The Pringle Plan: March 2018

Monday, March 26, 2018

Welsh Recipes Part Three

If you've been reading my blog, you know we've had power outages due to snow, and no oven due to a fire. But now we are back on track. The last nor'easter (#4 in 3 weeks) turned out to be no more than a dusting of snow here in southeastern Connecticut, and our new range was delivered before that!

Ready to pop in my new oven!

Which means I'm ready to try out some more Welsh recipes. I've been dying to try a recipe for Welsh Goat's Cheese and Leek Tart. I'm happy to say it did not disappoint. Wonderful aroma and flavor filled our home and satisfied the senses. Served with a hot bowl of soup, it was perfect for a cold winter's day.

Wish you could smell these Welsh Goat's Cheese and Leek Tarts!

Served with a vegetable soup

A warm lunch for a cold winter's day

Welsh Goat's Cheese & Leek Tart

2 sheets puff pastry (ready-made)
Whole Grain Mustard

2-3 Leeks, sliced
4-6 slices bacon, chopped
1 Tbls. Olive Oil

6-8 oz. Goat's Cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Unroll puff pastry onto foil lined baking sheet. Turn up edges of pastry. Brush mustard on center areas. Set aside.

Saute leeks and bacon in olive oil until lightly browned. Spread on top of mustard. Crumble Goat's cheese down middle. Bake 20-30 minutes. Serves 4.

The "cheese" in these mini cakes isn't really cheese

Next up is Welsh Cheese Cakes, but there is no cheese in it! The "cheese" is actually a simple cake dough. Despite the fancy crosses, it's quick and easy to prepare and pop in the oven.

Welsh Cheese Cakes hot out of the oven

Welsh Cheese Cakes

2 Ready-made Pie Crusts
6 tsp. Black Currant Jam

2 Eggs, slightly beaten
2 Tbls. Butter (or Olive Oil)
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 packets Stevia
2/3 cup Organic Oat Flour

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil muffin tins. Unroll pie crust. Using a 3" round pastry cutter or glass, cut out 12 rounds. Place in muffin tins, then drop 1/2 tsp jam in each. Set aside.
With remaining pie dough, cut 24 thin strips. Set aside.

Combine next 6 ingredients. Spoon mixture on top of jam. Place 2 pie dough strips on top of this "cheese" mixture. Bake 25-35 minutes. Allow to cool on rack 10 minutes before removing from muffin tin. Serves 12.

Makes a nice snack with a hot cup of tea

Last, I made Buck Rarebit. Buck Rarebit is a hardier version of Welsh Rarebit. Rarebit is cheese sauce over toast. Buck Rarebit adds spinach and poached eggs. I thought the ingredients sounded great for a snowy weekend breakfast, but in the future I'll save it for lunch or dinner. For one, it was too complicated for my foggy morning brain to deal with; two, my dishwasher (Gary) complained I used every dish in the house; and three, it was so rich and filling we both needed naps immediately after breakfast! Aside from that it was a great!

Buck Rarebit (Welsh Rarebit with Spinach and Poached Egg)

Buck Rarebit

4 slices whole grain toast

Spinach, steamed and drained

2 Tbls butter (or Olive Oil)

2 Tbls Organic Oat Flour

1 tsp Whole Grain Mustard

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Dash Cayenne Pepper

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/2 cup cream (or Almond Milk)

1 - 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese (or GoVeggie Lactose Free Cheese)

1/2 cup beer (optional)

4 eggs, poached

Toast bread. Set aside.

Steam and drain Spinach. Set aside.

Combine next 8 (or 9) ingredients to make a cheese sauce. Start by melting butter in sauce pan, stir in flour and cook until lightly browned. Mix in all ingredients, saving the cheese for last. Cook until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Keep warm.

Boil water, reduce heat to medium. Swirl water and drop one egg at a time into middle of swirl until poached (or place egg in metal ladle and dip in hot water until poached).

Assemble Buck Rarebit by placing 2 slices toast on each plate, top with spinach, pour on cheese sauce and top with 2 poached eggs. Serves 2 (or 4 for a lighter meal).

See:

Welsh Recipes Part One

Welsh Recipes Part Two

Laura S. Pringle is the author of The Pringle Plan, a series of educational guides.

