portobelly

growth

2008-06-22T11:51:00.005Z

despite the snails best attempts when our plants survive the sapling stage they grow furiously, the warm sun and frequent rain nourishing them. we stand back and marvel and giggle. we dug the beds well to begin with, but having given up on the snails, we just do a little weeding before lunch

I'm kinda gutted that i'm heading back to london for two months or so, and Marta is going to explore India for a month, and some barcelona folk are going to hang out at the house so the fruits of our 'labour' will be enjoyed by others....

but hey.

harvest

2008-06-22T11:33:00.002Z

I am so proud of our onions

120 beautiful white delights.

i've been slicing them and dicing them

i've made a couple of different chutneys

and we've hung a lot out to dry for the months ahead

and plant another hundred or so for later in the summer/early autumn

joy

growth

2008-06-06T21:07:00.000Z

some of the courgettes have avoided the furiously feasting snails, by the end of the week these will probably be big enough to eat. once they get going they grow real fast.

and i am so so proud of these.
we have a bed and a half of gorgeous white onions.
which are big enough to eat
it is such a thrill

feasting

2008-06-04T21:01:00.000Z

my bro and his girlf arrived on saturday morning. the sun shone so we swam and lazed on the beach.
lively lunching in the vineyard sounded like the perfect sunday: i could see how the vegetables had been growing whilst i was away and they could see where i hung out at the weekend.

[i forgot to capture the final dish]

the rice was great:
the pan huge

peppers, onions, courgettes, artichoke, carrot, green beans, tomatoes, leek
rabbit and chicken peices
some small clam like shellfish
rice
and a damn good stock

only. we had too much fun on saturday night and the hang-overs were as heavy as the thick cloud above binisalem....

and the snails keep on

2008-05-28T07:17:00.001Z

we have snail from russelldavies on Vimeo.

they are taking over
stripping the allotment
...they sell for 8€ a kilo at the market... perhaps we should be cultivating them instead

growth

2008-05-12T19:23:00.001Z

stakes

2008-05-12T19:15:00.002Z

we headed to muro in search of bamboo canes

we'll use them to stake the tomatoes and beans

els cargols

2008-05-12T18:41:00.005Z

it has rained and rained and rained here. londoners this week have been telling stories of bbq's on roofs, suntan lotion and flip flops, air conditioning and sweaty backs, but here in mallorca it has rained and rained and rained.

as a result, we collected over one kilo ( i weighed them) of snails from the vegetable beds.... cabbages are lacey, and lettuces and cucumbers have disappeared.

now, i have a particular fondness for snails, and don't mind a loosing some leaves to them, but they've plundered our plantings this week. so action is needed....
once gathered tho, what do you do?? a great slimey stamping fest. or a great garlicy feast?

at the tobacconists......

2008-05-12T18:11:00.006Z

we purchased a 15m of washing line, some wooden clothes pegs, some mosquito repellant, some wire mesh, marta looked at sauce pans whilst i looked at some envelopes.

infestation!!

2008-05-08T19:11:00.002Z

will washing up liquid be enough to protect our plants?!!

Marta's Vineyard

2008-04-13T02:48:00.004Z

this is where i spend weekends.
binissalem is a wine growing area in central mallorca
and is home to Marta
my friend on the island ;-)

it's where we are enjoying the good life

busy mornings of digging and plotting and planning
with words of catala weaved into conversations.
[reassuring me that tho' progress is slow that progress is made]

last week we heartily farted into the darkness, having eaten a cabbage [coll] each...making space for much more exciting crops

and today, after two weeks on a new improved watering scheme, we enjoyed a lush abundance of lettuce [lettuga] with shop brought tomatoes [tomatiges], having planted out four melons [sindries i melon] , three courgettes [corbassons] and two cucumber [cogombre] plants.

and then we went to Sa Pobla, to the magical garden of Pero.... surrounded by real farmers, rows upon rows of artichokes, beans and salads... he's been growing since January, more than even the hungriest eyes could eat!

carrots, just babies, plucked from the soil and eaten there and then made us giggle, just as the strawberries caused us to swoon.

lettuce float on a water store:

with shoes heavy with mud (from last nights rain) and bags, light but filled with green goodies we headed homewards.
we'll dig more and with vigour knowing that similar feast are ours for the taking.

with all the giddyness of romance we talk of that plot of land. as we drive along roads, lined with tumbling toolsheds we look dreamily and share the fantasies... of chickens and goats.... orange trees and five different kinds of strawberries.... of picking lettuce leaves as we make lunch..... and the tomatoes we'll dry and chutneys we'll make.

but, on the train homewards, back to the sea. i did wonder. this good life is alluring, and could be enveloping. i already know that a small wallet goes further here... not because things are cheaper, but because when the sea surrounds you, and the skies are bright and warm happiness involves less. requires less.
but..... and did i blush as i think it... or even as i type this... im not sure....
what would my contribution my lasting be? when all is over, and i am dust. is some compost (carefully chopped and thoroughly sifted) and perhaps some gently tended goats be enough?

