The Victorian Kitchen Garden

(Update: Amazon.co.uk now has free shipping to Spain on things like DVDs and books- they very kindly sent me an email notice the other day--C.)



I bought myself the 3 CD boxed set from amazon.co.uk and I´m completely beguiled. Watched ´em all in about 2 days.

A little background:

The Victorian Kitchen Garden was a 13-part television series produced in 1987 for BBC Two (Must see. Mike). It recreated a kitchen garden of the Victorian era at Chilton Foliat in Wiltshire. The presenter was the horticultural lecturer, Peter Thoday, the master gardener was Harry Dodson.

(EDIT)

The series began in the largely derelict walled garden at Chilton on a freezing January morning and followed Harry and his assistant Alison as they recreated the working kitchen garden.

You can watch the first 10 minutes of each episode HERE.

Aren´t walled gardens lovely?



Boy do I want one of these.




Have now moved on to Geoff Hamilton´s Garden set. I must be masochistic to be watching all this at this time of year.

But somewhere mid-November we should be closing on the ruin. So I foresee trips to the tool store and much clearing away of bracken and vine. And I have tulips (from a layover in Amsterdam) to plant in some out of the way corner.

The Santa Compana

The legend of the Santa Compaña extends from Galicia, through Asturias and into western Castilla y Leon, as well as northern Portugal in one version or another.

Although the appearance of the Holy Company (Santa Campana) tradition varies in different areas, the most widespread is formed by a retinue of lost souls, dressed in hooded white robes wandering at night.

This ghostly procession forms two rows, wrapped in shrouds and barefoot. Each ghost has a candle and in passing leaves a smell of burning wax in the air. A more important spectre at the front of this ghostly company is called Estadea.



The procession is headed by a mortal carrying a large cross and a vessel of holy water, followed by the spirits with candles, sometimes invisible, but leaving the smell of burning wax in the breeze that arises in their wake.

This live person that precedes the procession can be male or female, depending on whether the Patron of the parish is a male or a female saint. It is also believed that whoever fulfills this "function" can not remember by day what happened during the night, they can only be recognized by their extreme thinness and pallor. Every night their lamp becomes stronger and each day their pallor increases. Not allowed rest at night, their health is weakened to sickness and no one can identify the cause of this mysterious malady. They are condemned to wander every night until they die or some other victim can be surprised (and placed at the head of the procession with the transfer of the cross).

They walk reciting prayers (usually the rosary) singing funerary songs and ringing a small bell.

Along the way, all noise in the forest stops. Dogs announce the arrival of the Holy Company with howling, cats flee in terror.

Versions

While all versions consider the Holy Company as a harbinger of death, there are different versions.

In most stories the Santa Campana makes its appearance at night, but there are also cases of sightings by day.

In some versions, it is said that the mourning procession carries a coffin with a body inside, which may even be the person watching - the apparition being his astral form in the coffin.

It can appear in different places, but above all at the crossroads.




There are specific dates that are said to have more frequent appearances of the Holy Company, for example, the eve of All Saints (from 31 October to 1 November), or the night of San Juan (24 June).

The Santa Campana in the Asturian tradition: The Güestier

Galicia is not the only region in which to see this procession of the dead but also in Asturias where it is called The Güestier, a procession known as Bona Xenta. Is a group of hooded figures approaching the house of a dying person, after circling three times around the house the person dies. They are usually familar to the dying. It is said that they cry out "Walk in the daytime for the night is mine." Its said that a woman left the house early to gather chestnuts, thinking it was daytime. A member of the procession told her he was her dead godfather. He extended his hand and gave her his lit candle, and after a few days she sickened and died.



