Proving that we are versatile here at Picnic, we put together this basket of Ibiza delicacies for a boat picnic in conjunction with the recent River Island and Grazia magazine competition. The lucky winners enjoyed a trip to the white island where they amongst other things had a make-over and went on said boat trip. We [...]

The weather has been so gorgeous lately, Spring must surely be here.  Time to take to the water and enjoy Ibiza’s deserted coastline before the crowds arrive. Our friend, Carl Hauge has a beautiful motor yacht called Smiles. A sleek and elegant 12 meter Hinckley picnic boat, Smiles was built for the 2002 Monaco Boat [...]

Can you believe that for 40 years under Franco, Carnival was forbidden in Spain?  Well, it’s back and the madness returns to the streets of Ibiza. The parties go on all night and everyone dresses up.  Ibiza is a small island and carnival here may not be the tourist-driven spectacle of Rio, but it’s local [...]

I love the warmth and comfort that comes from a truly delicious bowl of hot vegetable soup. It is the beginning of March, it is cold and it is wet and it has been for a few days.  It has in fact begun to pour rain and hail, like the hand of god drenching us [...]

I love hot peppers, they are sexy in the summer and warm in the winter. Versatile and easy, they can add flavor, depth or serious character, depending on how much you like to burn and, of course, variety.  Last spring we planted only one, the Ring of Fire, the fruit start green, then get progressively [...]

My best friend has an enormous grapefruit tree and at this time of year it heaves with fruit. Just look at the photos. We’ve picked kilos and kilos and still it seems to have hardly made a dent. I know that for some, the tartness of grapefruit can make it difficult to eat very often, [...]

Christmas is a great time to attempt some serious baking.  Even for the undomestically inclined (like myself) it’s fun to get messy in the kitchen – and the kids love it.  A few days ago we tried our hand at the traditional Swedish “Lussebullar” (Lucia buns) – usually made for the Sankta Lucia festival of [...]

Autumn is a time of renewal in Ibiza, much like spring. Tomatoes, peppers and aubergines give way to pumpkins, pomegranates, apples and olives. Our herb gardens come alive again, bringing yet another season of culinary inspiration. Nowhere is this better illustrated than at Halloween, the first of the great feasts of the new season. Halloween [...]

Pomegranates are ripe on our trees right now in Ibiza, and if the weather holds and November storms don’t send them tumbling, we can be eating them through until Christmas. They say it was the Phoenicians who first brought the pomegranate to Ibiza. I’m so glad they did. Known to be one of the earliest [...]

It’s fig season here in Ibiza.  The trees on our land are laden with sticky, honeyed figs, bursting ripe and ready to eat.  Our own trees are young, but the fig tree can live for a hundred years, making it one of the true Mediterranean old timers. We have several varieties, some producing once, others [...]

As August gives way to September, the light changes from white to gold and the heat of the day finally mellows, it’s time to think about cooking again. (Everything in July and August is nearly always either raw or grilled, eaten out.) For me, it always begins with plum tomatoes. We plant several types and [...]

Heirloom tomatoes are the greatest joy of the summer months at Can Riero. I love walking the field with my daughter Sofia smelling the pungency of the tomatoes, and tasting them sun warmed from the vine. We grow 28 varieties and add more each year. The seeds are all organic and come from seed banks and [...]

It’s hot.  And windy. Very windy.  I’m at Cabo de Gata in Southern Spain and I’m dreaming of the coffee granizado ice I had yesterday in the village bar.  And the melon flavoured one I had the day before.  And the lime flavoured one the day before that. I’m sheltering from the heat in our [...]

I can’t imagine my kitchen without the humble lemon. Along with oranges, the lemon signifies the essence of all things Mediterranean. The fruits are all off the tree now, allowing the faithful lemon tree the long hot summer to rest and renew until the cooler weather arrives. The season is long. We’ll have fruit again [...]

Salero is a fabulous little restaurant/bar/coffee shop in the Born area of Barcelona. All white with a rustic yet edgy feel, this gem serves up delicious market cuisine. The menu, written in both Spanish and Kanji (Chinese characters), is refreshingly short – a 3 course set menu offering a choice of two starters, main courses [...]

This is my children’s absolute favourite dish – there is no trouble at all to get even the fussy eaters to finish their plates and there are often requests for seconds! It’s also a healthy dinner; broccoli is one of the anti-oxidant super foods and anchovy contains the all-important omega 3 oils for brain development. [...]

One of the many pleasures of being on holiday is sampling the local cuisine. If that can be teamed with an authentic atmosphere; all the better. For a long time, if you were searching for that quintessential British experience of a gastropub (scruffy, mismatched furniture, specials jotted down on blackboards and a decent wine list [...]

“You won’t get big and strong like Popeye, if you don’t eat your spinach”…I guess most children don’t really like spinach. However I have found a great way to make my kids eat spinach at least once or twice a month: this delicious greek pizza with spinach and feta cheese. They love it and eat [...]

Sweet and delicious healhty snacks, it doesn’t get better than that, you can find this and many other recipes on FamilyFun. Ingredients: Fresh strawberries Mini chocolate chips Black decorators’ icing Almond slivers Toothpick Red lace licorice Wedge of Cheese (Your choice) Instructions: 1. For each mouse, slice a small section from the side of a [...]

Risotto is something we eat every week; I serve it with chicken, fish or a nice salad. For me, risotto is the best way to get our children to eat their vegetables, otherwise they can be a bit fussy. A pocketful of Rice by Luciano Boseggia is one of my favorite book of recipes when [...]