To celebrate our silver wedding anniversary we travelled to Austria to meet up with friends at the Spielmann Hotel http://www.hotel-spielmann.com We had a wonderful week including a blessing of our marriage at the church in Lermoos (a village just across the valley from Ehrwald), a hike up the mountains and a Tyrolean concert held in the village on the day of our anniversary.

After the blessing we returned to the hotel, where Margaret and Christian Spielmann had arranged for cake and champagne to be served. We sat enjoying the celebration and our friends made some lovely speeches to celebrate twenty five years of marriage.

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The concert at the village hall was excellent, Lizzie made another new friend, Abi danced on the table and everyone had too much wine.

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The following day we went on the hike – on one of the wettest days we’ve ever experienced in the mountains. We drove to the meeting point just outside Garmisch and waited for everyone to don their hiking boots and weatherproofs. Lizzie had brought her dainty suede sandals and a lipstick! Christian was astonished when he saw her “climbing” shoes and rummaged in his rucksack and produced a pair of hiking boots (one of the many spare pairs he carried for occasions such as this). Lizzie donned the shoes, checked her lipstick and we were off.

The first stage was easy, up on the cable car and then a fairly gentle start to our hike. From then on it became much steeper. Crossing rivers, wading through streams that snaked in and out of caves and all the time climbing higher and higher. We were absolutely soaked and cold but we have never laughed so much and the scenery was breathtaking (once the fog lifted!).

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We reached the Almhutte at the top of the peak and were glad to get into the warm and take our wet coats off. We had various drinks, including beers, schnapps and hot chocolate with rum. We ate Wurst (German sausage) with mustard and brown bread, followed by Kaiserschmerrn – a delicious pancake-type pudding served with sugar and apple sauce, named after the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph who loved this dessert (see recipe). After the food and drinks, we were ready to tackle the descent. Christian put Abi on his shoulders and climbed down the mountain ahead of us. We finally reached the bottom and were glad to get into our cars and head back to the hotel for a hot bath and another great evening at Spielmanns.

RECIPE FOR KAISERSCHMERRN

130g plain flour

240 ml milk

3 eggs

60gm butter, melted

2 tbs icing sugar

Raisins soaked in rum (optional)

Sunflower oil for cooking

Put the flour, milk, eggs, melted butter and a pinch of salt in a bowl and whisk thoroughly into a thick batter.

Heat the oil in a pan (use a hob to table pan if you have one). Add the batter (and the rum soaked raisins if you wish) and let the mixture cook until the bottom is brown. Flick the pancake if you’re brave, if not use a plate to turn it out and replace it in the pan for another few minutes until that side is brown too. Once the pancake is cooked through, chop it into small pieces in the pan. Sprinkle the icing sugar all over and serve with either apple sauce or jam. Blackberry or damson jam is good with this dish.

Please send photos of any recipes you try and I will post them on the blog. Guten Appetit!

Today we leave Denmark and drive through Germany to Austria. We have visited this country for many years and took Abi when she was just was nine months old. She started skiing when she was three and still loves to visit Austria.

As we drive down from Munich, the scenery becomes more and more spectacular. We cross the border at Garmisch-Partenkirchen and soon reach the delightful Tyrolean village of Ehrwald, which sits in the valley surrounded by the Wetterstein mountain range. This range runs from Germany into Austria and the summits can be reached by cable car, hiking or ski lift, depending on the season. The Zugspitze mountain is the background to Ehrwald and the views are stunning from the Spielmann Hotel http://www.hotel-spielmann.com

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We book into the hotel and are greeted by Margaret and Christina. They have a new addition – Christina’s daughter Laura, the next generation of Spielmann in Ehrwald. On our first visit, Laura’s great grandfather, Papa Spielmann, welcomed us. Two generations on, it is Christina, his granddaughter, who now runs the hotel, along with her mother, father and brother, Margaret, Christian and Andreas.

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Lizzie often joins us in Austria and we’ve spent many a night in the Spielmann dining room, enjoying the wine and the music played by Papa Spielmann, Christian and Englebert. Barbara serves us in the restaurant and has worked there since Abi was a baby.

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This is one of our favourite lunchtime dishes in Austria, sometimes served with Wurst (sausages). We also like it with fried eggs.

RECIPE FOR SPECK-KARTOFFEL (potatoes with bacon)

500gm floury potatoes (King Edwards or similar) peeled and cut into quarters

4 Rashers smoked bacon cut into 3cm strips or smoked lardons

1 medium onion chopped

Sunflower oil for frying

Boil the potatoes in salted water and cut into 3cm cubes.