Appearance of the company

The many tales about this group of spirits appear on roads near cemeteries in search of something or someone, and always appear for a reason that is symbolic of a disaster or curse. The reasons this company of wandering souls may appear:

* To claim the soul of someone about to die. Legend has it that he who receives a visit from the Compaña dies within the year.
* To warn of faults or errors on the part of the living. If the fault is particularly serious, the committer could be visited by the company, placed at its head, and condemned to wander until another mortal appears to replace him.
* To announce the death of an acquaintance of whomsoever is witness to the procession.
* To serve a sentence imposed by some authority of the beyond.



Protection against the Santa Campana

How to protect against the procession of the undead, in the unlikely event that the company is seen, the witness should carry out a series of rituals for protection that would include:

* Moving out of the path of the company, not looking at them and pretending not to see them.
* Make a circle with the Star of Solomon or a cross in it and step into it.
* Eat something.
* Pray and do not listen to the voices or the sound of the company.
* Throw yourself face down and wait without moving, even if the company passes over you.
* Never accept a candle from a member of the procession as this condemns you to be a part of it.
* In the latter case, run very fast.
* Legend has it that the Holy Company shall not have the power to capture the soul of the mortal who encounters it if he is on the steps of a "cruzeiro" located at a crossroads, or if you carry a cross with you and manage to wield it in time.
* Keep a cat with you.



Apparently, people are still seeing the Campana:

In the town of Budiño, Pontevedra there was one of the most typical and archetypal appearance of the Holy Company.

Sofia A. Perez is a housewife aged 42, mother of four children, known and respected by all villagers. Despite the time elapsed since the experience, Sophie remembers it well.

"I was eight when it happened. My mother and I had gone to visit a friend and we walked down the path behind the house, near the cemetery.

It wasn´t late, but being winter it was dark. It was right at the crossroads. I heard a very heavy footsteps, as if many people were nearing. I asked my mother if she heard it and she said yes. Then we saw a procession coming down the road, like a funeral. There were many, I do not know the number, but all dressed alike. They had a kind of black robe covering their entire body, with a black hood. They passed very close to us.

We were paralyzed. I was very small and did not really understand what it was, but my mother was terrified, She pressed me very hard against her, telling me not to make noise. And imagine our surprise when, at the end of the row of 'The Compaña", we saw a woman, a neighbor of ours!

She was "Tía Preciosa" a neighbor who lived a few houses above ours. I recognized for her walk, because she had a defect in her legs and then we saw her very clearly. She carried a stick in her hand and a kind of "stone" like marble, but very, very bright. She passed us quietly "like a ghost." And she followed the Holy Company.

We didn´t have time to ask what she was doing there. Four days after this happenned, "Tía Preciosa" died. She was in the kitchen and lightning came down the chimney and killed her. I think it was a warning ... we are all warned before dying ...».



Happy Halloween!

Fish Pie

This is adapted from several recipes. Many call for smoked fish, of which I can only find salmon. Some also call for shrimps. Some mix the cheese with the mashed potatoes and some use peas. I find it´s a lot of trouble to make mashed potatoes just for this, but it´s a great way of using them up if they´re leftover.

I used cazón, which turns out to be school shark and lately Greenpeace has declared it unsustainably fished, so I won´t be buying it any more. Too bad, it was tasty and cheap. Sorry - forgot to take pics.

500 gr. white fish - I use chunks but you can use fillets
1/2 medium onion finely sliced
2 cups grated cheese
2 cups mashed potatoes
2 cups milk
dash salt
fresh ground pepper
1 tbsp. tarragon
3 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Poach the fish in the milk with the salt and pepper. Drain - retaining milk. Melt butter in a saucepan, add garlic and tarragon and sautee for a few minutes. Add flour and cook another couple of minutes. Add milk, bring to a simmer until it thickens. Meanwhile, butter a cassarole dish and layer the onion in the bottom with the cooked fish on top, followed by the grated cheese. After the white sauce has thickened, pour on the top. Finish with the mashed potatoes spread evenly.

Bake in a 400 F/ 200 C oven for 40 minutes or until brown.

