I realised tonight that a month had flown past since we planted our vegetable “plugs” this year. We´re catching up as we´ve has plenty of rain followed by sunshine and a few misty evenings, which the plants seem to love!
Our herbs are doing well, apart from my parsley and cilantro (coriander) which are still looking a bit sad.
I´ve let the sage flower as I think it looks so pretty. I sometimes deep fry the large leaves in very hot olive oil for a few seconds and sprinkle with coarse sea salt as a little nibble with almonds and olive…and wine, of course!
Sage flowers
The mint is going crazy…these were the stragglers which I had to pull up later.
Rampaging Mint
I´ve also let the chives go to seed as the flowers are also lovely in salads.
Delicious chives...great for potato salad
The basil is almost ready for the first batch of pesto.
Fragrant Basil
We´ve got plum tomatoes.
A Future Sun Dried Tomato
We´ve got a “wild” tomato which has sprung up from a leftover seed from a squashed tomato from last year. It has such a desire to live, we´ve let it do its own thing!
Born to be wild....!
We have some (very) bitter salad leaves and the delicious chard. The celery tucked in there is slow to get going, but we´ll let it take its time.
Green Leaves and Bitter Leaves
Tomatoes, beans and the little muscat vines.
View down to my kitchen window
We´ve got rocket seedlings (must plant some more though)
Aaah....less than a week old
The first of the runner beans should be ready to pick in a few days
Teeny, tiny beans
The onions are doing well too
Onions in neat rows!
We´ve got long thin green peppers and large bell peppers – but we can´t remember which are which. We´ll soon find out!
Which one are you then?
Cucumber flowers
Grown from last year´s seeds
The aubergine flowers are so pretty – wish they´d hurry up as I love aubergines (eggplant!)
Hurry Up! Hurry Up!
Dwarf French beans (yellow and green) which we only planted a week ago
Not quite Jack & The Beanstalk, but working on it!
And finally, radish seedlings…not long now!
Peppery and Pretty!
As I said, we´re a little behind this year because of the very wet spring that we had, but we´re happy with progress so far and already dreaming of grilled vegetables, salads and bunches of grapes. Happy growing to you all!
Last night over much of Europe (not sure if it was visible elsewhere) there was a spectacular Lunar Eclipse. It was a clear starry night and we sat in the garden, listened to the crickets and frogs (and the occasional donkey), inhaled the scent of honeysuckle and watched the magical show.
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When it went dark, it gave me goosebumps. I was thinking about how people must have felt centuries ago when they didn’t understand these things. Imagine their fear when the night was plunged into darkness and their relief when the moon reappeared! Is this a good time for planting? I´m sure it must be…
The photos are not anywhere near as spectacular as what we saw, but hope you enjoy!
Ok, so I could be posting about the delicious ribs in barbecue sauce I cooked today, inspired by Greg´s recipe over at Rufus´Food and Spirits Guide, but more of that another day. They were superb though!
Have been down amongst the chickens and olives again and little brown (well, she´s more honey coloured) hen was quite happy for me to have a little cuddle with our new chickie whilst she had a well earned snack.
S/he (I´m not quite sure) is grey (like his/her daddy, the big grey cockerel) and honey coloured, totally gorgeous. I read that Japan is the most advanced country in the world for training “Chicken Sexers”. My, that would be a career! It seems you have to look at the one day old chicks´ nether regions (and it has to be a pretty good look). If you see a little “button” it´s a cockerel, if not it´s a hen. Did try this once, but as I´m the kind of woman who often misses motorway junctions and road signs, it wasn´t something I excelled at…
Chicken number two, who is an agressive little thing, has her first chick hatching out as we speak. She still has another three eggs, so hopefuly between now and tomorrow, there will be more.
Sitting and waiting.....
Ok, enough chicken speak, but you can all go “aaaaah” now!
No, not hen parties and weddings, but the real thing!
We currently have three broody hens sitting on eggs. One of them was a hen that we couldn´t find for ages. I suspected the worst. The one day we saw her popping out from under the water deposit – she had made herself her own little nest! I was convinced they weren´t going to hatch as we weren´t sure if they were fertilised eggs, and even how fresh they were.
I went down this morning to check on the ladies and look what I found!
Mother to be in her nest under the water tank
One chick at least is hatching.
What a struggle it must be!
She´s sitting on 4 or 5 eggs, I can´t be sure.
A first glimpse of the world...
She´s a very calm hen and let me look at what was happening. The eggs went straight back under her, don´t worry!
We have more due on Saturday and then another batch later next week. Will keep you posted!
