Bruja's Spanish 52 2010 (Weeks 7and 8)

[Bruja]

This week is a continuation from last week's as it is about the town, Lubrin, where the Fiesta took place.

Over 100,000 years ago it was a settlement of Neanderthals before homo sapiens took over and thousands of years later in the 16th Century when it was populated by Moors from the Granada region. As the Christians battled to take back control of Spain they waged war on many towns, Lubrin included, and killed everyone in mass genocide.

They then resettled the area with about 30 (Christian) families from Lorca to as far away as Galicia and the new town was founded in 1528 and each family was given a piece of land to settle. The main products were olive oil and wheat together with wine and chick peas which they were then able sell to Lorca, Murcia and Almeria.

At that time there were recorded to be 3 olive presses (almazaras), 6 flour mills (molinos de trigo) and 5 public bread ovens (hornos para cocer el pan).

Between 1953 and 1957 there was also mining for iron which employed around 500 people and, a little later, a marble quarry lasting until the 60s producing white and green marble.

It's over 500 metres above sea level and on Tuesday this week, when we had a massive storm (yes it does rain in Spain ) there was snow and massive hailstorms up there

So it's a very old town settled into the hillside with really narrow streets and very steep climbs from street to street. (As I found out to my cost on Thursday - how I suffer for your education )

So this is what I ended up with. A view of one of those narrow steep streets, a landscape of the town, and an old man sitting weaving thin cane whilst talking to his friends, where I paused to get my breath back.

But at least I'm feeling better

All village/small town streets are like this between about 2 and 5 as people are at home for siesta and,apart from the bars, everthing is closed.

​

and the almond blossom has just started appearing.

​

I thought sepia suited him

 

[Lynton]

Jill - a great thread and one I have bookmarked. You live in one of the few areas of Spain that I haven't passed through at some stage. Looks lovely. I am guessing you are a little bit more inland, away from "Los Giri's."

 

[Bruja]

Thanks Lynton. I live about 30Km inland in the SE of Spain and about 100Km from Almeria. There's a map link in my first picture post I think.

 

[swag72]

I especially like the old man - A very interesting face.

 

[68lbs]

Love this shot of the guy! Great stuff!

 

[jennyb]

Jill, not only great photos but a history lesson too. I also like the photo of the old man best. The only niggle I have is that his feet are cut off. I would have preferred either to include both feet, or have them cut off higher.

So glad that you are feeling better.

Jenny

 

[jeangenie]

Another interesting history lesson, Jill. It's hard to imagine Neanderthals in Spain, somehow!

I love all three photos, the first 2 because they are so typically Spanish, and I think you could find a street like the first one in almost any hillisde village in southern Spain. The third one is beautifully captured and typical of your well-observed street portraits. I think sepia suits him, too.

I'm pleased to hear you're out and about and climbing hills.

Jean

 

[TheThistle]

Very nice set of images, the colour sepia works very well! - Great stuff

 

[Tracer]

What a wonderful set of images - it really cheered me up on a cold frosty day to see those almond blossoms! Really interesting to read the history, too. I'm sorry you had to suffer for our education but we really appreciate it!

 

[Lynton]

Jill,

Muy bien. Ha vivida en España por muchos años? Hablas Español? Penso la repuesta es Si, por que el informacion en (como si dice "your posts on here?") Es un pais muy bonita y muy differente.

 

[Rob Bartley]

I love the old fella Jill! And sepia really suits it

Cheers, Rob

 

[mich66]

love the information you give with the photos.. the old man weaving is fabulous, sepia suits him very well indeed

 

[Bruja]

I especially like the old man - A very interesting face.

Thanks Swag

Love this shot of the guy! Great stuff!

thanks very much

Jill, not only great photos but a history lesson too. I also like the photo of the old man best. The only niggle I have is that his feet are cut off. I would have preferred either to include both feet, or have them cut off higher. You can't please some people

So glad that you are feeling better. Thanks Jenny

Jenny

Another interesting history lesson, Jill. It's hard to imagine Neanderthals in Spain, somehow! Well, I guess that many years ago all of Europe was 'joined up' and it would make sense to head for the warmer bits

I love all three photos, the first 2 because they are so typically Spanish, and I think you could find a street like the first one in almost any hillisde village in southern Spain. The third one is beautifully captured and typical of your well-observed street portraits. I think sepia suits him, too.

