Food and Drink

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

Pimientos de Padron

~ Kate Wilson ~ 1 Comment

I have made these for lunch today.  To go along with salmon and rosemary roasted potatoes.

 
And somehow couldn’t imagine eating them without a glass of cava so have put a bottle in the fridge!


It’s to celebrate many things, amongst which is the fact that these pimientos were grown by us on our very own terrace here in Granollers!

Bon Profit!

Barcelona on a Plate – the Catalan girls

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

This is the scene at the entrance of the Newlyn Fish Festival today

Yes, it is raining and although today is supposed to be the worst, that doesn’t mean it is going to be sunny, just that perhaps tomorrow it will rain less.
I feel sorry for everyone – holiday makers, people in tents, anyone trying to organise outdoor events like the theatre in the park or at the Minack, all the people who live here and face a long dark winter without having built up a reserve of Vitamin D, and especially I feel sad for my dear friends from Barcelona who are back in Penzance and running The Catalan Kitchen.
They have a wonderful catering business making authentic paellas in various locations over what is humorously called ‘summer’ – campsites, private parties and local festivals like The Fish Festival.
I went there today to see them and watch a paella being made – from the first sizzling garlic cloves to the final five minutes when it must ‘rest’ under a cover to allow the steam to finish off the cooking

I am very inspired by Marta and Cristina – they had a dream of making Catalan food available in Cornwall when they first came over four years ago.  Marta and I had met at a tango class in Barcelona and when they had a chance to visit the UK they decided to ignore the pull of London and to come and visit me. That friendship led to many things – new relationships, new homes, new lives.
And now seeing them here smiling brightly in rainy Newlyn makes me very happy and glad to be part of something so alive and creative

They have made a great success of the business and managed to do so in one of the worse summers Cornwall has ever known.  What an inspiration!

But for them and for everyone else here in Cornwall I wish for some sunshine and blue skies – we need it now – Please!

On Napkins

~ Kate Wilson ~ 3 Comments

When my Catalan friends Marta and Cristina first arrived in Cornwall all those years ago, they brought to my attention the absence of napkins. They felt it strongly, the lack of a napkin laid beside the place setting in my home.
Of course I had napkins, lots of them, all ironed and folded up on a shelf. They would be brought out and used if I had people round for dinner, or at Christmas or my birthday.
But in Catalunya everyone has a napkin ready for use at every meal – breakfast, lunch or dinner. And usually it is a proper one of cotton or linen. When guests come to eat they may be given only a folded paper one but if you are staying for a few days then you too get one of your own to be used several times. How do you know it is your one?  Well, either they are all of different colours or you have individual rings. After a few meals you can tell which one belongs to the Resident Adolescent as it is more wrinkled and covered in tomato sauce!

It must be a sign of my Catalanisation that I too now notice the lack of a napkin when I am eating. People in northern Europe don’t have this custom and you are only given something to wipe your hands and mouth on if the food is especially sticky or messy. And sometimes not even then!

Isn’t it funny how you can change something so basic as needing a napkin or not?

At home in Granollers I decided to always give guests a proper one rather than paper as we have such huge piles of napkins and it is easy to throw it into the next clothes wash if it is only used once.

One of the earliest lessons I remember from my mother was to never ever call a napkin a serviette. There’s another funny thing – I still get a frisson of dismay when I hear that word and if I was teaching English table manners I would probably find myself passing on this taboo.

Midsummer Musings

~ Kate Wilson ~ 1 Comment

 I am back in Sant Nicolau and feeling full of a wonderful lunch cooked by Helen and shared with her family and Pep.  We sat outside at a long wooden table in the shade of some trees, surrounded by birdsong.
Conversation flowed. That’s not just because we were speaking English because actually we talked a lot in Castellano so that Angie who is from Honduras could join in. I thought about how many awful and awkward dinners I have sat through, not understanding, not feeling able to speak from a mixture of language deficiency and shyness.  I noticed how we all tried to make sure everyone was joining in and I wondered why this doesn’t happen more often to me.
What can help you feel comfortable in a multi-language dinner table?
  • feeling you are liked
  • feeling you are welcome
  • feeling people are interested in you
  • smiling and being smiled at
  • having eye contact even when language is faltering
  • being listened to as well as listening….ie patience
  • an atmosphere of love and generosity

It is so easy to be comfortable when, like today,  these conditions are met. I am not shy when I am with people who like me and show it. But it is quite another thing to be able to speak confidently in another language with people who appear to have no interest in you. This is what separates the sheep from the goats. Those who are shy begin to suffer in silence and want to run away. Those who are more extrovert start to perform.  I’m sure it is possible to learn how to do this but….HOW?

Last night was the revetlla of Sant Joan. We had a barbeque here under the stars, listening to distant fireworks and music, eating lovely food by candlelight and feeling relaxed enough to admit that we were too tired to stay up all night or even until sunrise.

Here is a wonderful blog post by a Norwegian woman who lives in Barcelona. She explains all about the celebration and I think it is better to send you over there rather than attempt to say anything new myself!

Finally, here is another photo mix from my camera app. Not related to any of the above – sorry! Except perhaps, without words, it is saying something about me.

The New Cafe

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments

Thanks to Kate at Chronicles of a Country Girl  I have discovered a new way to play with my photos. It’s an application called Photo Grid and you can spend many happy hours jiggling all your photos around in different combinations.
Here is this mornings walk

I love that we are in the middle of this busy commercial town and yet within five minutes walk there is a field of wheat – now all cut and drying in the sunshine. Swifts were flying low over the stubble. I think there are less swallows there this year but the swifts are around in huge numbers.

We went for a coffee in the new place I have discovered. I passed by many times and as it looks very boring I didn’t stop to try it out. But in this hot sunshine the terrace is an oasis of shade and peace. The woman who runs it is very friendly and the croissants are soft and fresh.

It is Sant Joan here and Mazey Day in Penzance.

Happy celebrations everyone!