I was very happy and surprised to find the other day that Olga over at Self Expression http://olgaselfexpression.wordpress.com/ had awarded me the Versatile Blogger Award. Now, before I go any further I have to apologise as I have an enormous problem inserting links. I have learnt how to do it now, but for some strange reason my laptop won´t let me do it in a “pretty”way. Sorry folks, I´m clearly not as versatile as I should be.
Anyway, back to business. Olga comes from Ekaterinburg in Russia and teaches English. I enjoy her blog mainly because it´s so different from many of the others that I read. She is interested in psychology and many of her posts reflect this. Olga also includes guests blogs and it´s good to read about things which make me sit back and reflect for a while. I thoroughly recommend that you pop over there and pay her a visit. Thank you Olga for the award, am feeling happy and humble!
So, it seems that I am asked to tell my readers seven things about myself that they may not be aware of. Presumably something which they will also find interesting…hmmm, that´s a tricky one.
I am left handed. Perhaps not so fascinating for most people, but any lefties out there will understand the daily struggle with ordinary things like knives and scissors that we face.
I want to learn to play the guitar. I have a guitar, I have the books, I even have a little plastic picky thing called a plectrum. I just can´t seem to settle down and get to it.
I am interested in tracing the history of my family. I got as far back as a 7 times great grandfather who was a humble farm labourer in Gloucestershire in 1787 but have hit a wall. It´s interesting to look at conditions in the times of our ancestors and to imagine the lives they led and the hardships they, undoubtedbly, endured. And then to feel grateful for all that we have now.
I have “done” the Sydney Harbour Bridge Walk. When my best friend and I turned 40, we went round the world for three months. What a trip! A few days after my birthday we treated each other as a gift, to the bridge walk. We were at the top as the sun went down over the city and the group we were with sang Happy Birthday to us. One of those amazing, once in a lifetime moments. I was very lucky. Apart from the awful grey boiler suit I had to wear and the lamp strapped to head. I looked like a large illuminated sewer pipe.
If you look really, really closely you´ll see a group at the top doing the walk!
I am easily distracted, although I like to think of it as being very good at multitasking. Since starting to write this post I have done a machine load of washing, emptied the dishwasher, made jam, sorted out my car insurance, fed the dogs, and dug out some material I want to turn into a tablecloth. My life is like this -I love to have several projects on the go at once and am already planning the next before I have finished the one I am working on.
I confess that I don´t really like Flamenco singing. “What a heathen” my new Spanish family and friends think. I have tried and tried, and whilst I enjoy the clapping and stamping and dancing, I just can´t learn to love the wailing and sobbing that goes with a “good” fandago. Sorry, I guess that´s the Brit in me coming out.
Our beautiful niece Fátima (r) and her friend, also Fátima, ready to dance!
My favourite book of all time, and which I have read over and over again is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I studied it at the age of 16, fell in love with it, and the passion has endured. Sigh!
With this award, also comes the pleasure of passing it on to others. Now, I haven´t been blogging for that long, so haven´t yet had the chance of building up a good collection of “Virtual Blogging Pals”. Also, my dodgy laptop won´t let me be too creative in naming them, but I´ll do my best. Some of the blogs I love to read have already, understandably been given this award (in some case several times) previously – so an honorouble mention for Greg at Rufus´Food and Spirits Giude http://rufusguide.wordpress.com/ He writes with passion and humour, and damn fine photos, about food and drink. I think I have already put on a few kilos trying out some of his delicious recipes.
So, awards are passed on to
Florence over at Florence and Freddie http://florenceandfreddie.wordpress.com/ Florence has a wonderful craft blog and can seem to turn even the most everyday object into a work of beauty. She takes much of her influence from the Andalucían countryside where she, like me, lives. I can understand her inspiration, I wish I had her creative talents.
Mandy over at The Complete Cook Book http://thecompletecookbook.wordpress.com/ Mandy has done exactly what her blog says and compiled an amazing collection of recipes from her home country (South Africa) and blended with with recipes, hints and tips from other countries and cultures. Thanks for making it all look so easy and do-able Mandy.
Trevor over at Wartime Gardening http://wartimegardening.wordpress.com/ Trevor´s blog is a wonderful mixture of gardening tips from a book issued during the second world war to inspire the people of Britain to “Dig for Victory”. He also shows us how he does it himself in his beautiful garden in France and throws in some delicious recipes, using his own or local produce. This is such a fun blog with loads of inspiration for cooks and gardeners alike.
JamieAnne at A Dash of Domestic http://adashofdomestic.wordpress.com/ She posts great recipes, money saving tips and she´s the kind of person whose blogs always make you smile. Thanks too JamieAnne for all your lovely comments!