Camiño de Santiago

First some updates:

Beer bottled!

Sales contract on the ruin signed by us and one of the sellers - it´s on its way back to the lawyer in Galicia who´s supposed to get the final signature Friday. Once the deposit has been paid, we should be good to go on to closing. Whew!

So since I feel slightly more confident that we´re actually going to buy a property this time. I thought I would go ahead a reveal a bit more about its environs at least.

The house is near the town of Melide, in the Province of La Coruña, not far from the border with Lugo.




Melide is a market town, dating from the middle ages. It´s about 75 kilometers from La Coruña, 50 from Santiago de Compostela and 50 from Lugo. It also happens to be on 2 of the major routes of the Camino de Santiago, Jacobeo, or the Way of St. James.

The Camino is a pilgrimage dating to the 9th century, when the bones of the apostle St. James were supposedly discovered in Santiago de Compostela. A small church was built by Alfonso II (protagonist of the Reconquest underway in Asturias).


It grew

Over time, the route was supplied with hospitals, bridges and protection (Knights Templars!)for pilgrims by the Church and Asturian Kings. By the 12th century, Santiago was designated by Pope Calixto II in 1270 as a pilgrimage of plenury indulgence (along with Canterbury, Rome and Jerusalem )the completion of which would absolve you from all sin. In 1139 the Monks of Cluny publish the Codex Calixtinus,a sort of medieval ¨Rough Guide to Santiago¨ for the traveller.

As I mentioned, there are various routes to Santiago. By far the most famous and usual is the so-called French Way, which starts out in St Jean Pied de Port, France, crosses the Pyrennees, and moves across northern Spain. Apart from that one, there is the northern route, which follows the coastline through Asturias and into Galicia before cutting down toward Santiago. Alternatively, there´s the ¨Primitive¨ route over the mountains through Asturias and Galicia. There´s also a route up through Portugal. And the cheeky English just hopped on a boat and landed in Ferrol, which is just a hop skip and a jump to Santiago following the English route.



There are a lot of theories floating around about the existence of a route pre-Christian Spain, used by the Celts and/or Romans. The goal was Finisterre on the Atlantic coast, to watch the death of the sun on the western horizon and thus be ¨reborn¨. One of the euphamisms for the camino is the ¨Via Láctea¨ or Milky Way, clearly visible and parallel in the night sky and was supposedly used to guide ancient travellers east to west. Sadly, celtiberia.net has convinced me that most of that is completely unsubstantiated by archeological evidence and likey to romantic ¨Celtic¨ new-agey nonsense. Which is a huge shame because I´m a sucker for romantic celticism.



The scallop shell is the traditional symbol for the pilgrim, representing various lines all converging in at the same destination point.

Anyway, the pilgrims have been passing through for a long time, although it was much more popular early on and had fallen into disuse by the 19th century. Given political events of the 20th century, I suppose it´s not surprising that walking across Spain was considered unappealing, but even up until 1985 there were only about 700 pilgrims noted annually. Approved methods of travel are on foot, bicycle, and horseback. You are provided with a ¨passport¨ or credencial and can receive stamps at approved shelters, refugios and sanctioned offices to prove you´ve gone the distance. The Camino was declared a part of World Heritage by UNESCO.

Lately, a big tourism push has pumped up those numbers to 200,000 this year - a so-called Jubilee year (when St. James´ Day falls on a Sunday. The next will be 2021, 2027, and 2032). There has been a huge amount of money spent on infrastructure for the Camino for albergues/hostals, restaurants, bridges and path maintenance, etc, over the years. When we were house hunting we were told that within a certain distance of the Camino, the appearance of your house had to conform with certain historical/planning regulations. There are also subsidies for improvements.

Of course the Camino is no longer strictly religious. It´s highly convenient for enthusiasts of long-distance biking or hiking, family vacations, and for those who just want to escape and like to walk.



