My favorite recipes

This is first of two reports Linda Marler, the Gazette recipe columnist, plans to make on their trip to Wales to visit a daughter and family over the holidays.

Traveling from East Anglia, the part of England that borders the English Channel and the North Sea, we left strictly agricultural lands to cross the English Midlands. Birmingham and Coventry are busy industrial cities, although there is beautiful farmland there, too. Coventry was famously firebombed by waves of German bombers during World War II, which demolished and burned their beautiful cathedral as well as many defense and munitions plants.

The British quickly rebuilt the war industries, and the cathedral made crosses from the nails of their destroyed cathedral, sent them to Anglican churches around the world, and received donations to rebuild the cathedral. One of these crosses of nails hangs in the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Spokane.

Heading northwest from the Midlands, the road leads to North Wales. As one drives further into Wales, rock walls appear on both sides of the roads, and eventually the centerline disappears—a warning to drivers. There will be oncoming traffic, and the drivers find a “wide” spot and pass each other slowly. People were quite courteous about the whole process. Although the national speed limit still applies on many of these roads, no one drove 60 miles per hour.

From gentle rolling hills of the Midlands, the topography changed to steep, rocky hillsides dotted with sheep. Cataracts with waterfalls appear frequently. We stayed near Betws-y-Coed, pronounced Betsy Coed, in a slate miner’s cabin rehabilitated as a holiday rental. Nearby was a mined-out slate quarry, with a stunning amount of slate removed, but the bare places with any soil are now a grassy pasture for sheep.

Wind and rain lashed the bungalow. In the morning we walked to the old slate quarry, leaving the house in a driving rain, which soon stopped so that a pleasant walk was possible. We walked through a “kissing gate” and up the hill into the slate quarry. Another party of about eight hikers were on a nearby hill enjoying the view.

In this part of Wales, fences, walls and garden enclosures are all made of stacked slate, which would be incredibly costly in the Palouse. Slate is also used on cottage floors and for the exterior of houses and cottages. A dark blue gray from this quarry, it is very attractive. In nearby areas away from slate quarries, walls and fences are built of field stone.

For dinner the first night, we went to a highly rated local restaurant in Betws-y-Coed, Ty Gwyn, White House in English. There was barely room to park a car in front of the building, and cars on the road had to avoid the row of parked autos intruding in their space.

Ty Gwyn’s menu included starters such as baked goat cheese served on a bed of spring greens, sprouts, and chunks of cooked beets, a delicious taste before entrees arrived. The smoked salmon-wrapped asparagus spears topped with puff pastry on a puddle of Hollandaise sauce was a tasty combination of flavors.

Entrees sampled included shepherd’s pie made with slow-cooked suckling pork and topped with creamy mashed potatoes, accompanied by a hot red cabbage slaw dressed with Balsamic vinaigrette. Sirloin steak layered with Duxelle, wrapped in bacon, and broiled to perfection was delicious. Of course, the children’s menu included the breaded chicken pieces. Salads of spring greens, cucumber slices and grape tomatoes were dressed with a light Dijon vinaigrette.

Ty Gwyn has a broad following. One retired-age couple we met came from twenty-five miles away on a “dirty” night, English for nasty rainy weather. They said that he plans a Christmas surprise for her each year at a restaurant somewhere in North Wales. This night she was pleasantly surprised to be at Ty Gwyn.

The following day a road trip to Caernarfon Castle was in order. Driving the narrow roads back to Betws-y-Coed, we turned onto a two-lane road with center line, a relief for Americans, crossed a low mountain pass, and headed downhill. Caernarfon Castle was the English king Edward I’s huge project to subdue the fierce Welsh warriors. It could be supplied by English ships, and it was designed to impress the Welsh they were working to bring under English control.

We stopped at a pub for lunch on the way, parking near two emergency vehicles that were assigned for mountain rescue on Mt. Snowdon. The friendly proprietor served water—do you want ice?—and chatted about his brother who lives in Florida. We had typical pub lunch food—braised lamb shank with minty brown gravy, breaded cod, liver with onions and bacon, steak and ale pie with peas and chips with all unless a customer asked for mashed or new red potatoes.

One of the locals who stopped by for a pint of ale about the time we left said he has 5,200 head of sheep, which wasn’t difficult to believe. He offered to put the two children with us to work herding sheep.

In Wales street signs are written in both English and Welsh, but many commercial signs are English only. Speaking English appeared to be no help in deciphering the Welsh language, and a bit of Spanish and German was of no assistance. Lots of double-l’, w’s, y’s and d’s and a bit of a shortage of vowels seem the hallmark Welsh.

A visit to Conwy Castle, another of King Edward’s massive projects, showed what could be accomplished in the 1280’s with enough skilled men, stone and money. The castle is located on a rocky point with access to the sea, and instead of being built in concentric circles, features a long wall to fortify the city. The downtown area has narrow cobblestone streets and many restaurants and shops. The lunch menu at the beautifully decorated Castle hotel featured Welsh favorites such Welsh rarebit (cheese sauce on toast, topped with bacon and a poached egg), leek and potato soup, and other dishes now common in the UK, such as lamb kabob and a few Indian dishes.

We saw more pickup trucks at the Tesco supermarket parking lot than we have seen in the whole of the UK, two Toyotas with right drive, a VW pickup (who knew?), and a full-size model of undetermined make. There were sheep and horse trailers being pulled by Land Rovers and Range Rovers, so pickup trucks were a surprise, as they were towing nothing.

Wales is a truly beautiful countryside, and the pastures are incredibly green in December. There are sheep everywhere, and the people are so friendly. Bring your warm clothes, though, as 45 feels very cool.