Please laugh with me and not at me as I show you step by step how to make Potatoes Pil Pil Stew in this recipe guide filmed by my husband. We are not professionals, but we did have fun making this short film and though I would love to promise that we will get better quickly - I think we both are happy that we made it out of bed and actually cooked our own food!
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Though summer is drawing it's sunny curtains to a close, I am resolved to make the most of life at home in the countryside and outdoors regardless of the season. Travel is something better reserved for a safer time so I decided to buy a tripod and a cast iron cauldron for cooking over a campfire after making a promise to myself that I would try to bring more of the outdoors in and the indoors outside. In the process of cooking food over the campfire I leave my usual world for an older and slower one. I like it there.
When Mat and I lived in Gibraltar where he is from I learned how to cook with a different accent having a new approach to the same ingredients I grew up with access to in the United States. It means cutting vegetables differently or using larger amounts of ingredients than I am traditionally used to. These new to me methods are actually old like the hills in the region of Andalusia that lead their way to the rock which Gibraltar is built upon and they taught me how to cook a stew based off of what is classically a sauce called pil pil and eaten in large amounts in this region as well as others on the Iberian Peninsula. Old recipes thrive under old methods and so a handful of potatoes, tomatoes and large amounts of garlic and oil become transformed by fire as do you, sitting there to warm yourself and give an occasional stir forgetting about whatever was troubling you instead being mesmerized by flames or just simply allowing yourself to be more still.
But even I know that reality does not allow us all to live in the country or to slow down as much as we would like and so the potatoes pil pil stew has been adapted to the stove top to be a simple, flavourful meal that is easy enough to take pressure off instead of putting it on. And you can spend time doing other things you love or finally get to bed early. If you do have the time and the means, I do hope this stew transports you like does me and that you get to spend more time in the world you truly want to live in.
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Potatoes Pil Pil Stew
Serves 4 people as long as there is dessert or two hungry people
4 potatoes peeled and chopped into halves
4 large fresh tomatoes cut into wedges or one 14.5 oz (400g) tin of chopped tomatoes
Begin by thoroughly rinsing the potatoes to remove the starch and set aside.
Outside over a fire in a cast iron cauldron or inside your home with a medium pot and a medium flame underneath, heat the oil until warmed. Add the garlic and let it sizzle for 30 seconds. Carefully add the tomatoes and potatoes. Immediately after add the *water (for campfire version add 6 cups (1.5 liter) and for home version add 4 cups (1 liter). Add the salt and thyme as well. Bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat to a low simmer for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are pierceable with a knife or even spoon.
Next add the pasta bring to a boil and if cooking outside cover it with a lid for 7 minutes. If cooking inside, leave the pot uncovered and boil for 7 minutes. Take the pot off the heat and let sit for 7-10 minutes, covered with a lid regardless of location to continue cooking but also to cool before eating. The oil keeps the food extra hot and needs a little time to be mouth friendly. Taste the stew and season with salt and pepper if necessary.
Enjoy with your favourite wine on a blanket of grass outside or curled up on the sofa serving the stew in a cherished bowl.
Olives are a great addition to this meal to nibble on while your stew bubbles away, but aren't necessary.
We all know about the man in the moon, but what about the woman? How was she made? I imagine if we listened to the fashioning of the woman in the moon we would hear not one story or philosophy, but a multitude. A story for every voice, for every woman who has gone through the darkness of night and come out the other side glowing with the most tender strength and beautiful light; a light of hope a light of lessons.
Luminary Bakery is now releasing their first ever cookbook that will put some of the voices and stories into print. Written by Luminary's Head Bakery Trainer Rachel Stonehouse, Communications Liaison Kaila H. Johnson, along with Founder Alice Williams and Commercial Director Rachael Coulson the book's message delivers hope and empowerment from those who have been through the Women's Programmes, Employability Course, Progression Support Programme or employed in the bakery past and present. The recipes are not only delicious, but will equip anyone to bake beyond their natural comfort level. Being a force of change is Luminary's specialty!
It is an absolute dream come true for me to be included in this publication knowing what it was like to be a part of Luminary's earliest days and to see how far this celestial band of women making up the bakery have come. You will find two recipes from me that are an expression of my path in gluten free and plant based baking: a blackberry and thyme tart inspired by a day written about here with one fellow co-founder of the bakery Sarah, who is now the Saz of Sazzy and Fran as well as pumpkin and chilli cornbread muffins. I could not have easily contributed without the guidance and feedback of pastry chef Jeremy Intille, the space created to learn new baking techniques by Eleanore Julius, or my amazing friends in the Draper family including their children who ate countless trials from my oven.
Purchasing with a purpose and supporting the luminous journey for each woman who shares a recipe or a powerful testimony brings more light in this world. And I think that it's something called for right now, more than ever.
It is ordinary these days to make a plan and end up living out the 5th version of it. In this regard I feel strangely released to blog again because in all honesty, I suddenly do not feel irrelevant in that my life is not quite how I dreamt it to be none the less little plans are coming to pass in some version or another. Since 2011 my husband and I began a journey through debilitating chronic illness the day after we married each other and to let you know that there IS good news in this blog post, together we have gone from strength to strength especially in the last two years. I have learned invaluable lessons along the way that are emerging through the ground of life in ways I am now able to share.
I am keeping my old posts and my older versions of blogs because they are my roots and journey. In returning to this space I cannot make up for silence in a cohesive transition because my life has changed rather dramatically in so many undocumented ways.
Moving from London, England to Gibraltar, where my husband Mat is from then to a little town called Bluffton, Indiana in the United States where I am from - life looks different! Wherever I go in the world there is always the moon above. There is always a gentle light coaxing me to keep going. Keep living. Keep dreaming.
So here I am getting back to my roots with Moon Garden! What has changed since Tea with the Moon (my first blog here), is that I am not eating gluten or dairy and instead I am focusing on a highly plant-based diet. I'm also learning to cultivate a sense of home. I am learning that it is a state of being that is not dependent so much on what you have, but what you do. Cultivating a cozy home has become one of my biggest dreams these days! It includes finding the most delicious pumpkin cinnamon pancake recipe and hopefully sharing it here one day. It includes inviting a small group of friends in and creating our own magic in the moonlight versus going out. Growing moments in my life has become my biggest gardening goal! Hosting dinner parties at home with music played by my friends is what my dreams are made of. Sewing serviettes or sourcing vintage napkins to set on the table is a part of it all. Details - the right kind of details!
There is a seat in the garden for you. The invitation is sent by reading these words. 💌 Especially if like me, the moon is your friend as a fellow sensitive soul in the sky - our other guest who is always invited.
As the world is increasingly unpredictable we can sow seeds to gradually create quainter homes and a state of well-being. I am learning that it takes times and patience, but is worth it. As life becomes demanding in ways we cannot anticipate, we can look forward to moments of evenings with family and friends under the moonlight set with stars. This is the garden inspired life!
