Abergavenny Food Festival a roaring success

Abergavenny food festival was really good this year. There was a lot of food stalls to try and see, and the local producers were out in force. There was a great section dedicated to cheese and wine producers, and me and my chums attempted, valiantly, to taste each of the cheeses, and a few of the wines. I especially liked a certain cumin flavoured cheese. Moving on to the area at the back of the market we found some delicious chutneys and dipping sauces. I bought a really good chili dip from a company called 'Essential Dressings' , from Worcestershire, and an amazing Aubergine and Garlic chutney from 'Avrils' country Kitchen of Newport.
I didnt get to go to festival on Sunday, which was dissapointing (the crow point festival in Newport took over the rest of my weekend), as I wanted to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall conjuring some of his magic. Never mind - it looked like his temporary River cottage could have done with a new roof.
I had to buy a bottle of the Apple and Blackcurrant Brandy made by Black Mountain Distillers. Top stuff, this.
This festival is top class, and I'm sure it could grow and grow, but Abergavenny probably couldnt take the strain of many more people on the Saturday. Next year, I'm going for both days, and I'm going to enjoy the evening hog roast at the castle.

Great Scottish Food - Not a Deep Fried Mars Bar in sight

If any of you guys over the ocean wonder what we eat in Britain, or more specifically, Scotland, then have a look at this : NoodlePie
Wonderful stuff.

Giant Clams

Well, I've just spent the weekend in west wales, on the beaches at Manorbier, Fresh Water West, and Saundersfoot. It's got to be the best way to relax.
On Saturday, we went to Saundersfoot beach at low tide to look for Razor clams. Me, and my buddy Chris had heard that you can get them by pouring salt on them. weird. Anyway, the beach was full of clam hunters, with tubs of salt, and bottles of very strong saline. Amazingly, you just need to look for a little hole in the sand, that is either bubbling up with water, or squirting water and ram a load of salt into it. If you are lucky, and not too heavy footed, the razor clam will rise up out of its hole just like the titanic coming back up. Then, you grab the shell firmly, and pull it very slowly out of the sand. Great - fresh razor clam. We got about 8 of these before the tide came back in (very quickly) .

There was a guy on the beach digging up lug worm for bait with his two sons (thanks mate), and he showed us how to get the biggest clams I have ever seen (not razors). Look for one of the little holes that squirt water, and instead of using salt, just dig down as fast as possible, about 18 inches, and grab the shell that should be there. They really fight, so you better hold on. Dig around it with your other hand, and hopefully pull it out. These clams look like giant flat mussels (6 inches long, 4 inches wide). We only got one of these, cause the guy who got it for us was covered in crud up to his shoulder (the sand turns into grey mud about 6 inches down at low tide).

Anyway, we got half a bucket of cockles too, and later that night we cooked all of the shellfish up with garlic and white wine and ate it with Pasta. Lovely stuff, and would have cost an arm and a leg in any restaurant.
All in all, a nice weekend. If you haven't been to west Wales, you should go - the beaches are gorgeous - great for surfing, fishing, or just lounging about. Unfortunately, the water comes in off the Atlantic, so you better be tough if you intend to swim.

btw - The tides around south wales have the second highest tidal range in the world, and as a result, the tide can come in really fast.

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Ghetto Muffins

You just don' see tasty food like this evy day. Hay Jimbob, make me some of these before I open up a can of whoop ass ...

Ghetto McMuffins

1 english muffin — $0.25
1-2 eggs — $0.15
1/2 - 1 hotdog — $0.12
1 slice cheese, optional — $0.10
pepper, optional

Total: $0.62

Cut the english muffin in half and put it in the toaster set for extra crispy. Meanwhile, beat the egg(s) lightly in a small bowl. Throw in pepper if you like. Cut up the hotdog into chunks. Get a medium fire under a small (8-9 inch is fine) non stick omelette pan going. At some point you might want to put a bit of oil in the pan but I find I can avoid it for non-stick.

Cook the hot dogs until slightly browned. Distribute them across the bottom of the pan and pour in the egg(s). Lower the fire. Stir a bit with a spatula. Let it set up a bit, a few minutes. You can cover it to speed it along.

When the top is nearly cooked, get a rubber spatula and cut the scramble down the middle. Here, you can insert a slice of cheese or whatever you want on each semi-circle. Fold the egg semi-circle over so it’s a quarter-circle.

Put each quarter-circle on a toasted english muffin half. This makes 2 open face McMuffins, or close it up for a gigantic McMuffin.