I'm pleased to hear you're out and about and climbing hills. Thanks Jean

Jean

 

[Bruja]

Very nice set of images, the colour sepia works very well! - Great stuff

Thanks very much. He looked like he could have been doing that a 100 years ago.

What a wonderful set of images - it really cheered me up on a cold frosty day to see those almond blossoms! Really interesting to read the history, too. I'm sorry you had to suffer for our education but we really appreciate it!

Glad you are still enjoying it, and I'll keep suffering

I love the old fella Jill! And sepia really suits it

Cheers, Rob

Thanks very much Rob, I appreciate it.

love the information you give with the photos.. the old man weaving is fabulous, sepia suits him very well indeed

Glad you like it Michelle. Thanks.

 

[Bruja]

Jill,

Muy bien. Ha vivida en España por muchos años? Hablas Español? Penso la repuesta es Si, por que el informacion en (como si dice "your posts on here?") Es un pais muy bonita y muy differente.

Hola Lynton

Vivo en España desde hace cinco años y por supuesto hablo el Español. La informacíon en mis mensajes me hace falta traductor desde Español a Ingles porque no hay mucho en Ingles sobre la historia de España. Si, es un pais muy distinto.

 

[Yv]

3 delightful shots Jill, but most of all I am loving seeing a side of Spain that perhaps as a tourist I would miss out on. The history and information you provide really gives the images some depth.

The church, is that a case of 'every new lot of people extended it'? Can't decide from the picture if it was always like that or if it has been added to as the population grew.

 

[Dark Star]

Those are 3 great images Jill but #1 and #3 stand out for me...especially the old chap. He looks like he just doesn't give a hoot that he's having his picture taken and has a world of stuff on his mind!

The narrow rising street is well seen and taken

More great insights into the Spain most of us never see!

Love it!

 

[Bruja]

Not a lot to say this week

It's almond blossom time in Spain and there are many almond groves in this area and they are often a cash crop. Although last year, for many of the small farmers, it cost more to harvest them than they got for selling them Not that you would think so when you see the prices they sell for in the shops. And Spain is the second largest producer in the world, only beaten by the US so someone is making a lot of money and it's not the farmers

The fields do look lovely once the trees are all in flower though, like puff balls on the mountain sides. It wasn't until I moved here that I realised the blossom comes before the leaves :bonk:

This week I've been practising with my Sigma 105 Macro and I'm finding it really difficult judging the DoF. It's my most challenging lens so far, and, after an abortive attempt last year I put it away :nono:

So here are 3 of my attempts at almond blossom and I hope you like them

The black insect is in fact a bee, a carpenter bee to be exact, and they are about as big as a thumbnail and make a heck of a buzz as they fly past. They are called carpenter bees because they chew their way into wood to make holes for a nest and can cause quite a bit of damage.



ps Next week is a recipe week

 

[jeangenie]

Ahhh - it must be spring .... oops, not here, not yet!

Thank you very much, though, for the taste of things to come, Jill.

I share your battles with the 105 macro - but even though there are still more trials than triumphs, it's my favourite lens! I must be mad.

The first one makes a pretty picture, with lovely bokeh.

The second one is my favourite with the bee engrossed in getting pollen, and I imagine you had to work quickly before the bee escaped!

I also love the dof on the third one, and the blue, blue sky - it shouts 'Spring is here!'

So, a good set, Jill and keep playing with the 105 - you may even grow to love it.

Jean

 

[78seconds]

That looks like spring...and makes me jealous.
The weatherforecast for my region warns me of snow on wednesday...

 

[jennyb]

Hi Jill,

It is definitely spring in your neck of the woods. It was snowing here today and will continue to do so this week, so I am very jealous.

