Mizmoe

My daughter does try to teach me about saving a post (and publishing) before trying to go off and do something else! First I decide on a new post, then when I have input it - try to do something else, the post disappears, I think I’ve lost it, do it again and then it appears under ‘drafts’.

Simple I hear you all say! Well, it is for some, but sometimes my brain just doesn’t work like it should - or did at one time when everything was so easy!

Oh, whatever … I managed eventually to get it right, without consulting my geek of a daughter.

I feel that we may have to move a little nearer the coast into an area where the climate is a little more … temperate! It looks like I simply cannot cope with the heat - and it is only June. I also had problems in February/March when it was cold as I was unable to keep warm. Moan, moan moan - just like *** - better not say!

Although we had intended moving nearer the coastline, it may be slightly sooner than planned, if I can’t cope now … what about July and August when I understand it gets a little … ‘warm’!

Not to moan, I just have to stay indoors during the heat of the day and have my ceiling fan on at night. Last night I had to take a cold shower as the electricity went off from around 11 pm to 6.30 am this morning.

It is just a warning to other women in my position who have reached retirement age, come out to Spain, and find they have problems with the ‘extremes of weather’ (if that is what you can call the differences in temperature between winter/summer). Think carefully about the area you intend to move to, rent first, then when you find somewhere you would like to spend the rest of your days - look around for your home and enjoy!

It gets awfully cold in the mountains here in Spain (don’t believe people when they say “sun all the year round” they had 4 ft of snow just before we arrived, followed by amazing thunder storms, gales, torrential rain, fog, hailstones the size of golf balls - you name it, we had it).

Ingredients:

Seasoned flour – flour, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 x 3 lb chicken cut into 8 portions
2 fl oz olive oil
3 tbsp of butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
½ pint of chicken stock
Salt & Pepper to taste

Garnish – finely grated lemon zest

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Put the seasoned flour into the large plastic bag, add the chicken pieces and shake until they are completed covered in the flour. Tap off the excess and transfer to a clean plate.

Heat olive oil in large frying pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, place the chicken (in batches) into the frying pan and brown quickly on all sides. Put the frying pan in the oven and roast for about 30 minutes, or until juices run clear.

Remove chicken and place on a plate, put to one side.

Drain off the oil and place the pan over a medium-high heat, add the butter and garlic and sweat gently, then return the chicken pieces and sauté for 1 minute, add the lemon juice, chicken stock and seasoning, cook until the liquid is reduced by half, and has thickened slightly.

Transfer the chicken to warm serving plates and pour over the sauce and sprinkle with a little lemon zest.

Serve with green beans and sautéed potatoes.

I started having sleep problems when my father was taken seriously ill in 1990, I lay awake at night listening to his breathing (it was so loud - he had lung cancer). I developed insomnia three years ago. I recently researched self help, rather than resorting to sleeping pills, which I simply refuse to take.

Here goes …

A warm bath, or soaking your feet in baking soda or epsom salts for about 15 minutes before bed, apparently removes toxins

Massage feet with oil before bed.

Put lavender oil into the bedroom one hour before bed time.

A warm milky drink - I like it with cinnamon and sugar, but don’t have it every night, just when I simply cannot get off to sleep.

A banana before bed - haven’t tried this yet.

Use your bedroom for sleeping (and of course sex) so get rid of the computer and television! Or at least move it somewhere else. I must admit that since moving into a bedroom without a television set, I get off to sleep more quickly. Coincidence - probably.

Make your bedroom a relaxing place to be - tidy, clean, pleasing aroma.

Comfortable bed with clean - aromatic - bed clothes.

Fresh air circulating - open a window (if you live in area where bugs abound - then invest in a fly screen) or put on the ceiling fan (if it is a quiet one) to circulate the air.

Don’t allow the bedroom to be too warm, or cold.

I also do simple breathing and relaxation exercises immediately before going to bed.

Whilst I still wake up a couple of times each night, I can at least manage to get back to sleep again and feel rested in the morning - this means I don’t spend most of the night reading, watching television, playing card games on the computer or just staring at the night sky.

