This is the recipe for anyone feeling enthused to make their own, taken shamelessly from the bottle of Certo.  I use Certo, which is just fruit pectin made from apple residue, as I believe it makes the marmalade, and jams I make, taste fresher and fruitier.  This is because, instead of boiling the fruit for ages and ages, this method only requires 5 mins or less of hard boiling.  This does also mean that we can do all the marmalade-making in one day!!

See Recipe

talk soon – c

It was simply lovely and there were lots of us dog-walkers about.   I have now persuaded young Jelly Bean that water is a nice thing and she loves paddling and splashing about.  In fact she trots up and down in the shallows, just up to her belly in the water and making lots of splashing.

Then, as we walked on, we came upon a “swan convention” – how lovely to see so many of them, and there were a couple of large cygnets around too.

It was a lovely afternoon…..

talk soon – c

So, who could resist her?  If you can, then this probably isn’t the place for you to come to stay!  She is very good but she is a Jack Russell and she is an 18 week old puppy!  

I have had her for 4 weeks and she is house-trained, will “sit” and come back when I call her – most of the time.  Oh, her name is Jelly Bean.  Many friends offered many suggestions for names, my daughter asked for suggestions on facebook, but in the end I decided to wait to see what actually ‘fitted’ her and on the 2-hr drive back from North Oxfordshire, my friend and I decided she was definitely a jumping Jelly Bean.

Poor Lilli was somewhat horrified and went on hunger strike for 2 days.  But she soon realised Jelly was not going to go away so she had better make the best of it.  It was helped a little by the fact that she was considerably bigger than Jelly – until it was that Jelly realised just how much fun it is to chase her.   Poor Lilli – she now has several escape routes in the garden but I notice that she always seems to be outside now, far more than before, and definitely if Jelly is outside.  So I think she is ok.

Lilli is not amused

Getting to know you

 Only time will tell I suppose but, to add to the general mayhem, I have another kitten due to arrive at the end of August!  I had thought, when I booked it, that it would be company for Lilli, since she lost her sister, but then Jelly came along.  So who knows how it will all work out now. 

But, as I said before, if you are not an animal lover, best to pick a different b&b!  However, if you like to be greeted enthusiastically on arrival, and like a cat singing to you thru breakfast, this is the place for you!  I look forward to meeting you.

talk soon – c 

I must admit to feeling just a teensy bit smug!!

talk soon – c

talk soon – c

 Oh, by the way, don’t forget my tip – if you are making a batch of this for freezing, do not add the right quantity of liquid.  You will only be filling your freezer up with lots of water!  Keep the pureed soup very concentrated, and thin it out when you thaw it out for serving.

Anyway, here it is – happy cooking.  Recipe

And don’t forget that soon after the daffodils have finished, the bluebells will be spreading their carpet of blue all across the Forest of Dean – I can’t wait to see them again.  That’s when you know we have really left this cold, dreary, winter weather far behind!!

talk soon – c

We did quite a bit of research on line and booked the first few nights accommodation in casa particulares (the Cuban name for b&bs), as well as taxis to meet us from the airport and to take us down to the ferry to get to an idyllic island (more of that later).  We used tripadvisor quite a lot which I have to say I do use extensively whenever I go anywhere these days, at home or abroad.

Back to the subject –  we stayed in 5 casas in all.  They were all quite different but all perfectly fine.  All the owners were absolutely lovely – they really can’t do enough to help you as their guest.  Most seem to speak some English, or have a friend, or neighbour who does and who will come to translate at the drop of a hat.  Our first experience was in an apartment block which we thought was a bit odd when we first arrived from the airport, very tired from the 10-hr flight.  Somehow you don’t think of a b&b being in someone’s flat in this country.  But the big difference in Cuba is that these people are incredibly poorly paid in regular jobs but if they do anything in tourism they get access to proper currency (not just the practically worthless National peso).  But even then it is not made easy for them.  They have to be registered with the Government to be a casa particulare and that means they have to pay a tax to the state of about £150 a month, quite regardless of whether they have had any guests or not.  Pretty harsh.  So, of course, competition is severe.  Never worry that you will arrive at a town and not find anywhere to stay.  It just wouldn’t happen.  The owners and/or touts are out in force to meet any arriving coach or train to offer their accommodation.  

As I was saying – our 1st place was a 3rd floor apartment and we enjoyed breakfast overlooking the Atlantic.  What a joy after leaving the freezing cold and grey depths of winter in England.   When we returned to Havana we were in a very different sort of place.  This was a large, colonial building in the heart of central Havana.  As you stepped through the front door there was a large internal courtyard, complete with plants, a fountain (not working) and 5 small turtles and 2 little crocodiles!! This building went up about 4 storeys and you could hear other families and the typical Cuban music issuing forth from the balconies.  Our casa was the whole of the ground floor and our bedroom was a huge suite.  We had a massive bedroom, a ‘parlour’ that must have been one of the original reception rooms, and an en suite bathroom.  Our host, it turned out, was a vet which explained the somewhat odd assortment of animals – all there  being treated apparently!

Crocodile & turtles in the fountain!

Breakfast spread

Our 2 casas in country towns had clearly been built for the job.  In Vinales, our hosts had built the whole house and we had a very pleasant room and dining room to ourselves, and shared the living area with Marilyn, her husband and two cute kids.  In Trinidad I think our hosts had built a first floor to rent.  We had the whole floor to ourselves – bedroom, huge bathroom, sitting-room, kitchen/dining room and massive wrap-around balcony overlooking the street.

All the casas had large, quite comfortable beds, all had en suite bathrooms with showers that worked and hot water, all gave large breakfasts of whatever local fruit was in season, fresh fruit juices, breads, eggs and ham and a variety of cakes.  And, most importantly the cost per night for a double room was £17 to £21!!  Breakfast is an extra £3.50.  They are also happy to prepare dinner for you for about £6.   You can’t really go wrong.

Oh, the island – well that was our treat to ourselves, but even that was not very expensive. Cayo Levisa – it only has 40 double cabins on the whole island, and one restaurant and tiny shop.  I takes about 40 mins to walk the length of the island, on beautiful white sands, overlooking a turquoise blue ocean.  We had perfect weather too.

On the beach at Cayo Levisa

I need to stop now, though, as you can probably tell, I could go on for hours.  Such an interesting country – I recommend.

talk soon – c