[
the MODest cookbook
]
[
the MODest cookbook
Tracy Ngo The Phallic Publishers
]
Copyright Š 2015 by Tracy Ngo All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any stimulatingly indecent manner whatsoever without the express oral permission of the publisher, except as provided by the United States of America copyright law. Printed in the United States of America First Printing, 2015 ISBN 6-9696969-6-9
The Phallic Publishers 0069 Knob Dr. Okay, OK 74446
www.PhallicPublishers.com
Cover and page layout design [Tracy Ngo]
[
the MODest cookbook
]
[
table of contents
the modest mod 1 bangers 6 scotch woodcock 8
fitless cock 10 clapshot 12 inky pinky 14
hob nob 16 girdle scones 18
singing hinnies 20 spotted dick 22 wet nelly 24 eton mess 26
dean’s cream 28 the mod’s climax 30
]
“I was a Mod. I was one of the original Mods, one of the real Wardour Street Mods. Not one of the post commercialized Mods, but back then when it was all existentialism and rhythm and blues.� Steve Sparks
[existentialism] A philosophic theory explaining to individuals that you are what you are, because that is who you are, and not because of what you define yourself to be.
What is Mod? “It comes from ‘modernist,’ it was to do with modern jazz and to do with Sartre and existentialism.” “Mod has been much misunderstood as this working-class, scooter-riding precursor of skinheads.” Steve Sparks
What do we mean by saying that existence precedes essence? We mean that man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world — and defines himself afterwards. If man as the existentialist sees him is not definable, it is because to begin with he is nothing. He will not be
“Existence precedes essence.”
anything until later, and then he will be what he makes of himself. Thus, there is no human nature, because there is no God to have a conception of it. Man simply is. Not that he is simply what he conceives himself to be, but he is what he wills, and as he conceives himself after already existing — as he wills to be after that leap towards existence. Man is nothing else but
Jean-Paul Sartre
that which makes of himself. That is the first principle of existentialism.
Humanism, 1946
[ 3]
[the MODest cookbook] the modest mod
—Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialism is a
Existentialism is a cornerstone to the original Mod subculture, where stereotyped attributes are arbitrary to their being of Mod. Similarly within this cookbook, food is food, regardless of its label. Food exists to be a means of substance, and not to be judged on the essence of its
[ 5]
[the MODest cookbook] the modest mod
defining recipe title.
Start off your modest day with a good banger for breakfast. Use a casing or don’t use a casing for your sausage. It’s a matter of preference, but hey, Mods don't judge.
Photograph by Brian A. Jackson. (“Shutterstock”)
[bangers]
ground veal 2 ½ lb ground pork 2 ½ lb
white bread [broken into small pieces] 15 slices salt 5 tsp black pepper 1 ½ tsp cayenne pepper 1 ½ tsp mace ½ tsp thyme ½ tsp
majoram ½ tsp sage 5 tsp eggs 5
ONE Hand-trim fat from the outside of meat to your desired preference for fat.
TWO Grind both of the meat with a fine grinding plate.
THREE After grinding, add the sausage seasonings to the meat and blend by hand or use a meat mixer. Be sure to mix thoroughly to ensure the ingredients are spread evenly throughout the meat.
FOUR Stuff by hand or by using a sausage stuffer or sausage stuffing attachment for an electric meat-grinder. Note Do not use the blade in meat-grinder when stuffing. It is best to use a stuffing (bean) plate. Patties can also be formed without casings.
[ 7]
[the MODest cookbook] bangers
ONE
[the MODest cookbook] scotch woodcock
2.
Scotch Woodcock 140 g 40 g 3 tsp 1 pinch
2 pinches 2 pinches 1 knob 2 4
spanish anchovies butter panko bread crumbs cayenne
white pepper mace butter celery stalks, peeled and finely chopped eggs, beaten celery salt 2 slices sourdough bread, toasted 1 red or green chili, chopped
Manchovy Relish 1窶云 Mash the butter and anchovies together. Place in a food processor with bread crumbs, cayenne, white pepper, mace and blend until smooth as desired.
Scotch Woodcock
1窶云 Sweat the celery in the knob of
butter in a covered pan for about five minutes.
2窶云 Add the eggs and celery salt and soft scramble mixture.
3窶云 Spread the toast with the manchovy relish, top with the eggs and sprinkle with the chilli.
[ 8]
Scotch woodcock is a great supplement to bangers in the morning. Creamy, soft scrambled scotch woodcock spread on sourdough with the accompanying paste is sure to complete a good Mod breakfast for a good modest day.
