Food Biadh

[Ruaraidh] Tha mise a’ dol a dhèanamh rud beag aran-coirce a bhios math dha-rìribh leis an hot smoked bradan againn. Anns a’ bhobhla seo tha mu phunnd min-choirce agam, beagan min-fhlùir. Tha mi a’ dol a thilgeil ann salann, cream of tartar, bicarbonate of soda. Dìreach spàin bheag dhan a h-uile càil. A’ dol a mheasgachadh seo gu math fhad ’s a tha e tioram, gus an tèid a h-uile càil an lùib a chèile. Fhuair mi cnapan anns a’ bhicarb so tha e math na cnapan sin fhaighinn a-mach agus dìreach a mheasgachadh gu math. Tha e a’ coimhead glè mhath. Nise, ’s e mo sheanmhair a thug an reasabaidh seo dha mo mhàthair agus nuair a bha ise ga dhèanamh ... Tha thu ann an sin, Ùisdein.

[Ùisdean] Tha, siud thu a-nis.

[Ruaraidh] Ciamar a tha am bradan a’ dol?

[Ùisdean] Tha e a’ coimhead glè mhath. ’S e a tha.

[Ruaraidh] Uill bha mi dìreach ag innse dhaibh, ’s e mo sheanmhair a thug an reasabaidh seo dha mo mhàthair agus nuair a bha ise ga dhèanamh ’s e geir a bhiodh iad a’ glèidheil a bhith a’ cleachdadh.

[Ùisdean] Ò aidh, aidh.

[Ruaraidh] Ach ’s e margarine a bhiodh mo mhàthair a’ cleachdadh. Ach bho chionn ghoirid fhios agad, Ruaraidh beag, fhuair sinn a-mach nuair a bha e beag nach fhulaingeadh e bainne no ìm so thòisich sinn a’ dèanamh an aran-coirce le soya spread.

[Ùisdean] Ò thì, nach sibh a a tha new age.

[Ruaraidh] Agus tha e tòrr nas fheàrr.

[Ùisdean] Ò tha sin ag obair math?

[Ruaraidh] Aran-coirce a b’ fheàrr a ghabh mise a-riamh.

[Ùisdean] Ach ’s e reasabaidh do sheanmhar a th’ ann.

[Ruaraidh] ’S e, ’s e.

[Ùisdean] Aidh aidh. Agus an robh ise cho luideach timcheall a’ bhòrd ’s a tha thu fhèin an-diugh?

[Ruaraidh] Chan eil càil a dh’fhios a’m.

[Ùisdean] Co-dhiù, feumaidh mise ...

[Ruaraidh] Dè tha thusa a’ dèanamh?

[Ùisdean] Tha mi a’ sgrìobadh buntàta no dhà an-dràsta.

[Ruaraidh] Mar dha-rìribh. Dè do bheachd a dhèanamh leis a’ bhuntàta?

[Ùisdean] Nì sinn beagan ... Uill an rud a bhios daoine a’ gabhail mar as trice le pastrami ’s e potato salad ’s coleslaw.

[Ruaraidh] Ò math dha-rìribh.

[Ùisdean] Agus tha còir am pastrami a bhith air ryebread le picil ’s rudan mar sin so bidh sin glè mhath.

[Ruaraidh] Agus dè seòrsa buntàta a th’ agad?

[Ùisdean] Tha an-dràsta Jersey Royals ach nam biodh sinn beagan nas fhaide air adhart anns a’ bhliadhna bhiodh sinn a’ faighinn nan earlies a bhiodh daoine a’ fàs suas ann an seo fhèin.

[Ruaraidh] Uill tha mi dìreach an-dràsta, nuair a chì thu seo, can dìreach aig an ìre seo, 'goirid' no 'short' mar a chanas iad, tha thu deiseil airson rud beag uisge a chur ann. Nise, chan urrainn dhomh a ràdh dè uiread de dh’uisge a thèid ann. Tha e eadar-dhealaichte a h-uile turas a chionn cuid a mhin-choirce gabhaidh e barrachd uisge na min-choirce eile so druthag bheag uisge.

