The Barrenness Of Busy Life.

Well, the new year has certainly not brought about any changes in my silly behaviour, start as you mean to go on I say!

Belated happy new year to all my readers, I hope this finds you well. As you know, I have spent the past couple of weeks at my home in Spain where I enjoyed glorious weather and complete relaxation. As I've written so many times before, life in rural Spain is so different to that of suburban England. Customs and traditions which have been practiced in Spain for hundreds of years still prevail and whilst I'm there, I immerse myself in this very different environment and embrace the culture.

In England the suburbs and the relationships that sustained them have been subject to tremendous changes in the last fifty years, whilst villages such as Jacarilla have remained much the same. We have seen a massive shift in the structural relationships between our inner cities and their surrounding urban environment, DIY superstores and service stations blot our landscape, where once every neighbourhood had its local shops we now have shopping precincts. Greenbelt land has been swallowed up with housing and our changing work patterns and fragmented family lives have all contributed to change the face of suburban living.

Here in Britain we have become a diverse population, of course no one expects the suburbs to be the preserve of maiden aunts carrying wicker baskets. We have all come to rely on our eclectic mix of shops and restaurants, which are noticeably absent in Spanish villages, if you want Indian food you have to travel to (ironically) a British urbanisation.

Funnily enough, I find it harder to adjust when I return to England than I do when I first arrive in Spain. We arrived in Jacarilla on the 27th of December and being a Sunday it was literally like a ghost town, even our local bar was closed (Spanairds tend to open and close their cafés and bars at random.) Monday was much the same, the village comprises of only a few tiny shops which, without knowing where they are, could be mistaken for someones home. There are no superstores, no McDonald's, no Chinese deliveries at the end of the phone. Suddenly your lifestyle is parred back, made simpler. Far from rushing around, I find myself strolling to the village to buy basic ingredients from the shops or market, I sit in a cafe where I will always meet a neighbour, or take a walk through the stunning countryside to the next village.

                                  Taking a stroll through countryside from one village to another.

             

Oddly, when I return to England I find I don't know what to do with myself. If I go for a walk I won't bump into anyone I know so it'll be a solitary experience. There are no local cafés where I might meet a neighbour, and sitting in a chain coffee shop has no appeal for me. I could trawl around my local shopping centre, buying things I don't need, or meet a friend for lunch which will be mediocre unless I'm prepared to spend more than twenty quid. It's ironic that here I have so much choice, there are so many people, yet, I've never felt more alone. It's true to say that once a culture becomes entirely consumer friendly, it seizes to be a culture at all.


During this last trip to Spain, as always, we tried out a couple of different restaurants, in one particular restaurant I ordered the seafood ravioli, I was quite surprised when it arrived as it was zucchini ravioli, which turned out to be rather fortunate as it was a huge portion and my main meal was big enough to feed an army! The genius of zucchini ravioli is that it's comfort food without the carbs, as with any ravioli, you can choose a variation of fillings, mine was filled with prawns and scallops in a creamy sauce which was absolutely delicious.

Zucchini ravioli

Cut zucchini length wise
Lie 2 strips vertically and the other 2 horizontally, basket weave with 1 strip over, 1 strip under

Take a 1/4 of a cup of filling ie cooked crabmeat, prawns and white fish which has been pulsed, place in the middle, bring the ends of the zucchini up to cover the filling and hold together with a toothpick

Place ravioli in a dish, drizzle with olive oil and place in oven 180c/gas 4
Cook for 20 minutes or until zucchini is tender

                             My ravioli was covered in melted cheese and cayenne pepper

                                                            And for the main course.........

'It would be too easy to say that I feel invisible. Instead I feel painfully visible and entirely ignored.'
- David Levithan

Love Donna xxxxxxxxxx