Welsh Rarebit with Snowdonia Ale and Snowdonia Black Bomber Cheese

Welsh Rarebit

Originally called Welsh Rabbit or in Welsh - Caws Pobi

This is more than just cheese on toast. A fully fledged Welsh Rabbit/Rarebit is a more complicated affair.  The cheese is usually mixed with butter, mustard, beer and eggs and is usually poured over the toast rather than just grilled as you would a conventional cheese and toast.

For this recipe I have used two main local ingredients. Snowdonia Cheese Black Bomber http://www.snowdoniacheese.co.uk/ is a fabulously creamy, smooth extra mature cheddar and the Golden Pale Ale I used is called Snowdonia Ale from the Purple Moose Brewery in Porthmadog http://www.purplemoose.co.uk/ (what a great name for a brewery).

Ingredients

175g Snowdonia (Black Bomber) Cheddar Cheese

3 tbs Snowdonia Pale Ale 

30g butter

1 tsp English Mustard

1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

2  Free range egg yolks

small pinch of salt and pepper

Place a small saucepan over a moderate heat

Add the ale and mustard, mix until blended

Add the butter, mix until melted

Add the Worcestershire Sauce

Add the cheese a bit at a time, and keep mixing until you have a smooth sauce type consistence. 

In the meantime toast some bread.  If the consistency of your sauce is slightly on the runny side (which happened to me the first time I made this) don't worry. Pour some of the Welsh rarebit onto the toast and place under the grill for a few seconds until gently bubbling, helps to set the sauce.  You might have to do this a few times to build up the layers of sauce onto to the toast.

The Welsh Rarebit is now ready to be enjoyed either on its own or with a salad.

Slow Cooked Game with Vegetables in a Chickpea and Moringa Curry Sauce

Bim's Kitchen African Inspired Sauces

Recipe by Guest Blogger James Adedeji http://bimskitchen.com/

I first met James "Bim" Adedeji in the local market in Denbigh, North Wales, where he was selling his African inspired sauces and condiments.  I have become a fan ever since with his African Baobab Chilli Jam being my current favourite. Bim, which is short for his Nigerian name 'Abimbola' and is the country he grew up as a child.  It is where he also first learnt about and tasted many of the ingredients he now uses in his sauces such as baobab fruit, tigernuts, moringa, peanuts, cashew nuts, tamarind, alligator pepper and hibiscus to name but a few.  His passion is to find new and creative ways of using ingredients that many people overlooked or used in a very limited way.  This passion led to the creation of his first chilli jam and BBQ sauce using baobab  fruit which have now become amongst his best selling products.

Bim along with his wife Nicola, who is also involved in producing these wonderful sauces, started their business more than five years ago and in that time have received recognition by winning several Great Taste Awards and appearing on James Martin's Home Comfort program at the beginning of last year.  Since then they have moved to Wales and are now looking to build on their success with future long term plans a possibility that they might opening their own restaurant.

For further information you can contact Bim's Kitchen by visiting their website http://bimskitchen.com/

Slow Cooked Game with Vegetables in a Chickpea and Moringa Curry Sauce

Ingredients: Serves 6

Preperation time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time; 4 hours in a slow cooker*

450g mixed game meat cut into large cubes (can be obtained from your local butcher but any meat can be used)

750g mixed root vegetable cut into large chunks (used in this dish baby potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash)

150g mushrooms sliced

200g fresh cabbage sliced

2tsps of cornflour

2tbs sunflower oil

A jar of Bim's Kitchen Chickpea & Moringa Sauce

A few good pinches of salt

Method

Season the meat with 1 tsp of cornflour and a bit of salt

Add 1 tbsp of sunflower oil to a heated pan and briefly brown the meat and then place in the slow cooker.

Add the other tbsp of sunflower oil to the same pan, heat and then saute the mushrooms and add to the slow cooker

Add the root vegetables. Pour over the whole jar of curry sauce then mix the remaining corn flour with a bit of water to a smooth consistency and add to the cooker as well.

