A Creative Spirit
I enjoy going to the country markets and one of my favourites is the market at São Teotónio near Odemeira, in the Alentajo. I refer to the term "country" because I'm not so keen on the markets held in the tourist towns of the Algarve. These are usually full of the rip-off-tat such as fake... Continue Reading →
According to English folklore there are many superstitions surrounding hot cross buns. My favorite superstition is accompanied by the rhyme…
“Half for you and half for me,
Between us two shall goodwill be”
Apparently, if you share a hot cross bun while saying the above words it is meant to ensure friendship throughout the coming year.
This is my first attempt at making “Hot Cross Buns” so here’s to sharing them with all my blogging buddies… HaPpY eAsTeR!
Hot Cross Buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday served either hot or toasted. Some believe the cross symbolizes The Crucifixion while others maintain the buns pre-date Christianity. The cross in Saxon times was in honour of the goddess Eostre and symbolized the four quarters of the moon.
Ingredients
For the buns
2 oz caster sugar, plus 1 teaspoon
5fl oz hand-hot water
1 level tablespoon dried yeast
1lb plain flour
1…
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The monthly diary of growing my own fruit and veg continues... - What grows well (God grant me the serenity to accept dispite my best efforts SOME vegetables will not grow well in my garden) - What to plant and when. (Next year I must leave space for broad and green beans and NOT fill... Continue Reading →
Can you spot the carefully arranged pebble amongst the many thousands of pebbles at Praia da Canal, in the Western Algarve? Did we stumble across a Geocaching clue? I wonder... Arranged. Sometimes you chance across things which were arranged on purpose, or on a whim – find something in your environment which was arranged by... Continue Reading →
The Ugly Bug Spring Jive by PiP With the Herald of Spring the bugs start to arrive in my Garden of Eden for the "Ugly Bug Jive". The weird and the ugly they give me the jitters who may I ask created these critters? There are black bugs and green bugs and stripey ones too... Continue Reading →
This traditional Easter recipe is courtesy of a friend in Northern Portugal. Tarte de Páscoa (Easter Tart) Ingredients Filo pastry (18 circles). I used 2 x 230g packets of *PÂte Feuilletée which I think is ready-made filo pastry. 1 medium onion (finely chopped) 500gr Spinach 4 Hardboiled Eggs 2 Uncooked eggs 70gr Parmesan Cheese 30gr... Continue Reading →
Today I had a great surprise but I need your help! Michelle @Michelloui asked me on Twitter if I'd seen the #BiBs? "The what?" I thought feeling slightly confused... Apparently I've been shortlisted in the "Go! Award" section in The 2012 BiB Awards The BiBs received more than 12,000 nominations over 12 different categories. And... Continue Reading →
A few weeks ago we returned to Praia do Vale dos Homens to show friends the pair of white storks we'd discovered nesting on an outcrop of rocks. As we drove through the back streets of the sleepy village of Rogil we noticed a group of elderly men gathered on some waste ground. Some were... Continue Reading →
I am not sure if this is an unusual Rhubarb Forcer or an unusual use for a plant pot destined for the garbage after Mr Piglet burnt a hole in the bottom with red-hot ashes! Researching on the Gardeners' World website I've just realised I should have plugged any holes to exclude light. Now there's... Continue Reading →
I love Zumba classes, so how on earth did I end up 'doing' Pilates I ask myself. All those impossible body-contorting exercises don't feel in harmony with my body shape - my legs and arms just aren't long enough! Neither can I seem to master the special breathing or find my "inner-core". Do we all... Continue Reading →
The theme for this week's WordPress Photo Challenge is Contrast After my previous post about the white mold attacking my cabbages and the long-term consequences I wanted to post something a little more upbeat to cheer me up. They say inspiration usually comes from the most unexpected sources and when you least expect it. This... Continue Reading →
I want to scream, stamp my foot in anger, have a mardy and then curl up into the fetal position and have a good cry. I'm normally a positive person and if I don't succeed I keep trying until I do. For example you may recall when I discovered roots from nearby trees and hedges... Continue Reading →
Or perhaps better known as Chocolate Salami! Chocolate Salami is very popular in the Algarve and is a great biscuity-cake to serve with tea or coffee. It's extremely rich so it's wise to cut the slices as thin as possible. I can only assume the name comes from its chouriço sausage-like appearance. So after my... Continue Reading →
This week's theme for the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is dis·tort·ed dis·tort·ed: twisted; deformed; misshapen. I grew this "distorted" tomato from seed, and although its appearance was misshapen and unappetizing when I bit into the fruit it was sweet and delicious. How often do we initially judge people by their appearance and not by their... Continue Reading →
We'd been meaning to go to the Monchique sausage festival (Feira dos Enchidos Tradicionais de Serra de Monchique) for years and today was the day we finally made it! Earlier in the week I went to the Tourist Information office keen to discover more about the Feira. Unfortunately, they only had basic information such as... Continue Reading →
These pictures taken in March 2010 are unfortunately a little hazy due to heavy sea mist and high humidity. As you drive through the countryside of the Algarve and Alentajo regions you cannot fail to notice the Portuguese landscape features many abandoned houses - ruins as they are called. I often wonder what happened to... Continue Reading →
My monthly diary continues. Over the next year I'm keeping a monthly diary of the fruit and vegetables I grow in my urban garden here in the Algarve. Gardening is one of my passions, and although my efforts are not always successful my tenacity makes up for what I lack in knowledge. Despite a couple... Continue Reading →
The theme for this week's WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is "Indulge" Every time we go to France I love to indulge myself by looking in the windows of Pâtisseries. Their wonderful array of dainty pastries and sweets gives me "foodie" palpitations in anticipation. However, I rarely succumb to temptation as I am desperately trying to... Continue Reading →
Life without the net...you MUST be joking! The following extract is taken from Could You Survive Abroad Without the Internet? my January column over at Expat Focus Could You Survive Abroad Without the Internet? As more people either work or retire abroad I often wonder how expats managed to survive in a pre-internet world. How... Continue Reading →
This post is inspired by the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge. The theme is Hope I considered naming the tin which contains all my packets of seeds, "My Tin of DOOM". Why? Because many most of the seeds fail to germinate. I'm not sure if this is due to the quality of seed or if I'm... Continue Reading →
Piglet in Portugal 