A ' FRESH & BREEZY' SUNNY MANILVA ON THURSDAY.

THURSDAY 7^th/ NOVEMBER 2019.

We had another nice, long, lie in this morning, it’s so very quiet without any guests in ‘ Doggy World Heaven ‘ to look after! ‘Chispa’ is in & out all the time to see us, until little ‘ Miss Bella’ is back with us next Monday/Tuesday as usual.

While we were freshening up I was listening, as usual, to the ‘ Andrew Charles Breakfast Show ‘ on “ Castle Radio fn 89.2 & Online on the WWW “ as the ‘ Music Quiz’ came on, I needed the clue this week, it was ‘ Chicory Tip ‘ with ‘ Son Of The Father ‘ – I’m the only correct answer, so far this week, so I will be in the draw, tomorrow, for the winner! Watch this space.

This morning has started bright & breezy, the sun broke through first thing and there are a few patchy clouds hanging around in the blue sky, there is a light/cool breeze blowing up/off the Mediterranean, by lunchtime it’s forecast to reach 18 degs+ - with just a small chance of the ‘ Wet-Stuff’ in the air,  overnight dropping down to 10/11 degs, - tomorrow and over the weekend it’s now looking the same, but with no threat of the wet stuff, staying dry & sunny, next week is going to be dry & settled, with sunshine and a few patchy clouds, all week hovering on the 19/20 degs mark, at night-time going down to 10/11 degs, about right for the time of the year ( jumper time!)  Watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Omelettes of Choice ‘ – two-cheese ( Mature Cheddar & Parmesan)  for Brenda and ‘ Paysanne ‘ for me ( small diced Potato, Shallots, Smoked Bacon & Green Beans) – I beat the three ‘ Campo’ Eggs- adding Salt & White pepper, my special  Omelette Pan is pre-heated and I add a dash of Vegetable Oil along with a knob of Butter, to foam, then the beaten Eggs are added, left to set for a second or two before stirring, vigorously, with a fork, then half-turning to the side, adding the Cheese/pre-cooked & warm ‘Paysanne’ filling and shaping the ‘Omelette’ over by turning the edges in, then it’s turned over/out onto a warm plate, pan to plate, tilted together, then shaped with a dish paper!  Served with finely sliced ‘ French’ Green Beans and the classic triple-cooked ‘ Pommes Bataille ‘ – small/cubed, deep-fried, Potatoes.

See below;

" Cheese "

" Paysanne  "

" Pommes Bataille " 

The ‘ Perfect’ Omelette, as I was shown by a old French ‘Chef de Cuisine’  - Paul Bruchet -back in the mid 60s, in Liverpool, as I was starting as a ‘ Commis Chef ’!

Last night on the new series of ‘Master Chef – The Professionals ‘ – the first task, shown by Marcus Wearing ( Michelin starred ) - who first worked at the ‘Savoy Hotel ‘ and had been shown by a famous ‘Chef de Cuisine’ how to make the classic  ‘ Omelette Arnold Bennett ‘ – invented in the 1920s, at the Hotel, and named after the writer & critic, a fluffy/flat four-Egg Omelette, with flaky Smoked Haddock, he used Crab Meat, coated with a homemade ‘Hollandaise’ sauce, then sprinkled with grated  ‘Emmental’ Cheese ( originally Parmesan) – before going under a hot grill, till browned and bubbling, served in the copper pan that it was made in!

See below;

After supper we will settled down to watch the next exciting and gripping episode of “ Girl/Hagi – Duty/Shame “ – catch it!

Thoughts for the Day; See above.

...

A NOW WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON FRIDAY AT THE START OF THE WEEKEND.

FRIDAY 13^th/ SEPTEMBER 2019 !

I was up very early this morning, just as well, as little ‘ Miss Bella’ arrived for her first three night sleep-over, earlier than expected, with us in Doggy World Heaven’ After a quick freshen up I shot off on my travels, down to Sabinillas, for our weekly shopping.

I first called into the main ‘Medical Centre’ to make an appointment to see our Doctor, Natalia, for a review/check up, on Monday the 23^rd September, at the same time I got an appointment for Brenda, next Friday morning, early, for her Blood Tests etc, as she has her overdue appointment at the ‘Costa Del Sol Hospital’ on the 7^th October with the ‘ Heart Consultant’!

I then called into ‘ ItZabar’ for my usual toast & tea before ‘ Mercadona’ opened, next week Kevin is away in the UK for his daughter’s wedding, so we will go to the ‘Nautilus Cafeteria Bar’ instead. ‘ Mercadona’ was back to normal after all the holiday crowds have gone home, as well as the local schools re-opening on Tuesday, I then popped along to the ‘ English Bookshop’ for the local newspapers, next I went along to the local Market, at the far end of the promenade, for our fresh flowers & wall plants, finally I stopped at the ‘ Repsol Garage’ to top up the petrol, before shooting back up the hill, through the vine fields to unload back at the house.

This morning has started a little grey & overcast, there is stiff breeze blowing, the sky is dark & cloudy, but the sun is attempting to break through, the ‘ Wet-Stuff’ is in the air, over the weekend we could be in for some moderate to heavy, much needed, ‘RAIN’ – but still hovering on the 25 degs+ mark! Higher up the coast, in the Alicante/Valencia region they have had severe rain storms and flooding!! Next week is now looking a little unsettled, with warm sunshine, at times,  reaching 27/28 degs, still overnight hovering on the 20/21 degs mark, as well as more of the ‘Wet-Stuff’ again, by next weekend, watch this space.

