Fall

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I know, I know, Fall has really been with us for quite some time now but we have been enjoying such wonderful, mild, sunny weather here in Madrid that I have not really realized it until this week, when grey skies suddenly came upon us and it started to rain non-stop. A whole week of rain, so very necessary for the country side but I must admit, a bit depressing for me.

Don´t get me wrong, I like Fall, it’s just that I find it hard to adjust to it, the sudden cold, the lack of sun, the shorter days… on the other hand, it’s precisely these things I don’t like that bring about the things I love about Fall, cozy sweaters, reading by the fire, lentil soup (any kind of soup really), as well as my latest obsession, knitting.

So until I finally settle into this season and gather strength for Winter, which is really just around the corner, I will do my best to concentrate on the things that bring me joy, the shift in colors, sharing a cup of coffee with good friends or baking with my children.  Scones seem to be a favorite of theirs this season and this recipe is just so easy and so delicious too.  And what about you? Is there anything you specially like about Fall?

Have a lovely week.

In my absence, I started painting!

This Summer in Madrid we enjoyed one of the worst heat waves in recent history, the kind of heat wave that makes you spend all day long sitting down in the shade drinking ice water.  So for the first couple of days of July I did just that, nothing, and then, I became restless, I needed to do something creative.  Working on my jewelry did not seem very appealing, my studio is located in the attic and in Summer that room is like a big oven and I did not feel specially like going up and down stairs several times a day in search of whatever supplies I needed.  I also needed to find something I could do with my children who were on their Summer break and watching way too much tv and so, one fine day, I suddenly felt the urge to start sketching, doodling, whatever you may want to call it.

A funny looking poppy

After searching frantically through the whole house for my watercolors and not finding them I decided to use my kids watercolors instead (you know that feeling when you want to do something and it has to be done immediately...), so, I took all the materials to the patio, gathered my 3 kids around the table and we all started playing around with the brushes and the paint and unknowingly started a new Summer "ritual"  that brought so much joy to all of us.  

The view from our house in Munilla

Every afternoon we would set up "art camp" and spend about and hour painting together. My kids drew flowers from the garden, fruit, robots, whatever! I loved seeing their own personal style develop and flourish.  As for me, I had not done any watercolor painting in years and this time, instead of doing the more "academic style" paintings I used to do years ago I opted for more informal, quick sketches and what can I say, I had not had so much fun in years (makes me wonder why did I stop doing it in the first place??).

Tomato from our veggie garden

Sometimes a change in routines can be a very positive thing. I discovered a new family activity  which was hugely enjoyed by all of my three kids at the same time (due to their age differences and different tastes these kind of "group" activities don´t always work so well).  As for me, I have rediscovered a long forgotten love which is always very nice.  If you want to see all the little paintings I did this Summer you can hop over  to my instagram.

Have a lovely Monday.

In the land of Don Quixote - En la tierra de Don Quijote

This weekend we were in La Mancha. This region of Spain has a great many wonderful things, but the are we were in is specially famous for three things: Cheese, Don Quixote and Windmills.  “Manchego” cheese was already one of my favourites so no big surprises there, if you’ve never tried it, please do so, it’s delicious. Don Quixote is very much present everywhere, we stayed in a little house in El Toboso which is where Don Quixote’s sweetheart lived and the whole town is full of gorgeous tiles with excerpts and references to the novel.  And finally the windmills… I had often seen them in pictures but I had never realized just how utterly amazing they are until I saw them in person, not only are the buildings aesthetically beautiful but the inside, oh! a true showcase of 15^th century state of the art technology. 

These mills were used to grind wheat and by means of a clever use of levers, poles and of course, wind, they could be manned by just one person.  The ones we visited were from the 15^th and 16^th Century and worked so well that were in use until the 1950`s. 

I must confess that as much I enjoy these weekend outings, I think that lately we may just have had a bit too many. I am actually looking forward to staying for a full weekend at home with no scheduled plans, maybe try a new recipe or bake something delicious, start a new craft project with the kids or just to seat by the fireplace with a good book.  Have you started making plans for your weekend yet?

Have a lovely Wednesday

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Este fin de semana hemos estado en la Mancha.  Esta región tiene un montón de cosas estupendas, pero la zona en la que estuvimos nosotros, creo que es especialmente conocida por tres, el queso, por ser tierra de Don Quijote y por los Molinos.  El queso, delicioso. Don Quijote, muy presente por todos lados, nosotros nos quedamos en El Toboso, el hogar de Dulcinea, y el pueblo estaba lleno de preciosos azulejos con referencias a la novela. Y los molinos… alucinantes!!! Mira que he visto mil fotos de molinos a lo largo de mi vida, pero hasta que no los ves en persona, realmente no te das cuenta de lo increíbles que son. El edificio en si es una preciosidad, pero por dentro son un verdadero ejemplo de tecnología punta del Siglo 15. 

Estos molinos se utilizaban para moler grano y mediante un ingenioso sistema de palancas, vigas y por supuesto, viento, podían ser operadas por sólo una persona.  Los que nosotros visitamos eran de los siglos 15 y 16, y el sistema era tan bueno que se estuvieron utilizando hasta los años 50.

