CONVERSATIONS over the dinner table the other night brought back many happy memories of a forgotten teatime favourite meal of mine called Mock Goose which mum often cooked for us after school.

Before you all ask, why is called mock goose? It’s still a mystery to me too!

But I do remember mum layering her biggest roasting tin with sausage meat, mash potatoes and fried onions with a good handful of Cheddar cheese sprinkled on top.

If we were lucky, sage and onion stuffing was added with the sausage meat to stretch the meal further.

This was then cooked till the potato and cheese were crispy and brown on top, being served piping hot with home-made onion gravy and apple sauce.

This was without doubt a flavoursome, belly-filling and cheap family meal and sadly left no room for pudding afterwards.

I'm sure this Yorkshire classic wartime recipe came around to encourage people to use food wisely which was on rationing, utilizing the ration books carefully.

People back then did anything to cheer themselves up with ersatz dishes like Mock Goose, which then was often made with a combination of red lentils and breadcrumbs and served over the Christmas period, shaped to look like a bird alongside the mock Christmas cake and pudding.

The idea behind these mock dishes was that “wasn't it better to have goose in some form or other, than to not have goose at all?”

Yorkshire humour at its best!

Then again why would you call it lentils with brown breadcrumbs stuffed in the middle? It’s a bit like the eggless sponge cake without the jam, it’s better to sit down to some kind of cake with a cup of char than none at all.

This must have been a terrible period for families struggling to keep alive during the ebb and flow of wartime.

Rationing and shortages meant that poor housewives were forced to provide wholesome meals for their hungry children and family from very little or almost nothing.

Today things have got better thank goodness, but back then 'fast food' was hand-made by mothers and quality was far more important the convenience.

So tonight's dinner did involve a Mock Goose, but I can categorically say that it neither looked, nor tasted, nor in any other way resembled any goose known to mankind.

Whichever clever clogs down at the Ministry of Food invented and named the dish must have thought the British public were either complete dolts or very easily fooled.

And as for Percy the Spud who gave out weekly hints and tips with recipes... I rest my case and pay tribute to the wartime mums.

My modern-day twist must include your favourite bangers, so put them on the shopping list for next week’s mock goose tea!.

Have you missed any of Baker Mike’s previous Friend In Need columns in the Keighley News? Never fear, all you have to do is visit the website keighleynews.co.uk, click on What’s On then Food & Drink.