Fry the onion in the oil until cooked, then add the bacon and continue to cook until the bacon is crispy. Remove both and add potatoes to the oil. Cook these until browned. Put the onion and bacon back into the pan, mix and place in a warm serving dish. Fry a couple of eggs and put them on top – serve with brown or tomato sauce.

Today we are spending some time with Henrik and Gitte at the summer house. We reminisce about the time we lived in Jeddah. The boys are both good at anything to do with gadgets or engineering so when we lived in the Middle East, Henrik and Ed would spend the evening puzzling over a new piece of technology or trying to mend an old piece of equipment or discussing new cars. One time Ed taught them cribbage and made them a crib board which they still use. At the end of each month in Jeddah, there wasn’t much left in the fridge, and it was invariably chicken, so Gitte and I would have a drink and discuss some new way of cooking poultry. She is an excellent cook and when we stay with them, she bakes fresh bread or rolls every day.

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Tonight in the summer house, history repeats itself and the boys sit out on the terrace, discussing a new project or a car they both like and Gitte and I drink some good wine whilst discussing recipes and preparing the food. We’ve had a wonderful day down at the beach and walking around this beautiful area. Soon the meal is ready so we bag up and sit down to enjoy another fabulous meal in Denmark.

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GITTE’S CHILLI CRAB 🦀

Crab claws

Peanut oil (use sunflower if you are allergic to nuts)

3cm piece of fresh ginger chopped finely

3 garlic cloves chopped finely

3 fresh chillies chopped finely

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp vinegar

1tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup sweet chilli sauce

8 tbsp tomato sauce

1 cup water

Heat the oil and stir the claws until the colour changes. Remove from the saucepan.

Now add ginger, garlic and chillies to the pan and fry for a few minutes. Add soy sauce and vinegar, then put claws back in. Stir fry for another 3 to 5 minutes. Add the salt, sugar, chilli sauce, tomato sauce and water. Put the lid back on and cook for further 5 minutes.

Eat them – to do this you need to wear either a good apron or a plastic bag because to really enjoy the meal you have to use your fingers and the sauce goes everywhere!! Yum

God Appetit

We drive over in the rain to visit Henrik’s cousin Yens and as we arrive we are treated to a demonstration of his new lawn mower, which is a little robot that continually trims the grass. After a short while, the rain stops and we sit out in the garden, watching the robot lawnmower at work, whilst we eat the feast that Yens has prepared for us

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The meal consists of home made gravlax, (Gravad Lax meaning buried salmon) steamed mussels and smoked fish with egg. Beer and wine obviously. We spend a great day with Yens and Lisbet.

On a previous trip to Denmark with my sister Dot, Yens cooked us the most delicious pork dish and we have used his recipe ever since (see below). It was one of the funniest trips we’ve ever been on. We stayed in Copenhagen with Henrik’s brother and slept in a basement bedroom. It was very dark down there and as we opened the door, we were greeted with a full size male puppet with a huge beard. My sister and I nearly had a fit and never forgot that cellar. We did a lot of shopping in Copenhagen, including a 4ft candle holder, two metal chickens for egg storage, various bottles of drink and a huge suitcase, all carried on as hand luggage. Another time, we drove up to Sweden to visit the Orrefors glass factory and purchased some beautiful glass. We also took these on as hand luggage, weighing 40kilos! Those were the days.

We leave Yens and drive to Copenhagen, taking the ferry. We will be staying at Simon’s flat (Gitte and Henrik’s son) and they will stay at their daughter Marie’s flat. Both flats are lovely. Simon has completely transformed his place to a bright modern space filled with 1960s furniture. Marie’s flat is in the most lovely block, looking down on a huge recreational area. Town planning in Denmark is incredibly well thought out.

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RECIPE FOR YENS’ PORK DISH

1 pork fillet

125g Danish bacon (Danish obviously – but any good smoked bacon will do!)

2 cloves of garlic chopped finely

Juice of a lemon

2 tbsp Olive oil

500gm cream

1kg mashed potatoes, made with butter and milk

Marinade the fillet in the olive oil, lemon juice and chopped garlic for 2-3 hours or overnight. Keep the marinade.

Take the pork fillet out of the marinade and brown in a frying pan for 5 to 10 minutes and then put it in the oven for 15 minutes at 180ºC Fan. Reserve the meat juices.

