Brand identity designer | Specialising in branding for lifestyle businesses

Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do, than by the ones you did. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore! Dream! Discover!

Mark Twain

Tranquilo Creative

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I grew up on a mixed-arable farm near the village

I grew up on a mixed-arable farm near the village of Cuminestown in the north east of Scotland. It was a pretty cool place to grow up, but sadly, I really didn’t appreciate it at the time - all of my friends lived in towns or villages - and I felt like I was somehow missing out.

However, what I now realise is that growing up on a farm teaches you some invaluable life lessons. From an early age we understood exactly where our food came from, and the hard work that went in to producing it. Back then (1970’s) we were more used to eating locally and seasonally than we are now - and that’s something that I am still passionate about.

The events of the last couple of years have taught us that so much needs to change about how we eat, drink and live. This is something I want to explore more of on this account and on my new blog which I hope to be launching soon.

There will still be one big change to come - the name of this account will be changing - more details on that to follow . . .

#EatLocal #SeasonalFood #SeasonalEating #FarmingLife #RuralLife #FarmersDaughter #FairmersQuine #LifestyleWriter #FoodWriter #FoodMemories #SlowLiving #Aberdeenshire #Scotland #ATasteOfHome #ATasteOfHomeAwayFromHome

What’s in season . . . In the past, seasonal e

What’s in season . . .

In the past, seasonal eating was second nature to us. These days modern supermarkets supply us with all of the produce, all year round, meaning we’ve lost this once instinctive knowledge. Eating in season, means that you get the produce at its’ very best quality - much more flavour and at a more cost effective price - and those are both very important factors at the moment.

Here, I’ve tried to list the fruits and vegetables that are in season this month - and as most of you here are either back in bonnie Scotland or the milder Mediterranean - I’ve focused mainly on these areas. However, if you look online, you should be able to easily find calendars showing what’s in season wherever you are.

It is worth noting, that this list is by no means exhaustive. The information I have included represents a “general” growing season, so it may vary depending upon where in the World you live - other factors, such as the weather can also affect harvest times.  Any product shown in italics means that it is either coming in, or going out, of season.

What’s in season sources:
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @scotfooddrink
🇪🇸 @alimentosdespana.es

#EatLocal #LocalProducts #SeasonalFood #SeasonalEating #EatTheSeasons #October #WhatsInSeasonOctober #FruitAndVegetables #FarmingLife #RuralLife #FarmersDaughter #FairmersQuine #LifestyleWriter #FoodWriter #FoodMemories #SlowLiving

As yet another season officially draws to a close

As yet another season officially draws to a close - just where has this year gone?! I just wanted to share this little memory of Summer’s gone by with you. It was written as part of @BethKempton’s Summer Writing Sanctuary - I do hope you enjoy it - and I’d love to hear about some of your Summer memories in the comments too:

The Tent

It lived in the cupboard under the stairs, well, for most of the year anyway. Rolled up tight in its' dirty white canvas duffel bag - the scuffs and grass stains reminders of Summers' gone by. Each Summer, it would be shaken out of its' bag, guy ropes untangled, sturdy wooden poles located and slotted together, and then the ensuing battle to pitch it in the middle of our farmhouse garden. I remember the handle of the old wooden mallet, worn smooth with the palms of those who used it over time. The heads of the wooden pegs, bashed and ruffled with years of use, pulled the ropes taught, fixing it secure against the Summer winds.

I remember the feel of the old waterproof ground sheet, stiff and unweilding, trying to lay it down flat on the ground. Or at least as flat as it would go. We would struggle to blow up the canvas covered airbeds with the old black rubber "beetle" pump. They never stayed up - always deflating in the night, meaning you would awaken in the morning with your hip digging into the cold, hard earth underneath. And always, no matter how hard you scoured the pitch for stones, there would always be a stone underneath you. You could feel it through all of the layers, like the princess and the pea, but by then of course it was too late.

It was invariably cold, damp and uncomfortable, but my goodness we loved it! As we grew up, it transitioned from play house, to secret den, to a place for teenagers to listen to the hits of the day. Adam and the Ants and Duran Duran, were amongst our favourites - on an old cassette player, we'd listen, stop, rewind and listen again, until we knew the lyrics backwards. (And to this day still do!)

