PERDIDOS

One of my favourite programs and it is on tonight. My questions seem to have changed over the past couple of weeks since the crash of the flight with Oceanic 6 onboard.

Does anyone else think that Loche is not himself? His character seems to have changed and somehow I don´t think he is the Loche we know and love.

Faraday has returned to the island on the submarine apparently to deal with the bomb. Rumour has it that one of my favourite characters is to be killed off when the bomb explodes. But as with all deaths on the island, will she be dead? Though Ben did say that even on the island, when you´re dead, well … you´re dead.

I just cannot believe that Loche … yes back to him … would be chosen as leader of the others, just not right, unbelievable.

Who is the bad guy, most people I talk to think Ben. I think it is Charles Widmore. Ben stole a baby and let that strange French woman go, Charles wanted Ben to kill the baby and the mother.

Who will survive? I think some of the Oceanic 6 will die in the war that is to come. My favourite for being killed off is Jack, though if Loche wasn´t already dead (and I am absolutely sure that Loche isn´t Loche), he would follow closely. Who do I hope will survive, well it has to be “eye candy man” Sawyer, and Miles – love the lines, Ben of course – my favourite character. Sayid … what happened to him when he ran off after trying to kill Young Ben?

Who will win the war? Ben? I hope so.

Spanish Gypsy Stew (Olla Gitana)

A traditional stew which can be made with or without the addition of pork, easy to change to a tasty vegetarian casserole

2 x 14 oz tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or the equivalent dried, follow inst on pack)
2 pieces of pork shoulder (optional)
1 carrot, peeled and sliced on the diagonal
4 pints of chicken or vegetable stock
1 lb butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into 1 inch chunks
10 oz French green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch long pieces
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
1 handful of blanched skinned sweet almonds
1 Spanish onion, chopped
1 tsp pimienton (or to taste)
2 ripe plums tomatoes, skinned and finely chopped
1 pinch saffron threads, crushed and added to 3 tbsp hot water
3 tsp red wine vinegar

Garnish – 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves, rolled and thinly sliced

Put the chickpeas, whole pieces of pork and sliced carrots into a deep cassrole or pan, add sufficient stock to come three quarters way up the casserole then place over a medium beat, bring up to the boil, add the butternut squash, French green beans, season and gently bring up to simmering point, cook for 15 minutes

Add the olive oil to a frying pan (with a nob of butter for extra taste) set over a medium heat, add the garlic and almonds, cook for about 2 minutes, keep moving all the time, remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl lined with kitchen paper to remove as much oil as possible

Add the onion to the frying pan and cook until softened but not browned, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the pimienton, stir then add the tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of the stock from the casserole, continue cooking until the tomatoes soften, reduce and deepen in colour, this should take about 5 to 6 minutes, while stirring add the casserole then stir in the saffron

Cook over a gentle heat until the vegetables are tender, the butternut squash should have begun to disintegrate, add more stock should the soup become too thick. When ready remove the meat from the soup, cut up into pieces and serve separately

Put the almonds and garlic in a food processor and blitz until finely ground, gradually add the red wine vinegar while stirring, add to the soup, simmer for 5 minutes and transfer to a serving dish. sprinkle with the finely shredded mint leaves. Serve with fresh crusty bread

Did they or didn´t they?

A little light relief!

While watching a programme following Spain´s Big Brother, the panel laughingly presented a scene in the “pool” where two of the celebrities were having a little fun, at the end of which the man pushed off from the side and revealed that he was aroused!

A second scene was shown later on and from the movement the panel laughingly assumed that the two people actually had sexual intercourse in front of the cameras. It was thumbs up from the two contestants along with big smiles, which really admits that they were quite happy with the outcome … or just acting to keep them in the show.

So … did they or didn´t they? You decide!

Sex, sexism & intolerance

I deleted a controversial post a couple of days ago because I was afraid people would take exception to the content. Violence, intolerance – both racial and gender, prostitution, paedophilia, terrorism and so on.

