Latest news with #SabrinaGhayour
North Wales Live
14 hours ago
- Business
- North Wales Live
I paid a visit to a North Wales seaside resort's unique garden centre and café
A garden centre and cafe with a difference was officially opened last month. Bryn Euryn Nursery and Café in Dinerth Road in Rhos-on-Sea had already been operating for some time - but the site may have flown under the radar for some. So what can customers expect? This garden centre and café, with an adjoining shop, provides employment mentoring to people with disabilities wanting to get into paid work. Cllr Charlie McCoubrey, Conwy Council's Leader, has said he is proud that investment by the local authority, with extra money from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, will enable the team to help people with learning disabilities to learn useful skills. The nursery and cafe are at the very bottom of Dinerth Road, before you get to the underpass, and the site is well-signposted. Around the corner, in fact, is Bron-y-Nant Cemetery by Colwyn Bay Crematorium and Mochdre Recycling Centre. You can park on Dinerth Road, although it's quite a slope. You can walk straight down a ramp or steps to the nursery itself or go through the shop into a bright, colourful cafe. There are lots of square tables in blue, green, orange, pink and yellow so there are plenty of places to sit. I went to the counter and was told meals weren't being served due to a staffing issue, I believe. But coffee and cake were available. There were lots of "homemade" scones, bara brith and other desserts. So I chose a slice of vanilla sponge cake with mixed berries, paid and sat down by the window. When the waitress came over the cake tasted light and soft. It was very pleasant although I would have liked a thicker piece. A latte washed it down which was fine. The menu shows they normally serve traditional fare with some nice touches. For breakfast you can have a breakfast bap for £6 - comprising bacon, sausage, tomato, hashbrown and an egg - or cheesey beans in a slice of bloomer toast for £4.50. For lunch there are sandwiches and lite bites, including Welsh rarebit (£5), or layered hummus (£6), topped with red onion, tomato, pomegranate and coriander with crispy bread. There is also a Speciality Ciabatta with Italian meats, mozzarella, pickles, rocket and mustard (£7). Or try a Reuben one (for £7) with thin beef, cheese, sauerkraut and thousand island dressing. The cafe itself is in a large, hangar like room. Colourful paper balls dangle above the window and ribbons are festooned across the ceiling. It looks like there's been a permanent party. I particularly liked the coffee table, cookery style books left on each table for you to peruse. On mine was Sabrina Ghayour's Persiana Everyday with recipes for dishes like Bazaar, spiced, chickpea & feta salad, and Sticky tamarind, garlic and tomato green beans. On another table was Mary Berry's "Classic" recipe book. There were lots of ideas for amateur cooks to take inspiration from: Pan-fried cauliflower steaks, anyone? But I think that the main attractions of an informal lunch or coffee break at Bryn Euryn are the purpose of this place and its setting. Not only are you supporting the staff to mentor those needing a helping hand, you can do so while enjoying the wonderful array of plants on sale. Wandering around the adjoining nursery before or after the food is a lovely thing to do. It puts you in a good mood and soothes you. In the shop are a plethora of seed packets on sale - spinach, radish, kohl rabi and so on - as well as pots of freesias and sweet peas. Outside, below a terrace, there are a range of products on display from Cordyline to orange, climbing sunblaze roses. The facts Location: Bryn Euryn Nursery and Cafe, Dinerth Road, Rhos-on-Sea, Conwy, LL28 4YN is open from 9.30pm till 4pm most days. 01492 577530.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Yahoo
Everything you need to know about Nowruz, Persian New Year
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). The United Nations has marked 21 March as International Nowruz Day, commemorating a holiday that sees millions around the world eating, dancing and furiously spring-cleaning the house from top-to-toe. Nowruz, meaning 'new day' in Persian, falls on the first day of the Persian calendar (around the same time as the Spring Equinox), and observes the end of darkness and the rebirth of nature. Here's the 101 on a celebration that's withstood multiple conquests and the test of time. Nowruz, the Persian New Year, is a 3,000-year-old celebration of spring, rooted in the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism. It begins on the first day of the Iranian calendar, usually on or around 20 March, or Spring Equinox, and lasts for 13 days. With deep reverence for fertility, nature and new beginnings, it's celebrated by around 300 million people across Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and Central Asia, as well as in Kurdish, Turkic Uyghur and Parsi communities worldwide. Festivities typically involve large gatherings of friends and family, street festivals, bonfires, fireworks, poetry and folk music. In Afghanistan and Central Asia, games originating in nomadic communities are popular, while in Iran, khane tekani (spring cleaning) marks the start of festivities. But the common denominator is food — and lots of it. Most spreads will include a haft-sin, a display of seven ingredients beginning with the letter 'S' in their local language. Each symbolises a different concept, such as health (garlic), patience (vinegar) and beauty (apple) in Iran. You can also expect an elaborate tray with sabzeh (lentil sprouts grown specially for Nowruz), nuts, sweets, dried fruits and colourfully painted eggs. On the last day of Nowruz, Iranians host special picnics to mark the end of the previous year, while in Kazakhstan, locals build yurts in which they lay out tables of rich food. In Iran, typical dishes include kookoo sabzi (a herby frittata), sabzi polo ba mahi (rice with herbs and fried fish) and reshteh polo (aromatic rice and noodles). Plov, the rice-based national dish of Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, is at the heart of most Nowruz gatherings, with countless variations on meat, vegetables and spices. In Azerbaijan, fragrant kebabs and dolma (stuffed vine leaves) are popular, along with sweets such as baklava and shekerbura (moon-shaped pastry with sugar, nuts and cardamom). In Uzbekistan, sumalak (a sweet pudding made with sprouted wheat) is made in giant cauldrons. Afghans cook sabzi challow (a spinach and lamb curry), followed by desserts including kolcheh nowrozi (rice flour biscuits) and haft mewa (a dried fruit salad in syrup). For Kazakhs, Nowruz almost always involves nauryz kozhe (a soup of barley, horse meat and milk). For Persian recipes, Feasts by Sabrina Ghayour and The Saffron Tales by Yasmin Khan are great options. For Central Asian and Azerbaijani flavours, check out Samarkand by Caroline Eden and Eleanor Ford. And for Afghan dishes, see Parwana by Durkhanai Ayubi. Bergamot, Plateful Cafe, Berenjak and Tehran-Berlin are among many London restaurants offering Nowruz-themed menus and supper clubs. Options elsewhere in the UK include Konj Cafe in Edinburgh and Parisa Events in Cardiff. Published in Issue 26 (winter 2024) of Food by National Geographic Traveller (UK).To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
