Well, the broad beans are all in, so most of the peppers had to come out so rik could rototill the patch , we still have one row thats producing so we left them in, I was given some strawberry runners so have put one plant on the end of each row of beans... Im going to plant some garlic after the weekend too.
The aubergines bless em are still plodding on, as are the courgettes... every time I think I'll pull them up they produce a new little flush. Its as if they know....
The winter garden is doing well, cabbage looking strong and healthy, the leeks are finally starting to move and grow, as are athe turnips, and the greleiros is still going in soup and stews, the onion seeds are up and tiny but growing. I planted a few broad beans down there a few weeks ago amd they are now 5 inches tall.... hey hey...
The main focus now though will be on the olives, we start our picking tomorrow, then will go off to a friends over the weekend to help with theirs, then will continue till ours and theirs are done.... busy busy busy....
Frugal living in the Portuguese countryside,Eco-tourism, Agri tourism, recipes,family life, self sufficency, eco living, vegetable growing, tips and self help ideas for country living.
Thursday, 29 October 2009
Mushroom fest.... again..
Yes the weather has turned warm and damp again, and the mushrooms are popping up all over, we've another 5 Parasol mushrooms in the courtyard, Ive picked two this morning, and then lo and behold our friends came over bringing a carrier bag full of field mushrooms from their Olive grove . Hmmm yum! Ive put a few of them to open freeze to experiment, but I'll make some quiches tomorrow I think, then maybe some mushroom soup... free food, just what I like...
Nice People....
This blog seems to attract the very best of people... yesterday out of the blue I had a phone call, from someone Ive never met, didnt know at all... to offer us their grapes and olives... stand up and take a bow Mark...
Mark has just bought a place over here , a few miles up the IC8 apparently, not far from us, and has loads of grapes and olives, having just been reading our blog and seeing that our wine was a dismal failure this year he kindly offered us his... what wonderful kind people this country attracts....
Nice People....
This blog seems to attract the very best of people... yesterday out of the blue I had a phone call, from someone Ive never met, didnt know at all... to offer us their grapes and olives... stand up and take a bow Mark...
Mark has just bought a place over here , a few miles up the IC8 apparently, not far from us, and has loads of grapes and olives, having just been reading our blog and seeing that our wine was a dismal failure this year he kindly offered us his... what wonderful kind people this country attracts....
Thursday, 22 October 2009
Log fires, chestnuts, and baking..
Hhehehe, yep its that time of the year again, one of my fave times really, mind you , living here I tend to enjoy the seasons all the more as they are so much more defined. Summer is hot, generally very hot... and by the time the Autumn comes, much as I like the sunshine, Im usually ready for the cooler, wetter autumnal weather.
The huge sweet chestnut tree at the bottom of our lane has produced tons of nuts this year, we picked the first few from off the ground and took them to our friends nearby and we lit a fire and sat round it all evening roasting them and having a few glasses of red wine... and lots of laughs...
Such simple easy pleasures, are just what life is all about for me...
Yesterday evening we lit the fire up in the top room and curled up on the sofa, listening to the wind howling and the rain lashing the house, yep we had a few little drips coming in here and there (always happens somewhere) but we seem to cure more of them every year. I love the wild weather we get during autumn and early spring, I think being at the top of a hill and the place where two valley heads meet seems to funnel the weather up to us... we seem to get the extremes of everything, sun, rain, wind and frost.... its one of the reasons I wanted this place so much, I dont like predictability.....
So, as the weather isnt good for being outside, Im baking, the range is always alight and it seems a shame to waste all that heat... Rik loves it... he comes in from outside to a lovely warm kitchen, the smell of sweet baking greets him at the door, its so cosy and he always knows there's something good to eat... the dogs are enjoying it too, the rug by the range is especially comfortable ....
We did sneak out for a hour this morning to plant more broad beans.... then it rained again....
The huge sweet chestnut tree at the bottom of our lane has produced tons of nuts this year, we picked the first few from off the ground and took them to our friends nearby and we lit a fire and sat round it all evening roasting them and having a few glasses of red wine... and lots of laughs...
