Week 1 Training Done London to Paris

Week 1 Training Done London to Paris

Bodfari on route

It was a wet and windy morning at 7.11am when I start my 22 mile bike ride this morning and the clouds were masking the Clwydian Range.

Clwydian Range covered in cloud

Took the back road from Llanrhaeadr to Rhewl via Llanynys and then cut up to LLanbedr Dyffryn Clwyd.  The route up until then is reasonably flat but heading back from Llanbedr to Llandyrnog via Llangynhafal proved slightly more of a challenge with a few more climbs.  Once I turned from Llandyrnog towards Bodfari the route levels out again.  It was then onto the main road heading towards Denbigh with legs tiring slightly but once I hit the road towards home my paced increased again and I arrived back in the house at 9.06am.  

I have no intention of breaking any records (except personal ones) but was glad to finish this morning under two hours.  

This week I have done 5 bike rides, 2 with the family, 2 on the spinning bike and this morning ride, totaling around 58 miles, Not bad for the first week, Only another 13 weeks to go!!!!

London to Paris Bike Ride

London to Paris Bike Ride

In my 30's I use to be reasonably fit (completed 24 hour 15 peak Snowdonia challenge and UK highest 3 peak challenge) but then children came along. Don't get me wrong, love them dearly and would not change a thing but by giving my all to the kids things like long walks, out on the hills, went out of the window.  I became a proud modern father and because both of us worked full time I helped with the cooking, taking the children to clubs, tidying the house, taking the children to school, ironing, taking the children to parties, helping with cleaning, taking the children swimming, well you get the idea not much time for excising.

Then the weight started to pile on, the alcohol consumption started to creep up before I knew it 30's have gone, 40's has disappeared in a flash and suddenly 50's is here with the children grown up and not needing me so much. My fitness levels has more or less disappeared with a walk round the block starting to become an effort.

Then a Facebook message pops up from my niece saying that she is doing a cycle ride from London to Paris (260 miles). I had a mad moment (probably the bottle of wine did not help) thinking, I can do that (whatever possessed me as the furthest I have ever been on a bike is probably 20 miles), and sent a message back saying if she could cope with an older (note I do not regard myself as old by a long shot) person tagging along I would like to join her.

She immediately replied before I could change my mind GREAT but you will have to train and then promptly sent me some links with training schedules http://london2paris.co.uk/

I am now committed having also promised to raise money for a couple of local charities, CADMHAS http://www.cadmhas.co.uk/ that advocates for those with mental health issues and Ty Gobaith (Welsh for Hope House) http://www.hopehouse.org.uk a local children's hospice.

The website training session is for 18 weeks but as we are going in September I am already 4 weeks behind.  I am therefore having to already push myself a bit harder but first week so far so good with 30 miles done and a longish bike ride to come over the weekend.

Will be cheating slightly as I will be using the spinning bike we have during the week but getting out on the road during the weekend.

What you might ask has a food blog got to do with a bike ride. The only caveat I have put in place for doing this ride is that we will be looking out for excellent food stops on the way to PARIS.  I will then post them on this site, if anybody out there has any suggestions please let me know.

Tomorrow morning out early for a 20 mile bike ride!!!

Thai Stir Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts

Thai Stir Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts

(Excellent mid-week supper which is quick and easy to prepare)

This recipe is based on one of the dishes that  that we cooked whilst attending the excellent Asia Scenic Thai Cooking School  www.asiascenic.com in Chang Mai (you will find the original recipe by following the link). We were over there last November and this school came highly recommended to us by our guide on a 2 day trek we did in the Thai hills around Chang Mai.

Having attended other Thai cooking schools on previous trips I was a bit wary of going especially as we were attending as a family, including my 13 and 9 year all daughters.  But it turn out to be a great success, the teacher's English was excellent, the ingredients were all fresh from a local market which we also visited and all of us were able to prepare the meals from scratch.  The best part, which goes without saying, was eating the meals hot straight from the wok.  Having said that I still occasionally wake up in a cold sweat thinking of the large knifes and wok of boiling oil my 9 year old daughter used to cook her meals but she thought it was great.

The ingredients I have used here are nor exactly the same as what we had in the cookery school but that is the beauty of this dish is that you can improvise with what you have in the fridge.  The main thing about this dish is to get everything chopped and ready before hand because once you start cooking it comes together quickly.

