Two things have happened in this past week that have made me think about what it was like to grow up in Newport. Firstly, I went to get my vaccine, and as it’s based on date of birth, most of those in the queue with me were exactly my age. It made me think about how much shared experience was in that room at that given point: the music we all listened to, the fashions we all would have worn growing up, and how we’ve seen our hometown of Newport change.
The second thing to happen was something I never thought I’d get to do – write a travel piece about Newport. If you can believe it, I was asked to write for The Independent’s Hometown series, as Newport was apparently the ideal fit. I’ll be honest, it was one of the hardest and most joyous pieces I’ve ever done (but then things that are personal to you usually are).
Of course, no harking back to old times would be complete without memories of school – for good or bad reasons. Once I got past my chronic shyness in infant school, I thrived in school – and in some ways would go back tomorrow and do it all over again. And while I remember lessons, songs, and classmates, there’s one aspect that sticks in my mind: school dinners.
In primary school, I never had school dinners, I always took a lunchbox, but when I went up to big school, I stayed for school dinners. This was the time of Turkey Twizlers (they were delicious, sorry Jamie Oliver) and square pizza slices, but also pretty hearty lunches, too. The Upper School canteen did the best lasagne loaded with cheese, and of course, it was served with chips, there was cheese and potato pie served with… chips (who doesn’t love double carbs?), gloriously golden, fruity curry with rice or half ‘n’ half, and outrageously orange sweet ‘n’ sour – again served half ‘n’ half. Then there were break-time oaty flapjacks, squidgy with golden syrup.
In my last year of school, the health drive came in, with salads replacing fried potato sides, brown rice replacing white, and the elimination of the Twizler. While I know that many – if not all – the dishes were calorific, the curries, Bologneses and flapjacks were all homemade in the kitchen by Judy, Dianne and the other dinner ladies. They knew exactly what was in them, and they were economical to produce. Other than the fat, sugar and salt content, I think that’s why they tasted so good. These dinner ladies were mums, aunties and grandmothers, who wanted to feed you, to give you sustenance to get you through your lessons – and fatten you up a bit. They wanted you to feel full and nourished, to enjoy what you were eating and know that you’d had at least one decent meal that day.
So, thank you to all the dinner ladies out there – and if you have the recipe for that fruity curry, please send it my way!
The Recipe
Chocolate Crunch and Pink Custard
A while back, I wrote a piece for Vittles food newsletter about regional cakes and bakes, and in it I spoke about how no-one in London seemed to have heard of chocolate crunch and pink custard. This was an absolute staple of the school dinner menu in Newport and my mum and others remember having it too, so it’s not even a generational thing. But is it just a South Wales thing? Surely not. Anyway, my mum’s friend (a dinner lady) kindly gave me her recipe many years ago, which I subsequently misplaced, but here is my version in all its teeth and china-breaking glory.
Ingredients (makes enough for 6 or more)
300g flour
200g caster sugar
100g cocoa powder
150g butter plus extra for greasing
1 packet of strawberry blancmange
Milk
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Grease a medium baking tin (about 35cmx25cm) with butter.
Tip the flour, sugar and cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
Melt the butter gently in a pan. When melted, add to the bowl and mix thoroughly.
Get your hands in the bowl now and crumble the mix through your fingers until it resembles wet sand.
Tip the mix into the greased tray and press down firmly all over so that it’s compacted.
Bake in the oven for around 35 minutes. Take out and leave to cool in the tin.
When cool, invert onto a chopping board and cut or break into pieces.
Make the blancmange according to the packet instructions with the milk and serve a generous amount over the crunch.
If you can’t find blancmange, you can use custard with a bit of red or pink food colouring to make it pink.
If you try it out, don’t forget to tag any photos with #mywelshkitchen
The Playlist
To me, cooking and music go hand in hand, whether that’s singing at the top of your voice using a wooden spoon as a microphone while waiting for pasta to boil, or dancing around with the oven gloves on as the oven timer counts down. Here are this week’s ideas for your Welsh Kitchen playlist.
It’s the Eurovision Song Contest this coming week, and so this week’s playlist features a few Welsh artists who have represented the UK, including Mary Hopkin (Pontardawe) in 1970, Nicky Stevens in Brotherhood of Man (Carmarthen) in 1976, Jessica Garlick (Kidwelly) in 2002, James Fox (Cardiff) in 2004, and finally, Bonnie Tyler (Neath) in 2013.
Knock, Knock, Who’s There by Mary Hopkin
Save Your Kisses For Me by Brotherhood of Man
Come Back by Jessica Garlick
Hold On To Our Love by James Fox
Believe In Me by Bonnie Tyler
The Pantry
Good food is nothing without good ingredients and thankfully there are plenty of fantastic Welsh products on the market. Here is where you’ll find recommendations to stock up your cupboard, fridge or fruit bowl.
Tideline Ceramics
Diverting slightly from the suppliers list this week, but I’ve been eyeing up these ceramics for a while now, as I think they are beautiful. All the gorgeous cups, bowls and mugs are inspired by the Welsh coast and all carefully handcrafted by Roz Owens at her studio near Aberystwyth.