“ A Brief History of the Cumberland Pie - The Cumberland Pie may have become no more than a dressed up Cottage Pie sprinkled with cheese and breadcrumbs, but its history goes so much further. The pie has its roots in medieval times when it would be made with a variety of meats, Herdwick mutton, or perhaps game, dried fruit and sweetened but not sugary by the use of apples in the recipe and spices. This mix of meat, spices, and fruit is not dissimilar to the original Mince Pies once made by a similar filling and not to be confused with the Christmas mince pies we are so familiar with today. “ - https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-cumberland-pie-435424
We I’d not have been popular if I’d put Apples and diced fruit in it. But we did have the cubed meat from to shank of a leg of Lamb I acquired in the discounts and butchered. So this was our take on Cumberland Pie
Ingredients:-
300g scraggly tough Lamb shank meat
½ a Swede cubed
1 large Onion sliced
3 medium Carrots sliced
250ml left over Turkey stock from a previous dish
1 Chicken Stock pot dissolved in 200ml of hot water
Mixed Herbs
Salt & Pepper
A sprig of Rosemary
3 large Potatoes
Grated Cheese
Cornflour
Oil to fry
Method:-
(1) Heat oil in a frying pan.
(2) add Salt & Pepper to a little Cornflour and coat the meat.
(3) Fry the meat to brown slightly on all sides.
(4) In a casserole dish add all the ingredients except the potatoes and cheese.
(5) Cover and place in the oven at 170C and allow to cook slowly for 2 to 3 hours.
(6) Peel the Potatoes and boil.
(7) Remove the casserole lid to allow some of the stock to reduce. Fish out the Rosemary sprig.
(8) Mash the Potatoes and add a thick layer to the top of the casserole dish.
(9) Add the grated Cheese to the top of the Potato and place under the grill so that the Cheese melts and browns a little.
We quite enjoyed this, but it was a bit bland for us. Left to out own devices it would have had Chillies etc. added!
I appreciate that the Job Centre Plus staff have a very difficult job to do. I also appreciate that they have internal rules and guidance to follow.
However if they have information and documents which might assist those looking for work I would have thought that it was their duty to share these with their clients. It would seem this is not the case. Here is an example:-
“Having had several appointments over the last few months and also having made it clear that I was happy to do anything in my power to find employment, I asked on the off-chance if they had a list of Employment Agencies in the York area. Strangely the agent reached into a desk tidy to her left and plucked a copy from a stack in the top shelf which contains names and contact details for 25 Agencies which are active in the area. Many of these are not easily located using Google as they have head offices in other locations.”
Not a great service from a failing system really is it?
If you are willing to work for an Employment Agency in the York area here is the list as a .PDF. (11.46Mb) You can also click on the picture above in you are using a mobile phone, because we like our services and articles to be accessible to all! It's possibly not the greatest quality but if you call in and ask they are more than willing to give you a copy.
But which should you have to ask in the first place?