Apparently recipients can do as they wish with the award i.e. accept, ignore, tell us more about themselves..as they wish! I do need to tell them though that they have been awarded it, otherwise this wouldn´t make very much sense.
So, that´s it for now. Thanks again Olga and now back to the kitchen for me. Or should I go and do some gardening, or read a book, or make that tablecloth????!
It´s the end of May and we only got round to planting out all those little plant plugs on 21st May, shame on us. We´re usually at least a few weeks earlier, but never mind. The weather seems to be turning to summer, and I took a little look around this morning to see how things were doing. Five days on, and I couldn´t believe my eyes. Fortunately things catch up quickly here and I know, at least if the weather stays fine, we´ll be eating most of what we´re growing now into November.
The runner beans seem to be growing a few cm each day. Luckily we have plenty of canes for them. We had to put down some slug pellets, not really in keeping with our organic aims, but there seems to be a plague of slugs and snails this year.
Jack and The Beanstalk...
The broad beans are still in full production, the freezer is also well stocked for when they do die off in a few weeks.
Beans, beans are good for you...!
We´re very excited about our potatoes as we´ve never grown them before. Big Man was reluctant as they do take up a fair amount of space. However, they´re drying out now and will be ready to dig up soon, then once we´ve dug over the soil and given it whatever (organic) feed it needs, we´re going to put other things in. I have seeds for dwarf runner beans (including some very funky yellow ones, which I´m quite excited about). We´ll definitely put some radishes in as they grow so quickly, and then some lettuces as choices here in the shops locally are mainly limited to lettuce hearts or iceberg.
Tired Potato Plants - which is good!
Last year a neighbour gave us some little cucumber plants which he had grown from seeds of his previous year´s crop. They went crazy and we had loads of delicious little cucumbers all summer long. We took his advice and saved the seeds from one cucumber which we let grow fat and sad looking. We planted them 5 days ago, and despite Big Man being convinced that nothing would come of them, this morning we found lots of little sprouts…we´re so proud!
Tiny Cucumber Sprout - Future Gazpacho Ingredient
Our artichokes continue to flourish, but we will put some new plants in this year as the current ones are now three years old and getting tired.
Artichoke leaves, a perfect snack for slugs
Our tomatoes, peppers and aubergines have taken root well.
Pepper or Pimiento
Big Man hates aubergines (or eggplants) with a passion. I, on the other hand, adore them. Sometimes I sneak them into dishes without telling him and he cant always tell. I love Melanzane Alla Parmigiana, and make this as a treat all to myself so we have planted a little row of them to keep me happy.
Aubergines. Love ´em or hate ´em?
And our lovely little lemon tree seems to have found its pace and keeps us supplied with juicy fruit for squeezing over grilled meats, making dressings and slicing into our “sun downers”.
Ice and a slice anyone?
And just to prove that it´s not all about veggies, here´s a gratuitous shot of one of our roses…
When I was a child I used to go with my beloved Grandmother Olive to visit my Great Grandmother Minnie. Minnie lived with one of her daughters who ran a children´s home and had her own little cottage in the grounds. There was space for them to grow vegetables and keep chickens and as a child born and brought up in London, I was fascinated by this little piece of country living.
I was allowed to go to the chicken shed and collect eggs and I remember always taking great pride and pleasure in this. The smell, the warm eggs under a broody hen, the clucking – it fascinated me and I always dreamed of owning a few chickens.
When Big Man and I moved to our home, we also ended up with a small olive grove with about 30 trees. We talked about one day getting a few hens so that we could enjoy free range eggs. And then one day, my dream came true. Big Man came home with a hen and five tiny chicks. The chicken empire has grown and grown since then. The chickens have moved from a small lean-to shack at the end of our vegetable patch to what we now call “Chickenopolis” in our olive grove.
Chickenopolis is a complex structure, made entirely of recycled bits and bobs we have either found or been given. It has a rather grand chicken house, given to us by some friends, along with six of their hens when they moved and couldn´t take them with them. Attached to this is a sheltered run for when it´s raining and they don´t want to go outside. Having said that, although I´m very fond of all my chickens, they´re not the brightest creatures in the world and will happily stand out in the pouring rain all day as long as there is something on the ground to peck at. Adjoining this, rather like a terraced house in a Victorian street of London, is where the Fat Boys live.
The Fat Boys, turn away now if you´re squeamish, are all cockerels and a different breed which grow quickly and are bred for eating. Rather than buy 6 week old chickens which have been pumped up with chemicals and hormones, we buy the chicks and give them a happy (and chemical free) life for about 4 months. They grow fat naturally, and then when their time comes, they are dispatched quickly and as pain free as it´s possible to do and enjoyed in delicious meals. Once the freezer is full, the next batch of Fat Boys starts off again.
