Sewing and Supper with Betty

This post is about Betty. Betty was a lady who featured in my childhood. I have no photo's of her. I tried to sketch her quickly with a pen in my notebook last night. The drawings are just a suggestion of what she looked like. I am glad that the pictures have come out hazy because in my mind I see her in the haze of a warm summer's day. The haze of a distant memory.


As a child I spent a few ocassions at Betty's. Betty was our neighbour. She had a hearty laugh and a smoker's cough. No matter what the weather was like, she went bare armed and bare legged. She always wore her hand made sleeveless cotton frocks and sandals even in the depths of winter.

I loved going to Betty's. She lived in a quirky corner house with tiny irregular shaped rooms. I remember one room in particular where every available surface was covered with plants. She had grown all of the plants from fruit pips and they had grown tall and leggy like huge beanstalks.
Sometimes I went to her house for the day. She would make me Corned Beef Patties served with a glass of cold milk. I used to sit on her stone scullery floor and use the seat of a chair as a mini-table. Nothing was formal and I felt very much at home.
After supper we would sit on the sofa in a room upstairs with Tina the old English sheep dog joining us. Betty would hand me some fabric and guide me through a simple sewing project. It was usually a small present to make for mum. When mum came to collect me I would show off my project with pride.
I believe that Betty inspired me to craft. She was an extremely talented lady who always had a craft or sewing project on the go.
Below is a recipe for Corned Beef Patties. I have not made these for years and the recipe comes from memory. You may need an egg to bind the mixture but I don't recall Betty doing this.

Corned Beef Patties

Ingredients

potatoes suitable for mashing, peeled and quartered

knob of butter

tinned corned beef

onion, chopped

seasoning (salt, pepper)

2 tablespoons of oil for frying

Method

Fry onion in 1 tablespoon of oil until soft but not browned. Boil the potatoes until soft. Drain and mash up with the butter. Add the cooked onion and corned beef and seasoning and mix well together. Heat remaining tablespoon of oil in a frying pan. Shape handfuls of mixture into small patties. Fry on both sides until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and serve with something green and healthy!