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The Wild Asparagus Hunters are Out and About

It´s that time of year. Cars parked in odd places, the solitary person - usually a man, popping up above a bank or from behind an olive tree. The hunters of the wild aparagus are here. The plentiful rain scattered with a day or two of sunshine has brought them out in droves. Some have their route, others instinctively know where to go. They appear, walking back to their cars, with a huge bundle of foot long green spears of asparagus. And off they go, probably not to be seen for another year - or another week if the rain continues. No matter how hard the shoots try and hide the older men hunt them down with stick in hand, to fob off the spiky old growth, and uncover the tender new stems of wild asparagus. Everyone has their favourite way of cooking them but the most common seems to be in a Tortilla - the thick Spanish potato omelette to which you can add anything that comes to hand - or is hunted down. My one or two shorter stem finds don´t come close to the experienced hunters catch. I...
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Granada means Pomegranate


It's that time of year when the pomegranates have just about finished, the trees are losing their leaves and most of the colour is on the ground, but they are still decorative. The drying split skin turns a lovely deep red like fans.

Drying Pomegranate on Tree

The pomegranate is not only the symbol of Granada city but in Spanish the pomegranate is called granada. Look closely and you'll see this vibrant fruit symbol all over the city, pictures and etchings are everywhere. It was the Catholic Kings who first used the pomegranate as a symbol when the final stronghold of the Moors, the Alhambra Palace, fell into their hands.

Spanish Ceramic Street Plaque, Granada


Pomegranate trees are deciduous, in winter they're twiggy and baringly boring then, those new fresh green leaves burst forth in spring, followed by beautiful orangey-red flowers which become gorgeously rich-coloured fruit, first like earrings then christmas tree baubles. Even after the fruit has ripened and burst open to reveal those beautiful ruby coloured seeds, which are packed full with antioxidant properties, and they fall to the ground or relished by birds the dying, drying tough skin takes on its own beauty.

Pomegranate Open on Tree

It's said to have originated from Iran and Afghanistan and is mentioned in the bible, where there are 163 commandments of the Jewish faith relating exactly to the number of seeds in every pomegranate. I haven't counted them personally but a tour guide once told me she had checked four and they were 163 seeds in each one. I'm happy to believe that and save myself the count.

We have a pomegranate tree in our garden which I'm trying to keep small, but every year it astounds me with its beauty in every seaso, from the tiny new, red-tinged leaves to it's abundance of decorative dangling fruit, ending in a ruby-rich harvest.




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