Such simple easy pleasures, are just what life is all about for me...
Yesterday evening we lit the fire up in the top room and curled up on the sofa, listening to the wind howling and the rain lashing the house, yep we had a few little drips coming in here and there (always happens somewhere) but we seem to cure more of them every year. I love the wild weather we get during autumn and early spring, I think being at the top of a hill and the place where two valley heads meet seems to funnel the weather up to us... we seem to get the extremes of everything, sun, rain, wind and frost.... its one of the reasons I wanted this place so much, I dont like predictability.....
So, as the weather isnt good for being outside, Im baking, the range is always alight and it seems a shame to waste all that heat... Rik loves it... he comes in from outside to a lovely warm kitchen, the smell of sweet baking greets him at the door, its so cosy and he always knows there's something good to eat... the dogs are enjoying it too, the rug by the range is especially comfortable ....
We did sneak out for a hour this morning to plant more broad beans.... then it rained again....
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
Update
Well, the weather has turned, we've a spot of the wet stuff ... for the last two days. But we did need it and at least we dont have to bother with irrigation now.
Rik is off to Spain on Friday till Sunday, he is now officially termed as 'Technical Director for Softball ' for Portugal. This obviously is a unpaid post, but we dont mind, it means he gets to play and teach Softball which is a huge passion for him, and something he has missed since moving here. Also it means he feels that he is giving something back to Portugal, this country has been so good to us over the last three years its great that we can do something for Portugal now. He is training the womens National Team, plus the young cadets too, this means a trip to Abrantes every week and a drain on our finances for fuel, but hopefully they are going to pay his expenses soon.
The trip to Spain is a exchange visit type thing for the young team to see a more experienced tean play and to train with them and will do them so much good.
In the garden things are still ticking over, the winter patch is doing well and we are already eating the turnip greens , yummm they make excellent soup. Im planting winter broad beans today, as we get a better result at this time of the year, spring planted ones seem to suffer badly with blackfly which doesnt happen with the winter ones.
The aubergines are STILL producing... so are the peppers...
The log barn is full , we've more wood than ever before and it gives me such a secure feeling, knowing that whatever happens now we'll be warm , dry and well fed . The kitchen range is pumping out heat to cook our food, warm the house and dry my washing... such a splendid invention! I love that thing... and all for free.... last year it covered the cost of buying it, so from now on its all free...
Rik is off to Spain on Friday till Sunday, he is now officially termed as 'Technical Director for Softball ' for Portugal. This obviously is a unpaid post, but we dont mind, it means he gets to play and teach Softball which is a huge passion for him, and something he has missed since moving here. Also it means he feels that he is giving something back to Portugal, this country has been so good to us over the last three years its great that we can do something for Portugal now. He is training the womens National Team, plus the young cadets too, this means a trip to Abrantes every week and a drain on our finances for fuel, but hopefully they are going to pay his expenses soon.
The trip to Spain is a exchange visit type thing for the young team to see a more experienced tean play and to train with them and will do them so much good.
In the garden things are still ticking over, the winter patch is doing well and we are already eating the turnip greens , yummm they make excellent soup. Im planting winter broad beans today, as we get a better result at this time of the year, spring planted ones seem to suffer badly with blackfly which doesnt happen with the winter ones.
The aubergines are STILL producing... so are the peppers...
The log barn is full , we've more wood than ever before and it gives me such a secure feeling, knowing that whatever happens now we'll be warm , dry and well fed . The kitchen range is pumping out heat to cook our food, warm the house and dry my washing... such a splendid invention! I love that thing... and all for free.... last year it covered the cost of buying it, so from now on its all free...
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
Ooooh yum, mushrooms!!!
We are having a mushroom fest at the moment, just the other day we discovered a huge Parasol mushroom in the rear courtyard, when fully opened it was the size of a dinner plate... after much discussion by Jon (my brother in law) and me we decided it really was what we though and we cooked it and ate it..... fantastic!! we had the rest for breakfast... There are three more almost ready as well....