For more:
http://www.caminodesantiago.me.uk/
http://www.xacobeo.es/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Way_of_St._James

Qeimada

La queimada can be made anytime. My understanding is that it´s often performed at New Year - to banish meigas or ill-wishers in general for the coming year. We did one once in Chicago for a house warming.

Popularly thought to date back to the Celts, wikipedia points out that orujo (Galician Grappa, aguardiente, aqua vit, or white alcohol distilled from the grape skins after pressing)could only be made after the Arabs (!) introduced the alambique in the middle ages (7th or 8th century).



The conjuro, or incantation, only dates from the late 1960´s. I´m afraid it´s one of those things that sounds much better before translation.

Recipe:

1 liter orujo
150 grams white sugar
lemon rind
a few coffee beans, pieces of apple and orange (optional)

You will need a heat-proof bowl (the clay ones pictured are typical). Add all ingredients and mix well. Carefully set mixture alight, you´re looking for a blue flame. Continue stirring, lifting mixture with a ladle and allowing it to fall back into the bowl while reciting the conjuro.



Keep stirring until the flames subside considerably (the best queimada I´ve ever had was at a restaurant in Baamonde and it was burning for at least 45 minutes). Serve hot.

Conjuro

Mouchos, coruxas, sapos e bruxas.
Demos, trasgos e diaños,
espritos das neboadas veigas.
Corvos, píntigas e meigas,
feitizos das manciñeiras.
Podres cañotas furadas,
fogar dos vermes e alimañas.

Lume das Santas Compañas,
mal de ollo, negros meigallos,
cheiro dos mortos, tronos e raios.

Oubeo do can, pregón da morte;
fuciño do sátiro e pe do coello.
Pecadora lingua da mala muller
casada cun home vello.

Averno de Satán e Belcebú,
lume dos cadáveres ardentes,
corpos mutilados dos indecentes,
peidos dos infernais cus,
muxido da mar embravescida.
Barriga inútil da muller solteira,
falar dos gatos que andan á xaneira,
guedella porca da cabra mal parida.

Con este fol levantarei as chamas
deste lume que asemella ao do Inferno,
e fuxirán as bruxas a cabalo das súas escobas,
índose bañar na praia das areas gordas.

¡Oíde, oíde! os ruxidos que dan
as que non poden deixar de queimarse
no augardente quedando así purificadas.

E cando este brebaxe baixe polas nosas gorxas,
quedaremos libres dos males da nosa ialma
e de todo embruxamento.


Forzas do ar, terra, mar e lume,
a vós fago esta chamada:
si é verdade que tendes máis poder que a humana xente,
eiquí e agora, facede cos espritos dos amigos que están fóra,
participen con nós desta queimada.

In English:

Owls, owls, toads and witches.
Demons, goblins and devils
spirits of the mist-filled valleys.

Crows, salamanders and sorceresses,
spells of the quack doctors.
Leaky rotten reeds,
home of worms and vermin.

Fire of the souls in torment,
evil eye, black spells,
stench of the dead, thunder and lightning.

Howling dog, portents of death;
satyr's snout and rabbits foot.
Sinning tongue of a bitter woman
married to an old man.

Underworld of Satan and Beelzebub
fire of burning corpses,
mutilated bodies of the wretched,
farts from infernal asses,
roar of the raging sea.

Useless womb of a spinster
yowling of cats in heat
Dirty hair of stillborn goat.

With this ladle I will lift the flames
of this fire similar to Hell
and the witches will flee on their broomsticks,
going to bathe at the beach of thick sand.

Listen, listen! The roars are
those who cannot stop burning
in the spirit and are so purified.
And when this concoction goes down our throats,
we will be free from the evils in our souls
and all spells.


Forces of air, land, sea and fire
to you I make this call:
If it is true that you have more than human power
here and now, make the spirits of friends who are outside
join us for this queimada.

