Finca Alta Cocina

02/04/2021

Springtime in Oxfordshire
with best wishes for Easter.

19/11/2020

NEW OLIVE OIL HAS ARRIVED!

Especially exciting now, in the difficult times of Covid-19.

After a week of picking and collecting the olives, at last the beautiful olive juice has been extracted, pure liquid gold!

Ecological, extra virgin olive oil,
from the first cold pressing,
Finca Alta Cocina's very own production.

29/05/2020

Romeria time!

Romeria is a type of yearly, short distance pilgrimage, practiced in Spain last weekend in May.

Apart from being a religious procession, it is also a singing, dancing, eating and drinking event.
One, that the Andalusians are the masters of!
It should've been this weekend, unfortunately due to Covid-19 it has been cancelled.

Oh well, the dress will have to wait another year, the Sherry will have to be drunk on the terrace by the pool but the memories of this colourful fiesta will stay with me forever.

11 new photos · Album by Ewa Wasiak

03/04/2020

How to be creative with a handful of ingredients...a sort of Ready, Steady, Cook!

Today I would like to show you a selection of dishes which I made using what was left in my fridge, freezer and cupboards after three weeks in isolation.

Fridge: 1kg mince pork/beef mixture,
1 courgette, 1 aubergine, 1 roasted pepper, 3 onions, 2 garlic cloves, 1 carrot, 1 celery stick, 2 plum tomatoes, 2 apples (Russets), 1 small sweet potato, 1/2 Camembert, 1 small goat's cheese roll, 1 ready to roll puff pastry, 2 sheets fill pastry, 2 tbsp creme freiche, 4 eggs, 2 tbsp grated Parmesan, 1tbsp cooked rice.

Cupboard: 1 tin chopped tomatoes, 1 small carton Passata, 1 tbsp sultanas, 1 tbsp walnuts,
1 tbsp capers, 1 tbsp breadcrumbs,

Dried spices (ground), tsp of each: cinnamon, cloves, cumin, turmeric,
coriander, pimentón picante (Spanish smoked paprika).
Nigella seeds, salt, pepper, olive oil,
glass dry Sherry.

I also used some fresh herbs from the garden: thyme, rosemary, basil oregano, parsley, dill, mint, Swiss chard.

My dishes are:

Bolognese sauce - 1/2 kg mince, 1 onion, celery stick, carrot, 1 tin chopped tomatoes, rosemary, oregano, salt, pepper.

Ratatouille - 1 courgette, 1/2 aubergine, 1 onion, 1 garlic clove, 1 tomato, parsley, basil, mint.

Mediterranean vegetables and goat's cheese tart - 4 tbsp of Ratatouille, 2 eggs, 2 tbsp creme freiche, puff pastry, 1/2 Camembert, 1 small goat's cheese, 3 tsp capers, few sprigs fresh thyme, 2 tbsp grated Parmesan.

Albóndigas (Spanish meatballs) -
500g mince, 1/2 onions, 1 garlic cloves, 1 egg, dried spices (cumin, coriander, turmeric, pimentón)
Sherry, tomato Passata.

Meat loaf - 200g mince meat mixture for the meatballs.
1 hard boiled egg,
breadcrumbs.

Stuffed aubergine - 1/2 aubergine,
2 tbsp Bolognese sauce, 1 tbsp cooked rice, 1 plum tomato.

Sweet potato puree - 1 sweet potato, fresh herbs (parsley, dill), olive oil

Puff pastry twists- puff pastry offcuts, egg wash, salt, nigella seeds.

Apple tart - 2 sheets of filo, 2 apples stewed with 1 tbsp sultanas, 1 tbsp walnuts, cinnamon and cloves.

Nine dishes in total!
All my meals are sorted for a week at least.

I hope this will inspire you to get creative in your kitchens.
Please keep me posted with your ideas and creations.
Stay safe, healthy and sane.

02/04/2020

Hello again. It's been two weeks now since my last update on Covid-19 in Spain, and three weeks in self isolation.
Although the statistics are shocking with over a hundred thousand confirmed cases and far too many fatalities ( sadly in Algodonales too), there is a glimpse of hope that the peek is near and hopefully the numbers will start declining.
Majority of Spaniards are very understanding and grateful to all the people working incredibly hard to save lives and supply us with food and necessary services.
Most of us are staying at home to minimize the spread of the virus.
Today I made my first shopping trip to the supermarket, after three weeks of using up the contents of my fridge, freezer and the cupboards.
The roads were eerily empty, there were only a few people in the supermarket, all safety precautions carefully observed.
The shelves were full, on many of them notices about regular supplies being maintained and requests for restraint, no signs of panic buying.
I came out with a full trolley and promised myself to use every single item in it over the next three weeks.
This awful situation made me realize how lazy I have been in the past in the kitchen department.
Tomorrow I will share some ideas with you, of how to use a handful of ingredients and how to combine them to produce many delicious meals.
Stay safe, healthy and sane.

21/03/2020

Even coronavirus can't take away the beauty of nature!

20/03/2020

I would like to let you all know what is going on in Spain during this dreadful pandemic of Covid-19.
I have been self isolating for the last ten days, three days more than the official requirement.
On March 9th I was planning to spend three days in Madrid to celebrate friend's birthday.
The tickets were bought, Airbnb booked and we were ready to go...until I checked the Ministry's of health report about the increased numbers of cases and the alarming number of deaths there.
The answer was simple - we are not going.
We didn't get refunds because the official pandemic hadn't been declared yet. A small price to pay compare to risking our health or lives.
Since then the state of emergency has been declared throughout whole of Spain. People are told to self isolate for at least two weeks (possibly more). We are allowed to go shopping (one person only) for groceries, medicines, to attend medical appointment or to go to the bank, keeping a safe distance of 2 metres. No other options, heavy fines are imposed on people who break the orders (up to €30.000). People are respecting it because it means speedier recovery from the pandemic and is very important for the economy and ultimately our livelihood.
The streets in my local town are deserted. The local councill is contracting people to disinfect the town centre. Everybody is doing their bit to help. Today in Spain there are 18.077 cases of infection and 831 dead, one third of it in Madrid province. I consider myself lucky to have made the right decision and stayed away from Madrid and am going to self isolate for as long as it takes to beat the virus. I urge you all to take it seriously, wash your hands, stay at home, look after yourself and the vulnerable. We can do it together.
This is to the people in the UK, particularly in London. Your government is saying it's doing everything to combat this disease. But it also depends on your actions. Covid-19 is highly contagious, it spreads really fast. Self isolating means flattening the curve faster. It also means staying at home. No pubs, restaurants or shopping. In Spain people seem to understand it very well. Unfortunately for Italy the action taken was too late, resulting in many thousands of unnecessary deaths. Young people, please think of the older generation and the most vulnerable of us. Please stay at home!

02/02/2020

Just a regular winter Sunday in Andalusia, first this February.😁

31/12/2019

To all my friends near and far wishing you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2020.

10/10/2019

Bolonia Beach - one of the most beautiful beaches of the Atlantic coast of Andalusia.
Stunning location, fresh fish, wind in your hair and the Roman ruins to complete the picture.
Just under two hours drive from Finca Alta Cocina.

06/08/2019

Summer in its midst, here in Andalusia as in most of Europe, scorchingly hot, water in short supply, somehow my neighbour Juan managed to grow such beauties successfully.
His first ever crop of black tomatoes.
Lucky me!