I am a note-taker and list-maker.  This is because I tend not to trust my memory because if I need to remember things for a long time they tend to float out of my brain like whisps of smoke.  That sounds a bit whimsical but hey I’m feeling pretty whimsical.  The subject of this post [...]

Planting, Sowing, Harvesting & Other Things To Do in the Vegetable Patch. Sowing in February Beetroot Chillies Coriander Peppers Radish Rocket Tomatoes Planting in February Horseradish Harvesting in February Broccoli Brussels Sprouts Cabbage Cauliflower Celery (individual stalks) Jerusalem Artichoke Leeks Lettuce Spinach Spring Onion Things to do in February Check carrots, onions, garlic and tomatoes [...]

[ad#co-1] Here on the mountain it can get windy.  VERY windy.  Weirdly if you talk to anyone in the UK about Spain all that seems to get mentioned is sun, sea and sangria.  When you talk to anyone in Spain though they admit to the rather severe wind.  Spain it seems is one of the [...]

[ad#co-1] Each year we think we’ve finished the vegetable plots and each year we end up digging more.  I guess we get greedier every year and so need more space for everything we want to grow.  This week it dawned on us that there wasn’t really anywhere to plant the potatoes we planned.  I think [...]

[ad#banner] Well after the minor panic attack with the loss of my fabulous recipe for curing raw olives I can finally heave a sigh of relief till next year.  You probably think I’m a tad over-excitable but the thing is I really adore good olives.  It grieves me though, to pay someone else to do [...]

Here in the Catalan Garden we love to eat seasonal produce, but one thing we do buy for much of the year as an additional bonus freezer retrievable vegetable are peas.  So even though its not seasonal, but mostly because I was asked – here are five ways with peas… Peas & Lettuce Recipe Saute [...]

So it’s been nearly a month since I was given the definitive Spanish cookery book, 1080 Recipes by Simone and Ines Ortega I’ve had some time to peruse and use the tombe and must say I’m very impressed. Spanish food seems to have been sadly ignored for some time. However it is now picking up [...]

[ad#co-1] It’s Sunday and I’m planning on a relatively lazy day but before I go and clean out the hen coop this is what I awoke to this morning… Sunday Morning Stunning eh?

[ad#big-square] Right then this is the definitive way to cure raw black (well purple) olives with a huge thank-you to Suechef and Cassie Maroun-Paladin.  This is a Lebanese method of preserving raw black olives, it takes time but there really is very little for you to do other than wait for the delicious olives to [...]

[ad#co-1] Last autumn I planted some parsley in amongst the strawberry plants in a bid to stop them dieing off completely in the cold weather.  This was to be my living cover to overwinter the strawberries without having to worry about fleece or keeping straw in place through the windy winter.  I thought this would [...]