From England via Switzerland

Every Saturday I have a video chat with my Swiss cousin Walter and his wife Helen.  They live in Aarau, the capital of the Swiss canton of Aargau.  Walter is a medical doctor.  Helen  works as a speech therapist at a school for special needs students.  They are wonderful people, as are all my Swiss cousins, and I love them very much.

Helen's mother was from England, and she still has family there.  A couple weeks ago Helen sent me one of her mother's English recipes, a quick and easy version of Welsh rarebit.  I had heard of Welsh rarebit, but had never known exactly what it is.  The word "rarebit" is actually pronounced like "rabbit".  In fact it is sometimes spelled "r-a-b-b-I-t" even though it contains no rabbit meat.  The dish consists of grated cheese, egg and a few other ingredients, spread on toasted bread, and put under the broiler for a few minutes.  

The recipe calls for Gruyere or Emmenthal cheese.  I told Helen that I would buy Swiss cheese, which is the North American version of Emmenthal.  She got a chuckle out of that... as if Emmenthal is the only kind of cheese that Switzerland produces.  My only other deviation from the recipe was that I spread the cheese mixture on toasted English muffins instead of toast.  

An interesting side note:  I was researching English muffins to see if they are really are of English origen. (Yes, they are.)  I discovered that Thomas' English Muffins, the best known brand here in the U.S., is now owned by Bimbo, the giant Mexican bread company.

For supper last night, I made the Welsh rarebit.  I was easy to prepare, and it turned out very tasty.  I served it with steamed asparagus.

I will definitely make this again.  Helen says that she has some more recipes to send me.  It they are as easy and delicious as the Welsh rarebit, I look forward to them.

Thanks, Helen!  Danke schön, Helen!