Casa Rosales

Casa Rosales

Wednesday 28 August 2013

Summer shades...

An amazing flower on a plant bought for me by some friends. I thought it had finished flowering but a whole host of new buds have formed. 
Super spicy sun-dried tomatoes in extra virgin olive oil. Ate some this lunchtime with chickpeas and peppers...delicious!




New card toppers 
With cute ladybirds...




Green peppers in our garden

No partridge but we have a pear tree - hope it tastes as good as it looks.


What? Where has the blue sky gone? We had almost forgotten what clouds look like.
Casting a little shade of its own this morning was the weather in Andalucia.

Good job we've captured the shades of summer - golden, orange and red.
And as I snapped my way around the garden and the kitchen, who was by my side all the time?
He takes it all in, you know. 


14 comments:

  1. Is the flower a kind of hibiscus?
    Love the cards. Good way to have fun but also to add some creativity and individuality to the greetings you send.
    Also love Darwin. I don't expect he will be going free to a good home, anytime soon!
    Bet your preserves won't last long either.
    Great to read a post full of contentment x

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    1. Thank you Gaynor - I checked out on the internet and yes, my plant is a hibiscus. I didn't have a clue so grateful for suggesting what it was. It's quite stunning.
      We're having a lot of fun making cards...still no idea what we can do with them though! We have far to many to use ourselves...
      Darwin stays with me! He is always just within reach and always willing to look me in the eye, which is something not all dogs like to do.
      I have enough jam to last the winter, I think...but some will definitely be going free to a good home. I don't want summer to end but it's lovely to feel a bit cooler. I'm content with that. Axx

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  2. I love the way you have dated your preserved bits of sunshine.....as if they are going to last beyond September. Those tomatoes will be gone by the end of the week Annie, don't kid yourself. What spices did you use when you sun dried them ? I think I will have a go at that with our little tomatoes. The big ones are amazing...picking them and eating them while they are still soaked in sunshine and warmth must be the most wonderful taste in the world.
    I, too, hope summer isn't over yet, and am aware that things are slightly cooler and a little more mellow than they were 3 weeks ago in Caunes. That searing afternoon heat has not made an appearance since we were back. Everything looks lovely in your garden... I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to meeting Darwin ! Jxxx

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    1. You don't know how things can get lost in this house, Janice, hence the labels...I may well demolish at least one of those jars of tomatoes though. I used chilli flakes, oregano and basil, plus some Moroccan spice that I have in a grinder. I wish we had some bigger toms - you are quite right in describing them as 'soaked in sunshine' and they must be eaten warm.
      I hope the sunshine lasts until the end of September! Darwin is looking forward to meeting you too.
      Axxx

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  3. Lovely colours , especially the flower :-). I love the tomatoes too , so tasty . I think I will give them a go. I am not sure if our sun has gone yet , hope not. Very colourful post to cheer us up :-) x

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    1. Aren't the colours sensational! Apparently, the flower is an hibiscus. And the tomatoes are really very tasty. Not sure if you'll have quite the same result under an English sun, but you can pop them in a slow oven overnight and that dries them quite well.
      Axxx

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  4. Love the cards, very pretty. Your tomatoes look yummy and your peppers are coming on nicely. Good way to preserve the summer a little longer. I'm sure everything in your garden welcomed the rain we are having,

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    1. Thank you - we still have a lot to learn about making cards but we're having fun! I don't want summer to end just yet....and the rain hasn't arrived here but is due tomorrow.....ooh, but we've just had a power cut. Wonder if this will post? Axxx

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  5. You've been busy bottling the summer for cooler days to come - and had the good sense to put the dates on the labels! I used to forget this and the dark recesses of the larder shelves would yield pots of stuff where the content was known but the date decidedly not. As I recall mulberry chutney used to improve greatly when 'matured' for which read 'forgotten about'.

    I was amusing my self imagining Darwin with a clapperboard accompanying you as you take photographs...dog in control as always.

    It was cloudy as I left Spain on Sunday, having taken mother over to see the house and celebrate her 97th birthday, so good for travelling after a week of sunshine.

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    1. I've still got lots to make. Actually, it never occurred to me NOT to put the date on...must be my information management training emerging but I do know what it's like to find things without a date as we have been given so much by neighbours in the past!

      Darwin had, of course, neatly dropped his clapperboard in order to pose in an appealling, woman's best friend sort of way. He has an excellent eye for a photo...never lets me pass an opportunity by and goodness, do I get it in the neck when I've forgotten my camera!

      Glad you had better travelling weather than belting sunshine. Great to have your mother still with you - 97 is good going.
      Axxx

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  6. I love this photo diary of your recent summer activities, Annie. The food preservation is obviously still going on apace and yes, the librarian in me won't let me omit the date on any jar I fill. :-) I've made jam and chutney is next on the list, but I really do think card-making is also somewhere on the horizon. As for Darwin, he's a real charmer and doesn't he know it!

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    1. Thank you Perpetua. There seemed to be so much quietly going on around me that I wanted to capture it - especially the amazing colours! Tonight, we have storms and rain coming, so big changes ahead.
      Darwin is always as near to me as he can get and appears to appreciate the same things as well. He will sit and stare out ahead of him for ...oh, minutes at a time!
      I never doubted that you'd label your jars properly!!
      Axxx

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  7. Lovely Annie - especially the fig jam - or is it pickle?

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    1. It's jam, Nilly - and it's a delicious recipe. If you can get your hands on some green figs, I can certainly recommend giving it a go. Wonderful with cheese too. Axxx

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