Food and Drink

Everything about things to eat and drink. Recipes and restaurants and cafes too.

It’s Friday – time for Virtual Vermut!

~ Kate Wilson ~ 1 Comment

It is Friday evening and I am wondering how to catch up with all that has happened in the last three weeks, for it has been a strange and busy time. Apart from the potato update I think I left you floating in paradise, at Sant Nicolau, in mid April.
Since then the weather has changed – several times – and I have flown to Scotland and back and both Bonnie and I have been ill. There have been festivals – Sant Jordi and May Day and now it is Ascencio.
What about a Vermut while I tell you some stories?

I flew to Glasgow for a Scottish wedding and had a wonderful time seeing family, at last having something to celebrate after the last sad year since my brother died.
I love Glasgow Central station

 Bonnie stayed here in Granollers and it was lovely to return from my trip and have her meet me at the station. But I noticed almost immediately there was something wrong with her. She was too hot, a bit subdued, off her food.  The week before she had been attacked by several ticks. Probably picked up after we walked the same path as some sheep – or it could have been the goats – who knows – they are hard to avoid here

 I took her to the vet and was shocked to find her blood tests showed extremely low platelets and aenemia.  Erlichiosis – a tick borne parasitic infection of the blood.
She had to stay in hospital overnight – she was too tired and weak to protest. Very scary but so good to have the wonderful Lauro Vets so close to home. It is 24 hour with an animal hospital and vets who speak English!  I know I can communicate in Catalan but in an emergency – it was so good.

 The antibiotics started to work very quickly and late the next day she was able to come home

 I decided to change her onto a raw meat diet and since then have been scouring the shops for cheap meaty chunks that she can gnaw through like a wolf. And liver and tripe and other strange things.

I had come home to sunshine in Granollers and the day that Bonnie went to hospital was Sant Jordi – the Catalan patron saint of lovers. The streets were filled with stalls selling books

 or roses – here’s my lovely friend Azucena helping out on a stall.

Normally I love this festival but this one was rather over shadowed for me.
I just wanted Bonnie home and safe.
Somehow living here in a strange land makes us even more close- she is always there for me

 Friends arrived from France, seeking sunshine and warmth.  No sooner had they settled in than the skies darkened and the rain started.  And I came down with flu. Fever and chills and body pains and weakness. Bonnie and I stayed at home together, resting and recovering.
Finally we all felt strong enough to go to the beach

 It was cold and windy but the Ona restaurant at Premia del Mar never lets you down. Lovely food and they are always so welcoming to dogs.  We sat inside of course!  Then had a refreshing walk.

Suddenly it was May 1st

 here mainly celebrated as the day of the workers but for me always a pagan celebration of spring.
But it was still raining!

Finally the weather changed in time for our boat trip to watch seabirds. We went from Badalona on the Quetx they have bought and restored and now use for sailing lessons

 We didn’t see too many birds, not compared to trips on the Scillonian, but it was peaceful to be out there on the sea on a calm and sunny day.
And now it is almost time for my birthday – it looks like it will be raining again from the forecast but I got used to that when I was young – Scottish bulls aren’t bothered by a bit of weather!


Potatoes

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments

I have complained before about the potatoes here – basically they are either red or white and that is how people chose which ones to buy. Sometimes they have a label with a name but there is nothing here to compare with the wide variety of potatoes we have in the UK – and especially the wonderful ones from Scotland or Cornwall.

This year I decided to grow my own and when I went to London in January I bought two little bags of seed potatoes. (Friends here said they just plant the ones from the greengrocers. Oh, maybe that’s why they are so tasteless?)   I got Pentland Javelin and Charlottes – playing safe!

A friend of a friend (thank you for the introduction Tiffany) agreed we could plant them on his large allotment in a town just 10 minutes drive from here.  It’s a little paradise by a small river.

 After chitting them in our workshop we planted them out on March 11th – New Moon

 We also have two sacks on the terrace to see how it works growing them in the bag method.

Yesterday we went to take a look at the allotment and it was wonderful to see the little green bushy heads popping out of the Catalan soil. We weeded and earthed up in the Spring sunshine and look forward to eating our own delicious potatoes in a few months time.
How lovely it is to be gardening – wearing any-old-clothes!  I felt as if I was getting back to normal!
You can see the weather has changed a bit since we planted them.

Look at these tulips in Catalan colours!  Growing in Marc’s lovely ‘hort’


Thank you to life

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments


This felt like a week crammed full of different and lovely things

I woke up on Monday morning still in beautiful Sant Nicolau – the sun was streaming into the bedroom and the wind had dropped – but it was time for us to leave

Helen has lost two of her dogs and it felt hard going knowing they are still out there but we don’t know where. She has been incredible – there are posters of them at every corner in an area stretching from Bascara to Figueres and all around. I went out with her every day exploring new corners of the region, to speak with people and pin up posters and scan the fields

But apart from one possible sighting there has been a resounding silence

I drove back to Granollers and almost immediately caught the train down to Barcelona to go to my Swing class in Gracia.  I even stayed on afterwards to eat in a Syrian restaurant with two other beginners.