Gently mix all the ingredients together. Set the cooker on to 'high' and cook unopened for 3 hours. Then add and gently mix in the cabbage and continue cooking unopened for a further hour.

Serve as a main dish or with plain rice or some warm bread.

Tip: this recipe also works well with Bim's Kitchen African Tomato & Cashew and African Peanut Curry Sauce and you can use other meat instead of game.

*a Crock-Pot 5.7 Litre Slow cooker (SCCPBPP605) was used for this recipe.

BBQ Chicken wings with Paprika and Cayenne Pepper

BBQ Chicken Wings with Paprika and Cayenne Pepper

Having a BBQ with some friends the other day and had a load of chicken wings. I was wondering what to do with them so I put this recipe together and it worked out a lot better than I expected with a nice kick from the cayenne pepper.

Ingredients

16 chicken wings

3 tbs flour

2 1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Chicken wings

Cut the tip off the chicken wing otherwise they will burn when cooking.  Cut the joint in half then place all the chicken wings into a large bag.  Add the ingredients to the bag and shake well until all the chicken wings are well coated.

Remove from the bag and place on a backing tray. Preheat the oven to 180C and place the chicken pieces in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove and then finish off on the BBQ. These are definitely good finger food, serve with some sweet chilli sauce.

BBQ Chicken Wings with Honey and Chilli Sauce

BBQ Chicken Wings with Honey and Chilli Sauce

Chicken Wings

Ingredients

16 chicken wings cut in two at the joint

2 tbs Honey

3 tbs Soy Sauce

2 tbs olive oil

1 tbs sweet chilli sauce

salt and pepper

Chicken Wings Precooked

Use a sharp knife cut the tips off the wings and cut the joint in half. Place all the chicken pieces in a mixing bowl.  Add all the ingredients to the bowl and mix well together.  Placed covered in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

It is best to precook these otherwise they can just burn to nothing on the BBQ.  Place in the oven  on a cooking tray in a preheated oven at 180C for 45 minutes.  Then remove from the oven and place on a sheet of foil on the BBQ rack.  Pour the remaining sauce from the cooking tray over the chicken and cook on the BBQ for a further 15 to 20 minutes. They are then ready to eat and should be finger licking good.

MEXICAN CHICKEN MOLE

Mexican Chicken Mole

Provided by guest blogger Dave Davies - http://www.diddy186.com/recipes/

I have a guest blogger this week - Dave Davies. I have visited Dave's blog a few times recently and enjoyed reading and trying out some of his recipes which are mainly Indian or Asian in origin.  I therefore asked him a couple of days ago if he would like to be a guest blogger on my blog this week. He graciously accepted and sent me his Mexican Chicken Mole. I have to admit I had never heard of this dish but apparently Mole Poblano is regarded as Mexico's National dish. Mole is the generic name for a number of sauces originally used in Mexico cuisine, as well as for dishes based on these sauces.

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I did when I tried it out last night.

Mexican Chicken Mole - picture kindly provided by Dave Davies

Ingredients -  Serves 6

500g of chicken breast cut into 2.5cm cubes
3 tbs of vegetable oil
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic crushed
1 5cm of garlic crushed
1/2 tsp of grated nutmeg
4 cloves
2 tins of 400g chopped tomatoes
1 large red pepper deseeded and finely sliced
250ml of white wine
60g of dark eating chocolate finely sliced
Handful of chopped parsley

Method

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and brown the chicken cubes in batches and set aside to drain on kitchen towel.
Put the onion and garlic in the same pan and cook on a medium heat till softened.
Add the spices and cook for 2 minutes, add the wine and cook off the alcohol for 2 minutes
Add the chicken, tomatoes and pepper and bring to simmer and cover.
Cook for 20 minutes.
Uncover and cook for another 20 minutes till the chicken is tender and the sauce has thickened.
Add the chocolate and cook till smooth, stirring all the time.
Take out the cinnamon stick and add the chopped parsley.
Serve with basmati rice

To see more of Dave's recipes visit his blog on http://www.diddy186.com/recipes/

Elfed and Tracey's 6 Castle Charity Bike Ride - Taith Feic Elusenol 6 Castell Elfed a Tracey

