Off to a bright start. Very slightly less cold today, (I won’t say warmer). Really have to recommend Villargordo for a stop. We loved it and will return. Can’t wait to see how the photos that I did capture come out. Onward! Around four hours travel today. Lots more new bits of Spain to see. #wp #spain

Madame Escargot 20th November 2019 20th November 2019

Italian risotto kit, purchased in France and cooked and eaten in Spain with Spanish plonk. I love the EU! #wp #gastrovanners #gastrovanner #food #lunch #risotto #remain

Madame Escargot 19th November 2019 19th November 2019

Thought we had made a find in the supermarket this morning. 16 cans of beer with a free cool bag. 8€35 Around 1€50 a litre and the bag could be useful once we hit the Algarve. Turns out half the cans are actually shandy… And the insulated bag has a tear in its lining. Some days are like that. Cheers! #wp #gastrovanners

Madame Escargot 18th November 2019 18th November 2019

Shopping done and we are on our way once more. It’s a beautiful day, bright but chilly and quite breezy the visibility is great and the views impressive. I have managed not to cry yet . Up in the hills tonight, near a reservoir, and with -3°C forecast. A bit of a change from the Med. Anticipating being in Portugal by the weekend but may take longer if we stop somewhere that we like. Bought Dusty a couple of new toys and some catnip spray. Now looking out for a laser pen. He was a bit fretful yesterday evening but not too bad overnight and the Driver managed to get enough sleep. #wp #cats #Dusty

Madame Escargot 18th November 2019 18th November 2019

Variation on a theme: Crème Fraiche, Apple/Raspberry Purée, Kiwi Fruit and a sly biscuit. Fabulous! #wp #gastrovanners #gastrovanner #dessert

Madame Escargot 16th November 2019 16th November 2019

More convenience food tonight, this time in the form of a Spice Tailor curry kit (Fiery Goan). We bought several ST kits when we were up in Yorkshire in the Spring. I have been nuturing them carefully but the time has come to deploy. I used a bag of meat from our home freezer that was obscurely labelled “Frying Steak” and added a pack of ready sliced mushrooms. The very non-keto rice (“instant pilau”) came courtesy of one of those dinky microwaveable tubs of ready-cooked rice that we find in Spanish supermarkets. We don’t have a microwave but I find that they can be stir fried very successfully. I added ginger, garlic, flaked almonds and crispy onions and heated it all up in coconut oil. It was all very scrummy and made a pleasant change from the Spanish diet of grilled protein and chips. White rice may not be keto, or even low-carb but the resistant starch effect lowers the GI very effectively, I believe (not entirely understanding the RS thing but trying to learn and it offers a reasonable excuse for dropping from the low-carb wagon once in a while. The RS thing also applies to the Patatas Bravas that we had this week. Read up on it. If you comprehend the details, please come back and tell me all about it…) I now have a ST Butter Chicken kit and a Daal kit remaining for later use. I plan to use them judiciously. I can’t find them in France and suspect that they won’t be found in either Spain or Portugal either. Not sure we have any plans to be in the UK any time soon for obtaining further supplies and prices via Amazon are pretty scary. At least we have the Holi Diwali to look forward to. #wp #gastrovanners #gastrovanner #ketovanning #convenience #food #curry #spicetailor #holidiwali

Madame Escargot 16th November 2019 16th November 2019