A Creative Spirit
This year I plan to photograph and record what's growing in my humble vegetable garden on the 19th of each month. This will give me a better idea of what’s growing when, and how well. Hopefully, it will act as a record for next year and I can learn from my successes and failures. The... Continue Reading →
Since moving to Portugal one of my favorite meals, when we eat out, is a fish stew (Caldeirada) but the type which is cooked and served in a copper dish called a Cataplana. As you can see from my photograph the dish has two hinged clam-like shells which are clamped tightly together during cooking. Researching... Continue Reading →
Cozido à Portuguesa is a typical Portuguese stew cooked from a range of wholesome ingredients such as cabbage, pig's ear, porco rabo, blood sausage and other various "unmentionables". I'm assured it's absolutely delicious and a real gastronomic delight...err...experience. I'm not normally one to back down from a challenge (except for eating snails and oysters),but as... Continue Reading →
Every week WordPress posts a Weekly Photo Challenge and this week's theme is Lost in the Details . The instructions direct from the horse's mouth (aka WordPress) are "This challenge is about getting lost in the details". Hmmm ponderous! The theme of the challenge was rather lost on me to begin with, until I downloaded... Continue Reading →
This year I plan to photograph the plants in my humble vegetable garden on the 19th of each month. This will give me a better idea of what's growing when, and how well. Hopefully, it will act as a record for next year and I can learn from my successes and failures. The broad beans... Continue Reading →
Waiting to be served at our local butchers for "home-made" beef, and hopefully horse-free, burgers gave us the opportunity to study the array of "unmentionable" delicacies on sale. The dubious identity of which even made Mr. Piglet's toes curl in horror. However, our debate is quickly forgotten when I whip out my camera and start... Continue Reading →
Better late than never! I don't know whether the excitement of our imminent trip to the UK for several weeks was sapping my enthusiasm, or just the December blues due to the long dark evenings, but I really had to dig deep (pardon the pun) to motivate myself to work in the garden. I'm not... Continue Reading →
This photograph was taken from the walls of the 10th Century Moorish castle of Aljezur in the Western Algarve. The castle, set high on the hill, has panoramic views across the rolling countyside, the historic town of Aljezur and to Monchique mountain beyond. This post is inspired by the WordPress Weekly Photo challenge. This week's... Continue Reading →
On the 15th of each month bloggers from all over the world take part in Garden Bloggers Bloom Day organised by May Dream Gardens. What is blooming in your garden? In the UK gardening in January like the weather, was depressing.. However, here in the Algarve I'm amazed there are so many plants, shrubs and... Continue Reading →
The situation regarding the invasive Red Palm weevil will never be resolved in Portugal (in my humble opinion) due in part to the apathy and laziness of the few. No action was taken when it first arrived in our area two years ago by some property owners as infested trees on their land were left... Continue Reading →
I wanted something to serve with basic tinned tuna. Yes, I know it is better to eat fresh but I’d been out all day so this is my interpretation of a healthier “ready meal”. Ingredients 1 small cooked beetroot 1 orange Fresh chives Ground black pepper Method Peel and thinly slice orange and beetroot and... Continue Reading →
If you're a porker like myself, you may be in denial by genuinely believing as you take a cursory glance in the mirror that you're really not that fat. Like me, you probably hold your breath as you turn sideways and "suck in" your bulges. But the camera does not lie - Oh no! Caught... Continue Reading →
Firstly, a belated happy New Year to my followers and a big thank you for all your comments and support during 2012. I've just returned from a family Christmas and New Year in England to discover Santa and his little Elves have left me a wonderful surprise in my absence! For those who have followed... Continue Reading →
This traditional Portuguese recipe is courtesy of Fernanda I'm always keen to try Portuguese recipes so when Fernanda kindly shared this recipe I thought I would experiment. I tried to discover what the word "Farófias" actually meant but unfortunately it did not translate. Any clues please? I've never tasted Farófias before so my taste buds... Continue Reading →
On the 15th of each month I participate in a gardening blog hop called Garden Bloggers Bloom Day where garden bloggers all over the world share what is currently blooming in their garden. So what's blooming in Piglet's plot? The temperatures here in the Western Algarve have not dipped below 3C at night and have... Continue Reading →
Piglet put the kettle on Piglet put the kettle on, Piglet put the kettle on we all want some tea... Except we won’t have some tea because the pigging thing won’t work. A couple of months ago we had a problem with our kettle. Now in the grander scheme of things a dodgy kettle is... Continue Reading →
My passion for gardening has taken a back seat during November due to my trip to France, illness and of course the National Novel Writing 30 day challenge. However, much to my surprise everything, bar the cucumbers growing in pots, survived despite being unloved and neglected. Temperatures in the day hovered around 18C and 12C... Continue Reading →
A few weeks ago I broke one of my back molars on some crusty Portuguese bread. For the uninitiated the crusts are rock hard so lethal if you have crowns, false teeth or indeed any other form of dentistry! Despite my aversion to dentists, the noise of the drill and that enormous needle they inject... Continue Reading →
I've often asked the question "What is the difference between a blogger and a writer?" Any ideas please, because I'm about to find out! I'm not sure why I decided to sign up and commit myself to the NaNoWriMo(National Novel Writing Month) challenge other than my family have been nagging me to write a novel... Continue Reading →
The first time I tasted Bacalhau à Brás I spat it out in surprised horror, downed a glass of water and swore at the assault on my taste buds. My tongue reacted in much the same way as that of a slug when you pour neat salt on it. I realise a tongue and slug... Continue Reading →
Piglet in Portugal 