There are times when traveling, that there really doesn’t seem to be anything very exciting to write about. This can create a lull in my travel journals. Once this happens, my journal may as well serve as ballast in the bottom of my suitcase.
On less than adventurous travel days, I must occasionally create a purpose to write. What better way to do this than to “eat my words”! Every country has some food that is unique to the locale. Many of these, I am just too chicken to try, like Blood Pudding from Scotland, Century Eggs from China or Fried Spiders from Cambodia. Even the American foods such as Rocky Mountain Oysters, otherwise known as bull testicles, would make a great story for someone visiting the U.S.A. Just the thought of any of these foods turns my sensitive stomach. I might be willing to photograph them, but I can promise. that I will probably never taste any of them! So what is a girl to do when she knows that food can make a great topic for writing? Grab dessert of course! One such dessert, I sampled for the first time, while visiting Wales. Below is the daily entry that went into my journal:
Bara Brith
Sept 22, 2015. I must have appeared confused as I stood outside the bakery window, trying to recollect the name of the Welsh bread, recommended by our hotel staff. A local woman asked if she could help. She explained that recipes for Bara Brith, also known as “speckled bread”, are handed down from generation to generation. Some use honey to sweeten the simple bread, while others use brown sugar. Some use yeast but more commonly, self rising flour is used, making the bread last much longer. My loaf indicates that it will be good for nearly a full month! All recipes include currents or other dried fruits that have been soaked overnight in brewed tea. As I taste Bara Brith for the first time, I am struck by its cake like consistency. Using a variety of spices, like all spice, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove to flavor the bread, images of cold autumn days immediately spring to mind. I thank the lady for sharing this information. I will never know her name, but I will think of her often, as I create this treat during the autumn months. Perhaps, many years from now, as my children read my journals, they will discover the day that I first sampled Bara Brith, turning it into a new autumn holiday tradition for them.