Hi Nick......I would like to wish you well for the future and thank you for all the tips and the recipe that you sent me. I hope your leg problems will improve with more rest. Good luck to you both Sue Mijas Pueblo

into an empty jar put 2 tblsp olive oil, 2 tblsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tblsp honey, 1 tblsp soy sauce and for those who like garlic add 1 clove of garlic, screw lid on tightly and shake and then stir until honey is blended in. Sue

Hi Foyle Heat a goodly amount of olive oil (about 1/4inch deep)in a small frying pan and add lots of chopped or sliced garlic, a small amount of tiny dried red chillies (according to taste), some finely chopped flatleaf parsley and once the oil is sizzling hot add a handful of peeled raw prawns, they must be raw, it doesn't work with ready cooked prawns as firstly they do not absorb the flavours in the oil and secondly they go very rubbery, just cook for a minute and then serve with crusty bread to dip in the oil. Other alternative is if you have access to a Spanish market buy a bag of ready mixed pil-pil spice and add to oil just before the prawns. Good Luck. Sue

Hi Prue I don't know how I'll get the info to you as they usually delete postings with details of meetings etc on them. There are now about 6 of us meeting (possibly more)for the unofficial Costa del Sol UKTV Food Christmas lunch on friday 10th dec at 2.15pm. If the mods allow it I'll let you know where in a later post. Glad you found all of the shops and enjoyed youself. Sue

Porridge thanks for the recipe, I'm not a veggie but I do love veg and nuts so I'm going to give this a try with the parsnips seeing as we can get them down here all of the time now and not just at Christmas. Have just sent my husband out to look for currants, glace cherries and black treacle if he's successful I'll be making my cake this week-end, providing the torrential rain that we're having at the moment doesn't cause a power cut (it frequently does) Sue

Hi siamese my mum always brings me co-op gravy salt when she visits me in Spain, do you have a co-op near you ????? Sue

Hi ahp custard apples grow down here in southern Spain, I'm not very keen on them as to me they taste of very watery stewed apples and custard (a bit like a bland baby food), hence the name. You don't eat the whole thing only the inside and not the skin. Sue

Hi MaryJane....relishthecontinental also do excellent goose fat but I don't want to order on line as our postal service down here in the south is diabolical. The Spanish don't send Christmas cards so the postal service isn't able to cope with the amazing amount of mail generated by all of the foreigners down here who send cards both in and out of the area, 3 years ago they ran out of places to store the mail and put 100 bags into an old store room and then promptly forgot about them until mid february.....you don't appreciate the Royal Mail until you live in Spain, in our office we only get one delivery per week normally but at the height of the summer it's one delivery every 2-3 weeks. So I probably wouldn't get my goose fat until Easter !!!!! Sue

Hi piripiri.... the market you see on the AWT series is the Mercado Central (central market)in Fuengirola, it's really easy to find as it's just opposite Fuengirola train station. The spice stall is fantastic, all the herbs and spices are on show and their names are marked in Spanish and English and the man who owns it is a real sweetie. I buy all of my dried herbs and spices there and it's so cheap. Sue

Best parking in Fuengirola is the new underground car park beneath the main church square, this is on the main shopping street and runs parallel to the sea front, this will do for the sausage shop and market but you will have to drive to the chinese supermarket (unless you like walking) and you will definitely have to drive to Euromarket. Sue

Hi Prue.....of course it was an invite, we'd love to meet you.Sausage shop is called Big Willies (open 10-6) and is just off the main church square in Fuengirola, stand in the square with your back to the church go diagonally to the lane on the bottom right corner, just a few yards along this lane you will find the main post office, walk around the back of the post office and the shop is down this back lane on the left. Moroccan shop is in the Mercado Central which is just off the same roundabout as the train station,Renfe in Spanish, go well before 1.30pm, as you go into the market take the escalator to the 1st floor, as you come off the escalator the best spice shop in town is more or less just in front of you on a corner site, the moroccan shop is directly behind this in the corner of the market. The black olives are wonderful but don't buy the spicy green olives they are so hot they are inedible, the harissa paste is good and so are the preserved lemons they also sell the best fresh mint and coriander (menta and cilantro in Spanish). The chinese supermarket(open Spanish hours) is on the main street between the Policia locale and Policia nacional stations. Euromarket (open 9.30-9.30) is not in Fuengirola itself but just on the outskirts,it's just off the Avenida de Mijas near the Ford main dealer Victoria Motors, this street starts in Fuengirola and leads you out passing under the N340 dual carriageway, at the roundabout directly under the road you do left and it's just a few yards further on the right, check out the deli counter for the danish bacon and english cheese, fruit and veg dept have many different salad leaves and they sell parsnips and shallots. Have I covered everything ?? Sue

