clouds

The sky over Mojacar never ceases to amaze me!

zen stones

Love affair with minimalism 

I am an avid gatherer of pebbles and stones. 

I collect these on the Mediterranean shore

and decorate them 

with gold, copper and silver leaf.

For sale here.

stones and the sea

Tomorrow is the first day of fall 

and I am getting slightly nostalgic 

about the end of summer, 

so I wanted to share 

a few photos of the Mediterranean sea 

that I took back in June.

I found these semi-precious stones on this sea shore.

With a little bit of magic and a lot of patience,

I transformed them into little jewels.

Wouldn't you like to add a tiny bit 

of the Mediterranean into your life?

cumulus cloud

Decidedly stunning cumulus cloud over Mojácar last Friday!

My AMARYLLIS are in bloom!

The bulbs were a gift,

 brought back from Asia

 over 10 years ago. 

I keep them outdoors all year around 

 under a tree in the shade.

I basically neglect them

and rarely water them.

This is a hot dry climate, 

in case you are wondering, 

where the temperatures never (or rarely!) 

go below freezing.

Obviously they like their home because

once a year

 they reward me with their profuse blooms!

 And here is the perfect tote to go with the flowers ;)

orchids

So happy about my bloomin' orchids!

18 buds & flowers total here ;)))

three kings day

three kings day

candied fruit bread

roscón de reyes

I make this absolutely scrumptious sweet bread every January 6th.

These photos are of the one I made just two weeks ago.

There is no photos of it after I took it out of the oven

because  it was dark out by then. 

I hate photos taken with flash and 

by the following morning 

there wasn't much of anything left 

to photograph!

In Spain no home is complete without this special treat on 

Three Kings Day. 

January 6th is Spain's version of Santa Klaus with presents for everyone.

Nowadays most people pick up an insipid version 

at the local supermarket.

Some venture to a classy bakery and get a rather good one.

I prefer to bake my own instead!

I used super quality candied fruit 

(not that horrid artificially dyed factory-made version)

which I picked up at the farmer's market.

 A local man makes it himself

using only deliciously ripe summer fruit

and sugar.

This year's pick is made from locally grown oranges, 

green Claudia plums and honeydew melon.

I'll have to try making glacé fruit myself someday 

but it is so labor intensive that

really I prefer buying it.

This year I've also added almonds and prunes,

together with the candied fruit.

Now the real fun part of eating this sweet bread 

is sharing it together with the whole family.

 Inserted inside are several "surprises". 

The traditional roscón de reyes has only one such surprise.

The person who finds the surprise in his /her piece 

gets to wear a golden paper crown 

and be 

King/Queen for the day.

I don't insert one surprise inside. 

No.

 I insert MANY surprises inside, 

usually more than the number of family members 

who will be sharing this. 

I use an array of teeny ceramic figurines, 

coins, and big glass beads 

which I wrap up carefully in wax paper 

before I push them inside the bread 

prior to baking.

The recipe is based on one I've improvised on

and perfected over the years.

The original one I followed is by Penelope Casas.

She has written several cook books

with recipes of traditional Spanish food,

written out with standardized measuements

so that it would be easy 

to prepare in a typical American kitchen.

The book was given to me many years ago

by my aunt and uncle.

I've used it countless times

and have made many 

delicious Spanish meals, 

so here's thanks to 

my aunt and uncle 

and to Penelope Casas!