I love lime and Cava but never tried them together before, well normally I don’t drink much alcohol - its an occasional treat for me, but I found this cocktail moorish!

Crushed ice, 2 oz Vodka, Dash of Lime Syrup, 2 parts Lime Juice, Cava, Twist of Lime

Put the crushed ice into a shaker and add the vodka, dash of lime syrup, Lime Juice, shake well and strain into a tall glass, top up with Cava and decorate with a twist of lime

I have to say I have not as yet mastered the “twist of lime” its just lime zest on mine, still practice makes perfect. Though I did quite enjoy rubbing the lime around the glass rim, then dipping in a little sugar.

A little of what you fancy does you good - after weeks of eating healthy food, I decided it was time for a ‘naughty’, so I looked on the web for a recipe for something tasty! What did I fancy? A little chocolate - oh yes, a little ice cream - even better, so I made a chocolate ripple ice cream. It cannot be categorised as low fat, though if I altered the recipe to include milk rather than cream - then maybe it would be better for me, but would it taste quite so nice. And although I now eat healthily, I can - occasionally - have something naughty but nice! Can’t I?

And I have lost 16 kilos since coming to Spain. Still a long way to go.

The recipe, oh yes:

Ingredients:
350 ml whole milk
350 ml double cream
Rind from one unwaxed orange *
3 large free-range egg yolks
150 grams caster sugar
2 egg whites – whisked
50 grams chocolate buttons – either milk or dark chocolate
100 grams dark chocolate – 70% cocoa solids – break into pieces
Flaked or chopped almonds - optional

Method:

Put the milk, cream and orange rind into a large saucepan over a medium heat. When the mixture has come up to a simmer, remove and put to one side.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until nearly white, slowly pour in the cream mixture –whisking constantly.

Rinse out the saucepan and return the custard mixture, place over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, until the custard has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, remove the orange rind, transfer the custard into a clean bowl, cover with cling film to stop a skin forming and refrigerate until cold, about 6 hours.

Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks.

Stir the chocolate buttons and whisked egg white into the custard base then transfer to the ice cream maker and process according to manufacturers instructions.

Put the pieces of dark chocolate into a bowl over a pan of simmering water and leave to melt. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool.

Transfer the custard mixture to a freezer container and very lightly stir in the chocolate to create the ripple effect – do not over stir. Cover and freeze.

Notes - if liked, sprinkle with flaked or chopped almonds before putting in the freezer. * if the orange is waxed or you are not sure, then scrub under running water with a soft brush before use - I do this with all citrus fruit whether waxed or not!

I wanted vanilla - but didn’t have any so settled for orange rind, I have to say the recipe does need a little ‘fine tuning’ but it suits my palette - that’s all that counts really, isn’t it?

That is my goodie for this month. See what July brings.

I am amazed at the women (and men) who do not check themselves regularly for any lumps, changes in the shape of the breast and skin. It is so important to catch this disease early, preferably before it spreads.

Many men are unaware that they too can get breast cancer - my uncle (Mum’s brother) had a double mastectomy many years ago and because he checked himself regularly and found the lumps while they were still relatively small - he survived into his 80s.

It takes only a little time to get to know your breasts - and it is well worth the effort.

I have altered this recipe slightly, so it isn’t really traditional, but it suits me! I also like it with a little black pepper sprinkled on the top before being served - not sure whether that is traditional or not and, frankly, I don’t care. I think a recipe is a starting point … you alter it to suit your taste and budget. I also blitzed the bread - just a little - to make very coarse crumbs.

500 grams ripe red tomatoes
1 clove of garlic
1 dessertspoon of sherry vinegar
4 dessertspoons virgin olive oil (amount to taste)
Sea salt
2 hard-boiled eggs
Diced Jamon Serrano to decorate
Spanish bread stick – this should be fairly dry

Remove the crust from the stale bread

Skin the tomatoes and chop, place into in a liquidiser and blitz with half of the olive oil.

