Snippets of Spain – Part one

After an over night stop off with our friend Cristina in Casta del fels after a late night flight - Our first port of call was Cristina’s home town Verges, Cataluna

Can you see the little archway ahead over the river? The doorway up there is where Cristina is going to have here Creperie! Super exciting – look forward to visiting on a return visit – a beautiful old building

a lovely walk around the village – on one of the only days of sunshine

the three of us took a day trip to Gerona – a very pretty city – we wandered around the narrow streets, and climbed up to the Jewish gardens

remember to bring your walking shoes to Gerona – Cobbled streets & climbs galore – but so worth it

wine, in barrels, for next to nothing – AND it was perfectly good table wine!

yes we HAD to buy some Empo Rda in the middle at the bottom there

Get a load of those prices Mr Vat & Mr Duty UK – Their wine costs less for the public to buy, than our Vat & Duty! Pah….

One of the charms of Verges are the shops, popping to one side of the apartment for fresh meat, and across the cobbled roads too pick up some breakfast – Yum! Thanks for the hospitality Cristina & Polca

and we still have Gombren & Albelda to come

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Fonda Xsec

March brought round a very welcome break for M & I – and not much beats a trip to visit friends – apart from the night you spend without them! lol Definitely a birthday treat to remember

the picturesque town of Gombrèn, Gerona – the home of our restaurant of choice for our holiday Fonda Xsec - & I couldnt be happier with the choice!

During the week, Fonda Xsec only offer a lunch service – which suited us perfectly – we arrived around midday, checked in and took a short wander around the village before lunch.

if I wasnt already in love with the place – the table sealed the deal – ultimate privacy – a little cave!

the menu offers many options – from an al la carte style offering, to various set menus

We opted for the Count Arnau Menu

“Xesc proposes a meal of seven tasting dishes with a selection
of cheeses and desserts”

i like suprises

irish coffee – langoustine bisque

lovely fresh flavours – clean & creamy

toasted soup w/ fresh cheese & truffle

the first in a succession of dishes spoiling us with local truffle

Tuna Tartare w/ apple & herring eggs

Served w/ crostini

a beautiful dish – i really enjoyed the apple, giving the tartare a lovely change of texture

Cauliflower soup w/ blue cheese & langoustine

hmmmm langoustine we had fun trying to communicate with our server over this one – it ended up as very large prawn – which i assumed was a langoustine – very tasting anyhow lol

White beans w/ truffle, cauliflower & bacon

a very creamy rich dish with big chunks of bacon – and generous helping of local truffle

Baby octopus w/ green beans

This was M’s favourite dish – no suprises there – the little octopus where fabulous, from their slightly crisp tenticles, to their little sqidgy heads full of salty goodness!

Sea bass w/ leek & beef tripe

a first for me – beef tripe – and suprisingly yummy – if a little odd in texture! The rich beefiness was rewarding though – and I would be keen to try again! A great accompaniment to the Seabass, as although the beef had a strong flavour it some how didnt over power the fish

Pigs trotter w/ meatballs & sea cucumber

forgive the terrible photo – the excitement of two things i had never tasted before being on one plate overwhelmed me lol

pigs trotter is beautiful & gelatinous, with the sea cucumber providing a crunchy bite – very well enjoyed

Hare w/ liquorice, chocolate, pear & foie gras

this may well of been my favourite dish, though it is terribly hard to choose – shredded hare – so satisfying w/ a delightful sweetness

Cheese of cow, goat & sheep milk w/ local truffle & spinach bouquet

great cheese w/ truffle – need i say more?

Apple juice w/ mint ice & stewed apple

the only slightly disappointing dish of the day, though in no way bad – the other dishes where just so sensational it seemed a little bland…

Toffee w/ chocolate & truffle

toffee, chocolate, truffle – mmmm – the truffle icecream was sublime!

petit fours & coffee

It mustn’t go without mention that our lovely hostess for the duration picked two fabulous local wines for us Abadal Picapoll & Negre dels Aspres crianca at 15 euros & 21 euros respectively – something that would take a million years to happen at home – unprompted recommendation of lower value wines, and lovely wines at that!

and if lunch wasnt good enough – the visit was topped of by this fabulous display on our breakfast table! It even included chocolate…..