See books by Laura S. Pringle on Amazon

Monday, March 12, 2018

Welsh Recipes - Part Two: Snowstorms, Power Outages, and Glamorgan Sausages

Two of my favorite trees weighed down by wet snow

Here, in southeastern Connecticut, we have had two nor'easters, and two power outages in the past two weeks. It really threw a monkey wrench into my plans to cook Welsh recipes. Last week, I skipped my blog because of it. With the power restored, I was determined that Sunday would be my day to try out a bunch of recipes, but a small fire in the oven rendered it useless! I ordered a new range, but it won't arrive until Tuesday - the very day we are expecting our third nor'easter! Fortunately, I found two Welsh recipes that can be prepared in a pan, and we hadn't put away the camp stove yet - My cooking plans and my blog rescued!

A hazy white morning

Once the temps rose and wind blew off the snow, all the trees started bouncing back. Unfortunately, quite a few suffered broken branches.

The sun trying to peek through

Inside the house, temps got down to a low of 54 degrees. Despite generous offers from neighbors with whole house generators, we decided to tough it out with several layers of blankets, a survivor type heater, and plenty of hot tea made on the camp stove set up in the garage.

Tealight candles and an upside down crock pot provide some warmth

On Sunday, my determination kicked into full gear. Time to make Glamorgan sausages - which have no meat in them. True to Welsh tradition, they are made with simple ingredients: bread, cheese, eggs, milk, and leeks. Seasoning is equally simple: salt, pepper, and parsley. The original recipe called for Caerphilly cheese, a cheese made in Wales. I decided not to use that, because with shipping a few ounces would have cost $20 - too rich for my blood! Instead I used Kerry Gold Reserve Cheddar which is an Irish cheese made from the milk of cows raised on a grass fed diet. For Gary, I needed something lactose free, so I used Go Veggie Lactose Free grated cheese. The coating is suppose to be bread crumbs, but since I didn't have any, and had no intention of going out, I substituted with Stone Ground Cornmeal.

Glamorgan Sausages rolled in cornmeal ready for the frying pan

Glamorgan Sausages

4 Slices Whole Wheat and/or Rye Bread - sliced into small cubes
3-4 oz. Grated Caerphilly Cheese (or Kerry Gold Reserve Cheddar, or GoVeggie Lactose
Free Cheese)
4 eggs
a little Milk (or Almond Milk)
Leeks - sliced and sauteed
1 Tbls Parsley
Salt and Pepper

Fine Bread Crumbs (or Stone Ground Cornmeal)
Butter (or Olive Oil)

Combine first 7 ingredients, then form 8 sausages, and roll in a plate of bread crumbs or cornmeal. Saute a few minutes on each side. Serves 4.

A few minutes on each side and they are ready to serve

Camp stove cooking in the garage!

The result was a warm hardy lunch perfect for a cold winter day. I made a quick Romaine salad with a tomato on top to serve on the side.

Glamorgan Sausages with a green salad

Next up: Welsh Cakes, which are really more of a fancy pancake. Again, very simple ingredients: flour, baking powder, sugar, egg, currants, and butter. I used half a packet of stevia instead of sugar, blackberry jam instead of currants, and olive oil instead of butter. I also pat-a-caked the rounds rather than rolling out the pastry and stamping out rounds with a biscuit cutter. The result was small, thick pancakes that had the texture and flavor of fresh baked scones! They mad a delicious afternoon snack with a cup of English Breakfast Tea!

Welsh cakes

Welsh Cakes

21/2 - 3 cups Organic Oat Flour

pinch salt

1 Tbls. Butter (or Olive Oil)

1 Tbls. Sugar (or 1/2 packet Stevia)

Fresh Currants (or Black Currant Jam, or Blackberry Jam)

1 Egg beaten with 3 Tbls. milk (or Almond Milk)

Extra butter or Olive Oil for cooking

Mix all together, adding just enough flour so dough is no longer sticky and can be handled easily. Either roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut rounds with a biscuit cutter, or pat-a-cake 8 rounds. Saute the rounds a few minutes on each side. Eat plain or top with additional jam. Serves 4.

Sunrise Monday morning - looks like clear skies today!

I still have a few more Welsh recipes to try, but I'll definitely need power and my new oven for one of them. Tomorrow (Tuesday) brings our third nor'easter. With hope the appliance will be delivered early in the day, and we'll luck out with the power supply - Stay Tuned!