Chipotle Corn Chowder

My craving for chilis continues. The Spanish consider corn animal feed so it´s impossible to find corn on the cob except in pre-cooked shrink wrap packets, most distressing. It does work in soups and chowders though.

Made this yesterday. I didn´t have chipotle spice so I used 2 from a can. I also used the stock and remains of a roast chicken and threw in a red pepper for sweetness and color. Excellent! From mybakingaddiction.com

Corn Chowder

yield | 8 servings

Ingredients
5 strips thick cut bacon; sliced into ½ inch pieces
1 sweet onion, diced
2 carrots peeled and chopped
2 stalks of celery chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon chipotle seasoning
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (add more if you like some heat)
6 cups vegetable stock
2 cups heavy cream
2 Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced
6-8 ears corn
2 cups cooked and shredded chicken; I use rotisserie chicken from the local market
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
green onions; sliced for garnish

Directions
1. In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium high heat until crisp; remove bacon with a slotted spoon and allow to drain and reserve for garnish.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, jalapeno and thyme to the bacon drippings and cook until the vegetables are soft; about 8 to 10 minutes. Dust the vegetables with flour, chipotle seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes and stir to coat well.
3. Cook vegetables, flour and seasonings for 2 minutes; stir frequently.
4. Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Add the cream and the potatoes, bring to a rapid boil. Allow soup to boil hard for about 7 minutes, until the potatoes break down. This process will help thicken the soup.
4. Cut the corn kernels off the cobs and add to the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add in the cooked chicken. Simmer until the corn is soft and chicken is heated through; about 10 to 12 minutes.
5. Stir in the parsley. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the reserved bacon and green onions.

Notes:
-If you are not a fan of heat, eliminate the jalapeno. Personally I would not omit the crushed red pepper or the chipotle seasoning. It adds a smokiness and depth of flavor that is truly magical in this soup.
-If you like heat, definitely toss some more spices in and even leave a few jalapeno seeds hanging around.
-This soup is perfectly delicious without the addition of the chicken, but is definitely more of a meal with it.

Meigas

Galicia is a magical place. No really. So in honor of Halloween, my favorite holiday, I thought I´d do a couple of posts dedicated to the supernatural in Galicia.

There´s a famous Galician saying ¨Eu non creo nas meigas, mais habelas, hainas¨ or ¨I don´t believe in witches, but do they exist - they do.¨

What I didn´t realize was that it wasn´t just a belief in witches in general like the faeries, they´re quite specific, and have names.

From Celtiberia.net:

Galicia is a land both Celtic and magical. From ancient times mystery beats throughout its geography, populated with fantastic creatures arising from the unknown. And so in the villages where the wind whistles and rain lashes the pathways, in shadowed forests, we might happen upon these strange beings at crossroads and feel a chill at their presence.

From the inestimable Wikipedia :

* Meigas Chuchón (or sucking) are the most dangerous, they change faces or turn into vampires and insects such as bumblebees. They suck children´s blood and steal their body fat to be used in the preparation of ointments and potions.

* Asumcordas or street witches: Spy on people and watch who goes in and out of houses. (I think these are universal - C.)

* Marimanta: The meiga of the sack, they steal children and make them disappear.

* Feiticeira (Sorceress): They live near rivers and streams, although old, their appearance does not repel. She has such a beautiful voice that her songs hypnotize children who come to the river and cause them to enter it, where they drown.

* Lavandeira: This meiga surprises the traveler who passes a common laundry area

(these are all over Galicia - C), inviting him/her to help wring the wet clothes, stained with still warm blood, said to be from a miscarriage. The traveler must be careful to twist the clothes in the same direction as she does, because otherwise, a disgrace will fall on his/her household.

* Lobismuller (she-wolf): Must be born on Christmas Eve or Good Friday, or be the seventh or ninth in a family of all daughters.

* Vedoira: She is slim and pleasantly polite. She has powers of divination, and is expert in contact with the great beyond to tell if the deceased enjoy eternity in heaven or are still doing penance in Purgatory.

