Friday October 29, 2010
Mabou, Cape Breton...unsheepishly "fuaragish" here
Recently, Nacha Raman took us to the majestic Loenarhorgi mountains of Norway, and introduced us to a sheep's-head dish called Smalahove, complete with mouth-watering cheeks. Some of the trimmings made some Canadians feel right at home.
Writer Jim St.Clair of Mull River, Mabou Cape Breton tasted a familiar dish:
Your item concerning sheep's heads reminded me of the special food served in Gaelic homes in Cape Breton at this season - a halloween and all saints dish of great antiquity. Even our local hospital serves it to patients in obsevation of the tradtion - FUARAG- a Scottish Gaelic word - a mixture of fine raw otatmeal and whipped cream specially beaten for the occasion- sometimes a little brown sugar added. (Read more, click below)
Jim St.Clair continues...
And then also are added a ring, a button, a needle , a coin - and all gather around the bowl with spoons and serve themselves. BUT if you obtain also the button, it means you will remain unmarried and sew your own buttons; or perhaps you will be poor. The ring means you will marry in the next year and the needle means you will become a housewife with many duties in the coming year. A time of great firvolity. A coin signifies you will have wealth in the year to come.
I describe it in my story in my recent book (published through CBC and Cape Breton University Press) NANCY'S WEDDING FEAST AND OTHER TASTY TALES - a continuing feature of Gaelic/Celtic celebrations at places like Nova Scotia Highland Village in Iona and at the Bridge Museum in Mabou and in private houses such as ours where six generations of MacFarlanes, MacInnises and St.Clairs have lived.
Nacha's piece on smalahove...
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