The air feels renovated after the rain. Longed-for autumn is knocking on the door (it didn't arrive in Malaga yet...) and here we are again packing summer recipes away to leave some room for the new season dishes. Goodbye my favourite salad this summer. A "discovery" that has been in front of my eyes every summer of my life, and before I was even born, has been present every summer in my family's life. An old and humble dish to bear the heat during the hard work days in the country. The old version has got more water than vegetables

Being at the height of January belt-tightening, many still carry the regrets for the Christmas excess. So putting both things together, we have the perfect opportunity to get to the food market and enjoy the beauty and taste of winter vegetables. Last Saturday, a windy and somehow unpleasant day, I visited the Guadalorce Organic Market in Malaga, organic food producers and farmers putting all their efforts in changing our consumption habits, producing close, healthy and quality food. I went straight to Jose Mª Florido stall. He is passionate about his relationship with the country and the healthy food he produces,

Winter warm and sunny days filled with brightness and life, "springter" is one of the best seasons in Malaga, perfect for A Cooking Day. While most of Spain is covered with snow or rain soaked, the sun is still shining in Malaga, fighting his way through the clouds. Have a look and long for it.

In spite of this lovely weather, my biological clock knows it is winter time, and after a long country walk is asking for a steaming soup. This recipe is very simple and easy to prepare if you have some stock already made. All you need for 4 people is: 1 onion, 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, a bunch of wild asparagus, a tea spoon of paprika, 2 litres of stock, olive oil, salt and saffron threads or turmeric. Prepare the asparagus as I told you in the post about wild asparagus. Peel and cut the onion in very thin slices.

This year my friend Alvaro and I decided to pick ourselves the olives at home and try to have our own organic olive oil, no certification but natural a hundred per cent. And so we did. Friends and family participated the way and for the time they could, and we all got caught up in enthusiasm and happiness working outdoors surrounded by the beautiful countryside, no hurries, sharing talk and laughs at lunch, which my mother prepared everyday for everyone there, learning plenty of new things. After fifteen days, we got to the oil mill on Sunday evening, excited and