Also yesterday a friend told us she had mushrooms in her olive grove, upon investigation , again by Jon and I, we confirmed they were field mushrooms.... and quite a few too... again they didnt fancy eating them so I worked with a will and filled half a carrier bag full and we had them for supper last night... yummy... and there's still plenty more to come by all accounts...
### PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE EATING####
Yesterday was a real day of good things for me.. first the mushrooms and then I had a close encounter with a stork...
I was curled up on the sofa in the upstairs lounge reading a book, the double terrace doors in front of me were wide open, suddenly out of the corner of my eye a large bird loomed ... it got bigger and bigger as it came closer... our Dobermann Cola ran to hide behind the sofa as it headed for the open doors. I was frozen in amazement! It almost landed on our terrace, just managing to swoop up to the roof above at the last moment. There was quite a crash as it landed, I think we've cracked a tile or two up there...
I dashed downstars and yep it was sitting up on the roof... sadly Bonnie barked like mad , going bonkers to get at the huge thing... the absolute biggest bird Ive ever seen... It lifted off so majesticly and headed for the forest behind the house... wonderful...
Also yesterday a friend told us she had mushrooms in her olive grove, upon investigation , again by Jon and I, we confirmed they were field mushrooms.... and quite a few too... again they didnt fancy eating them so I worked with a will and filled half a carrier bag full and we had them for supper last night... yummy... and there's still plenty more to come by all accounts...
### PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE EATING####
Yesterday was a real day of good things for me.. first the mushrooms and then I had a close encounter with a stork...
I was curled up on the sofa in the upstairs lounge reading a book, the double terrace doors in front of me were wide open, suddenly out of the corner of my eye a large bird loomed ... it got bigger and bigger as it came closer... our Dobermann Cola ran to hide behind the sofa as it headed for the open doors. I was frozen in amazement! It almost landed on our terrace, just managing to swoop up to the roof above at the last moment. There was quite a crash as it landed, I think we've cracked a tile or two up there...
I dashed downstars and yep it was sitting up on the roof... sadly Bonnie barked like mad , going bonkers to get at the huge thing... the absolute biggest bird Ive ever seen... It lifted off so majesticly and headed for the forest behind the house... wonderful...
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Here today... Gone tomorrow...
Well we picked the grapes, well the few we had, mixed them with a few from some friends, and crushed them, put them in the vat and....within one day it all turned to Vinegar... yep sadly no new wine this year. We are among many in this area who have all had the same problem, due to infection in the grapes and the unusually warm weather...
We have a few litres left from last year but that will only last a few weeks...
The good news is that although the weather has changed and its been pouring with rain, the olives are looking very good for us this year, we wont have the huge crop of last year but what we have look great... plenty to last the year .... we hope...
The garden still plods on.... aubergines still loads every week... a few peppers still coming, and up untill the rain yesterday loads of cherry toms... I expect they are ruined by the time its finished... but we've done so well with toms this year Im not too sad... Im even still getting a couple of courgettes now and then too...
Rik managed to fence in a small patch of the bottom level for some winter veg, they are all coming on fine and it seems the rabbits are keeping out. So we'll have cabbage and leeks and turnips soon...
Sorry this was just a briefupdate, more next week...
busy busy busy
We have a few litres left from last year but that will only last a few weeks...
The good news is that although the weather has changed and its been pouring with rain, the olives are looking very good for us this year, we wont have the huge crop of last year but what we have look great... plenty to last the year .... we hope...
The garden still plods on.... aubergines still loads every week... a few peppers still coming, and up untill the rain yesterday loads of cherry toms... I expect they are ruined by the time its finished... but we've done so well with toms this year Im not too sad... Im even still getting a couple of courgettes now and then too...
Rik managed to fence in a small patch of the bottom level for some winter veg, they are all coming on fine and it seems the rabbits are keeping out. So we'll have cabbage and leeks and turnips soon...
Sorry this was just a briefupdate, more next week...
busy busy busy
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