Ingredients

Serves 4

For this dish you want your ingredients to be similar in size as demonstrated in the picture above.

500g chicken thighs cut into 5 or 6 slices (you don't want them too thick or they won't cook all the way through)

120g cashew nuts

1 onion cut in half then into slices

2 cloves of garlic chopped

1 carrot pealed and sliced

1/2 red pepper sliced

1 pak-choi rip leaves to even size

1 spring onion diced

5 red dry chillies

2tbs cooking oil

3tbs oyster sauce

2tbs fish sauce

1tbs brown sugar

Using a frying pan place it on a medium heat and add the cashew nuts. Occasional toss the nuts until they have turned a golden brown then remove from the heat and allow to rest.

Place the oil in a wok on high heat and when it starts to bubble add the onions, stir gently for a couple of minutes then add the garlic and dried chillies (turn the heat down slightly or they will burn)

Add the carrots and keep stirring for another minute

Add the chicken and cook for a minute but keep stirring

Add the peppers and pak-choi, after a minute turn up the heat to full and add the oyster sauce, fish sauce and sugar. Keeping stirring gently for a further 3 to 4 minutes and when the chicken has cooked through add the cashew nuts and spring onions to garnish and serve with boiled rice.

Sweet Duchess Potatoes

Sweet Duchess Potatoes

(Posh Mash)

If you want a dish to give a little bit of wow factor to your meals here's one, basically posh mash.

You can make these plenty of time before hand, place in the fridge and when ready to cook place them in the oven at 180°C for about 25 minutes.

Ingredients

Serves 6

800g white potatoes diced
800g sweet potatoes diced but make sure they are nearly twice the size of the white potatoes otherwise your sweet potatoes will cook to quickly and turn to mush.
80g butter
3 egg yolks
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of nutmeg

Place the potatoes in water and bring to the boil.  When you are able to cut the potatoes with only a very gentle pressure from a knife they are ready.  Pour away the water and allow the potatoes to stand for about 8 to 10 minutes, you need to get rid of any moisture.

Use a potato ricer to mash your potatoes.  If you don't have a ricer use a potato masher but be careful not to over mash otherwise the potatoes becomes gluttonous.

Add the three egg yokes, butter and nutmeg and with a fork mix in to the mash.

Place the mix into a piping bag, be careful not to overfill, with a large star tube. Pipe into Duchesses shapes, need to make small rotary moves.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C until edges turn slightly brown

Did you know 2

Did you know 2

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Slow Roasted Welsh Leg of Lamb

Slow Roasted Welsh Leg of Lamb

This dish is dedicated to Gianna who has asked me for this recipe every time she comes over from Italy with her family to stay at our house.  Finally after a number of years I have sat down to write the recipe.

Welsh lamb is succulent, flavoursome and when cooked slowly as in this dish there is hardly the need to carve the meat as it just falls apart when you serve.

To me Welsh lamb when cooked properly is one of the best meats available and with over 11 million sheep in Wales we have had enough opportunity to practice cooking it.

There are two ways to cook a leg of lamb which will depend on the age and time of year you buy it. Spring lamb needs to be cooked quickly at a high heat and should be slightly pink when carved but I prefer mine when the lamb in slightly older, autumn time, as I believe it has more taste.  This leg of lamb needs to be cooked at a high heat and then turned down and cooked slowly for a few hours.

I bought this leg in my local butchers in Denbigh, J H Jones and the lamb came from the butchers own farm in Cyffylliog, how more local than that can you get.

For this dish I have kept the ingredients simple.

Ingredient

Serves 6 to 8 people

Whole leg of Welsh Lamb 2.6kgs

Paste

3 sprigs of rosemary  chopped or 2 tsp chopped dried rosemary

2 bay leaves chopped

1 tbs olive oil

1 large bulb of garlic, cloves pealed

1/2tsp pepper corns

1/2tsp salt

For the gravy

2 carrots

1 onion

1 garlic bulb

1tbs flour

water

Place all the ingredients for the paste in a pestle and mortar and bash away till you have a reasonably smooth paste.  Pierce the meat with a sharp knife, don't be shy you need the flavours to permeate throughout the joint.  Smother the leg of lamb with the paste, cover and allow to marinade for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight in the fridge.

