Islwyn Indoor Bowls Centre

The Bowling Club in Blackwood isn't the prettiest of venues but the food is fabulous, and the steak and mushroom pie was the best I've ever eaten! I did talk to the cook to see if I could glean a few pie-making secrets, but the only thing she told me was that she used the best Welsh beef! Now, where am I going to find Welsh beef in Massachusetts?

My great uncle Carl who is going to be celebrating his 90th birthday in two weeks!

And here is my wonderful great auntie Kitty, who is one of the most generous people I know. She's the best! She also makes a fabulous beef stew!

Islwyn Indoor Bowls Centre, Gelli Lane, Pontllanfraith, Blackwood, Gwent, NP122JR

Roasted Tomato Soup

1 1/2 lbs ripe tomatoes or more (you can add eggplants, onions and green peppers too)
salt and pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped and crushed
Handful of basil leaves (half to cook with the tomatoes, and half to sprinkle over the soup before serving)
1 medium potato, chopped into small cubes
2 cups boiling water
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
1/3 cup light cream

Cut the tomatoes in half, and arrange in a 9" x 13" Pyrex baking dish, with cut sides up. Season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with olive oil and the crushed garlic.
Top with a few basil leaves dipped in olive oil.
Roast the tomatoes for about 50 minutes to one hour at 375 degrees F, until the edges are slightly blackened.
About 20 minutes before the tomatoes are completely cooked, boil the potato cubes in the 2 cups of water with the tomato paste for about 15 minutes.
When the tomatoes are cooked, cool slightly and then scoop out the insides into a large saucepan. Then add the potato and the cooking liquid to the tomato mixture.
Blend the cooked tomatoes and potato with a stick blender, and then heat gently. Just before you pour the soup into bowls stir in about 1/3 cup of light cream. Add a few basil leaves to garnish just before serving.
This soup freezes very well. It's wonderful to savor the zingy freshness of summer tomatoes in the winter months!

Rich Bread and Butter Pudding

This was adapted from Delia Smith's Rich Bread and Butter Pudding recipe in her "Complete Illustrated Cookery Course"

6-8 slices bread (preferably some of your own left-over home made bread)
2 oz. butter
1/3 cup apricot or raspberry preserves 
1/3 cup currants or raisins (soaked in hot Earl Grey tea for about ten minutes, then drained)
1 1/4 cups milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp Cointreau
1/3 cup sugar, plus one tablespoon to sprinkle on top 
grated zest of ½ a small lemon or lime
3 eggs
freshly grated nutmeg


Method

Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. Spread each slice of bread with butter and preserves, and then cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes. Butter a 2 pint baking dish and add half the buttered bread cubes, sprinkle half the currants over the bread. Then add the rest of the bread cubes and the remainder of the currants.

Mix the milk, heavy cream and Cointreau together in a medium basin, and stir in the sugar and lemon zest. Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl and add to the milk mixture. Pour all the milk and cream mixture over the bread. Top with some freshly grated nutmeg and one tablespoon of brown sugar. 

Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes. Serve warm, although it's extremely delicious cold straight out of the fridge! And of course, it is wonderful with custard even though it's very moist indeed.