Photograph by Romulo Yanes. (“Martha Stewart�)
[the MODest cookbook] fitless cock
As filling as this dish sounds, fitless cock does not actually contain meat. However, a well-formed fitless cock would complement well with some neeps and tatties as another option for a modest breakfast.
[Fitlesscock]
THREE 120 g 60 g
1
oatmeal suet finely chopped onion salt pepper egg ONE. Mix all dry ingredients together and bind with beaten egg. TWO. Scald a cloth. Shape mixture like a fowl and tie in the cloth. THREE. Cook in boiling water for 2 hours. Serve with meat or fowl. Photograph: (“Alamy�)
[10]
“ I think it’s quite subversive for kids who haven’t got a lot of money to dress up in a suit and look twice as good as someone who’s got three times as much money. It’s a social comment.” Ian Page
1 lb baking potatoes, peeled and cubed ž lb turnips, peeled and cubed
Âź lb carrots, peeled and cubed 1 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, cubed 3 tbsp heavy cream
one] Place the potatoes, turnips, carrots, and
salt in a Dutch oven, fill with water to cover the vegetables and bring to a boil over high heat.
two] Reduce the heat to medium-high and boil the vegetables until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
three] Drain and mash the vegetables with a potato masher. Spoon the mashed vegetables
into a serving dish, top with cubes of butter and drizzle with cream.
]clapshot
four
Clapshot on the side of fitless cock is always another breakfast option. Mashing these two dishes together would be a smashing idea while still achieving a light modest breakfast.
[13]
[the MODest cookbook] clapshot
Photograph: Clapshot (November 2, 2014). ("Now You're Cooking" blog)
5.
inkypinky
1 ½ –2 lb 1 lb 1 lb 2 tsp 1 oz 1 pt
cold roast beef, sliced boiled carrots, sliced onions vinegar corn flour brown stock or gravy
ONE
Cook the onions in the stock for 30 minutes.
TWO
Add the carrots and meat and simmer for 10 minutes.
FOUR
Blend in the cornflour, boil up to thicken. Add vinegar, season and serve.
For some additional flavor to complement your clapshot, some inky pinky will be sure to complete a breakfast of Mod degree. It’s simple and fast as any modest inky pinky should be.
Photograph: (May 2, 2011). (“The Root Cellar's Garden” blog)
[15]
[the MODest cookbook] inky pinky
THREE
“Mods dressed effeminately — cleancut, stylish and smug.” Jack Lyons
Following breakfast, snacks like the hob nob will keep your mouth occupied for the rest of the day. As classic and classy as the Mod style, the taste of a hob nob will linger on the tip of your tongue for a lifetime as a favorite past-time snack.
Photograph by Brian A. Jackson. (“Getty Images”)
hobnob two.
three.
four.
Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Set aside. Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the milk and golden syrup and bicarbonate of soda to mix well. Stir in the flour and oats, mixing all together well.
6
]
140 g butter 140 g sugar 1 tbsp milk
1 tsp golden syrup 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 140 g self raising flour 110 g rolled oats
Divide and shape into 20 equal sized balls. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Scoop off to cool on a wire rack. Serve and enjoy or store in an airtight container.
[17]
[the MODest cookbook] hob nob
one.
[
[the MODest cookbook] girdle scones 280 g self raising flour ½ tsp salt
30–60 g butter
milk, as needed
1.
Into a bowl, sift together the flour and salt then rub in the butter with your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Gradually add just enough milk to form a dough.
2.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead very lightly for a few minutes then using a rolling pin roll out to 5mm (Âź in) thickness. Using a fluted or plain cutter, cut into rounds.
3.
Place the scones onto a greased and floured moderately hot girdle and cook for 4 minutes each side or until browned and risen. Remove from the heat and serve hot or cold. Note A baking girdle should be well greased then heated until a little water sprinkled on the surface skips about in balls and evaporates.
seven]
girdleSCONES [18]
Girdle scones can’t exist without the essential girdle. There are several variations of this dish with added ingredients for a plethora of girdle flavors, but even the original-tasting girdle scones are great in providing support to a good cup of tea on a modest Mod-filled afternoon.
Photograph by Andrew Purcell. (May 2012). (“Martha Stewart”)
450 g
8]
¼ tsp ½ tsp ½ tsp 110 g 110 g 174 g
1 dash
Singing Hinnies
plain flour
bicarbonate of soda cream of tartar salt butter lard currants, raisins or sultanas milk, to mix
1 piece lamb, or mutton fat for griddle
1. Sift together the flour, raising powders and salt. 2. Rub in the butter and lard, and then mix in the fruit. 3. Add enough milk to make a firm dough. Roll out, and then cut into rounds of about 6cm in diameter.