Here on the Costas in Spain two gangs of Rumanians have been arrested for running prostitutes, some of them underage and many not doing this type of job of their free own will. I understand that money; jewellery and documents were recovered, so these men were also guilty of burglary and muggings. Then there is the violence against women in the form of rape, beatings and murder by male partners in addition to children being abducted by paedophiles.

The lack of self control seems to be a grave problem here in Spain (and probably worldwide), both sexually and emotionally, resulting in violent episodes – could this be because men no longer have total control of the women in their lives?

Racial intolerance in society as whole, a young woman was attacked both verbally and physically on a train and suffered severe trauma, why? Because she was a Columbian. A young woman was attacked in a town centre, why? Because she was Chinese. I was called a Puta, a whore to us Brits, why? Because I was English. And I am in my sixties, have never worked as a prostitute and feel I am a little old to make a living in this line of work.

One hates to be classed as sexist, but why is it that the world, which in general is ruled by men, is in such a state? In an area other than government, the Catholic Church, old men are in positions of authority and are either unable or unwilling to move with the times. Radical Muslims set off suicide bombs in other countries and kill many innocent people. Back to government again, war mongers among world leaders invade other countries because they feel there are weapons of mass destruction or drug running. I admit to being a sceptic when watching TV, and always ask myself “do I really believe world leaders giving speeches about the world problems”? Though I am no expert, having studied body language at open university during my first course, it can be seen that the truth is sometimes stretched somewhat and then there is lying with statistics, you can prove anything, or so I was taught.

Does religion have a place in modern society, well the “alphacourse” survey says that people believing in God are in the minority, i.e. 95% no, 1% probably and 4% yes! So perhaps society has already answered that question.

Should women have control over their own bodies? Or … should men, society, religion and government make their decisions for them, i.e. a woman raped becomes pregnant, should society tell her to go to full term and not be allowed an abortion?

Is it time for women to be more assertive in the home, work and government? I hope our survey says yes.

During my life I have come across a lot of prejudice (male against female). I worked in a male dominated industry, had I been a man I would have been the chief administrator, as a woman and despite being better qualified than the man, I was the assistant. My boss suggested had I been a man they would have jumped at the chance to promote me, I was the best person for the job but no man would work under me! At 25 years of age my father said to me, during a discussion on politics with my husband, “what would you know you´re only a girl”.

And then we look at the bible, it states that woman was made from a rib of Adam to be his companion. I should add “and do his bidding”.

All this type of comment designed to put us in our places ladies. I for one think it is time to move the world forward into a new age.
Am I a feminist, “I should say so”, but I wasn´t always, the men in my life have made me so.

IMHO all of us should be allowed to make up our own minds on the course our lives will take, if you are a Christian or Muslim or belong to another religion, that is your choice. To be an atheist is mine. Please respect my choice as much as I try to respect yours even though I do not see any logic in religian and think them out of touch with modern society.

Have we evolved, I think not.

Roast young lamb

This is a version of roast suckling lamb, a dish eaten at Christmas in some areas. I admit to being a little disappointed in the original recipe so haven´t bothered doing anything with it and made up my own. For those of us in small families perhaps a joint of lamb would be more appropriate. The original recipe, with this quantity of lamb, was for 6 people!

Half a Suckling Lamb
2 garlic cloves
6 tbsp Olive oil or melted lard
Sea salt, to taste

Rinse the lamb and pat dry, trim off any excess fat and discard
Put the garlic cloves, salt and olive oil in a mortar and pound until a smooth paste is formed
Place lamb in a roasting tin or oven proof dish
Rub the lamb with the paste * see below
Place in the lower half of a preheated oven
Baste every 30 minutes until the lamb is golden brown on the outside and tender
Allow 25 minutes to the pound and 25 minutes over
Check the lamb is done by using a skewer to prick the thickest part of the roast

Serve with roast potatoes and seasonal vegetables along with a light gravy made from the juices, 1 cup of red wine and 2 cups of chicken stock, to thicken use flour and butter mixed to a paste

*Alternatively put small cuts over the skin and place a sliver of garlic and a piece of rosemay in each, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt, place sliced onion underneath the lamb

Food cravings

I have a yearning for a piece of American Cherry Pie.

