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!

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

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