Make the sauce up using the meat juices, some of the marinade, lemon juice and cream. Heat through thoroughly and add salt and pepper.

Chop the bacon into small pieces and fry until crispy and leave aside.

Take the pork out of the oven, make sure it is cooked through. Slice into medallions and arrange on a plate. Pour the sauce over and garnish with the crispy bacon. Serve with the creamy mashed potatoes.

God Apetit

We have known Henrik and Gitte since the 1980s, when we lived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. I met Gitte at the local medical centre where she was a nurse and we have been friends ever since. They live in Silkeborg in Denmark and have a summer house on the coast in Bonnerup Strand.

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In Bonnerup there is the most marvellous market on the harbour, selling the freshest fish you could ever wish for. Every day at the summer house, we love to walk down to the harbour and choose something for the evening meal. The market also make their own hot fish cakes, and at lunchtime, we sit outside eating them with a beer and Gitte’s homemade bread.

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The market has a restaurant and we have eaten there on several occasions. The cold fish platter is lovely (see recipe below).

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One of our favourite dishes is Gitte’s Chilli Crab and she has promised to send me the recipe. It is delicious but incredibly messy to eat. Recipe and photos to follow!

RECIPE FOR DANISH SEAFOOD PLATTER

Peeled prawns

Crayfish

Herrings (Ikea do the best but most supermarkets sell herrings in jars in various sauces)

Smoked salmon

Brown bread

Mayonnaise

Simply put all the ingredients together on a plate with a mixed salad and strips of cucumber. Serve with brown bread and a crisp white wine.

God Appetit

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For Ed’s birthday I have organised a weekend at the Spanish Grand Prix. The circuit is only about an hour from Empuria so we set off early in the Corvette. The roof is off and we drive along the Mediterranean coast playing Down the Road Apiece by the Stones and Willie Nelson’s On The Road Again – such great travelling songs.

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The Friday of the Grand Prix weekend is usually a quieter day and when we arrive the parking is relatively easy. We check over the huge team lorries. These lorries contain all the cars and equipment needed for the Grand Prix races and we’ve often seen them driving up and down the motorways of Europe.

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We have a tour of the pits and see Lewis Hamilton, Vettel and Rosberg. We walk along some of the track and check out our seats up on the stand, near the starting line. We stop for something to eat and drink in the vast food village that offers every kind of meal. Spanish, French, Mexican, English, Chinese and American to name a few. After a long hot day, we drive back to Empuria for a quiet evening.

On Saturday we drive back and watch the qualifying rounds. Trackside is the noisiest place on earth and we need earplugs to drown out the roar. We sit up in the stands with a great view, watching as Hamilton and Vettel vie for pole position. Another fascinating day for us petrol heads.

Sunday we leave Empuria early and arrive in time to get a good parking space. We’ve brought a picnic today as the food stalls will be extremely busy. We watch as the paparazzi surround the drivers. Then the celebrities arrive in their private helicopters and are shown to their hospitality suites above the pits. We spot David Coulthard and a few other ex drivers, who are commentating on the race.

We wait for the lights to go green and suddenly the cars are off with an unbelievable roar. Hamilton and Rosberg are neck and neck as they round the third bend of the first lap, they suddenly smack into each other and take each other’s cars out. We can’t believe that they’re out on the first lap. The cars have to be lifted from the track so the safety car comes out and slows all the drivers down. We stare in disbelief as Hamilton and Rosberg do the walk of shame and head back to the pits. Eventually the track is cleared and the race continues. The Dutch driver Max Verstappen wins the race – the first Grand Prix win of this young man’s career (he’s 18).

We watch the presentations and then the ubiquitous champagne shower over the spectators. We race back to the car to get away on the road to Empuria before the whole area becomes gridlocked. A fabulous weekend and one we won’t forget.

We’re too tired to eat out tonight, so pick up a rotisserie chicken from the supermercado and sit out on the balcony, watching the boats sail past on their way in and out of the port.