all in all our visit to Fonda Xsec generally echoed our experience with the wine – brilliant value, for a fabulous product. The service was my very favourite kind, perfectly professional, yet incredibly friendly, no stuffiness in sight! We had such a laugh trying to work out the english names for the dishes ( thankfully M’s fluent Spanish helped matters! ) – & this feeling of being loved was carried through to hotel reception from our greeting to our departure – i had to drag M outta the door to stop him chatting lol

So, lovely lady who looked after us so well, if / when you visit the blog, thank you millions for you & your family being so lovely, we had such a super time

( though you probably cant read this – you said you would visit to look at the pictures lol )

Count Arnau menu @ 63 euros x2 – 126 euros

Double room incl. breakfast – 75 euros

Wine, water etc – 49.9 euros

Total Price – 250.90 euros

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how to enjoy being alone…

one search on the great internet, brings up many a way to combat the blues whilst being alone

http://www.wikihow.com/Enjoy-Being-Alone – learning, reading, surfing the net – they all seem high up there…..

not that i have the blues

it is only one night

and how i shall never be alone…… because i have a large number of little hairy friends

and anyway – the solution to loneliness seems some what obvious to me

FOOD!

and easy quick yet yummy food at that ( mainly because i am currently taking place in my own larkrise to candleford marathon – bt vision is sublime for such insane programme love )

when i think yummy – i think goats cheese & chorizo – & fortunately i happen to have them both….

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one last hurrah!

once it came clear i wouldnt have much longer to enjoy the culinary delights of @derekcreagh at the salty dog – i jumped at the chance to join a friend for dinner

and dinner it was – boy where we spoilt! and given yet more justification ( if i ever needed it ) as to why Mr Creagh is my favourite local chef

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start small…. dream big….

i decided many months ago that this would be the year i succeed in growing even a little of my own food

i excitedly stock piled seeds – before realising it will be a while yet before anything can cope with our spectacular weather!

and really, it is best to warm up with the small stuff – a tiny bit of successful growing will boost my confidence before the gardening tools need to be whipped out! ( though you will notice i over indulged in a very commercial range, quoting itself as ‘speedy veg’ – any short cuts will do )

the rest of the seeds ( shown in the top picture ) are from the fabulous seedaholics - recommended to me by the lovely @oldefarm - i was so impressed when they arrived! The information sheet included with each pack of seeds adds a fabulous source of information – letting you know when the best time to plant is, best homes for the little guys, uses & much aside!

indoor mini stuff is the first to be attempted – micro greens ( strictly for decoration lol ) in the left pot – and salad greens in the right

and imagine my excitement just a day or two later when the little seeds start to sprout – fingers crossed in another couple of weeks i will have a lovely little salad garden

starting small – but dreaming big

you only have to see the size of the chicken home I just bought to realise that lol

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When it all goes wrong – make pie!

recently I cooked gammon for the first time – it didnt go so well

i dont know what the problem was – but it just wasnt as good as Mum & Dads usual offerings – and I couldn’t even bring myself to eat it up in sandwiches as planned

but thankfully, something else I had been planning to do, came to rescue the sad little gammon – he was going to become pie!

Ham, Leek & Potato Pie

2 tbsp of butter

1 onion finely chopped

2 leeks finely sliced

1 large potato cut into small cubes

2 tbsp of plain flour

300ml of ham stock ( lovely to have fresh from the pot of said sad gammon )

100ml of creme fraiche

3 tsp wholegrain mustard

200g cooked ham

1 block of shortcrust pastry ( or make your own if you like )

1 egg ( for glazing )

start off with a hot pan – and pop in your butter

then add the onions

and leeks

cook for 5 mins – before realising you’re a plonker & need a pan with a lid for the next stage ( opps )

move over into saucepan! ( hopefully you wont make this mistake now I have for you! )

turn down to a medium heat – add the cubed potato & cover – cook for 10 mins

turn the heat back up to high – stir through the flour & add the ham stock

it will start to thicken up after a minute or two – then remove the pan from the heat

add the mustard….

creme fraiche

and ham! ( the ham / gammon is starting to look better already! )

mix through, and season to taste!

then leave to cool ( if possible – not a disaster if you dont have the time! )

then spoon into your pie dishes

i couldnt resist making an ickle bickle heart one in one of these adorable pots M bought me for Christmas – but it wouldnt even feed one! so a big le creuset had to be dragged outta the cupboard too!

i didnt but a base in the pie – but next time i probably would!

heat the oven t0 200c

roll the pastry out to roughly the thickness of a £1 piece

place on top of your dish and press down hard with thumb around the edges – trim around edges with a sharp knife

whisk your egg

and use to glaze your pies!

cut a little cross in the middle to let the steam out

pop into the oven – but keep an eye!

