December 2009 Newsletter

Hello Ynysangharad member,

If you missed the last meeting the newsletter will keep you up to date with what is happening with our Ynysangharad WI.

This is our newsletter and your views and contributions are important. If you have any news items, comments, recipes, gardening tips or anything that would be of interest to our group. Please contact us at yawi@hotmail.co.uk or speak to Emma at the meeting

December Meeting

December saw the Christmas Extravaganza with an earlier 7pm start and people braving the cold to join in the fun. Sparkly headpieces and earrings abounded and we had a few fancy dresses- Emma as a Christmas Fairy and Marie as an imaginative Christmas present!
Several people had brought bottles and all settled down to the quiz with a glass of something warming or a cup of tea. After what seemed an interminable wait the hot food arrived. The portions were absolutely huge and the food hot , tasty and great value for less than £5 for a choice of 2 chicken breasts, large cod or a pizza with your chips. Thanks to the Mighty Cod for the full tummies!
Thanks also to Gwenda for the Xmas quiz as well- who knew that we all knew so much about Christmas.

January meeting- Subs and Commitee

Members should bear in mind that this years subs of £29.50 are due at the next meeting. Please bring yours in a sealed envelope marked with your name. This will also be our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and so there will be no speaker. We will be choosing our committee for the coming year, so please make sure that you put yourself forward if you’d like to be involved. There will be a short quiz if there is time.

Glamorgan Federation Events

The Diary Dates 2010 are available on the Glamorgan Federation newsletter which can be seen at the meetings. If you see any trips or events that you think would be of interest to our WI please make sure that you bring it to the attention of the Committee- or you might like to arrange a trip yourself….

Ynysangharad WI 2010 Programme

The 2010 programme has still to be finalised. If you have any preferences of who YOU would like to see come and talk to us during the coming year please let the Committee know. Although we do our best to provide you with a fun and varied programme, we would love to have more input from you the members- come on, get involved to shape the WI that you would like.

Photographic record

You might not know that we are now able to upload our photos onto the YYAWI website. If you have taken any photos of YAWI events or you fancy yourself as a bit of a David (Davina!) Bailey, then please can you email or give a disc of the photos to Emma so that she can start putting them up as nice record of what the group has been up to?

Recipe of the Month

Waistbands will be groaning after all the Christmas excesses, so this month we have a delicious and hearty but healthy vegetarian soup to kickstart those January fitness plans..

Potato and Roast Red Pepper Soup

Ingredients
4 red peppers
55g/2oz butter
425g/15oz potatoes, peeled and diced to 5mm/1/3in
110g/4oz onions, diced to 1/3in dice
1 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper
900ml/1½pt home-made chicken stock or vegetable stock
120ml/4fl oz creamy milk
sprigs of flatleaf parsley
roasted chillies (optional)
Method
1. Roast or chargrill the peppers for 10-15 minutes in the oven and then leave to cool in a plastic bag.
2. Peel and deseed, save the sweet juices and carefully purée the flesh with the juices. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
3. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan. When it foams, add the potatoes and onions and toss them in the butter until well coated.
4. Sprinkle with salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cover with a butter wrapper or paper lid and the lid of the saucepan. Sweat on a gentle heat for approximately 10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, bring the stock to the boil. When the vegetables are soft but not coloured add the boiling stock and continue to cook for about 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
6. Add the milk. purée the soup in a blender or food processor. Taste and adjust seasoning.
7. Just before serving, swirl the red pepper purée through the soup or simply drizzle on top of each bowl. Top with some snipped flat parsley. You might try adding one or two roast chillies to the pepper for a little extra buzz - serrano or jalapeno are good.

Please remember that our next meeting is on Wednesday January 13th 2010 at 7.30pm. We hope to see you then