ran out. I agree about the fascinating history and music of the area. I hope we’ll be able to return someday to enjoy more of both. And Australia is also high on our list of places we want to visit! Thanks again for reaching out--and to Marg for referring you!🤗
I always love hearing about your Mom, Ruth. ❤️ This was a delicious post with lots of history and of course, your travels!
Thanks as always, Jolene! I do love sharing stories that include my mom, hopefully without repeating myself too often!😆 She's kind of a muse when it comes to baking, even after so many years.
And always will be ☺️
Amen to that! 🥰
I think the answer to the rain water question is - if my memory serves - in modern times bottles Scottish mineral water, aka not tap water that has been treated. I think you'd like Felicity Cloake's brilliant book Red Sauce, Brown Sauce which catalogues British breakfast foods around the country and where she visits the home of the Scottish porridge making championships to find out what exactly makes perfect porridge.
Also, very curious if you do another batch and chill them. Unless you need the dough cooler because it is sticky to shape, growing up baking from a steady diet of British WI cookie recipes and Mary Berry I've always seen chilling dough (even though I understand the science behind it) as a very American pre-occupation. Perhaps why the dough with Scottish origins is no chill?
I appreciate the additional info, Rachel! I'm sure that rainwater was purer once upon a time. I would use tap or bottled water these days. Thanks also for the recommendation of Felicity Cloake's book. I just ordered it, so now I'm sure I'll be doing a deep dive into British breakfasts--can't wait! I'm really curious about what makes a perfect porridge. I just made a batch yesterday and was really dissatisfied as it came out watery and not thick and rib-sticking as I remember my mother's used to be.
I may just try making the oatcake recipe again and chilling the dough to see if it does make a difference. You're undoubtedly right about chilling the dough being an American preoccupation. I also don't recall my Scottish mom or any of my aunts ever doing it, but many American cookie recipes I read seem to call for it. As for the science behind it, I will definitely have to do some more research! Thanks for an excellent question!
I really hope you enjoy it - I learned so much, even if I was a little sad that she very much barely touched my home of Kent! If you enjoy it you will also love her first travelogue One More Croissant For The Road which explores the cuisine of French regions by bike - rating their croissants at each stop!
I've not taken a deep dive into the dough chilling thing because I'm more of a cook not a baker but I used to do SEO-copy editing for a baking blogger who was big on explaining the science in her posts so I learned that chilling allows the flour more type to hydrate stopping the spread and usually concentrating flavour - lots of bakers liken it to maturing the dough. Obviously depending on the cookie it also helps alter the texture, when we're talking chocolate chip usually making it a bit chewier. It would be an interesting project on these oatcakes because obviously the oats will have more of a chance to hydrate too.
I’m looking forward to reading it! And thanks for the additional info on chilling dough. I do know it makes a difference with chocolate chip cookies and bread. Now I’m curious enough to make my oat recipe again to find out if it makes a difference.
I will have to try these oat cakes! Isn’t picking up a new favorite recipe while traveling just the best??
Thanks, Sam! It really is! If I have nothing edible I want to recreate after a trip, I consider that sojourn somewhat defective, even if I had a great time. That's one of the reasons I'm enjoying your recent posts about Guatemala and Greece. Along with the beautiful scenery, great writing and philosophic musings, you include recipes I want to make!
Aw, thank you Ruth! That reminds me, I need to make champurradas again soon...😊
Another tasty article. Do you think those cookies should be warmed up? Lol. I like fruitcake too.
Thanks, Judy! No need to warm them up--just munch with hot tea and take a nap.🥰
Sweet and timeless? You mean you know how to make Twinkies?! They're the only baked item I know of that can truly be called timeless. They'll still be as "fresh" as the day they were made long after intelligent cockroaches take over the Earth.
Jeff reminds me that it was a Twinkie that brought us together years ago in San Francisco. But that’s a subject for a future post perhaps!
You should have kept it. It'd still be good!