and it's 4.40am.
i should be asleep

I've recently discovered flock [thanks jenny-bee] and it's set to make blogging so much easier.
and making adding photos a wizz.
hence
the visual catch up of my life much ordinary

Blogged with the Flock Browser

it's been a while

2008-03-30T17:09:00.002Z

the two hour break in the day is a reality, people break the working day. the shops close, you see people carrying loaves of bread homeward, or ducking into resturants.
so there have been great lunches in palma... three good courses, with wine, water, and bread, for less or more than 10€

spending little and living alone
shopping has not been the activity i anticipated here.
rarely have i wandered through the covered markets
instead, i've begrudgingly head into the supermarket.
reluctantly cooking
uninspired and undemanding dishes
that require few dishes
and less time.

but it's unsustainable... it's not life giving...no source of pleasure

these past weeks i've been spending the weekends at marta's house in binnisalem.
surrounded by vineyards, she's set up a vegetable garden, this is will be the third summer.

so we spend the saturday digging, and shifting compost. and then on sunday mornings head to sa pobla, a small town in the centre of the island, to buy seedlings....today: three varieties of peppers, four types of tomatoes, courgettes, strawberries, some lettuces... which we excitedly hurry home to plant, as we chatter about what we will make come the harvest....... sun-drying tomatoes, making sauces, and chutneys.... all the while we exchange words of catala and english. and make slow sentences. casual statements that become deeply important by the speed of delivery

anyhoo.
i'm back.

food is good
it feeds the soul

groceries i didnt purchase: 6

2007-06-23T17:58:00.001Z

snickers anyone?

just for supper?

2007-06-23T17:41:00.000Z

spotted this nun for the second time this week, fishing off my jetty.

freshly dug

2007-06-15T14:29:00.000Z

helen and ben prepared a delicious summery meal on wednesday. which included new potatoes dug up just a a few hours earlier. splendid. I learnt a new word. chitting. which means to keep in a dark, dry place until tiny shoots appear, then move to a cool light place. This process, known as 'chitting', encourages strong and sturdy sprouts. so there you go.

i dont recomend this.

2007-06-04T20:46:00.000Z

ok.
so i gotta try and figure out how to buy food for ten days at a time
and not end up with some dodgy combinations at the end.
rather than throw stuff away I've just eaten a truly terrible risotto.

aubergine and squash.

sweet and sludgy
nasty nasty

im sure i could have done so much better.

chopping

2007-05-23T21:38:00.000Z

jewish mother chicken soup

carrots
celery
chicken
onion
pasta noodles

chopped up here:

watching this ship pass by....

lechuga/lettuce

2007-05-18T21:21:00.000Z

marta invited me for lunch, so carlos and i collected olga from school and drove into the country, off the motorway and on to single track roads between vineyards and olive groves and almond trees.

we ate paella
and then admired the vegetables growing
thriving a little earlier than those in sydenham i suspect
we talked about the planting of flowers to distract insects
and drank sugary minty tea outside as men worked on the vines surrounding us.

beetroot

2007-05-17T20:46:00.000Z

the guardian reminds us that spring and summer is the best time to eat beetroot, when its at its sweetest.
this recipe appeals
i might well remember to try it.

Beetroot, chickpea and halloumi salad
Serves 2

4 beetroot, peeled and cut into wedges
2/3 cloves of garlic
1 onion
½ can of chickpeas
2 fresh tomatoes
Large handful fresh spinach
Stock
5g cumin
Fresh coriander
Pinch of tumeric

Roast the beetroot in a hot oven (with a healthy amount of olive oil and salt and pepper) until tender - this will depend on the size of the wedges but will probably be about 45 minutes.

Fry the onion with the spices, then put in half a can of chickpeas with two diced tomatoes and enough stock to thinly cover. Season. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the liquid starts to thicken a little.

When it's nearly done, fry the halloumi until browned, then add 200g of spinach to the chickpea mixture and stir in. Serve with the beetroot wedges and halloumi.

and so.

2007-05-14T18:14:00.000Z

mallorca

island life

lunch from 2-4
an evening meal at 9.30 or so.

i thought i'd post some pictures
its taken me a while.
to remember my pass word
it's been so long since i last posted.

of lettuce from martas vegetable garden
and the view as i'm chopping

but i've left my cable in london
after all that.

so.

we'll try again in a week or so.

groceries I didnt purchase: 5

2007-03-06T10:20:00.000Z

opposite the parish church in baldock north hertfordshire.

groceries i didn't purchase:4

2007-02-02T18:39:00.000Z

there was no reason for me to shop here.
though i would have liked to.

groceries i didnt purchase:3

2007-02-02T18:31:00.000Z

whilst in sweden i would have been happy to haved shopped here:

technical hitch

2007-01-14T21:00:00.000Z

Help!!
i cant make posts with links included in them.
the icon that used to be in the left hand corner (above the words recover post) has dissappeared.
where to i dont know.
but without it the post i intended cant happen.

no body really reads this, but by anychance you have a solution please post a comment!

silly girl.

groceries i didn't purchase:2

2006-12-12T23:34:00.000Z