Autumn is over, winter is here and soup is on the menu

November started off with the usual warm and sunny days and getting parky put your woollies on evenings and has gradually morphed into misty, cloudy, rainy rather tuck ourselves up in the warm with a hot drink and a good book. Last weekend we were over in L’Estartit in the startlingly bright sunshine, eating and drinking on the terrace in nothing more than a cardi.

We have eaten here before its opposite the marina with a very convenient car park, one thing about L’Estartit I love parking is plentiful and free if you park on the beach. The food is fusion, Thai/oriental and Spanish. I had the Ossobucco, which yes is Italian, ha ha ha, I actually went for the pork cheeks (galtes de porc) Catalan but they were sold out, we arrived quite late forgetting that in the winter people eat lunch earlier. Darren had monkfish and that was a spectacle as it came fully formed with its gurning grinning mouth full of teeth, it was a little one so not so scary but not quite how we expected it to be served. It was, however, delicious. We washed them down with a sin alcohol toasted beer, these alc free beers have come a long long way and are very palatable, I on the other hand, had a tonic and pretended I was drinking gin. No pretty plates of food am afraid we wolfed it down and forgot.

As it has been indoor weather since I have purchased myself some new hair dressing scissors and thinning shears, shear being the operative word. I was a bit disappointed with my last hair cut, I am supremely fussy as I like it to not look like I’ve been to the salon. I like a dragged through a hedge backwards look, kind of shaggy. So have chopped at it myself, very pleased with the result although am pretty certain I will be lopping more off until it is just right.

Elsewhere I have been continuing with my quest for a tidy house, tidy mind, let’s get ready to rumble and be house move organised. Spent a wee bit on storage solutions for my kitchen cupboards. Sick of not being able to see what was in them and subsequently finding some tins and packets that were pre Covid. I purchased these metal sliding racks and organised what hadn’t gone way past its date into sections, you know, baking, fish, sauces, curry ingredients that sort of thing. I also bought some decent sealable storage as we have had a problem with food cupboard moths getting into things like flour and oxo cubes. I kid you not they like oxos! 

You might like this other ingenious idea of using a drawer for spices. Brilliant invention of individual sloping fixings that just slot on top of each other so they fit any draw size. No more hoiking the box of spices off the top of my cabinet cupboard to then laboriously lift each one up to find what I am looking for. Oh no now they are reclining happily in alphabetical order for me to pick from at my leisure. Just the upper cupboards to go through now and get rid of some of the less attractive glassware and crockery and some of the jars I have been hoarding for my pickling and sauce making that I rarely get round to these days!

My tendency is to hunker down and stay home once winter arrives but some friends that own a bar were about to embark on their holiday, it goes quite quiet between the Fires and Christmas so good time to travel. They do the best ribs and I fancied taking my new hair and winter wardrobe out for a jolly. The bar is located on the riverside and it was nice to see the place back to normal without the hoards of people that descend during Fires. 

This is looking down river toward the church of St Feliu, the one below up river with the Cathedral lit up and backed with a bright white moon.

We get some spectacular sunsets at this time of year, especially after rain when the sky is filled with dark grey and purple clouds, this is taken off our lounge balcony looking out over Gironella which is the hillside opposite ours.

What better way to start this last week in November than to get out my big stock pot and make a warm, rich and hearty soup. This is a spicy butternut squash and sweet potato I made 2 litres, I don’t know how to make small portions of anything! It freezes well, although it is so delicious that it goes in the fridge and is finished within three days.

I haven’t done any fancy serving here but I will be having it again today for lunch with catalan bread and anchovies (bread lightly toasted and rubbed with garlic, drizzled with a little olive oil, squished with a squishy tomato and topped with tinned anchovies). 

The soup recipe really couldn’t be easier. Peel and chop 1 butternut squash and a couple of largish sweet potatoes, add to two litres of veg stock (I use knorr veg cubes), chilli to your taste, we like it hot, a spoonful of curry powder and a sprinkle of nutmeg. I also add finely chopped cooking chorizo, dried if I can’t get the fresh sausage, if you make it for a veggie add smoked paprika instead. Once the veg is soft and the spices cooked in, about half an hour, whizz with a stick blender until its smooth. I copied the menu from a soup I tried from a food truck owned by a lovely Columbian and Dutch couple who do dinner parties at home, they were at a winter fair I was taking part in. Here I have added a swirl of cream, which unswirled as I carried it to the table, and a sprinkle of smoked paprika on the top. You could add chopped coriander which would marry with the slight curry undercurrent or basil which would pair with the paprikas, really depending on your fancy and if you are using basil, fresh is best, tear it rather than chop it releases the flavour better apparently.

A couple more days and it will be December! Time to get my Christmas hat on and start prepping for the season to be jolly and all that!