25mins should do the job – but dont leave too brown too much!

and drag the little chaps outta the oven!

voila – two lovely pies!

because of the potatoes inside, this pie is lovely served alone!

but some green beans would make a lovely accompaniment!

mmmmmmmmm – well enjoyed

( still lovingly looking at the little heart )

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a belated merry christmas & happy new year

i hope a lovely christmas & new year was had by all – it really does seem to be shorter every year!

M & I spent christmas with at my Mum & Dads – it was lovely to be by the sea for a while, and even though i see my family most weeks, it was lovely to spend a few days with them. A combination of wine, great food & many treats made a lovely christmas break.

mum made us all happy by continuing with the traditional of making a gingerbread house & a chocolate tree – even if all her little people have grown up! However we have a new little person around - who will appreciate her efforts in a year or two. This year she spend most of the day snoozing and being watched over by Dakota!

We also managed to happily devour some brilliant cakes I ordered from @cakesbyjames - i highly recommend the christmas cake to you all for next year – chunky boozy goodness!

I was totally spoilt over christmas too – super gifts from everyone – which you are bound to see more of soon – i am dying to show them off

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so – where ya been?

i admit to being a little missing in action recently – but i promise to try my best to regulate myself a little better

here’s a little look at what i have been getting up to

the nutcracker at the waterfront hall – a gorgeous evening – such a pretty set, christmas starting!
lots of beautiful cheese at St.Georges Market
my adorable little friend – Cwtch
a fabulously large pumpkin
Amelia – Anne, my new niece, chilling out on the sofa
i was terribly excited to locate some samphire at St.Georges Market
my favourite wine at the moment massaya classic red – lovely peppery red berriness
some garlic from my lovely friend Lucindas garden – such a treat
pumpkin soup with goats cheese & roast pumkin seeds – part of a brilliant evening at the salty dog – indulging in a sensational tasting menu from Derek Creagh

another treat from salty dog – breast of local wild pigeon with lots of loveliness, including breaded duck tongue! yes they have tongues! and no – do not take the breadcrumbs off – they look freakishly like mini tongues…. and the taste is far to goo to be scared off
emma & i living it up on a trip to euro disney
em & her favourite disney folk – eeyore
my favourite little cheffy mice
the beautiful cafe en seine in dublin – kick ass mojitos!
o’donoghues dublin for a lovely pint of the black stuff
aviva stadium for Leinster vs Munster
the boys in action
my first taste of 8 degrees brewing company beer – really enjoyed this bottle of sunburnt irish red!

and now its christmas! what on earth will i get doing now…….

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The best the sea has to offer …..

Last week I had the luxury of a Saturday off – and I spent the morning in my favourite way - wandering aimlessly around St.Georges Market with a friend – taking in the sights & smells & enjoying many treats along the way

though when i say aimlessly – this is very much a lie – for i do have my mind set on one thing – a glorious feast for the evening ahead!

and this week was no exception i left with arms full of local seafood – thankfully – as i had some unexpected visitors everything went down a treat – with a bottle of castro martin albarino to boot!

some gorgeous whitebait – tossed in cornflour & popped into a pan of hot oil – devoured with a generous dip of homemade mayo

yummy yummy squid – tossed in cornflour, salt, pepper & paprika – fried in oil and enjoyed with some harissa stirred through the aforementioned mayo

langoustines popped under the grill – perfection

now when can i get back there again………

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mushroom foraging

monday brought a long awaited day for me – a chance to go mushroom foraging – and better yet – with people who know what i can bring home to eat!!

@derekcreagh, @shakeysemple & i packed ourselves into my little car and motored down to Harry’s in Inishowen to meet Donal & Colin – our guides for the day!

after a welcome coffee and quick chat we where whisked off to a secret location - where we were blessed with good weather – for the majority of our walk at least – and a vast array of brilliant examples