Posts filed under 'Nature'
Today I walked from Tortosa to Xerta mostly along the Rio Ebro and then back along the Via Verde (green way) which is a dissused railway line which has been converted to a footpath, the roundtrip was about 30km.
Food for the day:
For breakfast I had a mix of sprouted seeds (hemp, sunflower and pumpkin) with soaked goji berries, figs and apricots
Throughout the day I had about 5 kakis, 8 satsumas, a few dates and cacao beans plus an orange and some carob pods I found along the way.
When I got back I had a custard apple and then a large salad with wild greens I picked during the walk, courgette, olives, a tomato, some fresh dulse, sprouted rye and some onion basil and olive cracker.
More photos on Flickr.
November 8th, 2009
I’m currently travelling in Spain and thought I’d post some photos from my trip.
I’m in Tortosa in Tarragona Province and I was very supprised to see Booja Booja raw ice-cream for sale on an organic stall in the market. There were two organic stalls, one with fresh fruit and veg where I got some delicious cherimoyas (custard apples). The fruit here is just divine, eating lots of kakis (persimmon) at the moment. Tomatoes with lots of flavour, so different to the UK!
November 7th, 2009
I was walking in the forest when I heard a pitter-patter sound, like the sound of water dripping from the leaves after it has rained. But it hadn’t rained recently so I stood still and watched to see what was falling. Beech nuts! I’ve seen the empty outer shells before but never the actual nuts – I think the squirrels get them if you’re not quick.
The individual nuts were falling out of the outer shells onto the ground. I picked up a nut and found that unlike most nuts it was very easy to open with my finger nails. The nut looks a bit like a pine nut, and surprisingly it also tasted a bit like a pine nut.
I’ve done a little research and found that beech nuts (also called beechmast) are high in tannins and shouldn’t be eaten in large quantities. Soaking them for 8 hours or more and then rinsing them removes some of the tannins and probably makes them easier to digest.
We opened and then soaked the ones we collected and made pesto with them, not quite as creamy as when made with pine nuts but still delicious.
October 8th, 2009
Spring is here, brining with it lots of wild flowers, many of which are edible. Here is a selection I found yesterday. Click on an image to enlarge.
Hawthorn flowers are a good flower to start with, they don’t have a strong flavour. White dead nettles are another easy flower, not too strong and can be quite sweet. They are not related to stinging nettles so they won’t sting you!
Dandelion flowers can be a bit bitter and can take a bit of getting used to, but I like them now. Wild garlic (ramsons) flowers have a delicious sweet garlicky flavour while Jack by the hedge flowers have a stronger flavour – garlic and mustard with a little bitterness.
As always, take care when picking wild food and make sure you are certain about what you are eating.
April 23rd, 2008
The wild garlic (ramsons) is just coming into flower. The leaves are great in salads or made into pesto.
The flowers are delicious, they have a strong garlic flavour with a nice touch of sweetness and creaminess.
Tulips are beautiful, this is taken in Nunhead Cemetery. According to Twinkel’s article in the latest Funky Raw magazine they are edible but somehow they look too good to eat!
I don’t know what this is but it is very pretty. It’s in Peckham Rye Park.
(Click on any photo to enlarge.)
April 16th, 2008
Here are some photos I took about a week ago when the sun was shining. Click on any image to see the larger version.
March 22nd, 2008
The weather over the weekend was beautiful! I went walking and took these photos:
February 6th, 2007
I’ve been on holiday to Spain and France for a couple of weeks. I was half planning to do a bit of a photo blog as I travelled, but I forgot the lead for my camera so couldn’t do that, but it migth have been for the best so I didn’t spend the whole of my holiday on the computer! So here are a few of the best shots from my trip.
I started out in Orgiva where I used to live but didn’t really take many photos, so the first couple are in Zaragoza, northern Spain:
This is near Jaca, Spain, which is on the edge of the Pyrenees, I went on a couple of good walks around here:
And this is near where my parents live in south west France:
November 14th, 2006
There is a nature reserve just round the corner from where I live but it is permenantly closed. Well, until today, when it was open for a couple of hours in the afternoon, so I jumped at the chance to go and have a look. Here are a few photos, click to enlarge:
October 8th, 2006