These are lovely photos, but my favourite is number 1. The DOF is perfect with the stamens really sharp.

On number 2, a lot of the detail on the bee is lost because it is so dark, but I love the blue sky on number 3.

Jenny

 

[Shorty]

Ooooh, lovely, lovely!!! So gutted I've not kept up to date, that man and the weaving pic, and the flowers are just lovely

 

[swag72]

Lovely shots there Jill. The Almond blossom is beautiful that's for sure. The pics are very good. I love the first, crystal clear and great colours. Persevere with that macro lens, and judging by these I'd say you're already there.

 

[mich66]

beautiful.. cant wait to see the blossom on the trees infront of my house now!.. sick of this cold weather.. love the first one, super DOF and nicely focused.. look forward to seeing more from your macro lens

 

[Bruja]

Ahhh - it must be spring .... oops, not here, not yet!

Thank you very much, though, for the taste of things to come, Jill.

I share your battles with the 105 macro - but even though there are still more trials than triumphs, it's my favourite lens! I must be mad. I'm going to persevere though. You know I don't like to be beaten

The first one makes a pretty picture, with lovely bokeh. Thanks

The second one is my favourite with the bee engrossed in getting pollen, and I imagine you had to work quickly before the bee escaped! Well they're a bit sluggish really so I had a little time, got to be careful getting too close because if they move their aerodynamic capabilities aren't great. They aren't stingers though.

I also love the dof on the third one, and the blue, blue sky - it shouts 'Spring is here!' You wouldn't think so the last couple of days, down to 4C at night, grey, threatening to rain for the rest of the week. Glad I decided to do an indoor theme this week.

So, a good set, Jill and keep playing with the 105 - you may even grow to love it.

Jean

That looks like spring...and makes me jealous.
The weatherforecast for my region warns me of snow on wednesday...

Like I've just told JG, it's not that great here. 4 years ago there was snow and frost at the end of February and this caused the almond crop to fail as all the newly pollinated flowers died.

 

[Bruja]

Hi Jill,

It is definitely spring in your neck of the woods. It was snowing here today and will continue to do so this week, so I am very jealous.

These are lovely photos, but my favourite is number 1. The DOF is perfect with the stamens really sharp.

On number 2, a lot of the detail on the bee is lost because it is so dark, but I love the blue sky on number 3.

Jenny

Thanks Jenny, I'm late catching up this week as not much energy but I'll be over to yours soon

Ooooh, lovely, lovely!!! So gutted I've not kept up to date, that man and the weaving pic, and the flowers are just lovely

Thanks Shorty

Lovely shots there Jill. The Almond blossom is beautiful that's for sure. The pics are very good. I love the first, crystal clear and great colours. Persevere with that macro lens, and judging by these I'd say you're already there.

That's very kind of you, but I won't tell you how many I took to get those 3

beautiful.. cant wait to see the blossom on the trees infront of my house now!.. sick of this cold weather.. love the first one, super DOF and nicely focused.. look forward to seeing more from your macro lens

Ooh, thank you very much :nuts:

 

[SarahLee]

Those are lovely Jill, and making me a bit jealous. It's just started to snow here.
We had a glimpse of the almond blossoms last week, but I'd love to see a wider shot of a whole hillside of them . . . maybe next week . . . pretty please!!!!

No.3 is my favourite of the lot. Of all of them I think the DoF has been the most successful with that one, and I love the soft pink blossom against the sky. No.1 comes a close second though.

I love the bee in number 2, but it would need just a bit more detail to really make it for me. The wings look great, but you seem to have got the main focus there rather than the body . . . or is it just my monitor?
it's still a brilliant effort, and I bet it wasn't easy getting that close to something so fast moving.

The struggle with the lens has definitely paid off this week, looking forward to seeing more macro work in your 52. (But Blossom trees on the hillside first please!)

 

[Tracer]

Lovely to see the blossom - it is freezing here! I particularly like the first one with the combination of sharpness and bokeh . The bee is a little dark but you can still see plenty of detail - you did well to capture it. I'm not quite so keen on the colours of the last one, though, which on my monitor look a bit like an old, slightly dodgy slide film.