Taith Feic Elusenol 6 Castell Elfed a Tracey

Elfed and Tracey's 6 Castle Charity Bike Ride

Elfed a Tracey with Castell Dinbych - Elfed and Tracey by Denbigh Castle 

As some of you are aware Tracey and I are intending to do a 2 day 160 mile charity bike ride over two days around North Wales visiting 6 historic castles on the way – Denbigh, Ruddlan, Conwy, Caernarfon, Criccieth and Harlech. We will be starting on the 12th September from Llanrhaeadr finishing in Criccieth on the first day then continuing via Harlech returning back home on the evening of the 13th September 2015. Our target is to raise at least £1000 in total from this event.

We will be raising money for both Conwy and Denbighshire Mental Health Advocacy Service (CADMHAS) and for Ty Gobaith (Hope House). People can donate to one or the other or both if they wish by clicking on the links below.

For Ty Gobaith

https://www.justgiving.com/Elfed-Williams

For CADMHAS

http://www.everyclick.com/cadmhas

We would be very grateful if you could circulate this information to as many of your friends as possible

CADMHAS http://www.cadmhas.co.uk/

Conwy & Denbighshire Mental Health Advocacy Service (CADMHAS) provides a quality, independent user led advocacy service which enables vulnerable people and their carers to have a voice to safeguard their health and wellbeing. This is done by:

• Promoting independence.

• Empowerment.

• Challenging discrimination and preventing unfair treatment.

• Safeguarding individual rights.

Ty Gobaith – Hope House http://www.hopehouse.org.uk/home.html

Hope House Children's Hospices - Hope House in Oswestry and Ty Gobaith in Conwy - provide specialist nursing care in addition to practical and emotional support to terminally ill and life limited children and young people.

For the latest on my training for this bike ride please visit my blog http://searchofgoodfood.blogspot.co.uk/ and click on the 6 Castle North Wales Charity Bike Ride page in the menu bar

Thanks in advance for your support

Elfed Williams

Fel mae rhai ohonoch yn ymwybodol yn barod mae Tracey a finnau yn bwriadu gwneud taith seiclo elusennol 160 milltir dros ddau ddiwrnod o amgylch Gogledd Cymru gan ymweld â 6 castell hanesyddol Dinbych, Rhuddlan, Conwy, Caernarfon, Criccieth a Harlech. 

Byddwn yn dechrau ar Fedi 12fed o Lanrhaeadr ac yn darfod y diwrnod cyntaf yng Nghriccieth yna yn mynd ymlaen yr ail ddiwrnod i Harlech cyn troi am adref gan obeithio darfod nos Sul 13ddeg. Ein nod ydi codi oddeutu £1000 o’r achlysur.

Byddwn yn codi arian ar gyfer Tŷ Gobaith ac I Wasanaeth Eiriolaeth Iechyd Meddwl Conwy a Sir Ddinbych. Os hoffech gyfrannu gallwch wneud hynny drwy glicio ar y dolenni isod.

I Dŷ Gobaith

https://www.justgiving.com/Elfed-Williams

I GEIMCaSDd (Gasanaeth Eiriolaeth Iechyd Meddwl Conwy a Sir Ddinbych)

<http://www.everyclick.com/cadmhas>

Os yn bosib gwnewch chi glicio ar y botwm ‘share’ i rannu'r neges yma hefo’ch cyfeillion ar Facebook.

Gwasanaeth Eiriolaeth Iechyd Meddwl Conwy a Sir Ddinbych

<http://www.cadmhas.co.uk/>

Mae Gwasanaeth Eiriolaeth Iechyd Meddwl Conwy a Sir Ddinbych ( CADMHAS ) yn darparu gwasanaeth eiriolaeth annibynnol sy’n galluogi defnyddwyr a’i gofalwyr i gael llais i ddiogelu eu hiechyd a'u lles . Gwneir hyn drwy :

• Hyrwyddo annibyniaeth .

• Grymuso .

• Herio gwahaniaethu ac atal triniaeth annheg.

• Diogelu hawliau unigol .

