Adios, Vejer

I went for an early morning swim at Zahora beach – Vejer was still sleeping and the peacefulness and coolness was lovely. The beach was deserted and I  tried doing a bit of yoga but somehow my body and the sand didn’t really work in harmony. I swam for maybe 15 minutes – it wasn’t cold but I was worried someone might run on to the beach and steal my clothes et al – irrational worry but I kept checking my heap on the beach so “swimming” might not be an accurate description – more like treading water and flapping about a bit. Driving back from the beach I was exhausted – I had expected  to feel invigorated and set up for a full day of cooking followed by gala dinner. I was actually hungry, though, and when I got back to the b&b, there was another large offering waiting – today’s pork three ways was different again, and the jams were red pepper and melon. The cake was pineapple – all delicious.

I stumbled upstairs to my room and lay down for an short nap – set YouTube to a yoga nidra meditation for about the right length of time before meeting up with the team. Something went wrong with my timings and just as I was entering deep mindfulness my alarm on my phone went off and I was yanked horridly back into consciousness. I didn’t really recover myself until mid-afternoon (I think it was the first sherry that sorted me out).

So – last day of cooking and we had two new students who joined us for the day of preparing and eating Moroccan food. AnnieB served us mint tea which was freshly brewed and very delicious, accompanied by dates which we stuffed with walnuts. We then made some delicious macaroons – the boys were first rate at whipping the egg whites and folding them in gently. Then a mountain of chopping. I volunteered to chop the big tomatoes – which needed to be de-seeded and diced. It was exactly what my mind needed to bring me back from my meditative state – I made slow steady progress while the rest of the team seemed to complete many many other tasks. We were shown how to prepare sardines – slightly easier than anchovies but the same method. The fillets were then sandwiched with chermoula and lightly coated in flour and fried. Delicious – and I will definitely be doing these at home.  Photo below was taken after I had starting eating…was a bit too eager to get stuck in…

Sherry arrived and we headed up to the terrace to eat the fruits of our labours. Carrot and cumin salad, babaganoush (sp?), courgette salad, chicken marinated in a Moroccan marinade (grammar?) and BBQd with a standout potato and yoghurt dressing. Copious amounts of sherry and lots of bonhomie (must check out if there is a Spanish equivalent). A short hop back to my B&B and I fell asleep for a couple of hours listening to the test match special – England got bowled out and South Africa went back in to bat while I slept (Husband, I hope I have made you happy including a cricket titbit). A final shop and walk round, back to pack my suitcase and then to AnnieB’s for a glass of cava before setting off for dinner. It was a fabulous dinner – we were looked after very well and AnnieB kept pointing out local celebrities including the guy who runs the Almadraba and the lovely butcher. Many people came to say hello to AnnieB so I reckon she is also quite a celebrity! The food was amazing, needless to say, matched perfectly with sherries and wines. We started off with deep fried chilli olives…

…followed by langoustines with leeks and goat’s cheese with a beetroot sauce…

…sardines with sumac…

Pressa Iberica (iberica pork skewers)

…among a few others! My final two glasses were an orange dessert wine made locally by the owner of the restaurant – it was a great way to end the sherryfest. A short stumble back to my room and a lovely long nights uninterrupted sleep. It’s true – sherry is very good for your health. I even got a certificate for my cooking skills!

Am writing this at 30,000 feet as we head back home. I hear it’s been raining. As I walked back to my hire car, I realised I wasn’t going straight back to work Monday morning. My heart seemed to skips beat or maybe race a bit and a massive smile appeared on my face. I am truly blessed!  Jerez airport is great – no big queues, bought some sherry vinegar in a spray bottle a la AnnieB’s and some figs in PX. Will miss all my new friends and the lovey week we spent, just as I missed all my old friends when they went home midweek.

A week of catching up with homies and family – and of course, leaving the best till last, a journey home from stansted in Husband shiny new carmine red Porsche Panamera 😂