American choc chip cookies, chocolate (and other flavour) muffins, though we can buy the latter in Carrefour they aren´t a good as following an American recipe. Am I punishing myself, I should say so!
Bit it´s the pies. A Patriotic Pie recipe I found on the web and baked for the family just before coming to Spain, the Peach Pie – extremely delicious. I no longer have access to these recipes (deleted the link in error) the deep dish apple pie by an American lady who could trace her roots back to “the old country”. Blueberry pie too! This is absolute agony as I have lost all but the cherry pie recipe, though I could search online and find a replacement, will they be as good? Can´t find my breakfast muffins either, yet another link deleted. I do this every so often, thinking “won´t use that again”, then realise what I have done when I get “the craving”.

Amazing, last week I didn´t want muffins or pies, just chocky buns, this week I do.

We did have a hot dog yesterday, a rare treat, with some American mustard, as good as the French Dijon in its own way. I just fancy another one, but am only allowed this treat very very occasionally. Today is all things American are GOOD, tomorrow it will probably be Yorkshire treats, then Italian. I get cravings you see, strong cravings that spoil my healthy eating plans. And today … it is fruit pies and hot dogs! Can´t have either, the pie cos I don´t have an oven.

Spain

Life here has returned to normal for the residents now that all the holiday makers have gone home, except for those who like Spain in winter. Many of the people who travel here to Torrevieja (this town was apparently named after an old watchtower), have returned. Their motorised caravans come into the car park opposite daily and we recognise many of the people from last year.

This is the time when I love Spain, the weather is mild, the residents more relaxed and food prices return to normal after the increases for tourists. Taxis are also charging their pre holiday season prices.

Although this town has faced criticism, it is a beautiful with lots to offer tourists. They try hard to make everyone welcome, and more often than not succeed. Torreveija has lovely municipal pool, I understand that it is open in the winter months, boat trips to the beautiful island of Tabarca (please forgive me if my spelling is incorrect), many gorgeous beeches which are very clean, one even has a safe bathing area where people like myself who have mobility problems can enter the sea safely without being knocked over by the waves. Lots of lovely bars, restaurants, take-aways (there is a Chinese restaurant/take-away behind the urbanisation facing the main entrance of Carrefour, the food is wonderful and the staff so pleasant and welcoming). I will post the name and address in a later.

It isn´t “Little Britain”, though even I have been guilty of describing it so in the past. The British account for only a small number of the residents of Torreveija. There are still areas where you can purchase a realistically priced home where your neighbours are mainly Spanish, if that is what you chose. Or opt for a truly international community.

Many one bedroom apartments are currently being offered in the region of fifty thousand euros, you just have to shop around. Spanish estate agents are – on the whole – efficient, polite and welcoming. Sometimes Brits still try to charge over the top and who can blame them if they purchased their home when prices were high. If you do intend buying here in Spain, visit the area during the day, at night and also at the weekend, it is well worth the time as some areas do have prostitute and drug problems. But that is the world we live in, just take care and like us you´ll be okay.

I would still advise renting for a while, and you can get a winter rental one bedroom apartment from as little as 230 euros. Basic usually, but generally clean and in a decent area. Just take care and come over here and stay in a hotel so that you can then chose an apartment, there are lots to rent at the moment. Just … make sure you have a contract!

Memories

I read through my old entries transferred over from Beyond Contestation. These were about my feelings during and after breast cancer treatments. It amazed me how much I had forgotten, how my immume system became so depleted taking a long time to recover, the pain in my digestive system caused by the chemo resulting in me taking yet more medication, my hair falling out (every where except on my lower legs, it just become more … well more), nausea though the medication helped … all but once, skin under the left breast become raw, painful and inflamed after the radiotherapy, the changes in taste and smell, that took a while to return to normal.
Compared with many people who were receiving treatment at the same Oncology Clinic, I was lucky. My counsin had to be hospitalised a few months later in the specialist cancer hospital as she developed clots on her lungs and subsequently died, she was 50.
The good points, it gave me more time with family and friends so whatever problems I may have suffered, the treatment helped.
My hair including eyebrows and eyelashes grew back, my hair was back to its old colour, most of the grey had gone, my eyelashes were longer, eyebrows darker. The grey has slowly returned, to be expected after all I am now 62.
The Tamoxifen caused me many problems, but my time on this medication has finished and slowly my memory is returning to normal, but my hair which became thinner over the five years is still curly.
If the cancer has gone, then the treatment was worth it, if only for 5 extra years and that was all I was told I could expect. Only time will tell.
My only mistake … IMHO … was having a lumpectomy instead of a mastechtomy, hope the spelling is OK. It would have been easier I think than still having a Jordan size left boob caused by radiotherapy, which after 5 years is still painful at times, lots of scar tissue and also “orange peel” skin.