* Voladoira: Fly and do acrobatic stunts in the sky.

* Cartuxeira: witches who are fortune-tellers, who are always right in their predictions.

* Agoreira: These witches age prematurely, but live many years.

* Dama de castro: These witches live under ancient fortresses or underground in crystal castles, they are always dressed in a long white dress with a train and serve the people. Since they already enjoy a good life and fortune, no flattery or favor will induce them to give advice or gifts, on the contrary they tend to appear as people afflicted by a difficult situation, and grant their favors to those of humble status.

For Protection:

* Place a broom turned upside down behind the front door
* Carry a clove of garlic, dried chestnuts. Wear an higa (jet from Compostela is best) around the neck or horns of a vacaloura (stag beetle)

* Keep ¨blessed¨ earth from cemeteries or palm branches blessed on Palm Sunday at home
* Look for claws or wolf´s teeth
* Have pieces of jet, amber and other stones which protect against poisons and charms in forms such as wands, pendants, or brooches.
* Traditionally it is believed that jumping the bonfire at San Juan three times or a multiple of three frightens off the witches.



And - at least occasionally, one should perform a


Queimada

Hot Pickled Carrots

If you´ve ever eaten Mexican food in southern California, you´ll recognize these spicy pickled carrots which are put out as a free appetizer along with tortilla chips and salsa.

I had a craving for these the other day and found what tastes to me like a pretty good home-made version online. V agrees that these are pretty close.

Serves: 18
Ingredients:

* 2 lbs carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal (1/4 inch thick)
* 2 yellow onions, peeled and sliced
* 1 1/2 quarts warm water
* 7 ounces whole canned jalapeno peppers, with liquid
* 1 tablespoon dried oregano
* 6 whole garlic cloves
* 2 cups cider vinegar
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 tablespoon salt

Directions:

Prep Time: 0 mins

Total Time: 30 mins

1. Place the carrots in a 3- or- 4 quart pot. Add the warm water, partially cover the pot, and bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Cook at a hard boil 5 minutes; remove from heat.
3. Add the peppers and their liquid, sliced onions, oregano, garlic, vinegar, oil, bay leaves, and salt.
4. Cover and let cool for several hours.
5. Taste the carrots.
6. If the flavor is hot enough for you transfer just the carrots, onions, and garlic to two clean quart jars.
7. If you prefer the pickles hotter, leave the peppers in.
8. Cover the contents with cooking liquid, and cap with clean lids.
9. Store the pickles in the refrigerator for three days before serving.
10. They keep for a week or so after opening.
11. 11 Makes about 9 cups.

I halved the recipe - given that they only keep for a week and there´s just the 2 of us. I also didn´t boil the carrots for the full 5 minutes - more like 3 1/2 and they´re perfect. We are not fans of intense heat in spicy foods so I removed the jalapeños after the batch had cooled and put them back in their original jar along with some of the pickling liquid that was left over.

We ate some of these immediately with chicken fajitas for dinner - very good.

San Froilán

Last week Lugo held its major festival of the year - San Froilán.

Historically a harvest/market festival, it lasts all week. According to an interview I saw on TVGallego, since the adolescents had to stay home and watch the farm on the Stock Fair day, they all attended on Sunday - now known as Domingo das Mozas - Girls Sunday

So who the heck was San Froilán? From wikipedia:

Luckily, we have a short biography, in minuscule elegant Visigothic, copied by the deacon John, a contemporary. The copy is from the year 920, fifteen years after his death. Its author is unknown. Despite the laconic style, we can reconstruct the basic features of his life and character, stripped of the common adherences of legendary tales of the lives of medieval saints.

Born in the city of Lugo in Regueiro Dos Horta, in the year 833, and he chooses life as a student until he was about 18, in preparation for the priesthood according to the custom of the time.

