Fresh Yeast for Baking Bread

Today the bread machine has been well used making one Olive Bread, a chocolate fudge cake and Hot Cross Bun dough. I have always bought my yeast at Iceland in Fuengirola but have been searching for the traditional Spanish ingredient.

The Spanish for yeast appears to be LEVADURA , but the packets found next to the flour are packets of baking powder which are not suitable for bread making. I have now found the fresh Levadura which in Mercadona is found next to the margarine's in the fridge section. Two packets of 25grams cost 34 cents and according to the instructions 25grams is suitable for 500grams of flour.

I have found that using some of the liquid quantity from the recipe and warming a small amount of water and dissolving the yeast and leaving it for 10 mins has had the best results.

Do Not use the delay function when using fresh yeast

Watch the use by date and keep in the fridge.

This is the recipe for olive bread

250ml  water  ( remember some of this is used for the yeast)

30 ml Olive Oil

450g Strong flour

1 1/2 tablespoon Dried milk powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2       teaspoons sugar

2. 1/2 ml yeast  ( or 1/2 teaspoon dried yeast)

50g Drained pitted and chopped black olives

Add the water, oil, flour, milk powder, salt, sugar and yeast to the bread pan and place on the setting for bread. After 10 mins add the olives. ( my machine bleeps when items need to be added)

Cleaning with Vinegar

I was thrilled to see the introduction of “White Vinegar” as a cleaning product in Mercadona at a very fine Price of 0.69cents. I immediately bought two bottles to try out. 

As we have been told for many years many of the cleaning products that we have in our households are bad for our environment and can affect our own breathing. Although I do use bleach in the house I use it very sparingly. Many people still put a“cup” full of bleach into a bucket where as research shows that a “cap” will do the job more than adequately. 

The Spanish are great fans of ammonia but I am sure most of you know that this must never be mixed with bleach ( I found out the hard way when I first moved away from home. Luckily I was on a terrace and the smoke fumes soon disappeared, but the smell was definitely over powering).


Here are some tips on cleaning with vinegar......

Cleaning with White Vinegar.

 White vinegar is another amazing, ecofriendly product that we can use to replace our chemical cleaning products. It is cheap, has a very very long shelf life, It is edible and biodegradable and is a fantastic cleaner.
To show you have versatile this substance is here are just a few ways in which we can use white vinegar.

1.       Eliminate odours. You can use vinegar for an immediate effect such as boiling a cup of water with a       table spoon of vinegar. This will work with strong kitchen/cooking/ smoke smells. You can also put a       small bowl of neat vinegar in a corner of a room or fridge to elevate.

2.       Clean Kitchen surfaces with a clean cloth and vinegar for a fresh smelling clean kitchen.

3.       Wash down tiles in the kitchen and bathrooms with a clean cloth and vinegar to clean off mould.

4.       Clean the fridge with a cloth and half water/half white vinegar to fight unwanted smalls and bacteria.

5.       To remove dirt from a microwave. Heat up a small amount of vinegar in the microwave, leave for three minutes and then wipe the microwave with a dry cloth.

6.        Soak cotton wool with vinegar and leave on taps overnight to clean off lime scale.

7.       Dishwashers can receive a clean up with a cup of white vinegar on an economy run.

8.       Wipe out plastic food containers and lunch boxes with a vinegar soaked cloth to disinfect, clean and remove smells.  

9.  Mix equal amounts of table salt with white vinegar into a paste and use to clean brass, copper and pewter. 

 

10.   To disinfect, clean and remove smells from dish cloths soak over night in a bowl of vinegar mixed with water.

11.    Before leaving the house tip three cups of white vinegar down the toilets to clean and deodorize.

12.    Clear blocked drains with handful of baking soda followed by a cup of vinegar. Leave for three minutes and then pour hot/boiling water down the drain. Repeat if necessary.

13.    Leave the shower head for several hours in a cup of white vinegar to get rid of lime scale and clean. Run hot water through the shower head when finished.

14.    Deodorant stains on clothes can be treated by placing a small amount of white vinegar and then washing as normal.

15.    Mix one part vinegar to two parts water to clean the coffee pot. Place in the water section and turn the machine on. Leave for 15 minutes and then rinse with warm soapy water and then with clear water.

16.    Add a teaspoon of vinegar to a spray bottle and wipe off mirrors and windows with scrunched up newspaper.

17.    Clean carpet stains with a mixture of one teaspoon of each of white vinegar and a mild detergent with a little amount of lukewarm water. Apply this mixture to the carpet stain and rub it with a soft brush or a towel, until the stain is vanished.

18.    To clean floors add half a cup of white vinegar in about 15 litres of water. A few drops of your favourite essential oil can also be added.

