Thursday 14 August 2014

Summer Holidays

Summer holidays… I absolutely love, love, love them! Family time, beach time, lazy days, eating out, all of these things for me equal bliss. People live for them all year round and this year for us was no exception. We’d worked hard and now we could enjoy a recharging two weeks basking in the sun together in Port de Pollença, Majorca.




I’m a chronic list maker, so I wrote a list before I left of all the things I wanted to do while I was there. Not of things to accomplish, it was more a list of things to enjoy (included on the list was ‘no writing lists’!). I wanted to read a magazine from cover to cover, visit markets, cook new recipes, read my kindle, and there was a variety of ‘recommended games for kids’ on it too, I needed to keep the boys occupied - especially in restaurants! 



I have to admit I didn’t get around to some of the things I wrote down. Reading my kindle was one (possibly a bit ambitious with two toddlers). Cooking was another, any kitchen endeavour was more a preparing of ingredients. I didn’t really want to cook in soaring 30 degree heat, and I probably should have known better than to write that down!


So on Wednesday, our third day in Port de Pollença, I visited the local market to get inspired and to try to come up with a few simple recipes I could prepare instead of cook.



The market, held in the shaded square each Wednesday morning from 10 -12, was one of the best I’d ever been to.


That day the weather was perfect, sunny and warm but not too hot. There was a lovely bustling atmosphere, and with plenty of space around each stall it didn’t feel crowded, even with hundreds of people walking around.


Under the warm Spanish sun, I could almost smell the colours on display - vibrant reds, purples, emerald greens… Everywhere I looked there was a rainbow of fresh fruits and vegetables. Needless to say I was in heaven.





I meandered through the trees and stalls, took in the atmosphere, and picked up a few things along the way.





As usual my market harvest looked something like this…



Mainly kitchenware and fresh produce (we all got a little hungry walking around so our stash was significantly smaller by the time we got home!)


I decided that guacamole with corn chips and summer wine was a perfect holiday lunch for that day so I started ‘preparing’ straight away.



I love guacamole and often make it at home. I usually serve it with quesadillas so I know the recipe inside out. The recipe I always use is from Ina Garten, but I didn’t have all the ingredients so I digressed a little. I have to say though, it still tasted just as good!


Here is how I made my Holiday Guacamole:


I started by halving three large avocados, if you use the brown slightly bumpy avocados and make sure they are a little soft when pressed your guacamole will turn out perfect.  I removed the stone and scooped out the flesh with my hands.



After that I used a sharp knife to roughly chop the avocado in the bowl.



When you mix it like this it stays nice and chunky.



Then I added 1 clove of garlic, minced, and a ½ cup of onion, finely chopped.



Next I squeezed in the juice of one whole lime, and seasoned the avocado with ½ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper.



I usually add tabasco at this stage but I substituted chilli powder instead. 



… I think that’s what this was?!


And finally a medium tomato deseeded and chopped. I sometimes add coriander at this stage too but I didn’t this time.



And that’s it, a tasty holiday guacamole to be enjoyed with a nice glass of summer wine (maybe a refreshing glass of lemonade instead for the kids!). You can find the recipe for Vino de Verano, summer wine here.



A perfect summer holiday lunch, with wine included…



… and a wonderful holiday spent with my four boys. Life for me doesn’t get better than this!


Finally the biggest thank you to Ken and Colette who provided the most idyllic setting for us to enjoy, Salud! 



We’ll never forget what an amazing time we had.


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