Froilan, the Hermit

His spiritual life in crisis, he becomes a hermit, retiring to a cave in Vega de Valcarce, El Bierzo (now chapel). Meanwhile, rebellions break out in Mozarabic Muslim Spain. . . the young Hermit doubts whether he should stay longer in the wilderness.

The decision to end his reclusion was subjected to a test. If God suspended natural laws, it would be an obvious sign of his divine will:

Froilan introduced some hot coals in his mouth. The fire did not cause the slightest burn. God had spoken. From the mountains to the villages he was launched to spread among men the other fire that was burning inside him.

Froilán becomes so famous that he founds a monestary with over 300 monks in Vepe.
Alfonso III in Oviedo chooses him to create a chain of monestaries throughout the borders of Asturias and Leon to rehabilitate the devastated area after the reconquest.

Froilan employs his great initiative once again and takes it upon himself to travel throughout the kingdom´s lands. His indomitable attitude led him to found two monasteries near the border, a few kilometers from Zamora.

The first was that of San Salvador de Tabara, which gathered 600 monks and nuns. It was a double monastery, where the nuns, though strictly separated, had the advantage of priestly assistance and defense in case of invasion. . .

The second monastery, according to that biographer, was raised in a pleasant spot along the river Esla, apparently near Moreruela (Zamora). One laconic sentence added: .. 200 monks gathered there in devotion to the asceticism of regular life.

Frolán was subsequently appointed Bishop of León in 900. He died 5 years later in Leon and was buried in the Cathedral of León in a magnificent tomb built by Alfonso III.

He is often depicted in the company of a wolf, encountered on one of his many pilgrimages. A hungry wolf appeared one morning while the saint was deep in prayer. The wolf leapt on his donkey, planning to devour him, but was reduced to complete submission simply through the gaze of the Saint and his words of love and peace.

And so San Froilán removed the fear of both man and fire from the wolf and brought him into his service.


Retablo

He is Patron Saint of both Leon and Lugo. Festivities in Lugo Oct. 4 - 12



Complete schedule for San Froilán 2010 Lugo

San Froilan in Leon

Another Translation Project

The LOLCat Bible Translation Project is a wiki-based website set up in July 2007 by Martin Grondin, where editors aim to adapt the entire Bible into "LOLspeak", the pidgin popularized by the LOLcat Internet phenomenon.[1]

In the process of adaptation, various changes are being made to the source material, for example, changing the main characters to cats, Jesus Christ as "Happy Cat," God as the "Ceiling Cat," and Satan as the "Basement Cat," while the "gifts" and "blessings" of God have become "cheezburgerz".[2][3] General people have become "kittehs."

Galician Sheep (Ovella Galega)

Isn´t he handsome?

Galician Sheep are a typical multi-purpose heritage breed. First, they produce excellent meat. Second, they have quite high quality wool. Third, they do this from locally available rough forage, in relatively inaccessible areas, and are highly prolific and disease resistant. They also produce quite a lot of milk, but given the frequency of multiple births, the supply generally goes to raising lambs.

From what I read - every village household had a few sheep. They were taken to pasture in one communal flock, with the role of shepherd passing serially from one family to the next each day. One of the sheepdogs would stop by the correct house every morning.

As the wool industry declined from artificial fibers and competition from Australia/NewZealand and China, the native sheep also lost out to breeds more adapted to the production of meat.

By the 1990´s the population of purebred Galician sheep was under 500 total.

To my eye they are ¨unimproved¨ rustic sheep in the celtic model, much like the shetland, icelandic, ouessant, and xalda (Asturias).

Physical characteristics, from Serga

Morphology:
Live weight adult males (average in kilos): mountain 35, coastal 55
Live weight adult females (average in kilos): mountain 27, coastal 42
Height at the withers adult male (average in centimeters): mountain 60, coastal 73
Height at the withers adult female (average in cms): mountain 51, coastal 64
Color: White, black color is rare
Visible Characteristics: small frame, straight nose profile or concave, forehead wool, fine boned extremities and long tail.

