Casalinho

Author: Andrea

  • Our Week in Pictures: 27th October 2014

    Our weekly round up of what volunteers have been working on at Casalinho, our developing permaculture project in central Portugal.   There has been so much going on this week that it’s been hard to choose the photos! 1) What a handsome boy! 2) Our last batch of corn drying on the driveway. We cut more »

  • Goats Roll Up, It’s the Vine Leaf Buffet!

    All summer we’ve been struggling to keep the goats away from the grape vines, in order to protect our harvest of fruit. Vine leaves are one of the goats’ favourite foods and if they are allowed to they’re easily able to strip a vine in minutes, sometimes damaging it in the process and certainly scoffing the more »

  • Our Week in Pictures: 20th October 2014

    Our weekly round up of what volunteers have been working on at Casalinho, our developing permaculture project in central Portugal.   Once again our activities have been largely dictated by the weather, but we’ve been very lucky and had dry mornings most days in which to get the essentials done. As I write though, it’s more »

  • Our Week in Pictures: 13th October 2014

    Our weekly round up of what volunteers have been doing at Casalinho, our developing permaculture project in central Portugal. Katinka’s marvellous photo above sums up this week’s weather. It’s been grim! But our intrepid volunteers have been cracking on in the drier patches. Left to right, up to down: 1) Fabulous colour combo from the more »

  • Our Week in Pictures: 6th October 2014

    Lots of people on site this week including some new volunteers, and plenty going on as usual. But the focus has really been on the grape harvest, with foot stomping the grapes being a popular activity. The first batch of wine has now started it’s secondary fermentation, and another batch is on the way. Grapes more »

  • Our Week in Pictures: 29th September 2014

    Another busy week! Making up for the rain of last week we’ve been cracking on with the first part of our grape harvest and wine making. Harvesting and produce preservation continues, with tomatoes and quinces still being top of my processing list. Volunteer Marjolein has been filming this week, which has given Jeroen a marvellous more »

  • Our Week in Pictures: 22nd September 2014

    We’ve had our first taste of autumn weather this week, somewhat early, with lots of rain and tremendous thunderstorms.  We can’t really complain though, look at these photos of Lisbon today. Wet soil easily compacts so we’ve not been doing a great deal in the veg garden as a result. A seemingly simple task of knocking more »

  • In the Kitchen: Elderberry & Pear Chutney

      With a proliferation of elderberries and plenty of windfall pears at the moment, this elderberry and pear chutney recipe has been a tasty way to ensure that none go to waste. As with most of my recipes, my quantities are vague and my ingredients interchangeable. Taste it when it’s boiled down and tweak the more »

  • Our Week in Pictures: 8th September 2014

    It’s been another week of harvesting and processing. I’ve been making the most of the summer sun to dry as much as I can, with particular emphasis on things that can add variety to the animals’ winter feed. Left to right, top to bottom. 1. We discovered that the dead stalks of the parsnips we more »

  • In the Kitchen: Sorrel ‘Pickle’

    We’re fortunate in that we have a great deal of sheep’s sorrel (Rumex acetosella) growing wild all over the garden. It’s got a very strong lemony flavour (to the extent that it’s known as azeda in Portuguese, literally meaning sour), and is a versatile addition to the foragers collection. A few leaves make a great addition to more »