Mediterranean Hot Sandwiches

I like hot sandwiches and this, along with the traditional beef or pork with gravy sandwiches we always liked to eat at Bramham horse trials is one of my favourites. You can, if you wish, use a traditional white bread recipe rather than the Spanish bread. For me a good quality bread for all sandwiches is a must.

1 lb Spanish peasant bread dough – proved and ready for baking
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
8 slices of Jamon de York
8 oz pork sausage – ready cooked and thinly sliced
8 thin slices Spanish bacon
2 oz Manchego shavings (good quality aged cheese)
2 small handfuls of fresh baby spinach leaves
2 tsp freshly chopped oregano
8 oz Mozzarella cheese – sliced as thinly as possible

Roll out the dough on a floured work surface into a rectangle, about 8” x 16”
Preheat oven to 180° Celsius

Very thinly spread the mustard over the rectangle of dough – leaving ½” gap at the edges
Lay the Jamon de York on the mustard
Place the thin slices of sausage evenly over the ham
Top with the thinly sliced Spanish bacon
Scatter on the Manchego cheese shavings
Lay the Spinach leaves over the Manchego
Sprinkle over the oregano
Top with a layer of Mozzarella cheese
Roll up – starting on a long end
Seal seam together and pinch and tuck ends under
Turn the roll so the seam side faces downwards
Spray the preheated oven with hot water
Place the bread into the centre of the oven and bake for 35 minutes
Leave to cool for 10 minutes and then slice into sandwiches
Serve with mixed salad and a very cold Spanish beer

Beef with tomato

I love Chinese beef with tomatoes, this is a recipe with similar results, but somehow not quite the same. If anyone has a nut allergy, use a different oil.

Marinade: 2 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp caster sugar, 2 tsp vegetable oil, 1¼ tsp cornflour

1 lb sirloin – cut across the grain into thin slices – about 1½” in length

6 medium tomatoes – skinned, quartered

2 sticks of celery – peel and slice across diagonal – about 1½” length

2 spring onions – peel and slice across diagonal – about 1½” length

2 slices ginger – peeled, thinly sliced, then cut into strips

1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped

1 whole garlic clove, skinned

2½ tbsp groundnut oil

2 tsp caster sugar

¼ tsp salt

1 tbsp cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp water, see note below

Salt and white pepper – to taste

Whisk the marinade ingredients together, add the beef, cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes

Place the wok over a medium to high heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil, when hot, add the whole clove of garlic and cook briefly until aromatic, then add the beef. Stir-fry until it changes colour and is 80 per cent cooked, remove from the wok and discard the garlic clove

Wipe the wok, replace on the heat and when hot add ½ tablespoon of oil, stir-fry the ginger and chopped garlic for a few seconds, then add the celery, followed by the tomato.

Sprinkle in the sugar and a little sea salt, cover and bring to boil
Stir the **cornflour/water mixture, remove the cover from the wok, push the tomatoes to one side, add the cornstarch mixture in the centre while stirring quickly to thicken

Return the beef to the pan, mix everything together, taste and adjust the seasoning

** Arrowroot – used in the same way as cornflour with the added advantage that it will add a nice “sheen” to the sauce and will not dilute the colour. Arrowroot tends to “clarify” liquid into which it is introduced. If you want a clear sauce add this instead of cornflour but note that sauces made from arrowroot thicken at a slightly lower temperature than those made from grain startches. They do thin if overstirred, overheated or cooled and reheated. So as soon as it thickens, remove from the heat and serve.