Velagota

Monday, March 5, 2012

Puro Soaps!

This is our new puro soap blog site - please come and find us!
http://purosoaps.blogspot.com/

So its that time again- despatching and preparing the pigs for the freezer. We always call on some help to shoot/stun the pigs (before they are bled- we refuse to kill them in the local Portuguese method with no stunning first), and once they are removed of hair and cleaned, our neighbour assists with removing the guts- this is a very precise skill and needs to be done correctly. Once all this is done- with the help of Hugh and Ray- Pig in a Day DVD (we still use this for reference to get us started and remind us of the cuts), and a glass of local white port we can crack on with the chopping!

We butcher our pigs in the traditional English fashion- which gives us a great selection of different sized cuts and joints- Spare Ribs, Rib Roast, Chump End, Loin, Tenderloin, Bacon, Chops, Rolled Belly, Leg, Hock, Shoulder etc, and of course plenty of sausages!

Its such a rewarding time- there's something very special about filling up your freezer with your own outdoor reared, happy pork, the taste is far superior to supermarket pork, and a great feeling of satisfaction- knowing that we will have alot of wonderful meals to come and full tummies (and the dogs have a pretty good feed aswell!)

Monday, January 23, 2012

2012

All our visitors have gone for the time being and we are trying to get back into a 'normal' regime again!
The weather is beautiful here currently, and it really does inspire you to get out on on the land. We've been making the most of our precious days off, back in the woods, doing some clearing. It really is so rewarding when you face the day with an overgrown mess and end up with a lovely clear piece of ground.

It really feels like Spring is here, Glorias goats are in kid again and there is a hive of activity around the valley with everyone tying in their vines and getting prepared for the growing season.The first crocusses are popping up now aswell.

The two remaining pigs are very happy- it's given the smaller one of the original three a chance to catch up a bit growth-wise now the big fat greedy male has gone in the freezer!

The Geese are starting to get frisky and are acting very strangely!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Christmas '11

Just can't believe how quickly Christmas has come round this year! Very lucky to have the family out with us this year- so preparations started early -making the Christmas Cake and mincemeat, and preparing for a pig to be dispatched and birds to be plucked! The boys were in charge of all the meat- they boned and prepared 7 birds - a pair of quails, inside a bantam cockerel, inside a duck, inside a guinea fowl, inside a goose, inside a turkey!

The wild boar/ Iberian black pig has been a great success and made the best sausages and bacon ever!

We've also had the underfloor heating installed and next layer of concrete poured so it has made for the warmest and most comfortable Christmas here yet- every year we progress a little bit more!

Monday, November 14, 2011

olives, dogs and the odd pig...

Monday, November 7, 2011

Olives '11

My blogs posts are like buses- you wait ages for one, and then three come along at once!!
I've been (quite rightly!) nagged by a few people to keep up with the blogging- so I promise to make more of an effort and post less erratically!!

Sooooooooo here we are again- with the olive harvest- its' just come around oh so quickly!!! The weather has been terrible recently- very stormy so we have lost a few on the floor but otherwise the harvest is looking fairly good!

A break in the weather meant we could have a fantastic day picking in the autumn sunshine. These are the days we treasure- and what being here on this old quinta is all about.

We've had some help from Ish- as she is here at the moment- tempted her with a roast duck dinner and a couple of tankards full of black velvet- how could she refuse!!