I've often thought if we ate enough of that kind of food, we'd have eternal life too. But the quality of that life might be lacking. I can see that as a subject for one of your excellent cartoons!
Could be!
A nice mix of food, travel and history. Interesting that Acadian food is quite bland. It is a testament to the value of the melting pot and what mixing Acadians, Spanish, African Americans and Natives can yield. Makes a great gumbo and starts with a roux!!! We're better off all mixed together :)
Thanks, Mark! Gumbo is an excellent metaphor for the value of mixing diverse populations together to create a greater whole (or a delicious dish!). I only wish we might translate the notion to more of our troubled planet.
The United States is really the only country on Earth that has tried the melting pot over a long period of time. It is so amazing to me despite the broad success of immigration, it seems most every other nation on Earth is unwilling to try it! Change and "the other" seems to be deep in our DNA.
So well put, Mark. Sadly, I’m afraid you’re right. But that should never stop us from trying to change things for the better. Hope is also deep in our DNA.
I don't know when it will come to be but when I have the right inspiration I am going to write about the difference between genetics and epigenetics. I wonder how much of us is passed on, how much is nurtured and how much is enabled based upon a bit of nurturing and action on our part???
I would definitely like to read that, Mark! It’s something I’ve wondered about for a long time.
Well that means at least one person will read it. I am not a black and white thinkker and generally figure when that is what we are presented the deeper knowledge is lacking. We've all heard the nature vs nurture. I just figure there might be something in between that explains how different people in very similar circumstances navigate differently. By the way those oat cakes look like they take some patience to pull off!
I love oatmeal for breakfast and in cookies. Thank you for the history. I also love the plate in the first photo. Antique? Today I have just begun a thorough house cleaning in preparation for Thanksgiving. Hopefully, it will make the task quicker in the days before the event. Very enjoyable post, as always.
I was going to say more about the plate, so thanks for asking, Vicki. It’s a Royal Stafford bone china piece I inherited from my mother. I have about four or five of these plates that I cherish, but not a complete set. I do wonder sometimes what happened to the rest, but I do find I enjoy pastries more when I eat them off of those plates! Good for you for starting housecleaning early in preparation for the holiday. It definitely makes life easier. Thanks again for your comments.
Love oats and oatmeal! Enjoyed the history too!
Thanks so much, Joey!
My mother makes a fruitcake every year but I honestly can’t remember ever trying it. I love how you brought your travels back to the kitchen.
Hi, appreciate your honesty about fruitcakes. I think for some people they’re probably just decorative. But I do think they can be delicious. Anyway, it’s my mission to make one that is! Always a great pleasure to bring back recipes from my travels to share on my blog. Thanks for your comments, Lisa!
I happen to love fruitcake so will be looking forward to your recipe ! also --- you never "go on too long" as far as I'm concerned ... I love your writings and yes !!! make time slooow down !!!
Fruitcake recipe coming soon, Beth! I’m hoping to win over a few naysayers with one in which there are no unidentified neon-colored candied fruits. Stay tuned--and thanks a million for your supportive comments!🤗
Sugar in oatcakes! 😱 Oh, Canada! 😂 Shows what happens when food travels. I did like the rainwater as an ingredient for the real thing. A lovely idea, because it wouldn't have all those chemicals. And in Scotland, all you have to do is put out a bowl, and you'll have all the rainwater you need in short order.
Ok, the Scottish Tourist Board just demanded I retract that last statement, or they will send round the Kelpies with the sharpest teeth to.sort. me out. Fair enough!
Is sugar in oatcakes a sacrilege? Probably it is in Scotland. My mother never made them at all, but sacrilege or not, they do taste good! Rainwater here (should we
Be lucky enough to get rain to speak of) might not be so good--it would undoubtedly taste of smog, smoke and gas fumes! Thanks so much for your comment, Annette! I’d love a true Scottish oatcake recipe!
Let's just say I've never seen sugar in oatcakes before! I've never made them, because it's more a bought thing these days. and sounds like same was true in your mum's day. Yeah, I wouldn't use L.A. rainwater, good call! 😂