[Ùisdean] ’S e latha math tioram a th’ ann an-dràsta.

[Ruaraidh] ’S e.

[Ùisdean] Carson a tha thu a’ cantainn gu bheil an t-uisge againn?

[Ruaraidh] An-còmhnaidh do chuid nonsense. Steig thusa leis a’ bhuntàta.

[Ùisdean] Aidh, aidh. 'Uisge' a’ tighinn às an adhar, 'bùrn' a’ tighinn às an tap.

[Ruaraidh] So tha mi dìreach a’ dol a chur rud beag uisge an lùib seo an-dràsta.

[Ùisdean] A bheil thu ag iarraidh umbrella na chois?

[Ruaraidh] So sluigidh seo an t-uisge an àrd. Nuair a chì thu an dath a’ dol rud beag nas soilleire mar sin tha fios agad gu bheil thu air an rathad cheart.

[Ruaraidh] Uill tha mi a’ smaoineachadh gu bheil sin am bonnach sin an ìre mhath. Tha mi dìreach a’ dol a roiligeadh seo a-mach an-dràsta. Tha e an urra riut fhèin dè cho tiugh ’s a tha thu ga iarraidh ach cuimhnich, ma tha e tiugh bidh e nas fhaide san àmhainn. Ach tha mise ga iarraidh meadhanach tana, ’s dòcha, chan eil fhios a’m, dìreach mar sin, còig millimetre.

[Ùisdean] So uill ged as e pastrami a tha sinne a’ dèanamh an-diugh bha e cumanta gu leòr. Bha daoine a’ dèanamh tòrr sailleadh air feòil.

[Ruaraidh] Ò bhiodh. Bha daoine beò air feòil shaillte tron gheamhradh, aidh.

[Ùisdean] ’S e sin a dh’fheumadh iad. Bhiodh m’ athair, bhiodh e a’ dèanamh feòil rèisg. Bha e uabhasach math.

[Ùisdean] Bhiodh e a’ dol ann an salann, feòil-chaora, ach bhiodh e a’ dol ann an salann ’s an uair sin bhiodh e a’ dol suas dhan lobht airson a thiormachadh ’s bha ... Cha robh daoine a’ cur, nàdar, value sam bith air an seo.

[Ruaraidh] Cha robh.

[Ùisdean] Bha e fair a’ smaoineachadh gur e fair rud a dh’fheumadh iad a dhèanamh ach ’s thig thu gu rìoghachdan eile ’s tha iad, An Roinn Eòrpa ’s sin, ’s tha a h-uile seòrsa feòil aca ...

[Ruaraidh] Tha.

[Ùisdean] ... air a dhèanamh ann an cure, ann am picil ’s sin, ’s tha e fair, tha daoine ...

[Ruaraidh] Tha còir againn a dhol air ais dhan sin ...

[Ùisdean] Tha.

[Ruaraidh] ... seach pacaidean a bhith agad anns an fhrids de rud mì-chàilear.

[Ruaraidh] Tha seo deiseil airson a dhol dhan àmhainn a-nist. Tha mi a’ dol a bhualadh a-steach.

[Ùisdean] Dè teas a tha an àmhainn?

[Ruaraidh] Tha àiteigin eadar one thirty agus one fifty, nì e a’ chùis, ach mar as trice ’s e an t-sròn a dh’innseas dhut nuair a tha seo deiseil.

[Ùisdean] Air neo an smoke detector.

[Ruaraidh] No smoke detector.

[Ùisdean] Aidh.

[Ruaraidh] Bidh e uair a thìde co-dhiù, chanainn.

Chaidh am prògram seo, Seòid a’ Chidsin, a chraoladh an toiseach ann an 2017.

[Roddy] I am going to make some oatcakes that will be excellent with our hot smoked salmon. In this bowl I have about a pound of oatmeal, a little flour. I am going to throw in salt, cream of tartar, bicarbonate of soda. Just a little spoon of everything. Going to thoroughly mix this whilst it is dry, so that everything combines. I found lumps in the bicarb so it is good to get those lumps out and just mix it thoroughly. It looks very good. Now, it is my grandmother who gave this recipe to my mother and when she made it ... You are there, Uisdean.

