Blue Mountains Camino Supporters - Newsletter April

Welcome to the Blue Mountains Camino Supporters Newsletter April-May 2020.

The Blue Mountains Camino Supporters Admin Team, wanted to say a warm Hola! We hope you and your families are well and you are managing ok during this extraordinary time. With restrictions gradually being lifted, hopefully you are able to get in some exercise walking and if going in small groups you still need to follow social distancing rules and continued good hygiene practices. Social Distancing may become the new 'normal' practice until a vaccine is found?

We know many are very disappointed you have not been able to make your 2020 Camino, trying to decide whether to request a refund on airfares or opt for a credit/voucher for a travel date in the future might be a dilemma. From reports from Government and the airlines it seems unlikely overseas travel is on the cards before the end of 2020. We feel for the people of Spain and in particular the Albergues, the villages and towns along the Camino routes. Next year 2021, is of course a Holy Year so we can only imagine how busy the Camino might be. Many of you may choose where possible to postpone your Camino again for another year!

We can all still dream and enjoy the memories of Camino's already completed or just day dream of our future adventures.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the last few monthly training walks and Camino Meetups at Glenella as well as the autumn 5-Day Camino Training Walk were cancelled. Thank you to the many people who registered to do the March 5-Day Camino Training Walk and opted for the BMCS group to retain the donations you made. We hope you will be able to do the September Training Walk (restrictions permitting) or use the route maps at your own leisure.

Since we have a lifting of some restrictions in NSW we are going to hold a Morning Walk and virtual Camino Meetup on Saturday the 30th of May. We are limiting the number of walkers to a maximum of 10 per group and maintaining social distancing, meet at Glenella by 8:50am for a 9:00am start. Please book via our Facebook Events Page or EMAIL US if you would like to join this small group/s walk from Glenella Guesthouse. Depending on numbers the route/s for the proposed walk will be either
1) Blackheath to Medlow Bath and the Hydro Majestic for a coffee and return OR
2) Local Blackheath walk to some bush regeneration along Hat Hill Creek area (has a bit of a windy hill) and return to Blackheath village.

Hope you can join us, it will be great to see you in person or virtual on YouTube!

Keep an eye on Facebook and website for further walks and Camino Meetups. We shall publish the updated 2020 Calendar of Events in coming newsletters once the Government permits even larger social gatherings and we are certain we can maintain the social distancing rules.

Take Care, Stay Well and for now enjoy this time to reflect and dream of what will be there when we are safe and ready to travel again.

Join us for a virtual Camino Meetup
Saturday 30th of May, 2:00PM (AEST).

Our Badges are Now Available to Order

Just arrived! Our new Blue Mountains Camino Supporters cloth badge now available to order. Badge measures 8cm diameter. The cost is $10 per badge + $2 postage for up to 4 badges in an envelope.

Make your own Santiago Tart

Torta de Santiago: Galician Almond Tart

Did you know Torta de Santiago (in Galician) or Tarta de Santiago (in Spanish) literally meaning cake of St. James, is an almond cake or pie from Galicia with origin in the Middle Ages? The filling principally consists of ground almonds, eggs, and sugar, with additional flavouring of lemon zest, sweet wine, brandy, or grape marc, depending on the recipe used. It is a round shape and can be made with or without a base which can be either puff pastry or shortcrust pastry. The top of the pie is decorated with icing sugar, masked by an imprint of the Cross of Saint James (cruz de Santiago) which gives the pastry its name.

In May 2010, the EU gave Tarta de Santiago PGI status within Europe. To qualify, the cake must be made in the Autonomous Community of Galicia and contain at least 33% almonds, excluding the base.

The Blue Mountains Camino Supporters offer Torta de Santiago at afternoon tea at Camino Meetups, Camino dinners and movie events. At earlier AusCamino Festivals we also ran hands-on baking workshops baking tortas. There are numerous recipes available but this is a well tested recipe we would like to share.

RECIPE for Torta de Santiago
Ingredients:

250 of raw almond meal / alternative 300gm
250 grams of castor sugar / alternative 200gm
5 large eggs
lemon zest and 1 teaspoon lemon juice if you wish. Lime zest is also delicious
1/2 tsp of powdered cinnamon
1 Tbs of icing sugar to dust top of tart when cooled
1 chunk of melted unsalted butter to well grease the baking pan
You can use a number of essences to give the cake a nice aroma, such as a teaspoon of rose water or orange blossom water or you can add a dash of brandy if you wish.

