Mojacar Pueblo

13 Aug

Today I am going to write a little bit about the beautiful old town in Mojacar (or Mojacar Pueblo as everyone knows it) – the Pueblo is situated just up from Mojacar beach, high on a hill.  It is rich in history and has been occupied by both Moors and Christians over the centuries.

A great video here which shows Mojacar pueblo and beach.

You can certainly see the influence of the Moors in the architecture of some of the old buildings.  There is, I think, nothing nicer than wandering around the tiny, steep streets in the cool of the morning and stopping for a coffee in one of the many cafes or restaurants that the pueblo offers.

Mojacar Pueblo street

There are also some great souvenir shops, a cut above the normal gift shops (or toot shops as I like to call them) that one finds in coastal towns, selling some great pottery, clothing, jewellery as well as all the other stuff. On Saturday mornings, there is a flea market selling all kinds of bric a brac but good for a mooch if you are up early enough!

Mojacar Pueblo flea market

At night time during the summer months the Pueblo takes on a completely different atmosphere, with lots of things happening on any given day – there is a huge terrace as you enter the square which gives a panoramic view of the surrounding areas, right down to the coast, during the day, but serves as a stage at night for various performers and entertainers for all the holidaymakers.

Both in and out of season, it has something to offer – in summer it is lively, hot, busy and full of visitors from all over Europe enjoying themselves.   Out of season it is peaceful, beautiful and a very romantic place for dinner, though you can’t quite believe it is the same place that you partied at in August!  One thing is for sure, if you are visiting us or Almeria, Mojacar village is a must during your stay.

Vera Beach

12 Aug

Vera Beach is a beautiful long stretch of sand where you can happily spend the day sunbathing and swimming, or for those of you who like a bit more action, wind surfing or sailing the catamarans for hire.  It is just beyond the water Park so you can spend the morning on the beach and go to the park in the afternoon.  The water is clear and warm and there are beds and umberellas for hire.

Mick and I are off to Vera Beach after work for a drink at Lua, the beach club there (click here for pics etc) It is a very chilled out place for a drink either outside looking over the beach on the grass area or inside in the cool of the air-conditioned bar.  It is around 15 minutes away from the Cortijo by car so easy to get to either for a quick drink or to go later on for dinner.

You can lunch at Lua and use their facilities too -either a casual pizza or something more substantial – it is all good.  They also have a swimming pool and beds and umberellas next to the bar if you prefer.  Be careful which part of the beach you end up on though as it is Spain’s first legal naturist resort at one end so you may get more than you bargained for.  Err not for me thanks!  I like to take my early evening cocktail with my bikini on!

Basque Chicken

11 Aug

August is proving to be hotter than July and I am wishing that I had an outside kitchen like all sensible Spanish people do.  Even though my indoor one is in the shade in the afternoons, the tiles on the roof ensure that it is like a big oven!  And I have 7 people to cook for tonight.  Never mind, a swim and a glass of tinto verano (summer wine a little like sangria) at the end of it is keeping me going.

I am starting with classic caesar salad or home made hummus and am making a typically spanish chicken summer casserole to follow – Basque Chicken – it is surprisingly light and if you omit the chorizo, quite low in calories.

Here’s how to make it for four people.

1 chicken – whatever size you like (a large one would do for 6)

1 large spanish onion

2 red peppers

A handleful of sundried tomatoes drained

2 or 3 garlic cloves

A decent sized chorizo sausage either cooked or uncooked, whatever you can get skinned and sliced into pieces

Brown rice, a couple of cups will do and makes a nice natural thickener for the sauce

A generous half pint of chicken stock – by that I mean nearer a pint – I like plenty of juice!

A great big glass or two of white wine – we can get it in cartons here for twopence halfpenny, but plonk will do as long as it is dry

A blob of tomato puree

Half a teaspoon of paprika picante not dulce- I use one to make it spicier

A cup of black pitted olives

A large orange cut into eighths

Salt and pepper

A scattering of herbs – any fresh will do

Cut the chicken into 8 or 10 pieces depending on the size of it and season well.

Slice the peppers and onions, they don’t need to be fine

Brown the chicken in a little olive oil until brown and then drain them on kitchen paper. Then add a little more oil  and cook the onions and peppers for a couple of minutes.  Then add the chorizo, garlic and and sun dried tomatoes.  Give it all a good stir before adding the rice.  Add the stock, wine, tomato puree and paprika and bring it all up to a simmer.  Sprinkle on the herbs, olives and orange pieces and cover with a lid and cook very gently for around an hour, a little more won’t hurt.  Then just taste and add more seasoning and dish up with some lovely crusty bread and a glass of rioja.

Mine is simmering away so I have an hour to myself – hurrah!

Welcome to Yummy Almeria!

9 Aug

Welcome to Yummy Almeria, my new blog which hopefully you will find fun to read and helpful if you are thinking of planning a trip to Cortijo del Sevillano, Cuevas del Almanzora, eastern Almeria.

There are no Monday morning blues at the Cortijo and in fact no one ever seems to know what day it is including me!  That is a good sign I think unless the buildings insurance is due.  I will be including all kinds of information here – both useless and interesting – and will cover local activities, sports facilities, fiestas, beaches, towns both local and further a field, Almeria City, Murcia, shopping, markets and the most important one for me, Food!

I will include lots of restaurants which we or our guests have visited and what we think of them, and also include what’s cooking in my kitchen on a regular basis!

I have done all my chores for the day and write this from a hammock in our courtyard.  It is sweltering and I have just come back from the pool and mingled with the guests.  I tried out my comedy chocolate cake on them, comedy because I quadrupled the recipe and added quite a lot of baking powder so it looks like a giant cartoon cake.  I filled it with chocolate mousse, cream and black cherries.  I think, all things considered, that doubling the quantities in future will suffice and will also be easier to store.  I hate skinny cakes as they look a bit depressing and mean but equally, a foot high is a tad excessive.  But it was received with gasps not of horror I hope.

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