Debo confesar que aunque me encanta estas escapadas de fin de semana creo que últimamente hemos hecho demasiadas. Me muero de ganas de quedarme este fin de semana en casa tranquila, sin ningún plan u obligación. Tengo ganas de probar alguna receta nueva, hacer alguna manualidad con los niños (No queda nada para Halloween que a ellos les encanta), o simplemente sentarme delante de la chimenea con un buen libro.  Y vosotros, ya habéis empezado a hacer planes para vuestro fin de semana?

Feliz Miércoles

Harvest time - Tiempo de cosecha

Abajo en Español

Cherry tomatoes from my sister's garden. Delicious!

Boletus, not quite the world's biggest mushroom but close, eh?

Pepper preserves - Pimientos del piquillo 

When I was little and we lived in Rioja (before moving to Australia), I remember my mum used to spend most of the Autumn months cooking, canning and preserving in the kitchen. She would make delicious fruit jam and pear and peach preserves, tomato sauce, salsa, peppers…  The thing is that La Rioja is so fertile, and fruit and vegetables are not only incredibly tasty but also, so abundant! ( Madrid has a great many wonderful things, but quality fruit and veggies are not one of them).

For instance, this weekend we were there for a family visit. On Saturday morning without getting up too early or making a huge effort we went walking and along the way picked mushrooms (boletus edilus, delicious!) and walnuts.  Once home we helped my sister pick tomatoes from her orchard.  We also got some red peppers from the local variety (piquillo), but these we bought from the local market.  Peppers are the only thing that we still make preserves with at home. It is quite a lengthy process as first you have to roast them, peel them, put them in cans and then boil the cans. It can also get quite messy (the pepper juice stains everything a horrid yellow colour). On the other hand, if you do it with a group of friends or with family like we did, it can be a lot of fun and you get to eat delicious peppers all year round!

So, did you also have a lovely weekend?  Did you go out to the countryside or did you stay in the city?

Have a lovely Monday!

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Cuando yo era pequeña y vivíamos en La Rioja (antes de mudarnos a Australia), me acuerdo que mi madre se pasaba la mayor parte del Otoño metida en la cocina haciendo mermeladas y todo tipo de conservas (de fruta, de tomate, fritada, pimientos).  Y es que La Rioja es súper fértil y la fruta y la verdura, además de estar buenísima crece en gran abundancia! (Madrid tiene muchas cosas muy buenas, pero la fruta y la verdura no están entre ellas).

Por ejemplo, este fin de semana hemos estado allí visitando a la familia y sin darnos un gran madrugón ni una gran paliza, el sábado por la mañana dando un paseo cogimos setas (sobre todo boletus, riquísimas) y nueces.  Una vez en casa ayudamos a mi hermana a recolectar tomates cherry de su huerta.  También cogimos unos pimientos del piquillo (estos comprados) para embotarlos.  Los pimientos son de las pocas cosas que todavía preparamos en conserva.  Es verdad que el proceso es un poco largo porque hay que asarlos, pelarlos, embotarlos, cocer los botes… y además es un proceso un tanto “guarrete” porque el juguito de los pimientos tiñe todo de un color amarillento asquerosito, pero, si lo haces con un grupo de amigos o con tu familia como lo hicimos nosotros puede ser muy divertido y además, te llevas unos botes de pimientos deliciosos a casa al finalizar el día!

Y vosotros, como pasasteis el fin de semana? 

Feliz Lunes!

Hello Fall - Hola Otoño

Abajo en Español

Good Heavens! How time flies!!! September has passed, Fall is here and vacations seem so far, far away. I did not really mean to take such a long blog vacation but this year, for some reason I was feeling really tired and needed time to do nothing, as strange as that may sound…

It’s funny about the Seasons here in Madrid, one moment (that is, a mere three days ago), we are still in Summer mode, swimming at the pool and drinking gazpacho and the next day I find myself cooking stews and wondering where on earth did I put all the woolly blankets! I am not really ready for fall yet…

Summer this year has been wonderful, first we went for our family vacation to Galicia , in the North of Spain.  The weather there is perfect, not too hot which is something one really appreciates after the scorching heat of Madrid . Everything is lush and green, and the food is so good!  Too good in fact, by the time we left my jeans were beginning to feel a bit too tight (sad but true).  The children also love it there. They spend most of their days at the beach playing with their friends and cousins, swimming, building sand castles, pretty much the same stuff I did when I was a kid.  I guess some things never change.

Then we went to Rioja, which is my home region. We spent two weeks there in the tiny village where my family originally comes from (in Winter it roughly has 50 inhabitants, so yes, it is pretty tiny). We swapped the coast for the hills and we had so much fun! We climbed mountains, we swam in rivers (well actually, I just watched my kids doing it, the water was really way, way too cold!), we picked all sorts of berries, I discovered I do not really like blackberries which my children loved as they got to eat mine as well as theirs, I spent time with my wonderful family and missed my sister Araceli terribly, read books, fell in love once again with the local cuisine and put on even more weight (long live “aperitivos”!), I could really go on forever!