I'm looking forward to the recipe!

 

[briarlow]

Loving seeing this, one day I just know I'll be living in Spain, especially the south. For the timebeing I've got my Perro de Agua Espanoles and they keep me occupied and allow me to go to SPain now and again.

 

[Bruja]

Those are lovely Jill, and making me a bit jealous. It's just started to snow here. It's snowing 20Km from here
We had a glimpse of the almond blossoms last week, but I'd love to see a wider shot of a whole hillside of them . . . maybe next week . . . pretty please!!!! You'll have to be patient Sarah. The groves aren't fully in flower yet, but as soon a s they are I'll post one.

No.3 is my favourite of the lot. Of all of them I think the DoF has been the most successful with that one, and I love the soft pink blossom against the sky. No.1 comes a close second though. Thank you

I love the bee in number 2, but it would need just a bit more detail to really make it for me. The wings look great, but you seem to have got the main focus there rather than the body . . . or is it just my monitor?
it's still a brilliant effort, and I bet it wasn't easy getting that close to something so fast moving. The problem is they are really dark, almost black

The struggle with the lens has definitely paid off this week, looking forward to seeing more macro work in your 52. (But Blossom trees on the hillside first please!)

Lovely to see the blossom - it is freezing here! I particularly like the first one with the combination of sharpness and bokeh . The bee is a little dark but you can still see plenty of detail - you did well to capture it. I'm not quite so keen on the colours of the last one, though, which on my monitor look a bit like an old, slightly dodgy slide film.

I'm looking forward to the recipe!

Thanks Tracer, and the recipe is on it's way.

Loving seeing this, one day I just know I'll be living in Spain, especially the south. For the timebeing I've got my Perro de Agua Espanoles and they keep me occupied and allow me to go to SPain now and again.

Thanks for popping in

 

[Bruja]

As promised, Week 6 is a recipe. It's for paella valenciana, in other words, paella from Valencia

Every area has it's own version of paella. Coastal areas are usually seafood paellas whereas inland they are meat based and some are a mixture of seafood and meat but usually with a fish stock base. The seafood ones contain prawns in their shell, mussels, squid, octopus etc and I don't like it! It's much too 'fishy' for me. For the same reason I don't like the paella mixta or mixed paella. So my favourite is meat based.

This one contains chicken (pollo), chorizo (chorizo ) and cured black pudding (morcilla curada) (don't use ordinary black pudding or it will go to much) but if you want to make changes to this you can pretty much make your own choice of what meat to put in it as long as the proportions remain the same as the proportion of stock to rice is fixed. The quantities in the recipe feed up to 12 people as I like to make a large amount and freeze what's left as it freezes very well.

The paella dish (paellero) I have has a volume of 5 litres and the thing weighs a ton when full but you could use a wok if you can't get a paella pan at home. Just check what volume it has and then adjust the quantities.


And this is what you end up with.

Paella Valenciana (total time inc prep - 2 hours)

Ingredients

1 Kg chicken breast, cut into small pieces
8 chorizo sausages (not cured chorizo)
1 cured black pudding
1 large red pepper (chopped)
1 large green pepper (chopped)
1 large onion (chopped)
450g butter beans (I use frozen)
500g frozen peas
2 heads of garlic, cloves peeled
3 cups of paella or risotto rice
7.5 cups of chicken stock
large pinch of saffron
1 rounded tablespoon of paprika
salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil for frying
5 lemons, halved

Method

I find it easiest to chop everything up first as this can take 30 minutes.

Put the stock on to heat, when boiled turn off the heat and cover it until needed.

Heat the oil in pan/wok and add the chopped chorizo (and black pudding if using) and fry for a few minutes, then drain and put aside.

Then fry the chicken until all the water from it has evaporated from the pan, then put aside.

Now add the garlic, peppers and onion and fry until they are reduced and most of the liquid has evaporated.

Add the peas and beans and cook until this liquid is reduced.

Now add the saffron, paprika and salt and pepper and mix well.

