Pauly the butcher

So after a lovely summer on Gozo cooking lovely vegan food for all those healthy yogis, i turn bushy tail and head down a different route. November has found me in north Devon, on a 10 acre small holding in a small valley. Surrounded by farms and fields, rivers and streams, buzzards and starlings, there is a pedigree pig farm. It's only small, with 32 pigs, ranging from very cute little piglets, up to Gerry, nick named one-shot Gerry, who has put even the most barren of sows 'in-pig'. He's a big boy, as long as a cow and high as my hip, little tusks growing by his chops, he's soft as can be, but i wouldn't turn my back on him...
the pigs are Gloucesterchire Old Spot piggles, they are a rare breed, and on this farm there are two rare bloodlines, a male line Gerald, and a female called Primrose, so not only is the farm about producing meat, they are keeping alive a rare bloodline in this rare pedigree pig. Feeding them in the morning has fallen to me, which is mostly a pleasure, this morning in particular, i began just as the sun first crept up over the far hill, and the warmth grew as i fed and watered these lovely little piggles. They are a breed that is easy to over feed, and if they over feed, there will be too much fat, and too much fat doesn't make good joints, sausages nor bacon.
Along with learning the art of keeping rare breed pigs, i have also got to learn some butchery skills. When i arrived they had just picked up Dahlia from the abbatoir, and on monday i spent the day in their on site butchery listening to rock music and doing that what butchers do.
I learned where the bacon and chops come from (same place), the joints, the hams, hocks, tenderloin, belly. The knife skills were particular but easy to get the hang of, a big knife, a little knife, and a saw. It wasn't as gruesome as i had once imagined, and i thoroughly enjoyed learning how to cut her up into the different joints.
All the bones, once the majority of meat is taken off, is put in a bag for a husky rescue farm, proper recycling!
Tuesday brought sausage making, making batches of 5kg, we made traditional, apple and scrumpy, and my favourite, the christmas sausage, port and cranberry. I learned the art of 'linking' sausages, and although it wasn't that difficult, i was exceedingly proud of how good they looked, hanging up in the chiller.
Supper that night was the misfit sausages, and the port and cranberry were the winners, they also make maple cured bacon, and i'm hoping to get some maple cured streaky, with port and cranberry mini chipolatas, and make the best pigs-in-blankets ever!
The taste of the rare breed pork is without doubt superior to your everyday pig, which are kept inside, stuffed full of growth hormones, fed too much wheat to make them grow bigger. I hadn't ever really thought how different varieties of pig would taste different, this added to the outdoor hand rearing doesn't even compare. It makes me think what a ruby red t-bone steak would taste like, or what variety of sheep is the tastiest.
My time here has answered lots of questions about pig farming, but for every answer, i now have another 5.
I feel like i've tasted lots of ingredients, all of which i enjoy, but with only one meal to make, i need to decide how to combine those that i love...

Where are your nuts?

Well it's been ages since i last did this... it's coming up to the end of september, i'm 29 now, and the weather has finally turned... We've just had two days of storms in Gozo, and houses here are not made for the rain.. it gets in everywhere.. i'm glad i dont own the house i live in at the moment, i dont think it'll last 20 years...
My only complaint of Gozo arrived yesterday.. after the rain it sent hundreds of hard backed centipedes crawling up the walls of the apartment, and through the entranceway.. my skin was crawling everytime i went through....
So since july, i have settled into life here very well. S came here for 5 weeks, and we spent the time, eating and drinking, swimming and sunbathing. We visited every beach, and as many restuarants as bellies would allow.
We visited Malta on two occasions, staying at the grand harbour hotel, pretty cheap (50e for a double), the rom looked over the grand harbour, as the name suggests, and we woke to watch the massive boats and cruise ships sail slowly by. Valetta is a great city, very underestimated, lots of nice restaurants, beautiful buildings, and amazing views.
We also visited Sicily, went to Siracusa, Palermo, Trapani, and a few small places in between. Trapani was lovely, the old town especially, and we were there on a festa night, lots of people on parade. Siracusa was lovely, romantic, old, and lively. Palermo is a bit dodgy..certain quarters are rich with boats, and only white folk. others are dirty, full of scary looking bars, and no white people whatsoever, there's a huge segregation, there's one end of a road, the train station, tramps, beggars, gypsies, and the other end, Louis Vitton and Prada shops..
Recently returned from France for Ben and Dani's wedding in st Tropez, it was lovely, a great weekend, great to see everyone, and enjoyed my speech, not as much as Pete, who stole the stage with his hyperbolic speech, creating a caricature of ben that left everyone in the place (to use kid speak) rofl-ing.
After the wedding Sand I went on a camping trip to the lac du St Croix and the gorges du verdon of my childhood. Again we ate our way through provence, most memorably being a blue steak in Moustiers St Marie, we had a great time. Our last night camping we camped on a virutally empty campsite, our plot being on the outer bank of a river, waking up to the sound of the river, with the sun rising on the gorge walls behind it, was breathtaking.
Since then, i have been back on Gozo, have begun fishing, not sure whether i am doing it right, haven't caught anything yet, but it's lovely to stand by the sea for a few hours at sunset. I'll take a photo if i catch anything!
I am currently trying to decide what to do with my life in november, i finish here on the 5th, and I am looking for a job for the winter, one that i can earn lots of money, and maybe go for a month long trip in jan... should be easy to find hey...S left on tuesday to go to Vietnam, and so begins her 8 month trip..
So begins my collating of nuts to see me through winter, where are your nuts?

roasted squirrel

no, this is not a local gozitan delicacy, this is me. Roasted.
having said that, i am enjoying myself, i am sitting by the pool of the resort where i work, there aren't many people around, there is a breeze today.... but it's only july, august is yet to come...
if anyone is thinking of visiting Gozo, do it later, october sounds perfect, july is hot.
and it's relatively busy too.. although being on the far west of the island we are furthest away from the ferry, so day trippers rarely venture this far... although it'sonly 8 miles long...
so today is the last day of the first retreat here, it went well, i cooked up some lovely dishes with lots of yummy local vegetables! i'm yet to try the rabbit, which is a local delicacy...
this morning was aubergine and rocket omelette, delicious, even if i do say so myself..
with a red cabbage and sweetcorn salad...
the fruit here is delicious too, oranges especially..
mr saucy squirrel bought himself a straw hat yesterday, he looks very much the man from del monte...
he bought it (it's easier in third person...) to go on a kayaking trip, where we paddled about 6 km, over to comino (between malta and gozo) and visited the very busy blue lagoon, then went round the corner and found it as beautiful, yet no-one there...
mr saucy squirrel has rekindled his fire to buy a yacht (boat) he likes the look of the lifestyle...
as for the aquatic world of rodents, he is swimming well under water, chased some fish yesterday, not sure whether anyone has ever taught him how to use fins.... do you use your ankles or your calves or your thighs???
anyway with a pair of fins on mr saucy squirrel is flying through the sub aquatic world like a sting ray on heat, gliding up gulleys, veeriong down valleys, and generally get to grips with all things aqua....
the local cheese is lovely, a fresh sheep's cheese, and i'm looking forward to trying their local bacon..
next stop for mr squirrel is mrs jemimah pine marten, who is coming to visit him very very soon...
got lent a car yesterday for a little while, next episode, mr saucy squirrel gets motoring, really motoring...

mr saucy squirrel goes to the woods

so in the last three months, mr saucy squirrel has been back to his roots, to his acorn store over yonder, and he has had fun. he (i) have been living and working in a place called clissett wood in herefordshire, where i have been learning the art of green wood working. I have been cooking for this course, and so i get to do the course for free! So far i have made a lovely heart shaped coffee table for S (ahhhh), a few dibbers, a few spoons, some legs for a chunky bench for step ma's new allotment, and a ladderback chair! the ladderback was the most fun, it's very curvy, and i felled an elm tree, stripped off the bark and wove a seat for it. Very very satisfying. The place i was residing at was www.greenwoodwork.co.uk 
Well it seems italic is stuck on.. mmmm...
Since i left italy, i have mostly been in the aforementioned woods, i have also spent a lot of time with my beautiful niece sophie, some quality time with my lovely nephew finley, and nowhere near enough time with my other lovely niece imogen. I have also seen the older members of my family- but they are not as engaging, not as easily pleased by my lame jokes and silly faces.
If you are ever in london, go to 150 hoxton street, cooke's i think it's called. It's a traditional pie and mash shop, if you go, get the liqua! and then cut open pie, add chilli vinegar, and eat!
Food wise i went to a lovely lovely restaurant in North Wales, near Abergele, it was very delicious, we shared a wood pigeon and a chicken and ham terrine for starters, then we shared (ish) a monkfish dish, and roast duck, then for pudding we shared (not even ish) blackcurrant bakewell tart with tonka berry ice cream (very special).
Mr saucy squirrel is to be fleeing the hot summer of our coerced in unitedness kingdom, and heading to the isle of Gozo, 8 miles long 4 miles wide, with 22 churches. Cooking for a yoga retreat, which is every other week, Mr Saucy Squirrel is going aquatic...

nearing the finish...

Well i am in my final week in florence, i wake up today to find a full on thunder storm happening in the garden, (and elsewhere..) but at least my clothes are getting a double washing..
as you might imagine i am making this week as near a perfect gastronomical treat as i can manage, i had one of my favourite sandwiches for lunch, a mini baguette with prosciutto and buratta (a creamy mozzarella like cheese), sausage pasta for dinner, and many more treats to come this week, including the special apple cake, many porchetta panini, and gnocchi with peposa (peppered steak in a red wine sauce..)

So over the last few weeks i have had some culinary delights, most recently we went to Perseus on saturday, where we had the famous bistecca fiorentine, a massive nearly 2-inch t-bone steak, which is a feast for any mortal...
the night before we had dinner cooked by the neighbours, they cooked roman food, with four cheese risotto, (should be crunchy apparently) and then many nibbles including my favourite, deep fried mozzarella stuffed courgette flowers... very special , followed by cheese, and then my recent speciality- lemon meringue pie..

The weekend before we went to Roma for a long weekend, stayed in a very fancy hotel, and ate like Romans! i was particularly enamoured with the Trevi fountain, and a place called Nemi in the hills, where i ate hare stew, wild strawberry tiramisu, and found my new favourite snack, spicy pork jerky...

The weekend before that was a real gluttonous experience... (compared to the rest of time...) we went to a festival called Pitti Taste. You pay 12euros to get in, 5euros as a deposit for a wine glass, and then walk around the 150 odd stalls and taste the food. You cant buy anything there, there's a shop at the end where you can, it's all about the tasting, we tasted everything, 6 hours of prosciutto and parma, tiramisu and tagliatelle, pecorino and prosecco, beer and biscotti, the list is endless, as was the food. There were chocolates, biscuits, cakes, sweets, every possible meat and drink imaginable... We only just managed to get out alive, one of the strangest things i tried was 20 year old balsamic vinegar with molasses in...

Further back, i am afraid has been relegated to a different part of my brain that is for thbe moment inaccessible...
Apart from eating i have been visiting things, saw the magnificent David, and realised for the first time, that it is David of david and goliath fame... whoops...also saw the birth of venus and the primavera, by Botticelli, both pretty beautiful paintings..

I also got a new laptop, a mini one, on which i am currently writing, it's amazing, i took off all the useless programs, and made the graphics really basic, and it works as well as any other laptop.. It was only £200!

I am currently packing, i have to move out of my room on wednesday, and i am slowly realising quite how much stuff i have... Ooh pancake day, i hope everyone else had plenty, i made the best pancakes i have ever tasted... and i have kept my modesty intact too..

Febluary?

So christmas is really over... it may have been over for all of you for a long  time, but i recieved my last present just a week ago, and today i finally took the 4m monster down.. the pile of needles reached my knee, and it took 4 trips to the recycling bin to clear it.. and now there is a big space, that will soon be replaced by the huge, but thankfully, un-tv like tv. It shows neither terrestrial, nor plays videos, it does play dvd's but there are only 6 in the house, so it rarely goes on, it just sits in the corner like a relic, as everyone bounces, banters and blogs on their laptops...

Spring has shown its head a few times this week, we've had some barmy sunny days, but interspersed with chilly winds that keep you on your toes.
My last present was from Graham, and it was the Fry chronicles by stephen fry, a lovely book, full of at least 5 words a page i've had to look up, he calls himself fatuous and says he likes to lucubrate, i know now what he means...
I have been baking a lot of cookies recently, the pinnacle of which were brandy cherry and toasted hazelnut cookies, a full batch is about 40 or so, and i managed to get them to last 4 days, which i was impressed with.
Especially delicious with a spreading of blackcurrant jam on...mmmmm.

I may have a job for the summer on the beautiful maltese island of Gozo cooking for yoga retreats throughout the summer, which looks incredible, it has the oldest known man made structures on the island, and is a great place for diving and general water merriment. watch this space, it may become a what food i have dived for today blog...

Apart from this life is pottering along nicely, i have taken up coffee again with a vengeance, i am loving each morning a jam filled brioche with a machiato, an espresso with a bit of frothy milk on top. Being english we obviously dont have it quite as espresso as the italians, but we're still there only ten minutes (compared to an italian's 45 seconds..) We're the loiterers..

Dancing classes are great, been bumped up to the advanced class.. which is more fun, but more energetic, and makes me realise i am not as fit as i could be..

I'm greatly looking forward to seeing all my little nieces and nephew again, i imagine they will have changed a lot more than me of late..

I'm not sure if the novelty of italian food has worn away, or i just think noone is interested in my thoughts on it... i am still loving it all, porchetta is the stuff of my dreams, and pizza is my favourite bedfellow, but rest assured i am still enjoying them all as much as ever..

And there will be plenty of novel food to be tlaked about in the next two months as we visit Rome and goto a food tasting festival, be warned...

it's bin a lon time

Suddenly its the middle of january, and the festive season is well and truly over.. i am back in italy, where its pretty much spring, i was wearing a t shirt and sat by the river yesterday. Christmas was very festive, saw all my lovely new nieces and nephews, who are all growing at a steady rate now... had an S over for the whole holidays which was lovely lovely lovely.
Christmas was its usual melange of mince pie making, potato peeling, carol listening, and long luxurious lunches. After a few days of cooking, ithink i ate left overs till new year. The reason i think we dont eat turkey the rest of the year, is because for 6 days straight we eat roast turkey, turkey sandwiches, turkey and pickle, turkey and ham, turkey and chutney.. the list goes on. I was sick of turkey by new year..
Boxing day brought the whole of the family to dad's house for lunch, much to S's astonishment about just howmany people there are in the family.. We had potted pork pate, home made sausage rolls, and crisped up in the over porchetta from italy...It was a good start to what was a gastronomic holiday.
Christmas day brought all of my favourite things together, with bucket fulls of gravy, mounds of cranberry (sauce and jelly) piggies in blankes, crispy, hot, fluffy roast potatoes, sweet chewy parsnips, and my step grandfather's chestnut stuffing. I remeber beginning the meal, but i soon fell into a christmas lunch stupor, which is lovely, but very floaty.
Boxing day was a lovely walk in the cold with the babies, up to a pub, then home for more turkey (crown this time) with bubble and squeak. Until new year the meals were a mixture of the aforementioned. So for new year S and I made a venison stew with slugs of port, gin and red wine. With a roast caramelly sweet potato, eaten next the open fire, i couldn't ahve asked for a nicer new year. We even saw fireworks from the rather tall house, and possibly 3 maybe 4 thousand chinese lanterns heading for liverpool.
Also managed to bake a cake, we baked a ginger chocolate and orange cake, which was moist, spicy and delicious!
Coming back to italy was difficult after such a lovely christmas, so many babies who are changing so fast...
On my first day back in italy, we headed out to Panzano in Chianti for a meat dinner, which was four different cuts of beef, but enough of each one to satisfy anyone's hunger, and there were four of them! Buonissimo, ma troppo!
I bought nigel slater's book toast in the airport and devoured it in days, it was a lovely book and it inspired me to make a lemon meringue pie, whichi have never cooked, and i dont remember ever having eaten.. Anyway, it lasted 12 hours, and it wasn't my best, that was last week, yesterday i made another one, this time, the pastry was crispy, the curd was tart and sweet, and the meringue was fluffy and chewy. It was in other words delightful, and ridiculously easy, pastry-easy, lemon curd-easy, meringue-as long as you only have egg whites, easy! and it looks amazing!
Baking season has begun...