19.    Remove watermarks from wood with a small amount of vinegar mixed with olive oil.

20.   Wipe down surfaces such as telephones, light switches, and computer key boards with a very slightly damp cloth lightly dipped in vinegar.

 

Not many of us can grow enough of our own fruit and veg to be self sufficient and we still have to rely on shops and supermarkets. Maybe we don’t have enough space or our busy lifestyles just don’t afford us enough time to grow everything that we want to.
 Small family run greengrocers usually have good produce that tastes great and has been grown locally too but they are not always grown in an ecological way. Step forward the organic market, up and running for a few years now, it visits the main towns in the gaudalhorce valley on certain weekends every month and is now on in Marbella.
 As well as great fruit and veg there are stalls that sell honey, jams and preserves, organic wine and beer and one stall has rice, chick peas and other dried beans and lots of unusual organic flour for you home bakers out there. For more information on when and where you can find the market go to www.gaudalhorceecologico.com. Please support it if you can, at present it only visits each town once a month, it would be great if it became a regular feature once a week so we have access to organic fruit and veg all the time. 
written by Andy Williams

Saving Water

water saving tip

Three years ago when I told my husband that I wanted a wormery for my birthday he was a little surprised  but this year when I asked for a water butt he did not butt an eye lid ( Sorry- I could not resistit). I have wanted one for ages but again it is not something I have ever come across in Spain. I have certainly never seen one in AKI or or in local Viveros, however,my luck changed when I visited the newly open “Clearance Warehouse” on the Coin Road. (It replaces the burnt down storage warehouse  next to the Palacio de Telas and YoYuba) . They had two sets of garden water butts , one thin 100litre with stand at 20 euros and another 220 litres with stand, drainpipe attachment and watering can for 50 euros.

 If you are looking for something a bit bigger you could try BIG Mart which had 1000 litre water collectors that could be usedfor indoor and outdoor water supply. Their range started off at 240 euros and lids and taps were separate. They are also situated on the Coin road at the Entrerios /la Cala roundabout. 

If none of these suit your purposes than you could always invest in the cheap blue/red bins that we find in our Chinese Bizarre or 1euro shops which cost from 4 euros. Last year I placed two under the drains during the heavy rainfall and the watered all my plants for 4 days.

Rain is one of the few remaining items we still have free.        Lets use it!

Andy's post from May 2011.

 We already have a water butt that takes rain from the guttering but its too small and fills up in minutes, we needed something more. So with a rough plan in my head and the impending rain on its way i quickly rigged up a system that was cheap, simple and quick to make.
 
the photo above shows the finished article. The left hand water butt is the original one that has sat there for a year or so and is fed by the guttering and downpipe. The second is the the same size as the first but sits lower to the ground on a couple of two inch planks. As the water butts fill up they overflow into each other via 55mm pvc pipe. In total i reckon the capacity of the four water butts is about 700 litres, not bad for a hastily made last ditch attempt to save water. Once they're full, i fill up empty water bottles (look to the right of the picture) that we've saved over the last few years. If its torrential and all the water butts are full, the first one has a tap at the bottom which is connected to irrigation pipe. That pipe is buried in the soil and runs over the edge of a steep bank and down to the lower terrace where it fills up a large 1000 litre tank. That tank waters all the fruit trees and the grapes through summer.

Preparing Olives

EEk. I forgot my sister in law's birthday- a big no no, however I was forgiven and the typical family gathering took place and as usual the children took centre stage- wonderful.

As we left I was asked if I had enjoyed the last batch of olives as they had prepared them themselves. Looking very interested I was rushed off to the kitchen to look at the next batch in preparation. The green olives had been collected from trees near by and then one by one smashed between two rocks. Not smashed to a pulp but enough to split them. Apparently you can now buy a small device for 30-40€ which will split them. I imagine this is similar to a nut cracker or garlic crusher type rather than electric machine. The rocks worked well in the past and appear to still work.

Next the olives were placed in cold water for a week changing the water daily and then every other day.

At this point a lot of rules were thrown at me so as far as I can list...

Do not put them in a metal container ,plastic ( such as seen in the markets with a lid ) or glass.

Do not touch with your hands as this will contaminate and ruin the whole batch.

Do not mix olive types.

Do not tend to a batch if it is your time of the month ( this was very serious).

After 5-7 days the water was drained and four fingers of water added to the plastic bucket and then salt added.
A uncooked egg was also added which dropped to the bottom, when enough salt had been added the egg rose to the top.
The egg was removed and a head of garlic, laurel and rosemary were added ( other herbs and spices can also be used but these were the ingredients at hand at the time. )
The lid was replaced and the solution was left for another three days. After this taste tests would tell when the olives were ready but remember still not to touch with hands or a metal spoon.