4. Spear the mutton fat on a fork and grease the heated griddle with it thoroughly. Put on the cakes and turn them when the underneath is a nice mottled brown. Keep the singin’ hinnies warm in the oven until they are all cooked.
5. Cut in half and put a big knob of butter in the middle. Serve immediately.
The best kinds of hinnies are obviously the kind that sing. Grease up the girdle for another round and finish these cakes off with a big knob of butter right in their cores to keep these hinnies singing for even longer.
Photograph by Alex Riddell. (May 9, 2013). (“Cragside House” blog)
“We always wanted the next best thing. It was kind of ambitious. It was kind of elitist. But I don’t think we thought of it as that.
We just wanted to be, you know, the top man really.”
[21]
[the MODest cookbook] singing hinnies
Roger Collings
[9.]SPOTTED DICK 250 g self raising flour 1 pinch salt 125 g shredded suet 180 g currants 80 g caster sugar 1 finely grated lemon zest 1 finely grated orange zest
150 mL whole milk
2–3 tbsp custard, to serve
[one]
Put the flour and salt in a bowl. Combine the suet, currants, sugar, lemon and orange zest in the mixture.
[two]
Pour in 150ml milk and mix to a firm but moist dough. If necessary, pour in additional milk.
[ three]
Shape into a fat roll about 20cm long. Place on a large rectangle of baking parchment. Wrap loosely to allow for the pudding to rise and tie the ends with string like a Christmas cracker.
[four]
Place a steamer over a large pan of boiling water, add the pudding to the steamer, cover and steam for 1 ½ hours. Occasionally top up the pan with water.
[five]
Remove from the steamer and allow to cool slightly before unwrapping. Serve sliced with custard.
Photograph by Charlie Richards. (January 2013). (“Woman and Home”)
[23]
[the MODest cookbook] spotted dick
For a dessert pudding, spotted dick is by far a staple pudding of choice. The “spots” highlight the curvature of the spotted dick, but the custard that smothers the dish gives it that sweet creamy finish.
[the MODest cookbook] wet nelly
It just isn’t right to eat nellies when they’re not wet. These dessert puddings can only truly be appreciated when they are soaked in its sweet syrup. It’s simply the modest way.
[ten]
WETnelly
Photograph by Charlie Richards. (January 2013). (“Woman and Home”)
[24]
230 g
fresh white breadcrumbs
150 ml
milk or water
2 tsp
mixed spice grated rind of half a lemon or an orange [ optional ]
120 g
finely chopped suet
120 g
soft brown sugar
25 g
butter extra brown sugar
[1] Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk or water for 30 minutes. [2] Well grease a 20-centimetre square roasting tin. Set oven to 175 ° Celsius.
[3] Stir in the mixed spice, lemon or orange rind, suet and brown sugar and combine well together.
[4] Turn into the tin and smooth the surface. Dot with butter and sprinkle over the extra sugar.
[5] Bake for 1 to 1½ hours until firm and golden. Cut into slices and serve hot or cold.
“I remain a working class snob, struggling to resist the pressure to conform to bourgeois notions of normality.� John Cooper Clarke
4 cups 2 tsp 2 tsp 2 cups 1 packet 1
strawberries caster or vanilla sugar pomegranate juice whipping cream individual meringue nests Hull and chop the strawberries and put into a bowl and add the sugar and pomegranate juice and leave to macerate while you whip the cream.
2
Whip the cream in a large bowl until thick but still soft. Roughly crumble in 4 of the meringues nests — you will need chunks for texture as well as a little fine dust. Take out about half a cupful of the chopped strawberries, and fold the meringue cream and rest of the fruit mixture together.
4
Arrange on 4 serving plates or glasses or in a mound, and top each with some of the remaining macerated strawberries.
eton
mess
Who doesn’t love a good eton mess? Cream of the whipped kind tends to always get smothered all over one’s face, but that luscious white cream is just oh-so-sweet. Even the most modest of Mods can't help but eat a little messy here and there.
Photograph. (August 19, 2011). (“Lifeport”)
[27]
[the MODest cookbook] eton mess
11
3
[the MODest cookbook] dean’s cream
TWELVE
[dean’s cream] 8
2 oz 2 oz 2 oz
²⁄ 3 cup
small sponge cakes strawberry jam orange jelly marmalade ratafia biscuits or macaroons sherry grated rind and juice of a lemon
2 oz
3 tbsp 3 tbsp
1 ¼ cup
caster sugar (superfine granulated) white wine brandy double cream (heavy cream) glace cherries, angelica and toasted almonds to decorate
ONE Spread the sponge cakes half with jam and half with marmalade. Arrange in a deep dish in alternate layers. Scatter over the ratafia biscuits or macaroons and soak with sherry.
