Well our guests have gone, and seemed very happy with their week with us. so happy in fact that they plan to come back in March.
While they were with us they ate an evening meal most nights. They thought it would help our cause and increase our bookings if I posted on here the menus for the week... so, its worth a try. Hopefully It wont bore you all too much.
We charge 7.50 euros per head. And that includes wine & coffee.
So The menus were as follows.
1, Homemade vegetable soup with homemade basil Soda bread.
Marinaded Pork chops, Roasted Vegetables(potates, carrots, butternut squash, garlic and herbs)Plus Rice & blackeyed beans.
Homemade Lemon rice pudding.
Plus wine & coffee.
2. Homemade Minestrone Soup & Soda Bread.
Homemade fresh tagiatelli pasta with cream/mushroom and bacon sauce. homemade garlic rolls & a salad.
Kiwi &Coconut dappy with custard.
Wine & Coffee.
3.
Tomato/onion and Basil salad on fresh lettuce , mushroom paté wit toast.
Garlic & paprika roast Pork, roast potatoes, roast carrots, green beans with seseame seed dressing, cauliflower & gravy.
Fig & honey Pancakes.
Wine & coffee.
4. Tomato Soup & Soda Bread.
Pork with mushrooms and chestnuts in a cumin sauce. Green beans and seseme dressing, Boiled rice.
Homemade Egg Custard Tart.
wine & coffee
5. Cheese/bacon Garlic rolls.
Savoury Mince (soya) and sage dumplings. Roast potatoes , Roast carrots. Cabbage.
Fresh Pinapple with homemade chocolate sauce...
Wine & Coffee.
On the 6th night they took us out to dinner in town... and lovely it was too...
Well there you are, Im going to add this as a sample menu on our accomodation page too I think.
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.
Saturday, 8 January 2011
Friday, 7 January 2011
Frugal Living, Dog Food Follow up.
Well , our vet popped in to see us yesterday, he was in the area and called to see how Beesa is getting on, as he found her for us when we wanted a new puppy.
He was very happy with her progress, he seemed to think she was (and Bonnie of course) fit, healthy and growing well. I had a chat with him about our dog food ideas.. quite expecting him to be not really keen on the idea, as generally vets promote the hugely expensive sacks of the dried stuff. He was very good about it, and said that generally dried food... or tinned, come to that is fine for dogs, but that our system was excellent, and as long as I varied the diet, made sure that they got a diverse mix of veg, meat, fish oils, and carbs... that our dogs would be and are thriving. He did also say, that for many dogs, dried food can cause kidney problems, especially in this country where its so hot, as animals need access to lots of water when they are dried food, and often dont get it as much as they should... which causes many problems..
So, we will continue with it forever now... the dogs love it, it costs us almost nothing... and is actually better for the dogs...They are healthey, their coats are thick and glossy, and both have tons of energy
Last night they had..
A bag of beef & pork scraps and fat/sinew/unrecognisable stuff... I roast it first, then chop it into small bits,
potatoes peelings, chopped small, cabbage stems and scraps, chopped small, carrots tops and ends, chopped small, and a handful of leftover rice . I cook the veg in a small amount of water, then add the cut up roasted meat and any leftovers and simmer for a little while to mix nicely, let it cool and there you are. Depending on how much there is, sometimes I sprinkle a handful of dried biscuits over the top, sometimes not...
On odd occasions I'll mix a raw egg in, other times they have fish heads... occasionally the oil from the tuna tin... all good stuff... Do these look unhappy dogs...
He was very happy with her progress, he seemed to think she was (and Bonnie of course) fit, healthy and growing well. I had a chat with him about our dog food ideas.. quite expecting him to be not really keen on the idea, as generally vets promote the hugely expensive sacks of the dried stuff. He was very good about it, and said that generally dried food... or tinned, come to that is fine for dogs, but that our system was excellent, and as long as I varied the diet, made sure that they got a diverse mix of veg, meat, fish oils, and carbs... that our dogs would be and are thriving. He did also say, that for many dogs, dried food can cause kidney problems, especially in this country where its so hot, as animals need access to lots of water when they are dried food, and often dont get it as much as they should... which causes many problems..
So, we will continue with it forever now... the dogs love it, it costs us almost nothing... and is actually better for the dogs...They are healthey, their coats are thick and glossy, and both have tons of energy
Last night they had..
A bag of beef & pork scraps and fat/sinew/unrecognisable stuff... I roast it first, then chop it into small bits,
potatoes peelings, chopped small, cabbage stems and scraps, chopped small, carrots tops and ends, chopped small, and a handful of leftover rice . I cook the veg in a small amount of water, then add the cut up roasted meat and any leftovers and simmer for a little while to mix nicely, let it cool and there you are. Depending on how much there is, sometimes I sprinkle a handful of dried biscuits over the top, sometimes not...
On odd occasions I'll mix a raw egg in, other times they have fish heads... occasionally the oil from the tuna tin... all good stuff... Do these look unhappy dogs...
So, what do you feed your dog on... and how much does it cost you? Would anyone else consider trying what we do? If not why not... Im interested in opinions..
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
Staying at Living the Dream
Ive added a link on the accommodation page to our availability Calendar on one of our ads as we've had to actually turn down bookings this week, (as we already have guests) which breaks my heart.... so this way hopefully anyone of you out there thinking of coming can check it...
Thanks
Pat
Thanks
Pat
Fog Fog Fog...
Well the weather at the moment is a tad strange... its very mild, at times in the mid 50s.. but the last two days we've not been able to see a hand in front of our faces. Now we often get fog here, the low cloud, misty morning type stuff... but this has been real thick, I cant see where Im going type stuff... and its stayed all day.
We actually have guests staying at the moment, looking at property in the area, and I breezily said yesterday morning.... "oh this wont last after 10ish... it never does".. hehehe its still here now... Luckily they are nice and she hasnt held it against me...
But its making life difficult for them as they want a place with a great view, and with this fog, cant see a damn thing... oh well hopefully things will improve...
Obviously this has curtailed our outside work a bit as its a bit too mild to where heavy waterproofs to work in, as you just sweat like mad, but then if you dont, this misty foggy stuff soon soaks you through... so we've been inside, Rik now starting to go a little stir crazy... I am enjoying relaxing by the fire, reading and cooking... that is when he's not driving me nuts wandering around huffing and being bored.... His problem is he doesnt read.... he can of course, he likes workshop manuals and stuff like that... but to relax with a good book... no... he just cant and doesnt see the point... to him, time spent sat reading a good book is time wasted when you could be working on something useful..... damn Philistine!
We actually have guests staying at the moment, looking at property in the area, and I breezily said yesterday morning.... "oh this wont last after 10ish... it never does".. hehehe its still here now... Luckily they are nice and she hasnt held it against me...
But its making life difficult for them as they want a place with a great view, and with this fog, cant see a damn thing... oh well hopefully things will improve...
Obviously this has curtailed our outside work a bit as its a bit too mild to where heavy waterproofs to work in, as you just sweat like mad, but then if you dont, this misty foggy stuff soon soaks you through... so we've been inside, Rik now starting to go a little stir crazy... I am enjoying relaxing by the fire, reading and cooking... that is when he's not driving me nuts wandering around huffing and being bored.... His problem is he doesnt read.... he can of course, he likes workshop manuals and stuff like that... but to relax with a good book... no... he just cant and doesnt see the point... to him, time spent sat reading a good book is time wasted when you could be working on something useful..... damn Philistine!
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