Hodge Podge, also known as the best worst NovaScotian food.

Have you ever had hodge podge? No? Well, it's an old school agricultural dish that served the purpose of using up those fresh new baby vegetables in early summer (late summer for everyone else, we're a cold people with a short growing season), and the cream that was generally fed to other livestock... because hell, they were hungry AF.

Now it seems to be one of those staples that everyone makes a few times a summer to keep it alive; but, when I was a kid, this stuff was absolutely THE. MOST. VILE. thing on the planet. Mostly because almost no one from my parents generation can cook. (Blame feminism for making women work, and a generation of mothers who spoiled their boys after witnessing a generation of men lose their lives in WW2?) Think mushy, overcooked vegetables and weird Mrs. Dash spices, strange low-fat cream and Franken food salt substitutes.

Real food is making a comeback, though, thank goodness, and hodge podge has returned to its weird, delicious greatness. Almost everyone I know in the 25-40 bracket (I do live in a small rural community though) has at least a small garden, maybe some hens, something at least to sustain themselves.



Behold! New potatoes, baby carrots, green and yellow beans, and freshly shelled peas swimming in hot cream, butter, and plenty of pepper, seasoned, with real salt.
Best eaten with milk bread to soak up the broth.
And no, it's not a chowder. It's just...what it is.

a reply to: Atsbhct

That looks really good!! I love me some baby veggies!!!!

Does meat ever enter into the recipe?

a reply to: Atsbhct

Thank you for this. I love trying heritage recipes and I've never heard of this before. Sort of reminds me of a de-constructed pot pie without the crust.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

Not that I've ever seen! It was a "lean times" meal. But I bet it would be nice with some chicken.

a reply to: Identified

Cool! I hope you make it. It's a very comforting food. I'll add a recipe soon.

a reply to: Atsbhct

The poor little babies!!!!

#Potatoesarepeopletoo

Looks awesome! But where’s the protein?

a reply to: KKLOCO

People didn't care about protein when they were hard up for food! This was food to hold you over until the harvest.

a reply to: Atsbhct

Yes, that is what I was thinking.....like the crustless pot pie Identified mentioned.

So, to make hodge podge, you need:

A dozen new potatoes, well scrubbed and cut in half/quarters.

One onion finely chopped. (Hotly contested ingredient, but I personally love it. Leave it out if you think onions are stupid and you don't respect them.)

Young carrots (NOT the weird "baby" carrots), maybe eight, scrubbed, not peeled and chopped how you like, lengthwise into quarters or roll-cut is nice.

One cup each yellow and green beans, left whole if they're young or halved or Frenched for larger beans.

One cup shelled fresh peas.

One to one and a half cups 10% cream (this is a personal thing, some like half homo milk (whole milk to you? 3.25% milk?) and half 35% cream, some use coffee cream, whatever floats your boat.)

Enough butter to suit your taste. I like somewhere between 1/4 and a half cup.

Salt and pepper to taste, but it's really crucial for authenticity's sake to use plenty of pepper.

*Cut and scrub potatoes, finely chop one yellow onion, and boil in nicely salted water for about 7 minutes.
*Add your scrubbed carrots and boil for 5 more minutes.
*Add your beans, and boil for 3 minutes.
*Add your peas and boil for 2ish minutes until everything is tender to your liking. (If your liking is mushy...I mean...that's your thing, but don't.)
*Drain most of the water, but leave about and inch in the pot. Return to stove on low heat. Add cream, butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir it around a bit until it warms through.
*Enjoy with whatever bread is fresh.

It's a cook book

NC

a reply to: Atsbhct

... And no, it's not a chowder. ...

I would argue that's exactly what it is!

In any case it looks pretty darn good to me!

Add some fish, clams or fowl to it and it would also be fantastic.