Add the rice and stir to get it coated with the oil. (You may need to add more oil at this point.)

Return the chicken, chorizo and black pudding to the pan and mix well.

Add a couple of cupfuls of the stock and mix well.

Then add the rest of the stock, stirring every few minutes to mix in the rice.

When about two thirds of the liquid has been absorbed, switch off the heat and place the halved lemons around the top of the paella and press them weel down with a tight fitting lid. Cover the lid with a couple of tea towels and let the rest of the stock be absorbed over 20 - 30 minutes.

When you are happy that just about all the stock has gone (I like to leave a little bit in as it keeps it moist), squeeze the lemons over the top of the paella and mix the juice in.

 

[jennyb]

Yum, yum. That sounds and looks great, Jill. I will definitely give this one a try. I am not into things like squid and octopus so the meat one sounds great for us.

Thanks for sharing.

Jenny

 

[swag72]

That sounds nice Jill. You've forgotten that rabbit!! That's in all the paella's around us!!

I think from a photographic point of view this would have looked better with a more close up pic and perhaps a shallow dof so that you could really focus on that lovely goodliness.

 

[dlh]

I love paella and that looks fantastic. Not sure what of that I'd be allowed on my diet though, will have to check with Marjorie at fat fighters so saving recipe for later.

A little more space on a wooden background would set this off nicely and a slight boost to saturation. Looks good enough to eat though

 

[Bruja]

Yum, yum. That sounds and looks great, Jill. I will definitely give this one a try. I am not into things like squid and octopus so the meat one sounds great for us.

Thanks for sharing.

Jenny

You're welcome Jenny

That sounds nice Jill. You've forgotten that rabbit!! That's in all the paella's around us!! Ah, but I don't like rabbit

I think from a photographic point of view this would have looked better with a more close up pic and perhaps a shallow dof so that you could really focus on that lovely goodliness.

I tried that but it just looked likea mushy mess :shrug:

I love paella and that looks fantastic. Not sure what of that I'd be allowed on my diet though, will have to check with Marjorie at fat fighters so saving recipe for later.

A little more space on a wooden background would set this off nicely and a slight boost to saturation. Looks good enough to eat though

I didn't have a big enough board It's a 5L pan

It did taste good too

 

[Tracer]

That looks wonderful - I can smell it from here! (Looks for a :yummy: smiley but can't find one...)

 

[jeangenie]

That looks totally yummy - even at 8 am (the thought of eating before 10am is foreign to me ) It would be a great dish for a party, but I like the idea of being able to freeze it so you can have lots of treats out of one dish!

The photo looks good, but I really think it needs smell as well, Jill. Some people are never satisfied are they.

Definitely one for the front cover of your Spanish 52 Book.

Jean

 

[Bruja]

That looks wonderful - I can smell it from here! (Looks for a :yummy: smiley but can't find one...)

It tasted good too

That looks totally yummy - even at 8 am (the thought of eating before 10am is foreign to me ) It would be a great dish for a party, but I like the idea of being able to freeze it so you can have lots of treats out of one dish! I do use it in the summer as a party dish instead of a barbecue, and when I've taken it to a friend's party it has always gone first

The photo looks good, but I really think it needs smell as well, Jill. Some people are never satisfied are they.

Definitely one for the front cover of your Spanish 52 Book.

Jean

Thanks Jean

 

[Bruja]

Well I'm back, sort of

The first picture is for Yv who wanted to see my roscones from the Fiesta de Pan, and the second one is for Jean, just to make her jealous

I'm sure I'll be back on form soon

 

[jeangenie]

Hi Jill - It's good to see you back - even if it's only 'sort of', and if you were back 'properly' I'd be dealing with you severely for making me jealous. :rules:

As it is, I'll just say they're both excellent shots and as for having at least 2 sorts of perargoniums in flower - :razz: It's one of those plants I love to see but I buy them each year because I can't stand the smell when you handle them. So, of course, I never get flowers until well into June. Those look sooo summery - and I'm still enjoying our snowdrops.

Sod it - I am jealous!



Jean