A Creative Spirit
During one of our visits to France I discovered an addictive sweet biscuit called nougatine. It's a wafer thin almond concoction eaten with coffee/tea or used as a decorative wafer when serving ice cream. Or if you are like me, and a real pig, you could munch your way through this addictive creation in one... Continue Reading →
Can you believe I was an authentic curry virgin? My friends, the curry addicts, could not understand how I’d managed to reach the ripe old age of xx and had never eaten at an authentic Indian restaurant. In fact, they thought I was joking when I informed them the number of curries I’d eaten in... Continue Reading →
After traveling over, 5400km across Portugal, Spain, England and France plus two ferry crossings and five weeks away the “Grandparents Tour of Europe” (as our friends aptly named it) is over and we are now home! Exhausted we must now return to the treadmill of normality, whatever “normal” is here in this la la land... Continue Reading →
Folks I really need your help to identify this bug which I almost stood on today! I say almost, because when I spotted it just below my foot as I was about to go up some steps I nearly jumped 20' in the air in terror. Now as you can imagine from my name, I'm... Continue Reading →
Are you considering hiking, walking, biking, birdwatching etc off-road in the Portuguese countryside? If so please note the Hunting season runs from the 15th August through to the end of February and there are certain signs you need to be aware of. You may be relieved to know hunting is only permitted on Thursdays, Sundays... Continue Reading →
This traditional Portuguese custard is usually served on its own, or with cake or fruit. My original intention was to serve the Leite Creme (custard) with my Rhubarb Crumble. Unfortunately, my oven conspired against me and refused to work so my uncooked crumble was subsequently banished to the freezer until my oven is mended. Ingredients... Continue Reading →
From plot to plate - I grew the red cabbage used in this recipe in my vegetable plot! Ingredients Small Red Cabbage (sliced finely) 1 Onion (chopped) 1 Packet of smoked lardons (bacon pieces) Knob of lard or splash of olive oil 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds or cumin powder 1 bay leaf Salt to... Continue Reading →
Since moving to Portugal we now use far more garlic in our food than in the UK. Reportedly, garlic acts as a great mosquito repellant because they dislike the taste of your skin/blood when garlic is absorbed into the body. I am not sure how true this is, but I no longer have as many... Continue Reading →
This week’s WordPress Photo Challenge theme is “Colorful” We were on our way to a restaurant with some friends when I spotted this colorfully painted truck in the car park. “Perfect”, I thought “Result! - just the picture I’d been looking for this week’s "Colorful" photo challenge theme”. Camera always to the ready I could... Continue Reading →
I’ve just been tagged by Margaret of Cachando Chile and now I’m "IT!..."Thanks Margaret! Thank goodness for virtual travel – Chile is a long way from Portugal. Who made this game up? I have no idea!, but the way it works is a blogger tags you, you match your own posts in specific “Most this”... Continue Reading →
My "Monthly Diary" and the saga of my attempts to grow my own fruit and veg continues... My success rate to date leads me to believe that even if I had a large enough plot I certainly would not be self-sufficient by any stretch of the imagination! Zucchini (Courgettes) My zucchini are still desperately clinging to... Continue Reading →
Margaret at Cachando Chile challenged her followers to write a post about "Stuff that just bugs me…" This challenge was not too difficult as I've definitely become more "grumpy" as I've grown older! Not that all older people are "grumpy", I hasten to add!...Hmmm I think I am digging a deeper hole here so I... Continue Reading →
We went to a BBQ last week and the hostess served this delicious Portuguese Octopus Salad. She was fascinated by the fact I was keen to photograph her cooking and share with the world. Enjoy! 1kg of Octopus 1 Onion (finely chopped) 1 Bunch of flat leaved parsley (finely chopped) 3 tbsp extra virgin olive... Continue Reading →
The last two weeks in France have literally ‘flown’ by! Looking back it seems like only yesterday we were eagerly driving to Lisbon Airport to catch a plane to Lyon. Our daughter, husband and Baby Piglet had just moved to their new home in the French countryside and we'd volunteered our services to help them... Continue Reading →
Here we are in June and I feel rather despondent. Even my inbuilt tenacity is beginning to wane. Why?, my pigging vegetables just won't grow! My motto has always been "If at first you don't succeed try and try again". Yes, I'm trying I've read several interesting posts on growing vegetables recently by fellow bloggers... Continue Reading →
There are many blackbirds in our garden and over time I believe they have learned (on our patch of earth at least) we do not pose a threat to them. We coexist and live in peace. I love to quietly observe the blackbirds building their nests, flying back and forth with suitable building materials until... Continue Reading →
The "foodie" highlight of my trip to Devon in England last week, to visit my Mother, was to disappear for an hours peace and quiet and seriously indulge myself with a "Devon Clotted Cream Tea". I had not intended to succumb to temptation due to my expanding waistline, diet, sense of guilt etc, but as... Continue Reading →
We recently went to France and during our absence our electricity tripped off and we were left without power for over a week. When friends informed us we may have a problem with our electricity we were not too concerned as we were "insured". OK, items such as food in our freezer were covered on... Continue Reading →
This weeks WordPress "Weekly Photo Challenge" is Tiny I was removing the weeds around my Jade plant when I came nose to eyeball with this tiny yellow spider. No I did not scream; I'm not that much of a wimp, but I did go and grab my camera. Look at it's eyes - awww it's... Continue Reading →
The diary of my challenge to grow my own fruit and vegetables in Portugal continues. Seasons, soil conditions and climate are totally different from the UK, so gardening here is one big experiment. I am not a knowledgeable gardener, nor do I have a "green thumb", but my enthusiasm makes up for what I lack in these... Continue Reading →
Piglet in Portugal 