Trwyn Tal retreat

Recharge, refocus, relax

Recharge, refocus, relax in the Welsh mountains

World’s Most Scenic Railway Journeys

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We’re going to be on TV briefly!!

This Thursday 14th October 2021, The World’s Most Scenic Railway Journeys features the Welsh Borders and the deliciously luxurious Northern Belle. Towards the end of this journey, the train crosses the Llanthony Valley and I was more than a little excited to be invited to share a little of this beautiful place and my own route to living and working here at Trwyn Tal Mountain Retreat.

Tune in to Channel 5 this Thursday, 8pm and enjoy the ride, or you can view on My5 (https://www.channel5.com/show/world-s-most-scenic-railway-journeys/season-5/4776732e-99eb-45af-8363-cc7bce4d92eb)

Here’s another 5 … this Sunday I will have been at Trwyn Tal for five years. Time for a celebration post then!

Valentine Courgettes

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Why “Valentine” ? This recipe was inspired by one that Valentine Warner did on “What to eat now” – a seasonal ingredient cooking programme that I particularly enjoyed. Courgettes are one of those veg that go a tad prolific in season – you pick a load for dinner and by morning you could be having the next lot for breakfast. This version of the recipe is quick & easy – great for a veg side dish, a salad for summer buffet, and combines quickly with other veggie dishes too.

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Welsh Cheese Scones

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What makes these Welsh Cheese Scones? Well, they taste pretty good after a walk in the Welsh mountains, and they also taste particularly gorgeous when made with the fabulous and deeply cheesey Snowdonia Cheddar – widely available in Deli stores, grocers, butchers and some supermarkets. The Parmesan which adds extra cheesey notes is of course not so very Welsh, but hey… a little poetic license.

Cheese Scones
Mmmm.... Cheesey

Cheese Scones (makes 8 scones)

250g wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
100g grated strong cheddar like Snowdonia Cheddar (aka “Black Bomber”)
75g grated Parmesan
200ml whole milk
A little beaten egg to glaze

Pre-heat the oven to 220C – or check that your Aga is still there. Sprinkle a little flour on a baking tray or line with baking paper. I like the reusable non-stick liners, which you can wash and use again – brilliant.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cheddar and half the parmesan into a large bowl.

Add the milk and mix with spoon or hands – it will be sticky. That is right. Panic not.

Tip the sticky dough no to a lightly floured surface and knead gently for a few minutes until it feels soft and has quit sticking to everything.

Flatten or lightly roll the dough to quite a thick layer – about 1 inch thick.

Grab a cutter (or a drinking glass), dip in some flour to stop it getting attached to your dough, and start cutting out your scones. You’re after 8 scones: I get about 5 from the first cutting then re-shape the dough and get another two. The last one is squidged together by hand from whatever dough you have left.

Put the rounds on a lightly floured baking tray, or on a sheet of baking paper. Brush the tops with egg, sprinkle over the rest of the parmesan and a bit of cheddar.

Bake for about 15 minutes until the scones have risen, gone golden & are filling your kitchen with warm cheesey scone aroma.

Most DEFINITELY best served warm, with a bit of butter.

Melting butter on cheese scones
Warm from the oven

Ginger & honey salmon with rice and veg

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Simple rich flavours, quick to cook… this is my version of fast food. Fresh ginger and garlic are part of my regular store cupboard – they keep well and have so many uses! So the only shopping needed for this dish is to pick up some nice fresh salmon and some kind of stir fry veg like Pak Choi. Then – bish bash bosh … proper food 🙂

Ginger & Honey Salmon

Ingredients (per person)

1 salmon fillet, skin on
Half a mug of Basmati rice
1 pak choi (or bunch of spinach, chard or similar)

Sauce
Small piece of fresh root ginger (about 1cm chunk)
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon soya sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon honey

First off, make your little saucey marinade thing:

Peel and finely chop the ginger. Crush the garlic. Mix together all the sauce ingredients into a small saucepan and leave it to sit whilst you prepare the rest.

Put your rice on to cook… use twice as much volume of water as rice. Add a sprinkle of salt, bring it to the boil, give it a quick stir. Put the lid on and turn down to lowest possible heat. Watch out for it boiling over – if it tends to do that even on the lowest heat, just leave the lid a little tilted to let steam out.

Check your packet for cooking instructions – ours cooks in about 12 minutes. After that, turn the heat off and leave it to sit whilst you cook the fish and veg.

To cook the salmon: put a drizzle of olive oil in a frying, put it on quite a high heat to warm up, then add your salmon skin side down. The heat should be high enough for the salmon to be sizzling but not spitting oil everywhere. I use a simple “all four sides” cooking method for salmon: Cook for 3 minutes on the skin side, then knock it on to its side and cook just for a 20 seconds or so on that side.

Meanwhile, start gently warming your sauce – it just needs to heat through for 3 minutes or so.

Back to the salmon: Turn it again so that the skin side is now facing up, and cook for 3 minutes. On the remaining uncooked side, you should be able to see the colour changing, with an small area of pink still in the middle. Finally flip it on to this last side and cook for 20 seconds.

Salmon nearly cooked

Place the salmon on a warm plate with a serving of rice and pour over your honey and ginger sauce. Keep warm.
Finally, add chopped pak choi to your frying pan and stir fry for about 60 seconds until just starting to wilt.