This afternoon we will be watching the ‘Horse Racing’ from the ‘ St Leger ‘ meeting at Doncaster, later we will catch the ‘Vuelta d’España 19’ as ‘Stage 19’ goes from Avila to Toledo, over flat 163 kms, with a sprint finish.

See below;

At lunchtime I’m going to make the old classic ‘ A La Carte Flambe ‘ dish, “ Scampi Provencale “ starting with the “ ‘Provencale Sauce’ of diced Shallots & crushed Garlic, softened in warm Vegetable Oil, then seasoned with Salt & Pepper, then de-glazed with a good White Wine ( Brenda’s!) - with a large spoon of ‘Tomato Frito’- left to cook off, before adding a ‘Plumb Tomato Concasse’ – ( dropped in hot water then iced water, skinned & de-seeded, then diced!) – then simmered, this evening I will add the ‘Scampi’ to the warm ‘Provencale Sauce’ – to cook them off, just for a few minutes, to serve on a bed of Brenda’s famous ‘Basmati Rice, with some florets of Broccoli & finally sliced ‘ French’ Green Beans.

See below;

After supper we will as usual on a Friday evening, channel hop to find a good film to watch.

“ Countdown 17 Days “

....

A WARM & SUNNY MANILVA ON SUNDAY.

SUNDAY 9^th/ JUNE 2019.

We had another nice lie in this morning, the last for the next five days, in fact Brenda left me in bed, fast asleep! ‘Lolo & Scooby’ slept all night, after freshening up Brenda took then out for their first walk of the day, they are both very good and are getting on like best mates, ‘ Scooby’ is due to collected later this afternoon, we will miss him as he’s a real little character, ‘Lolo’ is with us for another ten days!

I was on the breakfast rota so I prepared my famous ‘ Crispy Smoked Bacon Butty ‘ – on soft buttered white bread, smothered in ‘HP’ Brown sauce, for me and open on toasted brown bread for Brenda, with mugs of strong ‘ PG’ Tips Tea.

This morning the sun had broken through earlier and the sky was blue, as the clouds were blown away by the very light breeze, by lunchtime it’s going up to 27 degs+ a little cooler in the shade, with just a few patchy clouds, at times, tomorrow at the start of the week it will reach 29 degs+ - then sadly as the breeze stiffens and a new ‘Atlantic’ front blows in, bringing with it some of the ‘ wet-stuff’ – over next Wednesday/Friday,  it’s also dropping back down to 22 degs, very unseasonal for the time of the year, next weekend will be a little warmer, hovering in the mid 20s, the following week is looking hot & sunny, back to normal, watch this space.

See below a view taken last night, across the River Mersey, showing the Pier Head and Liverpool, at it’s best!

The picture below shows a view, behind the ‘Royal Liver Building’ showing the ‘Tower Building ‘ and the ‘ Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas ‘ – known locally as ‘The Sailors’ Church’ – behind it is the famous “ Atlantic Tower Hotel “ opened in 1972, it was designed to look like the prow of a ship, I tried, twice, unsuccessfully, despite making the short list of two, to become the ‘General Manager’ – back in the early 80s!

As usual I was listening to the ' Pete Black Retro Roadshow' on ' Castle Radio FM 89.2 & Online on the WWW ' as the " Movie Quiz " came on, I didn't get it the first time, but on the second listen, after a little checking on ' Google' I came up withe correct answer " House of the Haunted " with Vincent Price, from 1959! 'Lady' Brenda is in the monthly draw for the Mug! Watch this space.

For our supper this evening we are having ‘ Baked Pork Loin Steaks ‘ – seared first on a very hot griddle-plate, then topped with a ‘ Mixed Herb ‘ stuffing and baked in the oven, garnished with seared Button Mushrooms, accompanied with glazed ‘ Fuji’ Apple slices, served with glazed Carrot Batons, diamond- cut Green Beans & a little Cauliflower Florets in Cheese sauce.

Meanwhile I’m attempting to make, for the first time, in a very long time ( 55 years!) – the old classic ‘French’ dish of ‘ Pommes Anna ‘ – sliced, by hand, layered, seasoned, potatoes, cooked in a very large amount of ‘Clarified’ Butter, then fried/baked until they form a round cake, in a special ‘Cocotte’ dish ( which I don’t have!) – so I’m improvising, pressed down and turned over until the outside is golden & crisp all over! Watch this space!!



The 'Pommes Anna ' turned out nearly perfect, crisp on the outside, soft inside, with a rich Butter taste, the only slight problem was turning them out from the  improvised 'Cocotte' dish, as you can see below!  9/10 - try harder next time!! 



PS; Brenda's ' Cauliflower Mornay' in the background!

The ‘dish’ was created by the Chef ‘Adolphe Duglere’ a pupil of ‘ Careme’ – when he was the ‘Head Chef’- back in the 19^th century, of the ‘Cafe Anglais’ in Paris, the dish was named after a famous actress of the time ‘ Anna Damiens’

Yesterday evening after supper we settled down to watch this first episode of the new series of the award winning “ Killing Eve “ – it started with a sign saying ‘ 30 seconds after the stabbing’ – as Eve, the MI5 agent made her way back to London from Paris after stabbing the lady assassin ‘ Villanelle’ – to try to fix her marriage and find a new job, meanwhile ‘Villanelle’ was not dead, but badly injured and escaped, ending up in hospital, where she then killed a very injured patient in the next bed, who had helped her, by breaking his neck! She’s now on her way to London, in the boot of a family’s car, to find Eve!!

This evening after supper it’s the next episode of “ Gentleman Jack’ – will she get her wicked-way ?!

Thoughts for the Day;  See above.

...