Tŷ Gobaith

<http://www.hopehouse.org.uk/home.html>

Mae Tŷ Gobaith yn darparu gofal nyrsio a chefnogaeth i blant, pobl ifanc ac oedolion ifanc sydd â salwch sy’n cyfyngu bywyd - cefnogaeth sy’n parhau drwy gydol bywyd y plentyn a thu hwnt.

Am y diweddaraf am fy hyfforddiant ar gyfer y daith feicio hon os gwelwch yn dda ymwelwch â fy mlog <http://searchofgoodfood.blogspot.co.uk/> a chliciwch ar y dudalen Taith Feicio Elusennol 6 Castle Gogledd Cymru yn y bar dewis.

Diolch ymlaen llaw am eich cefnogaeth

Elfed

Welsh Lamb Chops with Pesto Sauce and Pembrokeshire Blas y Tir Potatoes

Welsh Lamb Chops with Pesto Sauce and Pembrokeshire Blas y Tir Potatoes

Welsh Lamb Chops with Pesto Sauce

This is such a quick and easy tasty dish that is ready in about 20 minutes.  The lamb chops I bought in my local butcher in Denbigh, J.H. Jones.  The potatoes are supplied by a Pembrokeshire company called Blas y Tir (Taste of the Earth) and the runner beans are from my own garden.  The pesto sauce even though Italian in origin goes exceptionally well with the lamb.

I added a marinade to the lamb about two hours before and this helps to keep it moist whilst under the grill.

Marinade

2tbs Soy Sauce

1 tbs Rapeseed Oil - I used a local brand Blodyn Aur.

1/2 tbs lemon Juice

Pour the marinade over the chops and use your hands to mix together well. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge for two hours.

6 Welsh lamb chops marinaded for two hours

Pesto Sauce

50g Pine nuts
150ml of olive oil
large bunch of basil leaves
50g of grated Parmesan cheese
2 cloves of garlic pealed and roughly chopped

Place all the ingredients in a food blender and blitz until you have a sauce type consistence

Place the chops under a grill for about 8 to 10 minutes turning half way through.  Time will vary depending on size and thickness of the chops.  When ready place on a plate with new potatoes and runner beans or any other vegetable of your choice and drizzle over the pesto sauce.

Welsh Lamb Chops with Pesto Sauce

As High as Snowdon

Up into those Hills

Week 6

Since starting my biking experience I having been quietly applauding myself how well I was doing for someone who barely cycled 5 or 6 miles with the children a few months ago to doing 40+ miles at one go.  But really the routes I have been taking have been relatively flat, in Welsh terms.  If you know Wales you will understand what I mean if not Wales is famous for it's mountains and hills.  In fact there is hardly a corner of Wales where you do not come across a hill or a mountain that needs to be climbed if you want to get anywhere.

So this week I have bitten the bullet and set myself a target of climbing the infamous Horse Shoe Pass that needs to be crossed if travelling from Ruthin to Llangollen. From my house coming back through Corwen, a 48 mile route with an ascent of over 3,564ft (that is as nearly as high as Snowdon)

Three Pigeons Pub Graigfechen

My appointed day arrived, a damp chilly start to this Sunday morning.  My wife and youngest daughter had flow out to Italy for the weekend with friends and my eldest daughter was as usual tucked up in bed.

The route started off gently enough through Llanbedr to Graigfechan past the Three Pigeon Pub (famous for it's Real Ale) but at the end of the village I took a left and from here on in the road climbed and climbed and climbed.

In fact I was pleasantly surprised that I coped reasonably well on these uphill climbs.  My new bike helped with it's thin road tires and 14 gears but all that training was actually paying dividends.  If truth be know I was quite enjoying myself in the exhilaration of the climb. Before I new it I was at the Dafarn Dywyrch Farm (which sells Rosie's cider) http://www.rosiescider.co.uk/ which is more or less the last building before the final push up to the Pass.

Cider for Sale

I crossed the roundabout and there is a short downhill descent before the final climb.  The road from here zig zags up the mountain and at times, the weather being what it was, felt as if I was going up into the clouds.

