Having Guests for Lunch?

 

Don’t forget the drinks. Plenty of vino, big jugs of still and sparkling water. Orange juice for the children. Thirsty guests are unhappy guests and at Casa Janussi it’s OH’s job to make sure nobody has an empty glass.

Life in the Pandemic

 You just get on with things 

 Taking it all in your stride 

Struggling and juggling 

There’s never an easy ride.

A trip to Macdonalds Dona Lola Resort in Calahonda, Spain

Macdonalds Dona Lola in Calahonda, Spain

Stayed here in June. Fabulous weather. Lovely view of the sea but the apartments have been built so that the sun never comes inside or on the balcony. Sunbathing on the balcony just isn’t possible. The apartments are comfortable with everything you need except a washing machine but there’s a laundry on site. There’s plenty of restaurants on site including one next to the pool with entertainment some evenings. The hotel is right on the boardwalk with access to the beach but no sunbeds or umbrellas in the immediate vicinity.

Reception area

The path to the main pool area

View from our balcony

The cottages beneath us

Flamenco show in La Plaza Beach restaurant

The guitarist was particularly good and the dancer included hotel guests.

The adults only heated pool.

There’s an adult only heated swimming pool with plenty of sunbeds and umbrella. There’s a gym and indoor pool for the occasional bad weather days.

Adult pool area

La Plaza Beach restaurant pancakes

La Plaza Beach restaurant chocolate fondant

La Plaza Beach ABBA night

A fun night out with nice food.

Plaza Beach risotto

La.Plaza lamb chops

La Plaza Beach dessert

To summarise, the Macdonalds Dona Lola is a relaxing place to stay. If you have mobility issues it can be difficult to get around as there are lots of stairs and no lifts. A mini market on site was very useful and Mercadona supermarket is over the main road. The apartments are fairly well equipped so it’s easy to rustle up a snack.

In typical Spanish fashion the apartments are built to avoid the sun so it wasn’t possible to sunbathe on our balcony.

 

Mama's tips for taking it easy and chilling out.

 

The key to an easy life is flexibility.

Be the Italian olive tree that bends in the wind,

Not the English oak that snaps.

Moving on from work in Spain - Tales from London

A sheikh from the Middle East is married to 5 wives. He has had to divorce one as only 4 wives are permitted. Normally he would accommodate all 5 plus their children and many grandchildren at the Dorchester hotel. Extra rooms allocated for the servants and drivers, taking over half of the hotel. The sheikh has decided to buy land in Buckinghamshire and after Covid-19 restrictions started to ease, he obtained planning permission to build four residential buildings and a hotel in the middle. The idea being that the residential buildings will house his wives and ex wife plus their entourage. Whilst the servants can be accommodated in the hotel. When they aren’t in residence, the whole complex can be rented out to other rich people. ◦ How am I aware of this? My husband works for a car hire company regularly used by the group. Last night he received a call asking for a car to collect the architect from the airport. She was transferred to Berkshire to oversee the whole project. Will it be successful? Who knows. My husband worked in years gone by for a very elderly Sheikha. She bought a large family home in West London and asked us to do minor decorations. Surely she could afford professionals but she wanted us. You won’t believe this, but she continued to live in her luxury Park Lane flats. That’s correct. Plural. The big family home with massive garden was only utilised by her chef to cook in comfort and transport the food back to Park Lane.  ◦

ANISE

 ANISE - not to be confused with STAR ANISE

 

 It is related to the carrot and parsley families. 

The seeds taste of liquorice and come fron a plant with long feathery leaves.  They help counteract wind and are a natural stimulant.  It is said that the Romans used to eat it at the end of a meal in order to aid digestion.  Indians also use the seeds to aid digestion.  It is used in stews, cheese dishes, fish and of course, with curries.  

The seeds of the anise or aniseed plant are used in cookery. They have a very distinctive liquorice flavour and a sweet yet spicy aroma. The dried seeds are ground to make powdered ground anise, which can lose its flavour quickly so it is best to buy seeds and grind them freshly or to buy ground anise in small quantities.

Anise is popular in savoury and  sweet dishes including Indian dishes, bread and fish recipes. Anise adds flavour to biscuits and cakes. It is also the main flavour in many drinks including Pernod, French Pastis and Greek and Turkish Ouzo.

It is probably best to dry-fry the seeds in a hot frying pan for a few minutes until the aroma is released.

This spice is widely used in Middle Eastern, Italian, Indian, German and Mexican cooking. Anise seed is used in Italian biscotti, desserts, and charcuterie.

 

A Quick Make It Up as you go along Rogan Josh

 Ingredients:

 teaspoon of Nigella seeds

 teaspoon of mustard seeds

 a sprinkle of chilli flakes or a whole chilli

 4 heaped teaspoons of paprika

 10 cardamom pods

 salt and pepper

 Quick and easy ginger paste

 Quick and easy garlic paste

 Frozen onions....a good chunk, the more the thicker the sauce

A tablespoon of turmeric

500 grams of fillet neck lamb cut into chunks

1 large soft tomato, cut and chopped

A large tablespoonful of ghee to cook with

Method

I felt lazy today and short of time to cook, so did a quick, from memory, rogan josh. I decided to use the slow cooker as I wanted to go for a short walk too. Good for the mental health during this Covid pandemic, or so they say. It looked like heavy rain, so didn't wander far, just to the postbox and back. Before I went I did this:-

Took the slow cooker internal pan onto the hob and added the ghee, then threw in the frozen onions, quickly followed by the garlic and ginger paste plus the turmeric. At this stage, it looked a little dry, so I threw in a glug of extra virgin olive oil (posh chefs wouldn't approve). Then I fried the lamb and added the paprika, salt and pepper, tomato, yoghurt, mustard and Nigella seeds, cardamom pods and some chilli flakes as the red chilli I found in the fridge had seen better days and went in the bin. I added a little hot water, no measurement, just until it looked enough liquid to cook in, and put the dish back into the slow cooker which I set on high for 4 hours but it was more than ready in two hours, so switched off. Husband made basmati rice with mushrooms, turmeric and peas and I made a sambal of cucumber, tomato, red onions, coriander, crushed cumin, lemon and extra virgin olive oil.