You will need:

1 round detachable flan baking pan of 25-30 cm diameter, line pan with baking paper and a paper Santiago cross If you only have a smaller tin, it will make a deeper tart (flatter is better as is quite rich).
Note: you can buy 30cm tart pans from Ikea but need to grease sides well. If you have 2 smaller tins then you can put half the mixture in each tin.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven at 150º C (fan forced)
Prepare the baking pan with baking paper on the base and apply melted butter really well around the edges of pan.
In a bowl add the castor sugar, almond meal, cinnamon and lemon zest. Mix ingredients well with a fork or spatula
Whisk the eggs in a bowl with the essence (and lemon juice if using) and add to dry ingredients. Gently mix using a rubber spatula until just combined, make sure all the ingredients are mixed together
Pour mix into prepared baking pan using spatula to get out remainder of mix. Use knife or spatula to move mix to edges of pan. Gently tap the pan on the bench to evenly smooth the top of the mix.
Bake cake at 150C for 35-40 minutes (depends on depth of pan used) until the top is golden colour. TIP: test cake at 30 mins depending on your oven, the cake should be coming away (shrinking) from edge of pan.
When the cake is cooked remove from the oven and let it cool on rack before gently unmoulding.
When the cake is cool put the paper cross on top of the surface and dust icing sugar evenly using a sieve.
Remove the stencil carefully as to not drop all the sugar from the paper on the cake. TIP: use double sided cello take on top of cross template before use.
A 30cm size torta gives you 12 slices, less if you want larger slices. Enjoy!

Additional information:

The tart freezers well and you can just take out slices as needed and defrost otherwise you can keep it in a air tight container for a few days. You can also serve with cream and berries if you want to stretch it to serve as a dessert.
Recipe modification – for a less sweet tart, reduce sugar to 200gm and increase almond meal to 300gm, however this will give you a drier mix. Instead of castor sugar, you can substitute with other sugar alternatives.
One mix makes 1 x 30 flan pan, 1 x25cm for a deeper tart, 2 x 18cm flan pans or 6 x pie sized pans- just divide mix evenly if using smaller pans
If using template of St James cross, cut image out of rigid plastic (document file type is ideal and re-usable), put double sided sticky tape in 2 places before placing template on the tart. This makes it easier to remove the template without getting surplus icing sugar in the blank area of the tart.
This link is for the St James cross template.

https://bluejellybeans.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/cruz-de-santiago.png

Camino Links, Dream, Research, Enjoy!

You will find regular updates on Events on our Facebook Page and Website
We also have a Closed Group on Facebook, Blue Mountains Camino Community CLICK HERE to join. This is where you can post and discuss all things Camino with the Blue Mountains Camino Community.

You can also EMAIL US anytime with any questions or stories you would like to share.

The Blue Mountains Camino Supporters is a community group, we aim to support those planning to start a Camino and Pilgrims who have returned from their Camino. By coming together regularly we hope to enable & encourage the Camino Spirit here in the Blue Mountains. We hold monthly Camino Meetups held on the last Saturday of the month except December at Glenella Guesthouse in Blackheath, hosted by Margaret & Rowan Bouttell. Prior to the Camino Meetup there is a Saturday morning training walk. Sharise Watson and Carlene Martin produce this Newsletter and manage the Blue Mountains Camino Supporters Facebook Page. Kerrie Girdo manages our Blue Mountains Camino Community forum on Facebook. Tony & Ce Jacques co-ordinate and host the Tapas dinners & Camino movie events each year, Jerard & Enda Barry host an annual Feast of Saint James Dinner and also host Pilgrims at their Pop-Up Albergue in Wentworth Falls during our 5-Day Blue Mountains Camino Training Walks. Our website is managed by Mark Johnson and Carlene, assisted by Sharise.

We could always use your help! Can you assist in some small way such as leading or sweeping a monthly Saturday morning walk or with the Camino Meetup, baking a Santiago Tart? Or perhaps you have a suggestion for an event or training walk? Have you read a great book about the Camino or perhaps seen an inspiring movie or listened to a podcast about the Camino then please EMAIL US and let us know.

The Blue Mountains Camino Supporters was founded in 2015 by Tony & Ce Jacques and Margaret & Rowan Bouttell.

The Blue Mountains Camino recognises that Darug and Gundungurra Traditional Owners of the Blue Mountains region. We pay respect to their Elders past and present.