I finished my last blog by saying that I would fill you in on my sister Mary's involvement with two police officers in Cardiff. Well, although this pandemic and its consequences are frightening - on a daily basis we are all aware of them, no need for me to elaborate - there are a few funny situations that have made me laugh and laugh repeatedly every time I think about them, my sister’s brush with the law being one. Also in this blog I will show you how to make our Shroppie Pie. You can buy them at Greenfields Farm Shop in Donnington in Telford but that's about it. They are easy to make and one of our favourite veggie meals; there’s nothing like pie and mash, pie and chips etc.
A little bit about its origins: when John and myself had a narrowboat, on our travels through the canal system we often longed for a good veggie pie at our pit stops, canal pubs - classic comfort food at the end of a boating day. Of course there were none to be had. Now there are an increasing number of veggie pies available in the supermarkets but the problem is this, they invariably contain cheese, or just vegetables such as mushrooms and of course soya which we would never buy. This was when I decided to make our own. We called it the Shroppie Pie after the Shropshire Union canal, which is called the Shroppie by boaters.
Back to funny story number one. Now my oldest sister Mary is the most law-abiding member of her close community that she lives in in Penarth, near Cardiff. On a Thursday night just recently the street where she lives with her husband Brendan was celebrating the birthday of a 95-year-old resident and an 18-year-old on one of those nights when we are all out clapping for key workers and the NHS. To celebrate the elderly lady’s birthday most of the street residents came out of their front doors with raised glasses and sang Happy Birthday; then at 8 o'clock the regular clapping took place. Following that the young girl of 18 came out to another round of applause. Now it so happens that also down this road there lives a young couple who are opera singers and at one stage in the evening they came out and sang , altogether a very jolly evening or so we all thought until we heard that my God-fearing, law-abiding sister Mary had been approached by two policemen saying that they had received a complaint that a street party had taken place earlier. Seemingly someone on another road nearby had heard all the merriment and reported it to them. Now how bad is that folks? (Although it still makes me laugh at its ridiculousness.) Many of the residents like my sister and her husband are completely self-isolating and ultra-careful for themselves and everyone else. Maybe those on the other road were just jealous.
Funny incident no 2. I was going to write about a third also but by the time I get to the Shroppie Pie recipe that will be enough for this blog; I don't want to bore my readers. Approximately two weeks ago I managed after a lengthy conversation with the mobile company EE to order myself a new phone, because my contract was up on my current one. I spent quite some time talking through a new deal with an extremely pleasant young man who was working from home. He had to excuse himself from the conversation a few times as his toddler daughter demanded his sole attention and his cat who'd had kittens also wandered into the room requiring food and attention as well. Altogether a very heart-warming chat and made all the better by the anticipation of a new phone arriving during the next couple of days.
Now, we're all doing this sort of phone thing on a regular basis so nothing unusual there apart from the very sweet and homely interventions during the conversation with the very agreeable young man. What was different however was my excitement level - for two reasons: one, the fact that during the lockdown I had managed to acquire a new phone and secondly, the idea that someone (even if just a delivery person) was going to knock on my front door in a couple of days. I duly received a text message from the phone company telling me exactly when I could expect my phone to arrive, sending my excitement levels rocketing. On the morning when the delivery was due I got up early, decided to wash my hair, put on makeup and a fresh outfit as this was a big event. Sooner than expected I heard the knock on the door and completely forgetting that I had a head full of rollers (I was going to look wonderful when these had done their job) I opened the door to a very handsome young man who put the package by the front door. He stepped back and said to me ‘I need to take a photo for evidence of delivery’. I went into a blind panic and replied (while pulling out the rollers in a frenzy) ‘Oh, just hang on a minute while I sort myself out, I need to get a hairbrush’. Well folks, the handsome young man started grinning from ear to ear and said, ‘No, not a photo of you, a photo of the package on the ground, Mrs.’ At my age now I've grown very accustomed to feeling foolish but this was on another level. We did have a laugh, the young man and myself. I told him I was disappointed as I’d thought for a second I was going to be the new face of the iPhone and that I'd be receiving a cheque from Mr iPhone himself.
Now back to the Shroppie Pie. The mix it contains is the same as the one I've made for the cottage pie; if you scroll back to blog 4, called “Vegetarian Cottage Pies (And Loads More), you’ll find the recipe. Make sure the mix is cold before you use it for the pies, otherwise you’ll have soggy bottoms. I usually make the mix the day before.
Then using short crust pastry for the base and flaky for the top you line your individual moulds, having oiled them beforehand. The bottom round should be 15cm across and the top one 10cm. (See photos.) Put about 180 grams of the mix into each pastry base, brush the inside of the lids with beaten egg and place on top, pressing down the edges all the way round. Score the tops of the pies twice with a knife and brush them with beaten egg, then bake for about half an hour at 190°C. Check every now and then to make sure that they are browning nicely. If you’d prefer, it might be easier for you to make one big pie. (See my photo). I usually do that for John and myself.
Good luck with trying to make them, folks. They are delicious and freeze very well if you batch cook.
P.S. I bought my containers in Lakeland and also in a John Lewis Store.