For scale:





It also looks to me like there are various types of fleece occurring, much like the Shetlands: double coated, kindly (shorter crimped), and long and wavey. And I´m glad to say there appear to be more colored sheep than this description would indicate. I love black sheep.



And spotted lambs


I follow a lot of blogs of people who have small ¨Spinners¨ flocks or ¨Fibre¨ farms (Spered Breizh Ouessants, Boulderneigh, Devon Fine Fibres, and Juniper Moon Farm, just to start) and I have to say I´m very intrigued. From what I read on Ravelry and Etsy, the knitting/spinning population in Spain is very limited and virtually everyone purchases fibres brought in from abroad. Wool is a nuisance expense at the moment, it costs more to shear than the farmer gets for the wool, so the focus is entirely on meat or milk production. There are no custom wool mills/processing that I can find, although there is one place in Navarra that has wool insulation. I believe that the UK´s domestic wool production is struggling too - but the recent Savile Row wool event looks promising. And they strike me has having much more of an ongoing fibre handcraft tradition and more infrastructure. I think the Spanish rejected handmade garments during the 70s as proof of poverty.

The economics of a micro-fibre farm will need much more investigation - but it´s fun to think about. What´s the minimum number of animals to make it viable, how much pasture do they require, how much could you get for the fleece, local agricultural regulations, etc. I´d also need to figure out a way to learn about fleeces and the basics of breeding. But I wonder if there isn´t a market for 100% Galician wool from happy ovellas galegas. . .


From La Region

The following are 2 translations from articles found online:

From the Instituto do Campo

From Autóctonas Galegas Magazine

Additional Sources:
http://www.fleire.com/
http://www.grupocordobes.com/clientes/juanvi/general.phtml?libro=1&cte=6&codigo=522
http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/pdf/495/49509939.pdf

Contact Juggling

Beer

V and I brewed beer on Sunday!

We have fabulous friends who actually mounted their own brewery in Chicago. (Madly waving at Tracy and Doug) They were nice enough to have us over for an evening´s brewing before we left and then a few weeks later brought the resulting red ale over for a night of bbq and billiards. Good times.

My brother has become quite a homebrew savant, as well. While I was visiting in July, he was kind enough to schedule a brew/bottling session for me. And I did my share of sampling of his efforts while I was there.

There´s much more of a brewing culture in the rest of Europe than Spain, which is dominated by a few huge market players and little or nothing in the way of micro-breweries that we can find. And Estrella Galicia is the only Spanish beer we´ve seen outside Spain.

Last Christmas, after some searching online, I bought a kit thinking that it was something V would enjoy trying. He´s really the beer drinker in the house, I usually prefer wine. But between one thing and another, it has remained in its box in a closet. He insisted that I shouldn´t just go ahead and do it myself, that he wanted to participate. So finally Sunday we went ahead.

The kit came with 2 plastic buckets and taps, 2 cans of malt/hops, a packet of yeast, a packet of hops, and a packet of ¨cleanser¨.


Cleanliness is godliness in brewing - you don´t want any wild bacteria screwing up your results. A thermometer and a gizmo that measures density (densometer?) some tubing, bottle caps, etc., finished out the kit.

So after soaking the instruments in the bleach solution we started off proofing the yeast in 27 C water.


Mixed the malt mixture with boiled water, carefully stirring so it wouldn´t stick and burn.


Took the mixture to the bathtub to cool it down before adding the yeast.


Topped up the batch to 23 liters.


Fitted the lid and air valve. And left it to repose and ferment back in its space in the closet.



This morning we had bubbling!

So now we´ve gotten our feet wet with the kit, I´m hoping we can venture a little further and actually use some combinations of grains/hops/malt of our own choosing.

Most exciting. I may have to plant hops.