One Pot Wonders Result

Gin Gan Goo

This is what we would take with us on our climb. We are all big fans of cheese and we were keen to follow the advice of author Gary Waidson.. "try and get a local beer, a local cheese and sometimes even a local mustard so the taste is never the same two times running."

This didn't turn out to be quite as easy as we had hoped. Several journeys up and down Llanberis high street were needed before we had our bottle of Snowdonia Ale from the Purple Moose Brewery and a jar of Colman's Mustard (couldn't find a local mustard) but we were really struggling for a cheese. We didn't find one until the last minute, a Little Black Bomber from the Snowdonia Cheese Company spotted in the Capel Curig Spar.

We stuffed the ingredients in our rucksack, it wasn't the lightest meal but we didn't care. We were climbing the direct route on Milestone Buttress and the idea of a fondue high on the face was just to exciting to imagine. The initial classic split slab pitch led to the wide overlapping cracks of the second pitch, some exciting moves later and we arrived at the large notch and wide ledge, the site for our yummy snack.

The bottle was still intact so we took a swig each. The stove was soon set up and heating the beer, a dollop of mustard was added and our taste buds were on fire. Nick peeled the cheese, I stirred the bubbling mixture and the chunks of cheese were added, it was looking good.

We had been a little enthusiastic with the beer, our mixture was not the classic smooth and creamy fondue we were hoping for. Perhaps we should have grated the cheese in, perhaps our Little Black Bomber was not an ideal fondue cheese, either way nothing was going to stop us dunking our bread into it.

Job done, fully fuelled up we were ready to tackle the final crux offwidth corner.

Sigrun's Three Course Mountain Meal

What we liked about this recipe is that it included 3 courses, essential after a long day on the hill. It also looked like it would take a little time to prepare, good for killing some time now that the evenings were drawing in. It was also popular with both the meat eaters and the vegetarians, sounded wholesome with a good balance of hot liquids and filling solids.

Starter: A warming, clear vegetable soup

Despite an accident with the pepper and substituting dried peas for tinned peas it got the job done. The palette was nicely warmed and demanded the second course which was already well underway.

Main Course: Wild Mushroom Noodle Pot

Again it was tricky to find some essential ingredients.. the brown rice noodles were replaced by Amoy easy cook noodles, and the wild mushrooms were replaced by button mushrooms which were on offer. Saying that it was fast, easy to cook and filling. Using the correct ingredients would have differentiated the main course from the starter, our attempts lacked the finesse demanded by the ingredients.

Dessert: Sigrun's Mountain Cake

We did our best here, but we didn't do Sigrun's cake justice. Who would have thought it would be so difficult to find basic cous cous in Llanberis, certainly not us with the mighty Spar at our disposal. The closest we found was Mediterranean cous cous, exotic but also tomato-tastic. We were also short on some essential fruits: pitted dates, almonds, cashew nuts and grapes. Sorry Sigrun we made a complete balls up of your dessert!

The complete recipes for you to try in your pot

Gin Gan Goo

Author: Gary Waidson

Ingredients:

• One or more tins of your favourite beer
• Cheese, any kind, the wax wrapped stuff is easy to carry though
• Mustard, again any kind, including the little packs you can get in fast food joints
• Bread, or you can make your own bannocks if you're feeling clever

Take your single pot and add some beer. The amounts in this recipe are all variable but half a tin is plenty for a hungry hiker. (I'll let you work out what to do with the rest.) Put on the heat and stir in some mustard. Again add enough for your own taste, I use half a jar of wholegrain, but you might prefer more (or less if you're the weird type that doesn't like mustard.) Now comes the cheesy bit. Break or cut your cheese up and add to the pot as it heats up. Stir it in and keep your eye on it as it melts. When you have a good gooey consistency dip your bread, or bannock in and eat.

It's a bit like those fancy fondue parties I never got invited to. We usually try and get a local beer, a local cheese and sometimes even a local mustard so the taste is never the same two times running. It doesn't need to boil, which saves your fuel, and it is fine with stale or squashed bread (as long as it isn't mouldy.) It's proper name is English Rarebit, but it got renamed because we usually make it sat round a camp fire. (Which is where we make the bannocks if we've run out of bread.) Try it.. you'll be amazed how fast it disappears.

Sigrun's three course mountain meal

Author: Sigrun Thorsteinsdottir

Hiking in the wilderness of Iceland can be quite harsh so a warm meal at the end is absolutely necessary, no matter the season. This three course meal is light yet full of proteins, slow releasing carbohydrates and healthy fats. It is our favourite meal when in the mountains. We are vegetarians and never buy ready made travel food since it is usually of poor value. The other bonus is that the meal is light-weight to carry around and the ingredients keep well. Meat can be added for the carnivores :) Recipes are for two.

Starter: A warming, clear vegetable soup
Great for hydration and getting warm

Ingredients:

• 500 ml water 1-2 bullion cubes (vegetable stock)
• Handful dried green peas
• Handful dried wild mushrooms
• Handful dried herbs
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Boil water. Slowly stir the cubes together with water. Add peas, mushrooms and herbs. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Main course: Wild mushroom noodle pot
A filling yet light meal full of carbohydrates and energy, easy on the stomach. For this recipe I use soups in packs, bought at the health food store.

Ingredients:

• 2 packs mushroom soup (bought from a health food store)
• 1 L cold water
• 5-7 gr dried, wild mushrooms
• 100-150 gr brown rice noodles (or any noodles you like)
• Salt and pepper
• Pinch dried parsley

Method:
Stir the soup into the cold water (or as directed). Bring to a boil. Add mushrooms. Add parsley. Add rice noodles and cook for a couple of minutes. Add parsley. Serve immediately.

Dessert: Sigrun's Mountain Cake
A filling and tasty cake. Hard to believe you can eat cake this good without a oven in sight. It is full of carbohydrates, protein and with healthy fat as well from the nuts.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup pitted dates, chopped finely
• 1/4 cup rasins Pinch salt Pinch vanilla (powder)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1,5 cup apple juice
• 1/2 cup cous cous
• Handful almonds
• Handful cashewnuts
• Handful grapes (if they will survive the travel), I often pack them in a zip lock and they do keep fresh that way. You can also use kiwi, mango, apples or whatever you think will survive on your hike.

Method:
Put everything into the pot apart from the cous cous, almonds, cashews and grapes). Bring to the boil and boil for 15-20 minutes on low heat. Pour the cous cous into the pot and boil for 5 minutes. Use a spoon to stir it a little. Allow to cool completely. Cut the grapes into halves and place them on the couscous. Scatter the almonds and cashews onto the grapes and serve.

It is also good to put the cake upside down on a dish, decorate and then slice it. Excellent with some long life cream if you bring some a long on your trip!. Tip: Cashews and almonds become even better if they are roasted beforehand, it brings out their nutty flavour.