Hi Prue is there anything else you need to know eg where shops are situated etc and which shop sells what you need.
Pity you couldn't make it down on friday 10th Dec as a few of us are having our UKtv Food (Costa del Sol branch) Christmas lunch. Sue

Thanks for that Kamila, saw the old man who does the olive oil in the village last week and he has some in his cellar so will get you a 5ltr flagon and bring it with me to the Christmas lunch, it's not extra-virgin it just says virgin olive oil on the label but it's very green, very lemony, very peppery and very, very good. Sue

Hi Chef de Maison....yes we have ducks in Spain but I'm always disappointed at how little meat you get once cooked. The village butcher certainly doesn't sell ducks, he doesn't even sell fresh lamb only frozen, he only has chicken, pork and beef. At Christmas you have to order your turkey well in advance and you have no idea the problems I caused by trying to describe what I wanted him to do with the turkey ie de-bone a chicken and wrap it around 2 or 3 lemons then stuff it into a de-boned turkey.
The problems arose because I speak only a little basic Spanish and he has no English (no reason why he should). I had quite an audience, the butchers is the place where all the old ladies go to gossip, chairs are provided, you can imagine my delight when I picked up the bird on Christmas Eve and I actually got what I thought I'd asked for, it's now very popular in the village and he does several every Christmas. My Spanish is somewhat akin to the French policeman's English on 'Allo 'Allo, people who don't know me either look stunned or confused when I try to talk to them Sue

I've never tasted goose so don't know if I will like it and Christmas Day lunch is too sacred to experiment with, anyway I've never seen ganso (that's Spanish for goose) in any butchers or supermarket or indeed any cookery books here in Spain. Sue

Many thanks Georgie I'll try both of them and yes he is a really nice boss, the best I've ever had. That's possibly because every month he spends 2 weeks here and 2 weeks in the UK and leaves me to run the office while he's away. Sue

Does anyone know of a supermarket in the Tiverton area of Devon that sells goose fat ? My boss is trying to find some to bring back to Spain for me, he's already tried the local Tesco and they don't have it. One more question, which section of the store is it usually kept in ? Many thanks in anticipation of your help. Sue

We'e got loads of Branston down here on the Costa del Sol but no lard, but then we've never had lard, maybe I could send food parcels if things get really tough ????? Sue

Many thanks Kamila, don't forget our Christmas lunch on the 10th. Sue

Hi Prue....you're not too far away from us on the coast. Why not have a trip down to Fuengirola one day and visit all the shops that sell British foods. Just off the main church square, behind the post office is an English sausage shop called 'Big Willies' They make traditional bangers in about 20 different flavours eg cumberland, lincolnshire, sage and onion, pork and leek etc they also have British black pudding and a whole host of other things. We also have Euromarket, a huge supermarket that sells a big range of UK goods eg dairy cream, clotted cream, lurpak butter, danish bacon, lots of cheese etc, then of course we have our own version of Iceland, called Islandia. We also have specialist shops for moroccan, scandinavian, chinese and german products. Unfortunately I've never found an Italian deli or a supplier for pecorino cheese but I'm still looking.Sue

Hi Prue where are you in Spain, I'm down in the south near Malaga/Marbella. We have lots of shops that sell British style bangers down here. Sue

Hi Helen click onto recipes in the left hand column then onto Paradise Kitchen on the drop down bit and trawl through Gioconda Scott's recipes, these are traditional Spanish recipes, look for Migas (a popular local dish down here in Andalucia) and Fabada, a typical Asturian dish, it's OK to leave out the morcilla (black pudding) if you don't like it. I add chorizo to Patatas a la Pobre (poor man's potatoes) slice potatoes 1/4" thick and fry in olive oil about 1/2" deep, when half cooked add sliced onions, a whole head of garlic separated into cloves still in the skins, thickly sliced green peppers and chunks of chorizo.
Top up oil as it cooks, don't let get too dry. When cooked serve with crusty bread to dip in the garlic/chorizo flavoured oil. Sue

Try Cafe 21 on Queen Street, just off the Quay Side, the chef that owns it, Terry Laybourne, is superb. Terry was also head chef for the very up-market restaurant at Newcastle United in their St James' Park ground in the middle of the city, this could also be an option if any of you like football. If you 'google' chef Terry Laybourne it will give you lots of info. Sue

Glad you liked it relishmama, just say if you want some more. Have you tried the pimienton piquante (hot smoked paprika) yet, be afraid, be very afraid and use with great care. If you use too much your tongue will shrivel and your eyeballs will spin like catherine wheels !!!!! I put 2 teaspoons into a big pot of chilli instead of 2 teaspoons of the dulce (sweet) and I could hardly speak for about 10 minutes on top of the other symptoms. Sue

