Time To Eat

St George’s Market

St George’s Market is, as best as I can describe it, a tri-weekly indoor farmer’s market, of the type in the States where there’s loads of fresh food, random crafts, some guy selling pieces of wood with stuff painted on* and at least two musicians with acoustic guitars and rebellious sound systems. On Friday, it’s mostly uncooked food. On Saturday, you get the families with children, the cooked food vendors, and the musicians. I’ve not been there Sunday, and probably won’t go, but I’m sure it’s interesting.

Maureen and I went together on Saturday. There were people everywhere (it’s impossible to stand still) and children everywhere, all wearing winter hats and trying to avoid being stepped on. The warehouse building echoed with noise, not least the music, which was, for some reason, “I Can See Clearly Now The Rain Is Gone,” being sung by two women, with, yes, guitars. The quantity of fried food being contained under that roof had sent up a smoky fog that drifted above the heads of the crowd and round the large “NO SMOKING” signs suspended from the rafters.

The huge quantities of food were balanced out by racks of second-hand clothes, tables of random antiques and – and – stuff: teapots, paperbacks, linen handkerchiefs, rugs, costume jewellery, foreign coins, greeting cards, solar-powered whatsits, office supplies, old Wedgewood chine, wooden toys, etc. etc. etc.

We bought vegetables, eggs, milk, and cheese... this time. There’s also more meat than anyone could eat in a lifetime, and the same goes for fish. The first thing you see when you walk through the doors are massive piles of googly-eyed fish.

We were rather adventurous with the cheese, and decided to try pesto gouda and wine cheddar. They’re good, and colourful.

Here is a picture of the market:

 Here is a picture of the veg:

Here is a picture of the fish:

Now, look at the fish, and imagine, in the background, “Money Can’t Buy Me Love” being sung enthusiastically by an Irishwoman with an acoustic guitar. 

There you have a lovely, authentic slice** of Belfast.

How To Make An Ulster Fry

Take soda bread, plain bread, potato bread, bacon, sausage, egg, tomato, mushrooms, and/or whatever other food items you have around that haven't turned green or walk away...

... and fry them. Fry them all.

In one pan.

Ta-daaa! You have a traditional Ulster meal:

Mmmm... greasy!

I'd like to take the opportunity to point out that Maureen and I made the soda bread, the tomato and the mushrooms were bought from St George's Market, and the sausage, bacon, and egg are from Abbotts Meats, the butcher on Stranmillis.

Ignore the lack of potato bread, and the presence of the white Tesco slices. They are clearly a figment of your American imagination.

A basic recipe for soda bread can be found here: http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/5157/irish-soda-farls.aspx

Biscuits

“Biscuits,” as most people know, are called “cookies” in the States. What Americans call biscuits are “savoury scones.”

From what I’ve seen, tea in NI is inevitably accompanied by chocolate-covered and/or shortbread biscuits. Just this afternoon I had tea and shortbread sitting across the table from a bishop.***

Store-bought biscuits: In shops, you can buy Oreos in addition to many British brands: HobNobs (chocolate or plain), Jammie Dodgers, Jaffa Cakes, and more. These are HobNobs:

IMPORTANT NOTE TO SCI-FI FANS

This is a jaffa:

These are Jaffa Cakes:

 They are totally unrelated. It is unknown whether or not jaffa like Jaffa Cake.

These are Jammie Dodgers:

 This is also a Jammie Dodger, NOT a Tardis Self-Destruct Device:

In case there was ever any confusion.

NOTE: All pictures from the "Biscuits" section were found on Google. I do not own Stargate or Doctor Who. If I did, I could probably buy my weight in biscuits every week, but then I would have to eat them all, and it would be unhealthy. So I'm glad I don't own them.

*At St George’s, “Fáilte” plaques with pictures of donkeys.

**Fried.

***This fact is totally irrelevant, but it was fun. So here it is.