Month: May 2025

Crispy Filo Tart with Seasonal Veg

May is blooming marvellous!! It’s a month for lighter dishes that suit brighter days

Crispy Filo Tart with Seasonal Veg & Rhubarb Crumble Bars

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
6-8 sheets filo pastry
50g dried breadcrumbs
100g asparagus sliced in half lengthways if very thick
2 courgettes or 300g baby courgettes sliced
6 large eggs
zest 2 lemons
small handful parsley, mint or basil (or a mixture), roughly chopped
200g crème fraîche
200g block feta cheese crumbled

Method

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and pop in a baking sheet to heat up.
• Use a little of the oil to lightly grease an 18 x 25cm tart tin.
• Line the tin with a few strips of baking parchment – this will help to lift out the tart later.
• Unfold the pastry, but keep it covered with a damp tea towel. Taking 1 sheet at a time, brush each piece well with oil, then use to line your tart tin, leaving a little pastry hanging over the edges.
• Sprinkle a thin layer of breadcrumbs between each layer of pastry as you go –this keeps the pastry crisp. When you get to the final layer, brush with a little extra oil and scrunch the edges together to create a pretty border.
• Toss the asparagus and courgettes with seasoning and the remaining oil and tip onto a baking tray.
• Place the pastry case on the top shelf of the oven, with the veg on the shelf below and cook for 10 mins.
• Remove the veg from the oven. Brush the pastry case with a little beaten egg and bake for a further 5 mins until the pastry is golden brown and crunchy.
• Whisk the remaining egg with the lemon zest, herbs, crème fraîche and seasoning.
• Lay half the veg in the bottom of the pastry case and add half the feta.

Pour over the egg mixture, then top with the remaining veg and feta

• Bake for 40 mins until the filling has set. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

 

Rhubarb Crumble Bars

Rhubarb Crumble Bars

Ingredients

400g rhubarb, chopped into small pieces
100g caster sugar
200g butter
200g plain flour
170g soft light brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
30g rolled oats
1 medium egg, yolk only

Method

• Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6.
• Place the rhubarb into a roasting dish and sprinkle over the caster sugar. Roast for 25-30 minutes, or until the rhubarb begins to soften and becomes jammy. Strain off any excess liquid. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
• Turn the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4.
• Put the butter, flour, brown sugar and ginger into a food processor, and whisk until fine breadcrumbs form.
• Spoon half the mixture (about 300g) into a small bowl, then stir in the oats. This will be the crumble topping.
• Add the egg yolk to the remaining mixture in the food processor and pulse until a dough forms or make dough with hands.
• Grease and line a 23cm square tin with baking parchment. Press the dough into the bottom of the tin. Prick all over with a fork, then bake for 10 minutes near the bottom of the oven to dry it out slightly.
• Strain the rhubarb and discard the juice.
• When the base is slightly crisper, spread the rhubarb on top, covering the whole base evenly.
• Gently squeeze the crumble topping using your hands so it clumps together slightly, then sprinkle it over the rhubarb. When it’s completely covered, bake for 40 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the rhubarb is bubbling.
• Leave to cool for 15 minutes.

Wolvesnewton and Trebanog

Wolvesnewton

This was a walk, west of Chepstow exploring the Monmouthshire countryside, taking in three churches and passing the Model farm.

It was a clear sunny day, but the beginning of March and frost remained in shaded places all day. Someone had had some fun, models of a dragon, a green man and an otter were alongside a stream.

We reached Kilgwrrwg Church, the first of the day, within half an hour of setting out. It is tiny with good views. A remote rural spot even today, in times past food would have been provided by strip farming, rotating crops such as wheat and corn. Someone had compiled a folder with information on births, deaths and marriages in the Parish. Leaving the churchyard, we queued to climb over a fallen tree blocking the footpath.

Tramping over lush grassland we saw our first lambs of the season. The medieval, St Thomas a Becket Church at Wolvesnewton is a larger affair on a no through road which was the main road until 19thC. It has a medieval preaching cross and churchyard. A door on the north wall of the church (the wrong side) was sometimes called the Devil’s door and it would be left open during baptism to let evil spirits escape. It is now blocked up. A stained-glass window inside depicts child angels bringing light to the gentiles.

The model farm and folk museum, which opened in 1972 and closed after 14 years, was on our route and a few of us could remember visiting it. It displayed a vast array of items from rural life spanning the Victorian era to Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. There is no evidence of it now apart from a large house, some distance from the track.

Continuing we passed a wildflower meadow, a herd of llamas, and the first frog spawn of the year. At lunchtime we spread out along a bank beside the track, and a few walked to a picnic table below us. After lunch, there was some rough ground and a steep path to tackle, quite difficult after eating. At the top, there was more frog spawn and elfin cap fungus. A pony was scratching around for food in a stony field.

St Peter’s church at Newchurch was the 3rd church of the day, the land it stands on was granted to Tintern Abbey at the time of the Norman invasion. The Bristol Channel and the Cotswolds are visible from here. The yews near the gate were planted in the early 18thC and the church is built entirely of red coarse sandstone. The octagonal font is believed to originate in the 12thC.

Near the end of the walk, a house had a plaque dedicated to Martha Gellhorn (1908- 1998) who had lived there. She was an American novelist, travel writer and journalist who is considered one of the great war correspondents of the 20th C. She reported on most major world conflicts that took place over her 60- year career. She was also the third wife of Ernest Hemingway.