So, did you have a nice Summer?

Have you started any wonderful and exciting projects this Fall?

Have a lovely Wednesday!

You may have seen some of my photos in Instagram, you can find me there under the name reyesrobledof

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Cielos! Como pasa el tiempo!! Septiembre ya se ha ido y las vacaciones, tanto las blog vacaciones como las de verdad se ven como muy, muy lejanas.  No era mi intención tomarme un descanso del blog este año, pero por alguna razón, este año estaba muuy cansada y aunque pueda parecer una contradicción, realmente necesitaba el tiempo para no hacer nada.

Las estaciones en Madrid son muy raras, un día te estás bañando en la piscina y tomando gazpacho (esto es hace tres días) y al siguiente estás preparando unas lentejitas y preguntándote dónde demonios guardaste las mantitas de lana del sofá. Buf, realmente no estoy lista para el otoño, y mucho menos para el invierno!

El verano este año ha sido estupendo, primero nos fuimos a  Galicia, en el Norte de España. El clima allí es perfecto, no excesivamente caluroso, lo cual se agradece después del calorazo asfixiante de Madrid. Todo está verde y jugoso, y la comida es tan buena! Demasiado buena, para cuando nos marchamos mis vaqueros ya me quedaban prietos, prietos (si, una injusticia, pero comer en exceso es lo que tiene).  A los niños también les encanta. Se pasan la mayor parte del día jugando en la playa con sus amigos y sus primos, nadando, haciendo castillos de arena, realmente haciendo más o menos lo mismo que hacía yo de pequeña.

Luego nos fuimos a la Rioja , que es de dónde yo soy. Pasamos dos semanas en el pueblecito de dónde procede mi familia, cambiamos el mar por la sierra y lo pasamos genial!  Hemos subido montañas, nos hemos bañado en ríos (bueno, en realidad yo he visto a mis hijos bañarse en ríos, el agua de esos riachuelos viene directamente del deshielo y no sabéis lo fría que está), hemos cogido moras, he descubierto que las moras realmente no me gustan tanto, he pasado tiempo con mi maravillosa familia, he echado de menos a mi hermana Araceli, he leído libros, me he vuelto a enamorar de la comida local y como siempre, he vuelto más gordita (pero que vivan los aperitivos!).

Bueno, y que tal, habéis pasado un buen verano? Os parece ya tan lejano como el mío?

Tenéis muchos excitantes y maravillosos proyectos para el otoño?

Puede que hayáis visto algunas de las fotos ya en Instagram, si me queréis seguir mi nombre es reyesrobledof

Feliz Martes

Quiche aux courgettes et au chèvre

Como habréis detectado por el título del post, esta semana seguimos con temática Parisina.

Courgette, que bonita palabra, verdad? Es calabacín en Francés, pero mientras courgette suena a "oh la là",  calabacín suena a, bueno, a calabacín, y esto lo digo con todo mi cariño ya que adoro el calabacín.

Bueno, durante el viaje a París comí este quiche de calabacín y queso de cabra dos veces, y no lo tomé en cada comida porque no me fue posible.   Era como comer un trozo de cielo en cada bocado, que ríquísimo!  Total, que a la vuelta fue mi aniversario de boda y decidí sorprender al esposo con una cena rica.  Busqué en internet y encontré esta receta que me pareció la más parecida al quiche

 que yo había comido.  Sólo le he hecho dos modificaciones, en vez de 3 calabacines yo sólo le puse uno y luego le añadí un tomate natural a rodajas porque los quiches Parisinos lo llevaban y le daban un sabor muy rico.  El resultado final? Èxito rotundo, al esposo también le encantó y lo mejor es que es facilísimo de hacer.

Besos y feliz Miércoles

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As you have probably guessed from the post`s title, this week I am still in a Parisian state of mind.

Courgette, what a beautiful word, isn´t it?  It's French for Zucchini, but whilst courgette sounds very "oh la là" zucchini sounds like, zucchini, and I say this with all my respects as I love zucchinis.

Well, during my Paris trip I had this zucchini and goat's cheese quiche twice, and I did not have it for each meal because it was not possible. It was delicious! like eating a piece of heaven in each bite.  So, upon my return, it was my wedding anniversary and I decided to surprise my husband with a yummy dinner.  I searched the internet and found this recipe which seemed the closest thing to the quiche I had eaten. I have only introduced a couple of changes, first I only used a zucchini instead of three, and second, I added a sliced natural tomato, the Parisian quiches had them and they added a lovely flavour.  The end result? A huge success, my husband loved it too and the best part, it was so easy to make!!

Have a lovely Wednesay

70

Esta chica tan guapa y estilosa con esas increíbles gafas fashion es mi madre, que hoy cumple 70 años.   Esta foto tiene más de 30 años pero para mi sigue estando igual de guapa  o incluso más.

Felicidades Mamá, de todo corazón. Te quiero una jartá!

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This gorgeous and very stylish girl with the amazing sunnies is my mother, who turns 70 today.  The photo is more than 30 years old but to me, she is still as beautiful or even more so.

Happy Birthday mum, with all my heart.  Love you heaps!