Ploughman's Lunch

(Painting from Pinterest: Stephen Darbyshire. Check his online store for purchase)

Hello Ladies,

On Friday there was supposed to be a Ladies Tea here, to let some of my friends come and sing in lieu of our weekly Ladies  Bible Class. Because I knew that a couple of the husbands were coming, I decided to serve a Ploughmans Lunch instead of a delicate ladies tea.

It was actually good that the men came, because we loved hearing them sing the bass and tenor in the old hymns. 

You can read more about this kind of lunch, online or in English cook books or check on Pinterest. I think, in the US and Canada these are called meat and cheese boards, but I like the historical implication that it was a hearty meal suitable for a laborer. 

Generally, it is the kind of food a ploughman would eat after coming in from hard work in the field. It consists of very thick slices of home baked bread, and butter,  served on a wooden cutting board along with cheese, pickles, meat, and maybe fruit such as grapes and sliced apples.  It is delicious when taken with hot tea.

To eat it, the bread is buttered and the other things are eaten separately. I have given up on trying to get Americans to understand that the reason you can't make sandwiches from this meal is because the bread is supposed to be too thick. I found it falls on deaf ears, (because we are centuries away from British culture), so if they want to go ahead and make sandwiches from it, I don't mind; just as long as they do not ask me for mayonnaise. 

It is not too easy eating those thick sandwiches though, and to infinite my delight, the ladies didn't attempt it. They happily buttered the bread, sipped tea and helped themselves to every morsel of the accompaniments on the board.  I was right when I thought it would all go well with tea, because I filled the teapots several times with Yorkshire Gold, and the tisane ladies made themselves multiple cups of home made herbal teas. I have lemon mint, berries and a few other things.

One of my grandchildren had baked some French braided bread, and it was dense and hearty enough for Ploughmans Lunch:

One of the platters:

An individual serving:

I got the plaid plastic tray at a local grocery store:

That tea cup is a Grace's Teaware brand found at Home Goods, a "seconds" store of new merchandise with wonderful bargains.

I found that these paper doilies worked effectively to keep the saucers dry, amd it was much appreciated by the ladies. It's so annoying to lift up a tea cup that is wet.

Before I say goodbye, I want to share one of my mismatched cup sets that I used at the ploughmans lunch:

The cup is new (Grace's Teaware from Home Goods which is a discount store. Some flaws are usually on the cups. This one had no saucer and there is a black mark inside near the floral)  but the saucer is very old, having broken the cup that matched it. 

In another post I'll show you some of the mismatch combos that I have in my China cabinent. 

I like Grace's Teaware and Gracie China, because they are so hearty and  dishwasher safe.

I understand there are four of these in a set, with the outside of the cup being pink (the one I have) blue, yellow and green.  I got cup this for $3.99 because it had no saucer and because there was a small mark on it.   The prices on the new sets are astronomical so O was happy to get this one.  Gradually I am wearing out the tea cups I have, and am going to retire some of them and replace with Grace's Teaware and Gracie China.

In another post I will update you on my seasonal decor. I never join the blog home tours because I am too busy and can't make the deadline, but I will be happy to host my own tour.

Here is the recipe for the bread. We thought it taste a lot like the fresh pretzels they sell here.

I do not know what cookbook this is in.

Ploughmans Lunch from Pinterest: