Hidden in the mountains of Serra Do Açor

                   I thought i should post up some new wild edible weeds, as i myself have been foraging a lot lately and grateful for the rain, its made all the weeds go mad.   So in my daily salad bowl i usually pick chick weed, dandelion leaves, borage heads, calendula petals, parsley and chicory. Chicory:   Chicory is vital for your digestive system, containing inulin, a powerful prebiotic. Prebiotic is a type of bacteria tapped to aid the host, instead of laying ground for disease. FEMS Microbiology Ecology reports, inulin is used for acid reflux, indigestion, heartburn, and helps to reduce acidity of the system inside your body. Chicory is so beneficial to you digestion causing ease. Chicory is found all over Europe, in fields, grasslands, by rivers in your garden. Look out for the blue purple flower. Wild Lettuce:    This weed is not only a lovely addition to your salads, and mimics lettuce, it is a wonderful natural painkiller. I hav

I ran out of potatoes today, in a bid to make a Sunday roast dinner for the family, one we haven't had for a while.  I thought id try my luck in the garden with some ingredients, so out i went in search for the biggest potato plant i could find.  These potato plants were growing wild in my garden from last year, the potatoes i didn't manage to find in the last harvest, for a number of reasons.  One reason mainly being that some were too small and got lost in amongst the soil and debris and also my rush to pack them all away and into the store cupboard. The first big plant i came to i dug up and found a heap of huge potatoes, just the right amount for our roast potatoes today, into my grape vine basket they went. They do rather look like a basket full of chocolate easter eggs, if only. This was what i did after a morning foraging the wilderness looking for dry wood for to build a fire to cook lunch today.  Up on the mountain scrambling abo

You know its spring time when... the warm mornings bring light rain, thunder and lightning in the afternoon. I love being up in the high mountains at this time of year, we really do witness a storm brewing above our heads.  You watch the West come in, the East combine and then cracks of thunder pierce the skies, it excites me so much, makes you realise the power of nature.  We watched the storm approaching when we were out picking elderflowers, we have elder tree's all over our village. We brought our handmade basket i made from grape vines, i snipped the flower while my little daughter collected them up.  Boiling water to make our cordial while we watched the lightning fork the sky. Recipe for Elderflower Cordial    25 heads of elder flowers    Zest of 3 oranges and lemons and their juices    1 kg of sugar Directions:-  Boil 1.5 litres of water and sit the flowers in a bowl covered overnight to infuse.                      The next day, strain

It begins, the cold nights and fresh mornings, brings a warm, almost hot, day.   While i was out busily building our new chicken tractor, i was listening to the song of the house martin.  It was perched up on the electricity wire that joined to my house.  I stopped in wonder from hammering, to admire the beautiful song it was gifting me.  At that moment i realised the beauty and powerful meaning of that moment.  I looked across at the field to the new mother goats, to see them watching their young, jumping and frolicking in the grass.  The wind turbines up on the mountain top were slowly spinning, and the fresh clouds were piercing through, the sound was quiet, the air was still, what a wonderful time to be alive. I finished the frame of the chicken tractor. It measured in at 3x3 meters, and 1/2 a meter tall.  I then went round my garden fence to find any existing chicken wire that wasn't being of any use anymore, and pulled it from the overgrown grass ed

Sewing is an age old skill. The ability to fix blankets, curtains anything fabric, or design clothes. I spend a lot of my free time, which is not much, sewing and making new things from old tat.   When i lived in the UK, i used to pop into charity shops, sometimes finding fabulous fabrics other times, sourcing old clothes with stunning old designs. I would find it so pleasing to come across brightly coloured things.  Some of the cat charities had bins of old fabrics rolled up, priced up for even cheaper. It is amazing what you can find with a little bit of imagination and a keen eye. I would find some lovely old fashioned dresses, and then resemble  them to fit my small size, make the dress into a skirt, an leather jacket into a waistcoat. I would sew in a hem line, a few cute buttons and maybe a ruffle here and there, and i had a new outfit for 2 quid and a bit of my time.   Now i re-fashion old clothes into shoulders wraps, and utility belts/pockets. Ones that wrap around

I found myself being rather resourceful today. Sifting through th pantry i found some goodies from last years harvest. In my cupboard i found;  jars of dried kidney beans..  3 pumpkins.. dried parasol mushrooms  I added the extra of garlic and onion that wasn't in my pantry. I blended it all together to make veggie mush, that turned into sausages for dinner tonight. It just goes to show what you can make with bits and pieces, and how frugal one can be.                                                This is the mix with added flour. This is what i made it into and then baked in the oven. To add to my frugal day i thought id post up pictures of my sourdough bread i made, from just natural yeast , flour and water, some salt.  You can add herbs and sugar if you wish, maybe some chopped olives, sun-dried tomatoes and some oregano could be an option. This is it raising in the tin overnight.

I bet you never thought about it before, that the weeds you step on, in your garden or out on a walk, could be a great alternative to a salad.   To be fair, i didn't.. until 10 years ago when i was at a festival and decided to try out a walk about forage workshop, to learn what grows beneath your feet, "Food under Foot". It blew my mind when i searched the internet, only to find it was a common practice many years ago, for many years. Some call them weeds, i call them food. Now that i live in Europe and in a country that has been burnt every 10 years for the last 100 years, due to forest fires, and severe drought because of the fires, we don't have many options available. Unlike the UK, where weeds and food are in abundance, and wetlands lay everywhere, and forests roam wild and far. Unless you find a nice little paradise hidden valley like we have, which hasn't been burnt for years and has copious amounts of water all year round.  

There are many of you still in isolation or in lockdown all over the world.  The news is constantly on and in your front room, you may be feeling, sadness, loneliness or even fear due to this huge world wide pandemic.  There is another route through this terrible time.  Self isolation can seem daunting, a time when you are faced with yourself and your deepest emotions. I like to think this time is so vital for human growth, not just on a mass scale, but a time to look within and find a way around this.  As humans we are great at working solutions out, to problems, that at first seem impossible. If you have a patch of land a garden or even some old pots and pans, there is a way to keep you in tune with yourself, the land, the seasons and your health.   If your starting out with nothing, no money, lack of tools, equipment, like we did when we first arrived here, you can improvise.  Start by establishing soil.  If you have a garden already, you hav