A VERY HOT & SUNNY MANILVA ON WEDNESDAY;

WEDNESDAY 27^th/ MAY 2015

Well I awoke this morning to a little surprise, no Brenda or ‘Charlie’?! He had nudged her first and so she got up and took him for his first walk of the day and left fast me fast asleep with my head buried in the pillow!! She choose the right morning as it was already warm and sunny! It’s going to be a hot one today and by lunchtime it will be reaching 28/29degs – the forecast for the rest of the week and over the weekend is for more of the same down here on the ‘Costa De Sol’ in sunny Manilva.

After breakfast I prepared this evenings supper, the classic dish from the 70s - “Chicken Kiev” – to my own version of the classic recipe, routed in time with all sorts of stories from where it originated from! I made the Garlic Butter yesterday and popped it in the deep freeze over night, using un-salted Butter, crushed Garlic cloves (most important) using a Garlic crusher, finely chopped Parsley with a little seasoning.

This morning a cut the Chicken Breast down the middle of the back and formed a pocket, then I filled the envelope with the chilled Garlic Butter and wait for it – crispy Smoked Bacon snippets! – I know but it works! Then the Chicken Breast is tossed in seasoned flour, dipped in ‘Campo’ Egg wash and then coated with local fresh breadcrumbs and gently patted down, then back in fridge to chill.

This evening I will gently fry them in shallow Vegetable Oil before placing them on a baking tray, after drying them on kitchen paper, to finish off cooking in the oven over a medium heat until they are cooked & golden Brown! We are having them served on a pool of my Tomato Salsa with finely sliced Green Bean, sautéed Mushrooms and thick-cut slices of Baked Potato dry sautéed .See below;

In the old days I used to make a big thing of serving them by giving the usual warning and then placing/tying a large napkin round the guest!! Watch out Brenda!!

At lunchtime we will go for a nice walk with ‘Charlie & Chispa’ - who has just come calling. ‘Charlie’ is very good and lets us know straight away when he needs to go out by barking and nudging us before standing at the front door! 

We bumped into our handyman while we were out , I had rung this morning to organise him to come and entstall the new Gas Boiler,Extraction Hood & Gas Hob in the small back kitchen - he's going to call in the next two weeks!Watch this space.

Now for a little plea to all our family & friends all over the world; please don’t forget to send us a postcard when you are away, or even at home, as we love receiving them, it’s such a nice surprise to find them in the postbox! They go up on my pin boards in the office and by return post you receive one back from sunny Manilva! Oh and yes you also get an honorable mention on the Blog!! See the pin boards below;

Today over in Italy the ‘Giro d’Italia is in the lake district in Northern Italy and finishes in the town of Lugano in the Southern part of the Italian speaking part of Switzerland, on the banks of Lake Lugano between the two most famous and spectacular lakes of Lake Maggiore (my favorite) &  Lake Como; Lugano is known as the ‘ ‘Monte Carlo’ of Switzerland and is at the bottom of the Southern Alps blow the famous ‘Monte Ceneri Pass’    See the picture below.

This evening after our supper, I can smell the aromas of the Garlic now, we can’t wait, we will find something to watch after channel hopping.

                                           We are also on the " Seafood Diet "  - We 'See' food & 'Eat' it !!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

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