TWO
Put the lemon rind into a pan, add the lemon juice
and sugar. Warm gently to dissolve the sugar, add the wine and brandy.
THREE
Whip the fresh cream until stiff and fold in the
cool wine mixture. Spoon this syllabub over the sponge cakes and chill for several hours or overnight.
FOUR
Decorate before serving with cherries, angelica
and toasted almonds.
[28]
One does not simply finish a Mod-filled day without a spoonful of Dean’s cream. As mentioned previously, eton mess is full of some good cream, but Dean's cream is the heavy kind of cream. This level of double creaming is only taken in by the truest and most modest of Mods.
Photograph. (June 27, 20114). (“The Good Eats Company”)
“ Modism, Mod living, is an aphorism for clean living under difficult circumstances.”
[31]
[the MODest cookbook] the mod’s climax
Peter Alexander Edwin Meaden
With its origins in modern jazz and existentialism based on Sartre’s ideas, the Mod subculture has drastically transformed itself as Mods became more conscious of style.
Photograph of Jean-Paul Sartre taken from
Archives Charmet, The Bridgeman Art Library
Post-war Britain’s youth gained affluence with their entrance into the working class. Without the mandatory obligation of contributing to their families’ finances, these young adults invested themselves into the fashion scene, thus leading to the commercialization of the Mod aesthetic.
Twiggy was an iconic English model that greatly influenced the style of Mod teens. Photograph by
Barry Lategan. (1966) Twiggy
With the Mod’s obsession to always portray a modern aesthetic, the desire for the sleek and sophisticated Mod style continues to make occasional resurgences despite its stray from its existentialist origins. As a subculture, defining stereotypes are inevitable.
However, Mods will still be Mods, no matter The Italian scooter became an essential component of the Mod aesthetic. Photograph by
what they are defined to be.
Terry Fincher. Hastings Mod (Getty Images)
[The Mod Era] It was electric, Everyday changed, No day was the same.
Scooters were fixed up to display the Mod aesthetic. Photograph by
Mona Olichwier.
These young adults can be seen donning the sleek “hyper-cool” fashion of the 1960s Mod subculture. Photograph by
Mary Quant.
The contemporary Mod look seen in fashion magazines today. Photograph by
Phil Poynter, Vogue Italia
[the MODest cookbook] the mod’s climax
–Pretty Green Limited
No day was the same.
NOTES [1] Long, Mary Anne. (1998, December 17). A Cultural History of the Italian Motorscooter. (Senior thesis presented To Prof. Anne Cook Saunders) [2] Sartre, Jean-Paul. Walter Kaufman (Ed.) (1989). Existentialism from Dostoyevsky to Sartre. Meridian Publishing Company (Original lecture given in 1946) [3] Randy. (2013, June 15). Mod Quotes. [Original Blog Post] Forum post retrieved from http://themodgeneration.com/forum/ topics/mod-quotes. [4] Wheeler, Brad. (2012, August 13). The Mods Are Back, But Who Are They? The Global and Mail. Retrieved http:// www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/ the-mods-are-back-but-who-were-they/ article4479191/. [5] (2014, August 24). Mods Return to"Spiritual Home" of Brighton. BBC News. Retrieved http://www.bbc.com/ news/uk-england-sussex-28886972. [6] Caue (2014, May 12). Mod Quotes. [Blog comment] Retrieved from http:// themodgeneration.com/forum/topics/ mod-quotes. [7] (2009, January). Peter Meaden. [Article on forum] Retrieved from http://www. themodgeneration.co.uk/2009/01/petemeaden.html. [8] (2015). Peter Meaden. [Article on online forum] Retrieved from http://www. themodgeneration.co.uk/2009/01/petemeaden.html. [9] (2015, February 18). Mods and Rockers: Fighting Over Style. Pretty Green Limited. Retrieved from http://www.prettygreen. com/discover/ss15/mods-rockers.
Colophon This book is typeset in the nifty English typeface of Gill Sans, Gotham, and Serifa. Text pages printed on Cougar 80 lb. Matte Text with cover on Hammermill Color Copy 100 lb. Cover paper. The MODest Cookbook endeavors to spark an eclectic approach to understanding the ubiquitous subculture of the Mods through the essential and relatable medium of food. This is not to say that the sophistication of “Mod� existentialsim retracts from the underlying humor. Giggles are permissable and intended for. Good day all.