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On Tuesday, we drive up the coast to Santa Margarita and have lunch in a seafront restaurant. I choose a seafood pizza with salad (see recipe)

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SEAFOOD PIZZA RECIPE

2 tortilla wraps (tortilla in Spanish means small cake)

Olive oil

Selection of cooked seafood – prawns, scallops and smoked salmon (I cook the prawns and scallops in garlic butter and add the smoked salmon for a few minutes before serving)

Artichoke hearts cut in half

Pesto sauce

Brush the tortillas with oil and put in a hot oven (200ºC) for 5 to 10 minutes until they are crisp

Remove from the oven and spread the pesto sauce over the base. Add the seafood and artichoke hearts. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with parsley

Serve with salad

Buen apetito

A few summers ago, we drove down to France with Joe and Jan to stay at our house in Chalabre and celebrate Jan’s birthday. We arrived mid afternoon and opened up the house. We emptied the food bags in the kitchen and the boys checked upstairs, opening up all the shutters. After a short time they came down to the kitchen and I asked if all was OK upstairs. Ed replied that yes, all was fine apart from a slight problem with Bees. We followed him up the stairs to the hallway and looked around – it seemed very dark. I looked up at the window and nearly had a fit – there was the biggest collection of bees I’ve ever seen. It was like a black lace curtain filling the window.

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I immediately called our great friend, Pierre – he’s the best person to help with any sort of problem. He went in search of the local Bee Man in Camon. Meanwhile, I ran over to the Hotel De France and spoke to Didier. He then phoned his Bee Man from Chalabre (Jean).

“How many bees Madame do you think there is? Said Jean

“About a thousand?” I said, guessing.

“That’s nothing Madame, but I’ll come and have a look tomorrow”.

I went back to the house and Pierre’s Bee Man was already there. He took one look and said there was actually 25,000 bees and we could happily leave them there until next spring (months away!!!) and they will fly off. Not a chance I thought to myself.

We left the window and the shutter closed all night and taped up any cracks. I didn’t sleep much. Next morning, the nest had grown by 20cm!! I called Jean and asked him to remove the bees ASAP. He arrived around 10am, dressed in appropriate gear. He told us to wait downstairs in the kitchen. He proceeded to smoke the bees out and put them in a great big container with the queen. When he’d finished, we slowly ascended the stairs. Jean was now dressed in just a T shirt and jeans with the remaining couple of hundred bees flying around him. As I reached the door, the bees decided to welcome me, swarming everywhere – I went out the front door with bees surrounding my head, running up the street, screeching with every new sting I received. They also loved Ed’s beard, so he was stung too. Jean thought it was hilarious and told us that the bees love clean hair!!! After the bees had been removed, and safely installed in one of Jean’s orchard beehives, it took us another week to clean the windows and shutters of all the beeswax that had caked everything.

After all the drama with the bees, we finally start celebrating Jan’s birthday with a drink and cake at home before we went to Oliviers restaurant. The cake was a lovely lemon torte from our local patisserie – a sharp delicious gateaux.

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In the evening we head to Mirepoix and Llobets Restaurant. Benedicte cooks the most delicious Frogs Legs with garlic in the pan. She always sends me out a dish of fresh spinach, picked from her own garden. This is lovely with a pat of butter (see recipe).

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RECIPE FOR SIMPLE SPINACH

Fresh spinach

Butter and garlic

Wash the spinach well and put in a sauce pan. Turn the pan on for a few minutes until the spinach is wilted. Squeeze as much as the water out as you can (Ed’s grandmother used a Potato Ricer for this). Put the spinach in a dish, add butter, finely chopped garlic and a sprinkle of nutmeg. This is one of the most delicious, simplest dish ever and I eat it every time I’m at Oliviers – yum. If you wish, you can poach a couple of eggs and put them on top with some grated emmental. Also delicious.

Lizzie is a good friend of ours and we worked together many years ago. We are godparents to each other’s daughters and have spent many really great holidays together. She is an accomplished artist, who has her own exhibitions from time to time in Wales, where she lives. This evening we take her to Philippe’s Bar for a meal and we sit and discuss the coming week. She is particularly interested to see Dali’s museum so we book up for a return visit.

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We have an early breakfast at Montserrat supermarket of coffee and croissants and leave for Figueres. Every time we go back to Dali’s spectacular theatre, we see something new. Today we discover more paintings and Installation Art that we didn’t have time to see before.

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Dali’s painting of Gala (his wife) seen from both the back of the artist as he paints, and from the back of Gala, with both reflected in the mirror. Painting measures 60cm X 60cm painted in 1973.

Figure seen from the back painted in temper and oil on cardboard measuring 74.5cm x 53cm painted in 1925

As you walk up the stairs, you disappear into the mouth of the figure at the top.

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We spend several hours in the museum and then drive back to Empuria where we sit by the water, having a drink. Joe and Jan will join us tonight and we decide to eat at La Tagliatelle, a great Italian restaurant in Empuria.

