Our Old-Fashioned Stew (Achievement #74 = 4 points)

What went in an old-fashioned stew

Well let me see, whatever we could afford

Firstly, our staple diet, loads of potatoes

An onion or two and lots of veg

Parsnips, carrots, and maybe a cabbage or sprouts

Mustn't forget traditional Turnips and Sweeds

And any number of herbs, fresh from the garden

The obligatory stock, made from the residual remains

Collected from various roast meat dishes

Beef, pork, chicken, bits of stuffing and liver and onions

If there was nothing else, a few pig's trotters too

A ghastly thought, but they added flavour and goodness

This was all thrown into a huge pot

The size of a witch's cauldron, for cooking

It was cooked slowly, by the side of the open fire

Simmering for hours, if was frequently stirred

To stop it sicking to the pot and burning

It was topped as required, as excess water evaporated

Finally, the piece de resistance

Flour, cheese and suet, dough boys

Were added in the final hours

To some this might sound disgusting

But to many, it's filling and nourishing

Which is all, most of us dared ask for

Footnote: I wouldn't claim this to be a completely honest reflection of what we ate, but I can assure you, at times it came close.