Our chicken population varies, but we have space for about 20 fat boys at a time as they have to be kept separately from the others. We currently have 10 hens and 2 (very happy) cockerels. We are just about to put a broody hen to sit on some eggs, so hopefully once she settles we´ll have a new clutch of chicks 3 weeks later.
Last Spring´s Chicks
Our hens can roam free around the olives and take themselves off to bed when the sun goes down. They´re quite bright in that respect! The olive grove is dog and fox proof, but every now and then you´ll lose one – it´s sad, but a fact of life. One of our neighbours traded us three of his hens a few months ago. We thought they were mature, but realised this week that they were probably younger than we thought as it looks like they have just started to lay eggs. We know they must be those responsible for the Funky Eggs, as all our hens are over a year old and have been laying for some time now.
When a hen first starts to lay, it sometimes lays a really tiny egg. Our new hens have clearly not read the manual about what shape they should be either, as we are getting the funkiest conical eggs at the moment too.
Never mind, we love our chickies, they make us laugh, and in return for what they give us, we hope they enjoy their lives in our little olive grove.
Now, I am very much of the opinion that birthdays are to be celebrated. Whether you´re 4, 24, or 94….life is a wonderful celebration and what better than to mark the start of a new year in your life than with a little something special.
Big Man came from a very large family, and once he and his siblings had gone beyond the age of celebrating with a small cake and a cup of hot chocolate all round, birthday celebrations became a thing of the past. Then he met a crazy English/Italian woman who wanted to live in Spain with him, and who loved to mark an occasion with a bottle of something and a cake. The poor dogs were “christened” so many times that they began to get over excited every time we opened a bottle of Cava.
Yesterday we took a day out for ourselves and went to visit a town I had not previously been to. About 100km away from us (albeit by some very twisty mountain roads) lies the beautiful Baroque town of Priego De Cordoba.
The day was hot and humid. This was unexpected as we had dressed for cooler weather. First we had a wander through the little alleys of the old town. For me, geraniums are the typical flowers of the Mediterranean and the people of the Province of Cordoba are rightly very proud of their patios and displays of flowers.
Geranium Heaven
Peaceful Patio
When the heat became too much we retired to the courtyard of a restaurant in the shadow of the old castle. While we tried to make our minds up over what to eat we dithered over ordering a cold beer or a glass of Gazpacho to quench our thirst. Oh well, “just order both” we thought, and what a great idea that was.
Decisions, Decisions...
Cold glasses of wine followed with an amazing starter which was called “Sephardic Salad” on the menu. It consisted of a selection of vegetables slowly braised in olive oil and garlic and served cold with lots of bread and small local twisted breadsticks to dip and dunk.
"Sephardic" Salad
Main course was Rabo de Toro, or oxtail cooked slowly with pink peppercorns and served with sauté potatoes. Delicious. When I can figure out how to do it I´ll add a link to my recipe for this. Sorry, I´ve tried but can´t seem to work it out!
Rabo De Toro with Pink Peppercorns
We were too full for pudding but ordered strong coffees with a separate glass of ice. You add sugar to your hot coffee if you take it, then pour the coffee over the ice and wait a moment for it to chill your coffee. Perfect.
Spanish Iced Coffee
Suitably refreshed we headed into the castle and I overcame my fear of heights to climb to the top of the tower for some beautiful views of the city.
Feeling wobbly...but it was worth it for the viewA quiet spot outside the Castle walls
Then we headed back through the old streets to what used to be the “Royal Butchers and Slaughterhouse”. Sounds grisly, but it was a beautiful, shady patio with a fountain bubbling away in the centre of a columned courtyard.
Just a perfect day...
We stopped a while and just soaked up the atmosphere. Big Man agreed that birthdays are most definitely for celebrating, it was a very special day.
It´s that time of year again. Spring has sprung, or at least it´s starting to spring and our plum tree which sits quietly in our little olive grove has exploded into blossom. Couldn´t resist taking a few snaps.
A Very Happy Plum Tree
The olives are showing their first very tiny flower buds which will start to open up very soon. This, alas, I´m not looking forward to as I am hideously allergic to olive pollen and have suffered terribly for the last few years. Fingers crossed that the 3 year programme of medication I´m signed up to with Malaga hospital does its thing. Have been taking drops daily since October, so it will be interesting to see if I suffer any less this year than last….!
So in 2016 I turned 50. I was in Italy for my 21st, 30th and 40th. To keep this birthday tradition going I always knew I'd be in Italy for my 50! This blog starts with my 5 week adventure in Puglia but my love affair with Italy continues.....
Chica Andaluza 