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It’s difficult to choose from their great menu so we order several dishes and share them between us.

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RECIPE FOR SEAFOOD SALAD

Assortment of lettuce, I use a combination of red and green lettuces, such as lollo rosso, baby gem and frisee, mixed with lambs tongue, rocket and watercress. You can buy a mixed bag of lettuce which contains most of these.

Smoked salmon

Fresh prawns (some peeled and others au natural)

Crab pate (see recipe)

Sun dried tomatoes

Put the mixture of lettuces on a large plate, along with the sun dried tomatoes. Use a good dressing, such as olive oil, mustard and sweet vinegar (Marc de champagne or similar).

Add the smoked salmon pieces (bite size), prawns and crab pate

Serve as a starter or main course. I usually make a salad for around 6 people and let them help themselves.

CRAB PATE

This will serve 6 on the salad

2 X 145gm tins of dressed crab meat (mixture of brown and white crab) OR 2 Cromer crabs if you can get them. Most supermarkets sell tinned crab. If you can’t get crab, use tinned salmon or tuna.

1 tbsp Creme fraiche

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1tbsp Chopped Chives

1 tsp tomato sauce

Pinch of chilli

Salt and pepper

Drain the crabmeat and remove any liquid with kitchen roll

Add the creme fraiche, mayo, tomato sauce and chives to the crab meat. Mix all together and add the chilli. Season with salt and pepper.

Form the mixture into small quenelles (use two teaspoons to shape these).

Place them in the fridge for a couple of hours to chill.

Serve on top of the salad or with toasted sourdough bread.

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Buen apetito

After lunch we drive back to Empuria and are delighted that Didier and Marielle will join us for a few days. They work really hard at their hotel and don’t often take a break, so it will be great to spend time with them. They arrive soon after us and that night we go out to eat at Capitans. Marielle had a huge paraillade of fish, Ed’s choice was steak tartare and Didier had an enormous plate of calves liver, bacon and Rosti. I went for Lobster (chosen by Ali!) fresh from the tank. We love the atmosphere of this place and the waiters entertained us later with a few songs.

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After the meal we walk down to the seafront. There is a night market with all sorts of goodies to buy. Marielle and I disappear to look at the shoes and handbags and Didier and Ed head to the watch man. None of us come back empty handed!

Next day we have a swim in the pool after breakfast and then walk down to Montserrat supermercado for lunch. For a supermarket they have an excellent menu with a wide choice of meat and fish and vegetarian. Ed and I are still full up from last night’s meal but Marielle and Didier in true French fashion, manage another huge feast.

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Didier’s platter of ham with tomato bread is a common dish in Spain and is very often served with cheese. This is easy to prepare and is a great sharing dish to serve at home (see recipe).

The lunch takes a few hours by which time we all need a rest. We head back to the villa and sit by the pool with a cold drink, watching the skydivers jump from the ‘plane that flys over Empuria every hour. This is a jump too far for us but it is incredibly popular with the tourists who flock to Empuria in the summer season. We ask Marielle if she would like to try the experience, but she has never been on a ‘plane, let alone one she would have to jump out of!

They drive back to France the next day and it was a pleasure to see them.

RECIPE FOR PAN CON TOMATE

This will serve around 6 to 8 people as a tapas dish

2 large beefsteak tomatoes or 4 large on the vine tomatoes (use ripe, good quality tomatoes).

Crusty loaf – sourdough if possible as this soaks up the juices. If not a good baguette will work.

Olive oil

Maldon sea salt

2 cloves of garlic cut in half

Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally. Using the bigger hole on the grater, run the open halves up and down into a bowl, until all the pulp is removed. Discard the skin and core.

Cut the bread into thick slices (or cut baguette lengthways and then into pieces about 10cm long) and place on an oven tray. Rub the cut garlic along the bread. Drizzle olive oil over each slice and sprinkle sea salt on top. Put the bread under the grill for 4-5 minutes until it is slightly charred around the edges. BUT KEEP AND EYE ON IT as it can burn very quickly!

Remove the bread from the oven, spread the tomato pulp over the slices, drizzle with a little more olive oil and serve with ham and/or cheese. If you can get it, the Spanish Iberico ham is wonderful but Serrano or Parma ham is just as good. I use thinly sliced Manchego cheese which works wonderfully with the bread and ham.

The Spanish serve the dish on a special layered plate which looks lovely. I use an old fashioned three-tiered cake stand of my mothers which looks just as good and impresses my guests when it is presented.

buen apetito!