When you are ready to cook take a roasting tin cut a large carrot or two small carrots in half. Remove the skin from the onion and cut into four.  Cut the bulb of garlic in half and place all in the bottom of the roasting tin.  Pour in 500ml of water and then place the lamb on top of the vegetables.  Cover with foil and place the roasting tin in a preheated oven at 200°C for about 35 to 40 minutes.  Reduce the heat after this to 160°C and cook for a further 2 1/2 hours.

For the last 1/2 hour remove the foil.  When cooked place the lamb on a warm serving plate to rest and cover with foil.  The vegetables in the roasting tin will have cooked down and combined with the meat juices will provide a fantastic basis for your gravy.  

After you have removed the lamb remove the veg and place in a bowl, carefully prise out the succulent garlic cloves from their casings and then discard the peelings, and pour the juices into the bowl.  Allow to stand for a minute until you can see the fat raise to the top, remove the fat and place back into the roasting tin then blitz the remaining juices and veg together.  Put the roasting tin on a low to medium heat and when the fat starts to bubble add a heaped tablespoon of flour.  This is where you need to be quick with a whisk stir quickly to mix the fat and flour together in the tin.  When you have a paste type consistency start adding the remaining juices and mix together.  You will need to add water at this point till the gravy is at the consistency you like.

Serve the lamb with your favourite veg and potatoes and don't forget the mint sauce.

Halen Mon - Anglsey Sea Salt

It's one of Wales' best exporters but now Halen Mon has a new salt cote and visitor centre on Anglesey

Halen Mon's David Lea-Wilson checking the levels of salt in the Menai Straits

It’s favoured by celebrity chefs and can be found on the shelves of Fortnum and Mason, Harvey Nichols and Harrods but now one of Wales’s most successful exporters Halen Mon (Anglesey Sea Salt) has opened a new visitor centre and production facilities.

Visitors to Anglesey can see how Halen Môn is produced first hand at the company’s new visitor centre, which has recently opened to the public and offers guided tours and tasting sessions.

The company's product was the first to gain the EU protected food name status, joining other protected names like Champagne, Parma ham and Roquefort cheese.

Funding

The centre is part of a new salt cote (a building to make salt by the sea) the company has built with the backing of a £1.25m funding package from the AONB Sustainability fund the Lottery Coastal Communities fund, Finance Wales, the Welsh Government, the Fisheries Local Action Group, the directors, as well as HSBC.

New facility

Located in the Anglesey Area of Outsanding Natural Beauty , the new facility will enable Halen Mon to increase its salt yields from the waters of the Menai Strait.

It was also the first Welsh product to gain the EU protected food name status, joining other protected names like Champagne, Parma ham and Roquefort cheese.

Owners view

Halen Mons Sea Salt crystals are famed for their purity

David Lea-Wilson, who co-owns Anglesey Sea Salt with his wife Alison which produces Halen Môn, said: “We harvest every flake of Halen Môn by hand using an exclusive process and we secured EU protected food name status because it’s unique to Wales.

"Opening our new salt cote with the backing of Finance Wales, the Welsh Government and HSBC has enabled us to keep up with growing demand.

“Our new visitor centre showcases the unique way we make Halen Môn and also gives visitors an insight into the important role salt plays in our diets as well as our history.

"We’re planning that it will quickly become a tourist attraction on Anglesey and provide a real boost to the Island’s economy. We have had over 500 visitors in the first month with favourable reviews on Trip adviser”

Halen Mon (Anglesey Sea Salt) has diversified its product range over the years and today it includes flavoured salt, charcoal salt and smoked water. The company has also been recognised by the Government as one of the UK’s Top 50 Food Stars this year.

Finance Wales view

Finance Wales has had a fifteen-year relationship with Anglesey Sea Salt and this is its latest investment in the company.

Allan Jones, portfolio executive at Finance Wales said: “Halen Môn showcases Wales at its best and is becoming known all over the world. Finance Wales has been backing the company for over fifteen years and David and Alison’s passion, together with their experience and innovative approach has driven the business to new heights.

“They’ve built market share by expanding into new markets as well as introducing new products and the new salt cote means they can keep up with demand. The new visitor centre is the latest example of this innovative company in action.

"It has the potential to boost the local economy by attracting more tourists to Anglesey.”

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/its-one-wales-best-exporters

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