Once upon a time, in deepest London, I lived with a wicked landlady called Susie. Not really, she was actually a fairy godmother, who rescued me from a disastrous relationship by letting me stay in her spare room. It was so cosy that I refused to move out for several years. Hah! Continue reading “Joyce Pictor’s boiled fruitcake”
Spring has sprung
Today was the first really warm day of the year. The cold weather has finally passed and the almonds are in blossom – one of my favourite sights of the year, not least because it means summer is on its way. Continue reading “Spring has sprung”
Strange goings on
We’ve been having lots of mini-earthquakes over the last day or so, the most notable of which occurred last night when I was laying the table for dinner. Ridiculously, I felt the need to clutch the back of a dining chair – I am not sure why I thought that might help, but I don’t think logic has any place here. It was only a bang and a quick wobble, and the others have been less than that – just like someone bumping into your chair, but I can’t help feeling unsettled by it. Continue reading “Strange goings on”
Raining lemons and limes
Disappointingly, we awoke to the patter of rain this morning. Rain rarely patters here – it normally falls in sheets, accompanied by swirling winds and much thunder and lightning, and it sneaks in through cracks in window panes and underneath doors. Today was a much gentler – almost English – affair, but it deterred us from our planned walk and I have passed the day catching up on a few household chores.
A big chunk of the afternoon was spent on the phone, trying to get through to Thomas Cook, who have most helpfully cancelled the return part of our flight when we go back to the UK for a couple of weeks at Easter, and have now put us on a flight two days earlier with no consultation or option to say ‘no, thank you.’ I cannot, apparently, deal with this online, I have to actually speak to a person – none of those people, according to Thomas Cook’s answering service at their call centre, would be available to speak to me for at least 60 minutes and we would be the ones swallowing the phone bill for that wait, from here in Turkey. Grrrrrrr. Continue reading “Raining lemons and limes”
Scrummy autumn apple cake (egg/dairy free)
This weekend’s Guardian newspaper published a recipe by Claire Ptak for the most delicious wholemeal apple cake, which I promptly made and which has already disappeared (we did share it with Linda the recipe tester and our local vets, who are fortunate enough to live close by and get regular cake samples). It was everything you want from an autumnal cake, and it filled the house with the most amazing spicy apple smells while it was baking. Even the cats looked interested.
It occurred to me that it might be adaptable for our granddaughters, who have a number of serious food allergies, including egg and dairy products. Continue reading “Scrummy autumn apple cake (egg/dairy free)”
Jumping Jiminy
The weather has gone crazy. In January, we had seriously sub-zero temperatures – almost unheard of for our part of the world. The last week has been warm and sunny, with temperatures up into the low 20s during the middle of the day, and guess who came to visit? I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard him chirping away and he stayed for most of the afternoon – probably with one of those beady eyes on our fireplace, wondering whether he could get inside and claim his seat on the sofa. Continue reading “Jumping Jiminy”
Coming up roses
You would definitely have to be British to spot the link between that heading and today’s recipe – so apologies to everyone else for the dreadful pun.
We have a glut of limes. This is not something you see often in this country. When we arrived in Turkey what seems like a hundred years ago, the only place I could buy a lime was at one particular stall in the fish market next to the Çiçek Pasajı in Istanbul (luckily, we lived around the corner, so were never more than 20 paces from the nearest lime). Continue reading “Coming up roses”
Not so sunny times
Right outside our kitchen window is the Greek island of Kastellorizo – known as Meis to the Turks. It is less than 2km off the coast at its nearest point and sometimes it appears so close that I feel I could touch it. When we have bad weather, it disappears altogether, only to reappear magically as soon as the storm has passed. (The photo left was taken from behind the harbour on Meis – you can see the hills of Kas in the background).
Luckily, the locals here rub along pretty much with the locals over there – as long as our two national football teams aren’t actually playing each other, we root for the Greek team and they cheer for ours in every major tournament. Our harbour in Kas is full of Greek boats on a Friday – our market day – and regular ferries ply between the two harbours. A day on Meis is one of our favourite excursions – it may only be a couple of kilometres away, but the food is entirely different, both in the tavernas and in the little supermarket. Obviously we would never consider using the trip to stock up on bacon and ham. Or Parmesan. Or decent coffee. Or Mr Muscle oven cleaner (banned here, ahem). Of course not. Never. Banish that thought. Continue reading “Not so sunny times”
Spicy soup for a cold day
First of all, a confession – I got so carried away with the need to eat this that I completely forgot to photograph what I was doing as I went along. But it is all pretty simple – I am sure you can visualise chopped veggies – so I’m going to give you the recipe anyway, as it is pretty yummy, particularly served with hot garlic bread.
Today has not only been extremely cold, but it is a diet day, so that’s a double whammy. Robin and I have been following the 5:2 diet, quite successfully, for about three years. We no longer count every calorie, as we’re really just concerned with maintaining our new weights rather than losing any more kilos, but we try to eat very lightly on 5:2 days and sneaky glasses of wine are strictly forbidden. Continue reading “Spicy soup for a cold day”
Missing cat, missing sun
The Turquoise Coast of Turkey basks in sunshine for more than 300 days every year. But not today. Today, we could be renamed The Grey Coast. Or the Perfect-for-Ducks Coast. Or the Ooo-Err-Here-Come-a-Couple-of-Water-Spouts-Heading-Straight-For-Us Coast. You get the idea.
Yesterday was sunny – a rare event this last week – so we were up sharp and early, walking boots at the ready. Unfortunately Harry was missing.
Harry is the Pooh Bear of the feline world – a cat of little brain. We checked his usual hideouts and did a reluctant search of the ditch that runs along the side of the road for the length of our village, hoping NOT to find a fluffy tail poking out. Nothing.
Abandoning the search, we opened the tailgate of the car to throw in the backpacks and there was a loud and indignant meow from the front seat. Cat of Little Brain must have sneaked into the car when Robin had been unloading coal the previous evening. Little tyke had made a nest with the window dusters and settled in for a very long nap. Lives remaining: not very many.
Today, we could have been in a different country. No sign of the sun, not much sign of Meis either, come to think of it – the Greeks have rather disappeared behind a big cloud. So, shutters closed, hatches battened, fire chuntering away – a perfect day for baking bread. Continue reading “Missing cat, missing sun”
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