[Uisdean] I am, there you are now.

[Roddy] How is the salmon going?

[Uisdean] It looks very good. It certainly does.

[Roddy] Well I was just telling them, it is my grandmother who gave this recipe to my mother and when she made it they kept fat to use.

[Uisdean] Oh aye, aye.

[Roddy] But it is margarine that my mother would use. But recently you know, little Roddy, we found out when he was little that he couldn't tolerate milk or butter so we started making the oatcake with soya spread.

[Uisdean] Oh heck, aren’t you new age?

[Roddy] And it is much better.

[Uisdean] Oh that works well?

[Roddy] The best oatcake that I have ever had.

[Uisdean] But it is your grandmother's recipe.

[Roddy] It is, yes.

[Uisdean] Aye aye. And was she as untidy around the table as you are today?

[Roddy] I have no idea.

[Uisdean] Anyway, I must ...

[Roddy] What are you doing?

[Uisdean] I am peeling a couple of potatoes just now.

[Roddy] Excellent. What are you thinking of making with the potatoes?

[Uisdean] We will make a little ... Well what people usually have with pastrami is potato salad and coleslaw.

[Roddy] Oh excellent.

[Uisdean] And the pastrami ought to be on ryebread with pickle and things like that so it will be very good.

[Roddy] And what sort of potatoes have you got?

[Uisdean] It is Jersey Royals just now but if we were a little further on in the year we would get the earlies that people grow up here.

[Roddy] Well I am just just now, when you see this, say just at this stage, 'short' as they say, you are ready to add a little bit of water. Now, I cannot say what quantity of water will go in. It is different every time because some oatmeal it will take more water than other oatmeal so a little glug of water.

[Uisdean] It is a fine dry day just now.

[Roddy] It is.

[Uisdean] Why are you saying that we have the rain?

[Roddy] Always with your nonsense. You stick with the potatoes.

[Uisdean] Aye, aye. 'Uisge' [water, rain] comes from the sky, ' bùrn' [water, particularly in Lewis dialect] comes from the tap.

[Roddy] So I am just going to add a little bit of 'uisge' [water] to this just now.

[Uisdean] Do you want an umbrella along with it?

[Roddy] So this will absorb the water. When you see the colour going a little bit lighter like that you know that you are on the right path.

[Roddy] Well I think that that is that cake getting on well. I am just going to roll this out just now. It is up to yourself how thick you want it but remember, if it is thick it will be longer in the oven. But I want it reasonably thin, perhaps, I don't know, just like that, five millimetre.

[Uisdean] So well although it is pastrami that we are making today it was common enough. People did lots of salting of meat.

[Roddy] Oh they did. People lived on salted meat through the winter, aye.

[Uisdean] That is what they needed. My father would, he made dried meat. It was terribly good.

[Uisdean] It would go in salt, mutton, but it would go in salt and then it would go up to the loft to dry and ... was ... People didn't, as it were, place any value in this.

[Roddy] They didn't.

[Uisdean] They thought that it was fair something that they needed to do and you go to other countries and they, Europe and that, and they have every sort of meat ...

[Roddy] They do.

[Uisdean] ... cured, in a pickle and that, and it is fair, people are ...

[Roddy] We ought to go back to that ...

[Uisdean] We ought to.

[Roddy] ... instead of having packets in the fridge of something unpleasant.

[Roddy] This is ready to go in the oven now. I am going to throw it in.

[Uisdean] What temperature is the oven?

[Roddy] Somewhere between 130 and 150, it will do, but usually it is the nose that tells you when this is ready.

[Uisdean] Or else the smoke detector.

[Roddy] Or a smoke detector.

[Uisdean] Aye.

[Roddy] It will be at least an hour, I would say.

This programme, Seòid a’ Chidsin, was first broadcast in 2017.