Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Scribble Picnic - Mushy!



I used a color photo of a tin of mushy peas, reverted it to a b/w sketch, 
then added color back with water color pencils.

The history of mushy peas can be found HERE
They are the traditional accompaniment to British fish 'n chips.

Growing up in England I recall eating them often, fish 'n chips being on the
 menu almost weekly. For the full meal cooked at home and served at the table,
 the mushy peas were always alongside the fish and chips -
French fries here in the US - on a proper china plate.

When very young I recall the 'Fish 'n Chip' van parking at the end of our
 road on Fridays - I guess it was an original food truck - serving battered
 deep fried fish, probably local fresh cod, and little tubs of mushy peas.
 The thick cut golden chips would be handed to us in a greaseproof baggie
 tucked inside a newspaper cone. Sprinkled with malt vinegar and a little salt,
 we started nibbling those delicacies before getting back to the house. . . . . . and
 without concerns for fat, sodium and calories. Those were the days!

Hope you enjoy stopping by Michael's Scribble Picnic today -
'mushy" is the theme so there may be some surprises!
Go HERE soon - mushy food, even mushy love - it is 
Valentine's Day after all!  
Who knows what you
might discover.

19 comments:

  1. I love fish and chips and peas, but never heard of mushy peas! Love your coloring!

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  2. Oh pass the fish n chips right now, I'll even have them with your mushy peas. Looks like many of us were on the same wavelength this week! Your piece is lovely Mary.

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  3. Mary, I've never had mushy peas though I love them whole and I have been dying for fish and chips after watching Broadchurch. Around here it is mostly fried catfish (which I don't like) and I want cod. Maybe I can find some tonight.

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  4. Well being a California born and bred gal, I had never heard of mushy peas. I had heard of two peas in a pod...I learning something new every day from all the Artist from other places. Great illustration.

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  5. That's so cute Mary! What a nice memory, definitely the original food truck! I visited London in the late 80's and I had some fish and chips from a truck and it was so fun! I do love fish and chips, I'll skip the peas though! :) But your can is wonderful and colourful, well done! :)

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  6. Love your take, Mary! A few of us had similar thinking this week. I love British-style mushy peas...very different to fresh peas! Here in Australia, you are more likely to see mushy peas on top of a meat pie. I love them with mashed potatoes. OH yes, chips with salt and vinegar...so delicious! Sometimes when we were kids, Mum would make hot chips and serve them to us in paper cones she made....we kids were so excited about the paper cones. haha

    Hope all is well with you re. kidney stone, Mary. Take care.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Serena - doing OK but don't know if it's passed yet!
      Glad you like mushy peas - they are a particular type called 'marrowfat - here's the link which tells a little about them - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marrowfat_peas

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  7. My husband and I differ, in that I love mushy peas with fish and chips, and he always has 'fresh' peas!

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  8. I had forgotten all about those fish and chip vans doing their rounds Mary. It is very rare for us to have them today, but we really must give them a try again. We have a fish and chip shop locally that has been voted the best in the whole country. Definitely mushy peas when buying proper fish and chips.
    Happy day to you and Bob.

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  9. You are the 3rd art i have seen who thought of peas, it must be a Brittish, Aussie thing.
    I of course thought of mushrooms, but went with something else. Super nice to see your piece.

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  10. Such a great story to accompany your wonderful art! A cone-ful of chips with vinegar sounds fantastic... My stomach is rumbling!

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  11. Your fish and chips is not like mine. Battered fish and hot chips would be wrapped in newspaper. Some people would tear a hole in one end to let out some of the heat. Oh, the wonderful smell. The parcel would be placed on the table and everyone would take some and put it on their plate. Nowadays, it is wrapped in white butcher's paper. Sometimes the chips are in a large paper cup. In Adelaide mushy peas are sold with pies - a pie floater. Of course, normal people, not those who have sadly fallen into Adelaide, would never eat mushy peas let alone permit a supermarket to stock it.

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  12. How I love your "mushy" representation of the theme. Perfect! Now I want fish and chips for dinner. Yours sounded sooooo good.

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  13. I have to admit that I'd never heard of mushy peas until today. Thanks for the link to learn about them. I love all those shades of green on your drawing. Not like what my pea soup turns out looking like.

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  14. Heavenly, and I wish I could make those peas, as we both love them, and I adore fish and chips. Someday we will get together, and you can make us a true English meal. :-D

    Love to you and B, and I'm sending you a little something. Hope the worst is over with your kidneys stone.

    Jane

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  15. Oh my goodness ... you are the third person with mushy peas. It is certainly a popular item in England from what I have seen and I have never had the pleasure. Fish and Chips now, I have had those and potato chips with vinegar, how delicious. I just ate breakfast or you would have me rummaging in my cupboard for something to replace the craving for vinegar chips. Clever way to creat a can of mushy peas, Mary, and great job on your story too :)

    Andrea @ From the Sol

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  16. Nicely done, don't think I would be a fan of mushy peas as I don't even care for whole peas, from a can that is.

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  17. Haha, I rather expected you might choose mushy peas too and regale us with wonderful strories of them as you indeed have. Love it all. Ahhh, those were the days indeed then, weren’t they? You know what’s funny is I remember adverts on TV in the 80s for mushy peas and we kids all thought they were a brand new invented phenomenon. It wasn’t until this theme did I realize that in fact they’ve been around for ages!

    Do you ever order fish n chips here? I have maybe a handful of times but tehy never seem to live up to my expectations—probably b/c they are actually a lot healthier, Stateside, and not dripping with quite as much grease! :)

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  18. Ahhh I recall Michael's sister sharing a story of the fish and chips van driving by when she was younger as well...then I remember something about a lady getting hurt from the hot oil???....and then they stopped the vans. :) I could be remembering this incorrectly. Oy! Anyway, I love how you converted your photo to black and white and then colored it in with your colored pencils. SO fun!!! :) Hope you're doing well.
    xo

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I would enjoy reading your comment - thanks so much for stopping by.