After the class we wanted to try out the late Jam session at Swing Maniacs as we need to practise as well as learn new steps. But there was time to eat inbetween and what a pleasure to have falafel and hummus and pitta bread – the sort of food that feels like a real treat here.

And then a quick dance before catching the last train home.

I met Tiffany for coffee one morning – but it wasn’t coffee – it was the Catalan chocolate drink that is rich and thick and warm like a pudding and comes with whipped cream and little sponge fingers for dunking. If you want to order it is called a Xocolata Desfeta and if you want the cream it is a Suìs
Don’t go to that link if you are on a diet!

On the way home the man with the accordion was out again beside the newspaper stand. He recognises me now (as one of the few people who throw money into his bag and stop to listen!)
So when he had to start another song he looked at me and said ‘Danny Boy?’  Of course I sat down on the bench to listen – and cried a little for the strangeness of it

What else?  We have just been to the CineClub which shows films in original version. Tonight this was a Catalan film called Fenix. A really amazing and good film about a young boy who, under the influence of Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, wrote emails to supermarkets telling them to put their labels in Catalan and not just Spanish. I really must be careful what I write here because this is a true story and what happened to him was horrific. Armed police rushed his home and he was charged with crimes under the terrorism laws. Worth seeing this if it comes to your alternative film club!

And lastly we took our seed potatoes over to the farm where a new friend has offered us a space to plant them. I brought over Pentland Javelin and Charlotte and am looking forward to real potatoes this summer!

Bonnie loved being in the countryside again and I have promised  both her and me –  ‘Soon!’

 

Burns Night in Granollers

~ Kate Wilson ~ 5 Comments

This was very different from the Burns night we celebrated in Barcelona a few years ago. It feels so much better celebrating with good friends and being relaxed even though there wasn’t so much room for the Gay Gordons. As I was mugging up on all things Robert Burnsy I also learnt quite a lot that I hadn’t known before.
  • Lots of people all over the world know Auld Lang Syne but have never heard of Robert Burns.
  • In Catalunya they call that song  ‘És L’Hora Dels Adiéus’ 
  • Burns died age 37 only a few days after writing to a cousin pleading for money to pay a bill
  • As with many genius’ he died in poverty but his funeral was attended by thousands
  • The traditional of Burns Suppers was started by his friends after his death and the food is based on his favourite dishes
  • The bawdy poems are available on the internet and some of them are very funny*
  • For 5 people you do need two vegetarian haggis – everyone had second helpings!
  • Cock-a-Leekie soup has prunes in it but you can’t tell when you eat it

This was our menu

  • Cock-a-Leekie Soup
  • Haggis with Neeps and Tatties
  • Cranachan with ginger biscuits instead of shortbread
  • Oatcakes with French cheeses (in honour of the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France)
  • Whisky – 10 year 12 year and 18 year

I had bought the haggis and turnips in the UK last week but I wonder if you can get them in Barcelona?  Must look into that for next year when I hope to have my first home grown potatoes.
The whole menu was vegetarian although I read last week that the vegetarian haggis is a mythical creature – they are a carnivorous species!

Here are our lovely MacGuests- thanks so much for getting into the spirit of the evening!

And I’ll finish with a Scottish joke to remind us of the strange link between the Scots and the Catalans who are both the butts of this kind of joke!

A Thoughtful Scottish Husband

Did you hear about the thoughtful Scotsman who was heading out to the pub? He turned to his wee wife before leaving and said, ‘Jackie – put your hat and coat on lassie.’
She replied, ‘Awe Iain that’s nice – are you taking me to the pub with you?’
‘Nah, I’m just switching the central heating off while I’m oot.’

*If you want to see the one I read out then leave me a comment and I’ll print it!

Wine and Pudding

~ Kate Wilson ~ 1 Comment

A visit to Falset would be wasted if you didn’t buy some wine!
There are large Cooperatives selling direct from the producers

We bought a couple of large containers – I like how friendly it looks in the plastic bottle!

This one is a sweet wine – Garnatxa Dolça.  For drinking after dinner – or any other time!
And to further whet your appetite here are two puddings from our lunch at La Cassola, Gratallops

This one was called Pyjamas – no idea why!
La Cassola is the restaurant where the hunters of the wild boar ate – hungry work shooting animals!
I was letting Bonnie out of the car for a quick pee when one of the checker-shirted men called over to ask if she was a good hunter as he has a dog just like her. I told him she was more of a shepherd’s dog and got her back into the car quick!

 This restaurant has stunning views, lovely puddings and lots of meat in their green salad! Needless to say there are no vegetarian options and I ate a very nice fish – Dorada (bream) with baked potato followed by, guess what, Crema Catalana!