Malham to Marrakesh

 So after nearly 9 weeks away, 5,800 miles and a surprisingly small amount of alcohol consumed, I finally got back to the Dale last night…….. So the Key Questions which need to be answered... 1.    Where was the Perfect Merguez? It was a surprise, but these meaty gems were surprisingly hard to find, and were not a staple on every menu as I had perhaps expected.  I probably had a good dozen different ones whilst I was there including sausages made from lamb, the traditional mutton, beef and even camel. All were good but were less spiced that I had previously experienced and whilst well flavoured lacked the heat that I expected.  One of the reasons for this is that the Moroccans  rely on accompanying dips and sauces especially Harissa paste to give this heat. The long and short therefore is that actually the best Merguez I have had in the past year is one that Tom and I (the creative hearts of sausage making at the Townend Farm Shop) created from some locally farmed mutton which, whilst

I decided to break my journey from Cordoba to the Ferry Port of Santander at Toledo, famed throughout Europe in medieval times for its steel and in particular the quality of its armour and swords (for the film buffs, you will all remember Christopher Lambert’s Toledo Salamanca from the 1986 classic Highlander 🫣).   What else could I do but go to a museum…. The Chromática Elected the second most original museum i n the world …..by the Travel Museum Organisation, this place is a unique museum of musical instruments painted by 32 artists of different styles and nationalities who have captured their art on 72 pieces located in a labyrinthine space where music, architecture, painting, leisure ….. and booze…. share space in a building with 1200 years of history.  Sod sword making museums, this sounded much better. Live Music In the space, live music ( a mix of Jazz, Blues, Cajun & Zydeco and all other major genres 😉) is performed every day, morning and afternoon, performed by 8 reside

In the early years of the 16th century, to combat the rising tide of religious unorthodoxy, the Pope gave Cardinal Ximinez of Spain leave to move without let or hindrance throughout the land, in a reign of violence, terror and torture.  This was the Spanish Inquisition...I will do my best to avoid Monty Python distractions.   The headquarters of the Inquisition was in the Alcázar of Cordoba (pictures above), where I have spent the last couple of days.  On reflection however I have been spending too much time on the architecture, art and ‘flummery’ of the beautiful places I have been visiting (and Cordoba ticks all of those boxes in spades) and not focussing enough on the things closest to my heart…….food😃 The Black Pig (not the Captain Pugwash Variety) So firstly, meat and in particular, pork, and the Iberian Black Pig. Found roaming in idyllic “dehesas” (Spanish for “meadows”), the noble Ibérico pig spends its days feeding on the native wild grass and the acorns that can be found str