Add the bread, pour in the remaining oil and vinegar then add the egg yolks and a little salt, blend until smooth

Add the stale bread a little at a time - the mixture will quickly become thick - as you add more bread it will take longer to be absorbed by the liquid.

The amount of bread varies, when it becomes difficult to mix the bread in with the liquid, then it is ready - you may need more (or less) than the recipe states

Garnish with diced Jamon Serrano

Update - I watched a Spanish woman on television making this dish, she used rather more olive oil, less sherry vinegar, and did not add the eggs but used them as a garnish afterwards. The soup is meant to be very thick and traditioanlly eaten with a fork - all this according to the lady in the restaurant!

I first visited the island of Mallorca over 20 years ago and I still remember my first breakfast there - sweet bread served in a coil - light and incredibly delicious with hot chocolate - equally good with coffee. Recently I found a recipe that wasn’t too hard to follow and tried it out. It was every bit as good as I remembered. Sometimes memory plays tricks and meals, places even people “improve” over time.

It was my fourth visit abroad - first was the South of France, second (and first time on a plane) was the Algarve in Portugal, then the Costa Dorada, and then Mallorca - I fell in love even before we had landed (the view from the plane was breathtaking) I fell hopelessly in love with the people, the island and the cuisine. A love affair that has lasted for about 23 years - which for me is excellent, I have a short attention span normally and soon become bored. Now I live in Granada, the spanish mainland always has something new to offer, something exciting, something different. Is this love - oh yes! But my first and true love is Mallorca.

Ingredients:
4 teaspoons active dried yeast
8 fl oz warm milk
4 oz caster sugar
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 lb plain flour
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons good quality olive oil
6 oz softened butter

To glaze - melted butter and icing sugar

Preparation:
Dissolve the dried yeast in the warm milk and put to one side. Sieve the sugar and salt into a large bowl and gradually add the flour and warm milk mixture, stirring until thoroughly blended. Add the beaten eggs and olive oil, mixing well. Put onto a floured board and knead until soft and pliable. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave to rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, about one hour.

Knock back, then knead for the second time, then roll out the dough as thinly as possible - with a rolling pin - over a floured work surface and finally brush the entire surface of the dough with the softened butter. Start rolling up the dough (like a Swiss Roll) from one side to the other and allow it to rest for an hour.

When the dough has rested coil loosely into a circle and transfer it to a lightly greased baking sheet.

Cover with something large enough so that the risen dough will not touch – or stick to - the sides of, and allow the dough to rise for several hours to give the correct texture.

Preheat the oven to 190º Celsius and bake for about ¾ of an hour, or until the top is golden-brown. Remove from the oven and brush the surface with melted butter and sprinkle generously with either icing sugar. Cut into slices to serve.

I make ‘individual’ coils and reduce the baking time accordingly. Enjoy!

The weather is improving each day - today it was “minimum” of 25 degrees Celsius, it is now 7.46 pm and it is still 22 degrees Celsius - and what did I decide I fancied today - a lovely summer salad, one of Spain’s famous cold soups … no! Although I love Spanish food - it looks good, it tastes good and it does you good, but … what did I decide I wanted? Cream of Mushroom Soup, a simple old fashioned recipe that I could find easily on the web - my family cookery books are still in storage so they’re not available to me.

I did find some - they had celery, pine nuts, loads of “double” or “heavy” cream, lots and lots of butter to saute the mushrooms, paprika, tomato, sweet potato and loads of different herbs and spices, one recipe even had tinned broth in it - is this stock? Then there was the “fashionable mushroom soup” where you have to go into the woods and pick wild mushrooms (but take a book with you to identify them - or an expert) I am sure they taste great - but - but I am not too keen on wild mushrooms though I know from experience that they taste fantastic - but I remember the things that lurked in the stems and - I don’t think there are too many wild mushrooms nearby and I have only seen them in the shops once. Not complaining, the shops are wonderful, every niche holds another wonder.

After “rummaging” through all the recipes I decided it was too much like hard work and settled on a salad with lovely Spanish sausage and crusty peasant bread followed by healthy low fat/sugar strawberry yoghurt. It was good though.