During the walk we had seen celandine (common name pilewort as the roots look like piles), primroses, daffodils and crocuses at the carpark. Before long we were at the nearest pub sampling delicious beer and tea. Walk 7m 1100ft. Map OL14.

 

Trebanogn

This was a bit of a surprise to most of us, Trebanog sits above Porth, and we parked there to avoid a 300ft climb. This was early April but as we got out of the cars a cold, keen wind cut into us, and we all added layers to our clothes. The surprise was the extent of the greenery up here given the large population of the valleys.

People had used stones from an old wall to create tall cairns in places. We could see the whole of Porth and even parts of the Rhondda valley. We were walking on old coal tips and found ewes with their lambs spread over a large area.

About half of us decided to add a little extra to the walk by climbing an easy short distance to a trig point. That was all very well but the steep descent through bracken was a challenge, and we were glad to get back to the rest of the group.

As we walked, Eleri a 13-year-old made up the plot for a story based on our journey, only time will tell whether it makes the pages of What’s On.

Many birds were spotted including the first swallows of the year, skylarks, buzzards, a kite, crows and ducks on a pond. We even saw another herd of llamas.

Drinks at the Cross Inn near Llantrisant rounded off the day nicely. Walk 7m 800ft Map OS166.

“The Horse Boy ” by Rupert Isaacson

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“The Horse Boy ” by Rupert Isaacson

This book is a true story of a family who embark on an epic journey across Mongolia. The author, Rupert Isaacson and his wife Kristin had one child who was diagnosed with autism at the age of two. As their son, Rowan, grew older, the couple struggled to deal with and manage his severe tantrums and meltdowns, and in the book, they describe their feelings of anxiety, depression and exhaustion dealing with Rowan’s challenging behaviour but also their overwhelming love for their son. They consulted many doctors, trying to get therapies and strategies to help Rowan progress but were unsuccessful in finding any that had a lasting effect.

Rupert noticed that his son had a strong connection with horses and that horses had a calming effect on him. Rupert decided to find an alternative source of healing for Rowan and after extensive research, found that in Mongolia, the Shamans, who practice interacting with the spiritual world through trances for the purpose of healing, had a reputation for healing children with neurological symptoms.

Rupert is a journalist and arranged for a film crew to accompany the family on their travels across the country and to document their meetings with the Shamans and the healing ceremonies they participated in. This documentary financed this epic journey, and Isaacson records it all for this book.

Our book group agreed that the author had impressive literacy skills and wrote in detail; one member really enjoyed the descriptions of Mongolian history, the cities and the vast, beautiful countryside that the family covered in their quest to meet the healers. Concern was raised in the group about the rituals that Rowan and his parents all endured as part of the healing process, and we had a long discussion regarding whether this had a positive or negative effect on the family and Rowan’s symptoms. Many of the group said that although the author described the journey in great detail, this led to chunks of repetitive dialogue and the book became a challenge to read. This was another book that split the group in their feelings towards it. If you have an interest in alternative healing therapies and in particular the autism spectrum or want to know more about Mongolia and the Shamans, this may be a book for you to read.

Pull-Up The Forget-Me-Nots

THE VILLAGE GARDENER

Pull-Up The Forget-Me-Nots

Before anything else, pull-up the forget-me-nots, to stop heavy self-seeding and reduce spreading next year. They look awful if you allow them to die back. Treat roses for black spot at the first signs of this disease. Tie in the climbing roses as they put a spurt on, also support the bush roses in readiness for the expected heavy and numerous blooms. Prune the spring flowering shrubs as soon as their blooms fade, to allow for good seasonal growth and flowering next Spring. Trim back the aubrieta after flowering to encourage a second bloom.

Take cuttings of pelargoniums and fuchsia as they will propagate easily at this time of year. We have a nationwide problem with fuchsias at the present, because of fuchsia gall mite. Removing affected parts helps but this is not a cure. Some gardeners have given up on them.

We all know how tiresome weeding is, but it has and always will be an absolutely essential activity. The planting up of hanging baskets is a job for May. These displays will always do better if you can keep them in a greenhouse or covered up at night until the end of the month.

Watering is becoming an increasing problem as we are having longer dry spells, using the washing up water will have no detrimental effect on plants. Placing water butts alongside down pipes, will help enormously towards saving tap water use.

On the allotments, gardeners are busy trying to keep up with the new season’s growth. Barry H has been watering every day to keep his well tendered plants healthy. On another plot first year apple trees are having the blossom removed to strengthen the young trees, which will give a better harvest in the coming years.

Protecting crops is a demanding and essential task especially with young plants and early cropping varieties. Netting is efficient but must be done diligently to stop birds being trapped inside. Mice seem to be the hardest to overcome, they will without doubt eat your strawberries the night before you’ve decided to pick them. Young runner bean plants are a magnet for pests. Other than having 24- hour security, you just need a bit of luck. All the effort is always worthwhile and that’s shown by the folk who love their plots.

Come along to the Tucker’s VE80 Wartime Plant Sale on Saturday 10 May in the Church Hall. Buy some lovely plants, try some wartime recipe food and dress in clothes of the era. And of course, buy raffle tickets in aid of Wenvoe Wildlife Group.

Take care and happy gardening

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