Hi Nanc try looking at www.spanishhampers.co.uk/tapas.html
the recipe for gambas al ajillo is very good if you want it more spicy just add more chill peppers. Living in Spain I'm lucky enough to be able to buy ready mixed pil-pil spice mix at the local market. Sue

which category did you fit into Lil'Abby and did you buy anything ????? Sue

Terrydox ..... minor European/Geordie royalty of course !!!!! Sue

Hi Brie.......why not make a Spanish tortilla (omelette) you can do many different varieties, meat and/or veg, it's as good cold as it is hot and very, very filling. Sue

Terrydox........Forgot to mention that when I went shopping on saturday I found some !!!!! I've never seen them before down here because they only sell them in El Corte Inglese in Puerto Banus, the Harrods of the Costa del Sol. I don't usually shop there but I like to go and have a mooch around , it's full of extremely rich people i.e. minor European royalty, ex east-end gangsters and Russian prostitutes, so occasionally we pop down to see how the other half live. I guess they can't all be bad people if they use zip-lock bags. Sue

Terrydox.......warm weather is what Geordie lasses have when they live in southern Spain !!!!! 72'F yesterday.a: n0 Sue

Hi Helen's mum......living in Spain I often have loads of tomatoes left hanging on my door by friends and neighbours and I've found the tastiest way to roast them is with a mixture of 250ml olive oil, 1 level tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black peppercorns (crushed with mortar & pestle) and 3/4/5 cloves garlic crushed (depending on taste). Halve toms and spoon over the mixture, roast at 200C/Mk6 for 1 - 2 hours depending on the size of toms, I like to do them until they start to caramelise slightly round the edged. I then remove skins and add 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar to the flesh and then either use or freeze until needed. Sue

Have you tried deliaonline.com ? This is Delia's own website and carries hundreds of her recipes. Sue

Thanks hos, I live in Spain but will try to find out if there's a Costco in Newcastle or Durham and then maybe a friend can send or bring me some.

Does anyone know of a supplier of these wonderful storage bags, I've just used my last ones. Originally I got my supply from America about 5 years ago (12 boxes) so maybe they now stock them in the UK, I certainly haven't seen them here in Spain. I've tried other makes/variations but these are by far the best. Hope someone can help.

if you put chicken royals into the search box at the top of the page you get a Simon Rimmer recipe for royal chicken in almond sauce, it sounds as though it would suit your recipe.

There's a wonderful recipe on deliaonline.com for this. Sue

Does anyone have a recipe for a savoury filling summer pudding type of dish. Someone made one on masterchef but I haven't been able to source the recipe. It was made with bread but the filling was a selection of roasted mediterranean veg. Is anyone creative enough to come up with a recipe.

Hi Brie I'm also enjoying the series but it's because I live about 1 mile away from AWT's Spanish house. When you see the episode where he buys his garlic and spices that's the same market stall that I use and I can tell you it's absolute heaven. Sue

Suggest you try Delia's Ultimate Carrot Cake it's the best I've ever tasted. www.deliaonline.com

Sounds as though it could be similar to a recipe that I do very occasionally, quickly dip ginger snaps in and out of brandy or sherry or something dark and alcoholic and then sandwich together with whipped cream (with a little of whatever you dipped the biscuits in beaten in) then cover with whipped cream and decorate with fresh fruit. You can form the biscuits/cream into a log shape or a circle.

I was just about to ask you all if you had a recipe for preserving peaches when I realised that I hadn't tried google. I've now found several recipes for peaches and a really superb site called picklenet.com. I would still like to know if any of you out there have a tried and tested recipe for preserving peaches (not pickled).
Thanking you in anticipation. For those of you in the UK enjoy your Bank Hol week-end, monday isn't a hol in Spain so I'll be working, I hope you get some of our Spanish weather to make it more enjoyable. I was watching TV last night and a programme was showing some footage of Newcastle, the Quayside and the bridges, and I felt a slight twinge of homesickness (the first in 5 years) and I started fantasising, imagining myself walking around M&S food hall, Tesco's and Sainsbury's etc...........sad or what ????? Sue

Hi susiepops.........try www.spanishhampers.co.uk/tapas.html they have some traditional tapas recipes listed. Also try google for gambas pil-pil this is prawns cooked in hot oil with garlic and chillies, the prawns must be raw not pre-cooked or they will go extremely rubbery and tasteless. Also google for albondigas, these are meatballs in tomato sauce. If you need any more ideas let me know. Regards Sue

Many thanks for your help Rustie I'm going to check them out and to Nick, I've sent you an e-mail and I'm looking forward to hearing from you. Sue

Hi .....I wonder if anyone can help me, I'm looking for a tried and tested recipe for a chutney/preserve made with tomatoes, peppers, onions etc but no fruit, I love garlic and I like spicy things but have an aversion to things like sultanas or apple mixed in with savoury things. Hope someone can help as I'm about to be inundated with all of the above veggies very soon. I've tried 'google' but with no luck. Thanks in anticipation......Sue Bowen