Continued in comments . . .

One of my favourite tastes of Autumn has to be the

One of my favourite tastes of Autumn has to be the gorgeous, locally grown figs of Mallorca.

I always buy them with the intent to do something more creative with them, but somehow, they always get eaten before I get a chance! Fresh locally sourced figs just can’t be beaten - cut them into quarters and add to salad leaves, with goats cheese and Iberico ham. Then simply dress with Balsamic vinegar, Mallorcan extra virgin olive oil and Flor de Sal from Ses Salines. Yum!

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to visit the fig plantation at Son Mut Nou near Llucmajor. In this dry, arid landscape, where water is scarce, one man, Montserrat Pons Boscana (a pharmacist by trade), has made it his life's work to create an experimental plantation devoted to the cultivation and study of the humble fig. The plantation has more than 830 different varieties of fig from all around the World, 255 of which are found only on the Balearic Islands!

I’m interested to find out - are you a fig lover too? I’d love to find out how you like to eat yours!

#SlowLiving #MallorcaIsMore #EatLocalMallorca #MallorcaFoodie #IslandLife #Fig #SeasonalFood #FarmingLife #RuralLife #FarmersDaughter #FairmersQuine #LifestyleWriter #FoodWriter #FoodMemories

September Rains The air hangs heavy and still ove

September Rains

The air hangs heavy and still over the island.
An impending sense of change to come
As the thunder rolls down from the north.
The skies they darken like a brooding, sullen mood
Overshadowing the cheery demeanour of the turistas down below.

The first drops hit the tiles of the terrace
Huge globules of warm water, that burst and evaporate where they land.
Soon though, they arrive en-masse and the water cascades over the stone steps.
The sound of the rain on the aluminium persianas, brings back memories of caravan holidays of old.
As we take shelter in the relative cool of indoors.

Five minutes later, the torrent has stopped
And once more the sun slips out from behind the dark cloud.
The pools and puddles, formed on the sun-baked earth fade and leave only the scent of warm, wet clay.
A freshness begins to pervade the once dense air.
The storm has passed, for now . . .

#SlowSunday #IslandLifestyle #SundayPoem #SlowLife #WritersOfInstagram #SeptemberRains #AfterTheStorm #MallorcanLife #MyTranquiloLifestyle

Walk down any of the myriad of country lanes here

Walk down any of the myriad of country lanes here on Mallorca at this time of year, and you’re likely to hear the rhythmic “thwack, thwack, thwack” of canes off branches as the carob harvest gets underway . . .

The ever-green Carob trees (known in Spain as the Algarrobo tree - Ceratonia siliqua) - are native to the Mediterranean and can grow to around 15m in height. These drought-loving trees have the ability to grow in places where nothing much else can flourish, and produce fruits which look like broad bean pods (the tree is actually a member of the legume family). A pod is ready to harvest eleven months after pollination, by which time it has turned brown and glossy.

Traditionally, the Carob harvest was one of the most important crops of Mallorca - the pods were used as a feedstuff for livestock. They can be chewed as they are, but mostly they are ground into flour as a cocoa substitute. It does taste slightly different from chocolate, but having less calories, being virtually fat free, and a rich source of essential vitamins and minerals, it now being billed as a “superfood”.

The labour intensive harvest method has meant that the price farmers were paid was very little and hundreds of kilos of carob pods were being left to rot on the trees. However, there is one company on Mallorca who is trying to buck this trend by offering farmers a fair price for their crops. Turning the humble Carob bean into a viable product and allowing a Mallorcan staple to continue to be grown on the Island for years to come.

- - -

Did you know? The seeds of the Carob tree are always the same weight, and because of this they were used by ancient goldsmiths to weigh gold and precious stones - hence the word “carat” (from Ceratonia).

#SlowLiving #MallorcaIsMore #EatLocalMallorca #IslandLife #Carob #Algarrobo #SeasonalFood #FarmingLife #RuralLife #FoodWriter #FarmersDaughter #FairmersQuine

Olive

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