Norfolk is where the North folk live, in the flatlands under the big sky. “It’s just like Holland” said Jim, my mate, who had come with me to Herbert Woods boatyard, to rent a boat. Windmills broke up the windswept horizon. We had arrived two hours late. Whatever Google maps says, double the time. So many…
Travel
Papas arrugadas with Mojo Rojo recipe
Every home in the Canary Islands has their own tweak for this dish. I’ve added red pepper to brighten the colour and add flavour. But I give you the standard recipe as well. The best kind of potatoes to use are the ‘bonita’ cultivar, which stems from the original South American tubers, some of which…
Paddleboarding for beginners
Just to let you know that I’m changing this food and travel blog into a sports blog. Just kidding. But, despite my widening girth (not helped by years of close-contact immersive food reportage), I do like to be active and adventurous, especially anything to do with water sports (no sniggering). So while I wasn’t quite…
A day with Eric Lanlard on P and O cruise ship Britannia
I was very impressed by patissier and TV presenter Eric Lanlard on the P and O cruise. He went out of his way to spend time with passengers and guests of his masterclasses and dinners. He was funny, charming, humble and knowledgeable. This was part of the culinary cruise series run by P and O….
Last stop on P and O cruise: Lisbon
Lisbon is hot, the place to be. Madonna and Michael Fassbender have moved there, what other proof do you need? I predicted Portugal was trending up when I visited Porto a couple of years ago. Great food, fantastic wine, beautiful architecture, low prices and the Portuguese have a style of their own. Things I like…
Island hopping with P and O cruises: Lanzarote
Lanzarote is the most deserted and on the face of it, barren, of the Canary Islands. In previous times, people used to travel across it on camels. But this doesn’t make it any less interesting. I took one of the P and O ship’s excursions to find out about the art of Cesar Manrique. Manrique…
Island hopping with P and O cruises: Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria is where I got to taste perhaps the most famous Canarian dish: papas arrugadas, or wrinkly potatoes. It’s served with ‘mojo’, a sauce, which comes in two colours and three flavours: red, green and spicy. The small potatoes (papas La Bonita is the preferred type) are boiled in heavily salted water: one local…
Island hopping with P and O cruises: Tenerife
The third stop on our cruise, Tenerife, is pronounced Tenerifay. Just so’s you know. (I didn’t). Before the Spanish colonised the Canary Islands, they were inhabited by a people known as Guanches, probably Berbers from North Africa. Their influence is still seen in some of the Canarian foodways, particularly the use of ‘Gofio’, a flour, usually corn,…
Island hopping with P and O cruises: La Palma
Simply put, geographically, the Canary Islands consist of volcanic bumps poking above sea level. La Palma has a geological phenomenon called ‘La caldera’, the cauldron: in the centre of the spearhead shaped island is the pit of the volcano. I read a whole Wikipedia article on how there is a big split in the middle…
Island hopping with P and O cruises: Madeira
Arrival in Funchal, Madeira One morning, after several days at sea, I woke to a glittering hillside port, Funchal, the capital of Madeira. My sister is flying out from England to meet me today. I’ve always wanted to visit Madeira, a lonely Portuguese island stuck out in the Atlantic, nearer to Africa than Europe. Like…