summer pollination

The bees are incredibly helpful, beyond the sweet honey production. Without them most fruits we know would never become such. Below is a good example of how a simple flower starts becoming a lemon, even if at that early stage is hardly recognizable. Yes, those are lemons "in development".

summer escapade

Probably this was a very light escapade. I am not even sure it qualifies as such, but I definitely had a couple of exciting hours during our second visit to Culler de Pau (wooden spoon), in the tiny place of Reboredo.

It all started with a refreshing intro based on a restructured gazpacho concept.

The first bite per se, opened this little feast with an appropriate marine flavour: crocante de arroz con crema de anchoa, afumados e flores de verán. 

The early stages of this fixed menus are usually supposed to feed some notion of intrigue, which I always look for. And even the wine had this element. Without knowing it, I was glad to taste this wine again, after maybe two years since the last bottle we opened.

The Albariño that used to be known as Leirana Barrica is now called Leirana Finca Genoveva, named after the block where the grapes for this wine grow. It comes with an unadventurous label, but I still prefer it to its rather chaotic and ugly predecessor.  

Tomatiños aliñados con sopa de aceite de Entrimo con herbas frescas came next.

I think this Boi de mar con vinagreta de espinacas e espumoso de salpicón was the first big hit of the afternoon.

The Espárragos brancos "da ulla" con emulsión e millo were nothing but mindblowing.

An Ovo "Da Casa" á Carbonara de Queixo San Simón e migas de pan was ok, but at the end of the day it was no more than an egg.

A very elegant sargo (white seabream/diplodus sargus), which happens to be a protandrous hermaphrodites, starting life as males and some becoming female later on, was our Pescado con prebe das súas espiñas, pataca nova e chicharros. 

Our table by the window had a beautiful far view with plenty of bateas, where mussels grow.

The meaty component was this Lombo de tenreira ecolóxica co seu prebe aromatizado, iogur, cereixas, e vinagreta de allo tenro.

The sweet time started with a Sopa de frores, cítricos con sorbete de amorodo e herba luisa, which was a tremendously refreshing combo.

A confusing xeado de brioche con chocolate e leite cru extended this last part of the meal.

The last bite of this enjoyable lunch was a cremoso de chocolate con laranxa, xeado de té verde e leite cru. The required cortado added the final flavour of another entertaining trip to the surroundings of O Grove. 

summer snow

It's kind of a nonsense, but at the same time it's such a romantic name for a French tea to enjoy in the summer; another Mariage hit: Summer Snow, which at this particular time of history could also be called Summer Snow-den or simply Snowden's Summer...

Its incredible colour also adds more than I expected; for some reason it does make it feel summerish. Lynn has scored one more time, as well as Mr. Snowden and his ad-opt-ive Russia.

verano de miel

For a long time I had the impression that it is unlikely to feel something special for insects in general. They often do nothing but annoying any moment of life, regardless of its own relevance, having a reasonable possibility of even becoming a stingy one.

However, there is an exception which deeply contributes to make the summer a really magical season: the bee. And I mean the hard working ones, which go from flower to flower collecting pollen that later on become honey. Watching that activity is always very entertaining, in particular around the heady scent of lavender.

After a few fatal seasons, this year we were lucky to harvest about twenty kilos of honey, which should be enough to spend the winter in good shape. The most obvious way to enjoy it has always been with "requesón", some sort of curd cheese very popular in Breogán lands.

The nice thing about the warmest season of the year is that it's easy to find tasty fresh fruit to add, like I often like to do with our own nísperos (medlars), plus a splash of cinnamon on top...

summer of pedralonga

The 2012 Albariño Pedralonga is finally out, and full of joy. Miguel has done it one more time, and the summer now feels like a far more inspiring time of the year.

Together with Espiñeiro beach both components have the ability to make my summer a closer one to perfection. More than three decades Mera has confirmed this asset for any warm vacation to be tasted and remembered at its maximum.

Cheers! Or salud for those who prefer the Espiñeiro phonetic...flavours.