Comfortably Hungry

In Episode 6 I chat with Dr Peggy Brunache, Lecturer in Public History and Archaeology as well as the founding Director of the Beniba Centre for Slavery Studies at the University of Glasgow, to discover how the culinary creativity of the enslaved people served as a form of resistance.Useful LinksYou can find Peggy on Instagram @negroshire Beniba Centre for Slavery StudiesPeggy is also one of the women featured the 100 Black Women Who Have Made A Mark exhibition at the Leicester Gallery at de Montfort University from 1 October 2024 – 4 January 2025.Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners on BBC iPlayer. David Olusoga shines a light on Britain's dark past - how it was built on the profits of slavery. The acclaimed series that inspired frank conversations on our colonial history.Suggested ReadingBayley, F.W.N. (1830). Four Years’ Residence in the West Indies. London: William Kidd.Coleridge, Henry Nelson (1825) Six Months in the West Indies. London: John Murray Albermarle Street.Hearn, Lafcadio (1903) Two years in the French West Indies (Martinique)Moreton, J.B. (1793). West India Customs and Manners: containing Strictures on the Soil, Cultivation, Produce, Trade, Officers, and Inhabitants; with The Method of Establishing and Conducting a Sugar Plantation. To Which is Added The Practice of Training New Slaves. London: J. Parsons; W. Richardson; H. Gardner; and J. Walter.Schaw, Janet. (1921) Journal of a Lady of Quality; Being the Narrative of a Journey from Scotland to the West Indies, North Carolina, and Portugal, in the Years 1774 to 1776. Edited by Evangeline Walker Andrews, in Collaboration with Charles McLean Andrews, Farnam Professor of American History in Yale University NEW HAVEN: Yale University Press, LONDON: Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press.Tryon, Thomas (1684) Friendly advice to the gentlemen-planters... Indies.Don’t forget you can follow me on Instagram or Bluesky @mrssbilton or find out more about my work on sambilton.com.A huge thank you to Thomas Ntinas of The Delicious Legacy for doing the sound mixing on this season of the podcast. Get full access to Comfortably Hungry at comfortablyhungry.substack.com/subscribe

STIR up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.On the Sunday before advent Anglican congregations across Britain will hear this collect, a short prayer to bring together or “collect” their thoughts on a topic. The matter at hand originally had nothing to do with food preparations for Christmas but by the early twentieth century the faithful took this collect as a sign that they should go forth and stir up their Christmas pudding. So, this is where the term Stir Up Sunday originates and as it happens today is that very day.I had a chat with my fellow A is for Apple Podcast host Dr Neil Buttery about the origins of this ritual and our enduring love for plum pudding at this time of the year.Useful LinksYou can find Great Aunt Eliza’s Victorian plum pudding recipe here.Neil has written four books (all of which I can highly recommend) including:* The Philosophy of Pudding* Knead to Know* Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper* A Dark History of SugarDon’t forget to check out Neil’s The British Food History Podcast. You can find Neil on X @neilbuttery and Instagram @dr_neil_butterySuggested ReadingA Christmas Carol by Charles DickensDon’t forget you can follow me on Instagram or X @mrssbilton or find out more about my work on sambilton.com.A huge thank you to Thomas Ntinas of The Delicious Legacy for doing the sound mixing on this season of the podcast. Get full access to Comfortably Hungry at comfortablyhungry.substack.com/subscribe

In Episode 5 I am joined by my fellow A is for Apple podcast co-host and the author of The Philosophy of Pudding, Dr Neil Buttery, and award winning food writer Kate Ryan to discuss the merits of blood as food and in particular, the most democratic of puddings, the black pudding.Useful LinksYou can find more information about Kate’s work on her website flavour.ie including further details on her research into Ireland’s black pudding heritage. You can find Kate as @flavour.ie on Instagram and X Do check out Neil’s British Food History podcast as well his books on A Dark History of Sugar and Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald England’s Most Influential Housekeeper, and of course his latest releases Knead to Know: A History of Baking and The Philosophy of Pudding.You can find Neil on Instagram @dr_neil_buttery and X @neilbutteryEuro Toques in IrelandNational Folklore Collection of IrelandThe Cresswell Archive, Kinvara which includes images of Killing the Pig discussed by Kate in this episode.Some of the black pudding manufacturers mentioned in this podcast:* Bury Black Pudding* Clonakilty Black Pudding* Fruit Pig* Jane Russell Handmade Sausages* Sneem Black Pudding* Stornoway Black PuddingSuggested ReadingNose to Tail Eating: A Kind of British Cooking by Fergus HendersonCattle in Ancient Ireland (Studies in Irish Archaeology & History) by A T LucasOdd Bits: How to Cook the Rest of the Animal by Jennifer McLagan‘I’m the last drisheen maker in all of Ireland’ on EchoLive.ie by Kate Ryan on 14 November 2022‘A drisheen recipe that Joyce recommended!’ on EchoLive.ie by Kate Ryan on 21 November 2022‘Recipes for drisheen, from Cork’s top chefs’ on EchoLive.ie by Kate Ryan on 28 November 2022‘Great Scotch! Manchester's take on the Scotch egg has become a snack sensation’ in The Independent by Paul Vallely, 19 November 2011Comfortably Hungry is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Don’t forget you can follow me on Instagram or X @mrssbilton or find out more about my work on sambilton.com. Get full access to Comfortably Hungry at comfortablyhungry.substack.com/subscribe

The British High Street is on its last legs - or is it?In Episode 4 I chat to historian, author and broadcaster Dr Annie Gray about her latest book The Bookshop, The Draper, The Candlestick Maker to find out how the British high street has evolved over the centuries. There’s talk of dodgy grocers, fear of prostitution, giant Christmas cheeses and big shop bashing. But is it all doom and gloom for the high street? Useful LinksYou can find out more about Annie’s books and events on her website anniegray.co.uk and follow her on Instagram or X.You can also hear Annie on the culinary panel show The Kitchen Cabinet.Heima homeware and hardware store in York is a great example of a thriving independent shop.Suggested ReadingThe Bookshop, The Draper, The Candlestick Maker: A History of the High Street is out now (buy it from an independent book shop!)Victory in the Kitchen by Annie Gray You can find a list of other titles by Annie on the Profile Books website.Eating to Extinction by Dan SaladinoDon’t forget you can follow me on Instagram or X @mrssbilton or find out more about my work on sambilton.com.A huge thank you to Thomas Ntinas of The Delicious Legacy for doing the sound mixing on this season of the podcast. Get full access to Comfortably Hungry at comfortablyhungry.substack.com/subscribe