Horse Shoe Pass in the distance

At the top of the pass and out of the mist the Ponderosa Cafe appeared.  This is no log cabin and you are highly unlikely to see Hoss or Little Joe riding by and being 8am hardly anybody else either.  It was too early even for a cup of tea.

Ponderosa Cafe

Just at that moment the clouds lifted and I was rewarded by the magnificent view of Llangollen in the distance nested in the Dee Valley.

View down to Llangollen

After a quick bite of my chocolate bar and a drink of water and a quick text to my daughter to tell her where I was, not that she would probably see it for another hour or so, I jumped back on my bike and headed down towards Llangollen.

Way down to Llangollen

If the ascent is long the descent is short and fast a true test of my bikes breaks.  With the wind whistling in my ears I shot down the side of the mountain passing the many sheep that freely roam the mountain side

View of road leading down to Llangollen

After a few miles the road starts to level out and takes me past the well preserved Valle Crucis Abbey which dates back to 1201 and was home to Cistercian Monks.

Valle Crucis Abbey

Finally after a descent of nearly 4 miles I enter Llangollen itself passing the entrance to the Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod.  For one week every year this is home to competitors from around the world who have been coming here since 1947.  The festival has also attracted famous artist such as Pavarotti, Kiri Te Kanawa, Jose Carreras and not to forget our own Bryn Terfel who have performed in the Gala nights

Llangollen Eisteddfod Entrance

Less than 1/2 mile later on I arrived in Llangollen passing firstly the Railway Station on my right with the sound of clanking of carriages as volunteers that run this preserved steam line get engines ready for the days activities.

Llangollen Stream Railway Station

Going pass the station I cross over the Dee River using the aptly named Dee Bridge which was built in 1345 by Bishop Trevor of Trevor Hall.  The bridge on this day was festooned with flags of many nationalities to celebrate the International Eisteddfod.

Dee Bridge

Crossing the bridge and looking to my right is the impressive Dee river which at this point cascades over Trevor Rocks located between the station and the Corn Mill Restaurant on the opposite bank. This rapid is much favoured by canoeists for it's challenges.

River Dee

Once over the river and through the town I end up on the A5 heading for Corwen.  For most of the route between the two towns I follow the River Dee and the railway line with many stunning views round virtually every corner.

Llangollen Railway following the Dee River

View towards Corwen

By the time I arrived in Corwen, just after 9am, I was famished.  I new that the Rhug Estate shop and cafe would be open which is located a couple of miles beyond Corwen.  My hunger drove me on and I was torn on my arrival as to what to have, a bacon sandwich or an organic Aberdeen Angus burger. The burger won and was devoured in seconds.

Rhug Estate Cafe and Shop http://www.rhug.co.uk/

Replenished I jumped back on my bike and headed off towards Ruthin and home, a road which I was becoming familiar with by now.  I arrived home around 10.30am and much to my surprise my daughter was up munching away at her breakfast.

Cold, Dawn, Hare

During the previous few days leading up to my Horse Shoe Pass challenge I completed a couple of smaller 12 to 14 miles bike rides.  But as I have described some of those previously I won't bore you will the details here.  

Llnarhaeadr Church

There is one route I would like to describe which happened on the Thursday before the Llangollen trip.  I was up ridiculously early at 5.00am and decided to go for a quick bike ride.  I threw on my gear and headed out.  For a July morning it was very cold, 6C. but as I climbed up above my village towards Prion and then doubling back towards Cyffylliog I was rewarded by a magnificent dawn breaking over the Clwydian Range.

And then in the field in front of me a Hare broke cover racing away at a breathtaking speed.  I waited a few moment more and much to my delight two more hares appeared before darting away into a long patch of grass.  These now rare animals are truly a wonder to see and a sight I have not observed for at least 20 years.

Hare - not the one I saw but one kindly supplied by Wikipedia

It had been worth the effort to get up so early firstly to see such a wonderful dawn but also to observe this rare creature.  Being able to see these sights made me realise why I was making all this effort to get fit so that I can get out and about into areas I would not usually visit.