Flash Fiction / writing prompts

Bob makes Scouse (a Jade Camel out-take)

Chris Hall48 Comments
a jade camel figurine

‘Home cooking? eh mate, you kept that talent quiet,’ says Gary, inhaling appreciatively as he peers around the kitchen door.

‘It’s me Nan’s recipe*,’ Bob squints at the temperature control on the oven and turns it down a notch, ‘this my way of thanking you and Gina for letting me and Fingers move in, now that Lucy’s off with that Pierre on a cruise ship,’ he wheels around, not an easy task for a man of his build within the confines of a cramped kitchen, ‘whoa, Fingers, gimme that!’ he addresses the mischievous-looking monkey who’s edging closer to the stove top, waving a wooden spoon in the air.

Then Bob catches the changing expression on his friend’s face, ‘is it the story?’ he’s referring to the latest episode in their author’s Six Sentence Story serial, ‘I said to be careful what you wish for, didn’t I?’

Gary shrugs, ‘yeah, it’s brought it all back, beating up that guy, then afterwards with Gina… you know,’ he stares at the kitchen wall, remembering.

‘But it was me who really wanted a part in her new little story, babe, not you,’ Gina, who’s just appeared on the landing, wraps her arms around Gary’s waist, ‘remember, that’s all in the past; what you did was all the fault of the camel, all you have to do is go with the flow of her story, okay?’

‘And get rid of that camel,’ Cynthia’s voice drifts up from the hallway.

~~~~~~

This has been my second offering this week for Denise’s Six Sentence Story Challenge where this week’s prompt word was control. It’s also another window on the world that some my lead characters inhabit. As some of you have already discovered, they lead lives beyond the confines of their book.

*Nan’s recipe for scouse, a fine old Liverpool tradition (as described by Bob):

You take a couple of large onions, some nice big spuds, a tray of stewing steak and a couple of fat carrots, maybe a bit of swede, and a beef Oxo cube – make up about a pint. If your minted, you can use more meat. If you’re feeling adventurous, add a bay leaf.

Peel the veg, slice the onions, chop the spuds into big chunks, same with the carrots and swede. Trim the steak and chop into chunks.

Get a large casserole dish that’ll go on the hob and in the oven, lob in a lump of lard, or a splodge of oil. Brown the meat in batches and put on the side. Now fry the onions until they’re going brown, but don’t let them burn. Throw the meat back in. Add the carrots and the stock. Stir, put the lid on and slide into the oven at about 300F / 150C / Gas Mark 2. Check each hour to make sure it doesn’t try out. Top up from the kettle if you need to. It’ll probably take about 3 hours for everything to go nice and soft.

Nan serves with beetroot or pickled red cabbage. I prefer thick-sliced white bread with butter.

I cooked this last weekend. Maybe a dish to add to the chalkboard at the SSC&B?

48 thoughts on “Bob makes Scouse (a Jade Camel out-take)”

  2. There goes my yogurt /apple plans….burnt to ashes, like the limo driver memories!

    Names for the plate, as it will be catalogued at the SSC&B menu? Any suggestions?

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  9. whoa… ‘Now Boarding for: Metaville, Crosstown, Inferentia and Sixville All Aboard!!

    lol
    (They say, listen to Mozart, Back, play word-games to keep the mind nimble and responsive… or, just dive into Six Sentence Serial stories)

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  11. Everyone should be listening to Cynthia! But of course they won’t because well, you know. Screen time. Everybody wants some! And so they should have it. Until then, they can hang at the SSC&B and enjoy the scouse aka….?
    Not sure what “swede” is but the picture looks delicious, Chris. Like stew. So in that case, please pass me that loaf of crusty bread (Italian or French) over there and the butter and I’ll have a spot of lunch 😉

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    • Aha, see my reply above. For the full answer to someone raised by Swedes:
      “In Sweden, rutabaga is cooked with potato and sometimes carrot, and mashed with butter and either stock or, occasionally, milk or cream, to create a puree called rotmos (literally: root mash). Onion is occasionally added. Rotmos is often eaten together with cured and boiled ham hock, accompanied by mustard. This classic Swedish dish is called fläsklägg med rotmos.”

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