tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34076057637508116792024-03-05T05:50:31.389+01:00Berberechos and Musselsramblings about food and life in Spain and Ireland..Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-89760954020804820092010-02-14T19:31:00.001+01:002010-04-16T11:52:11.459+02:00Daring Cooks' Challenge February 2010 - MeezeThis month's entry is going to be really short as I'm stuck in the middle of a major book translation, on olive oil (yes, grinning cheek to cheek) so I have little time for anything other than olive oil at the moment (which is actually not a bad thing..)<br /><br />Luckily I had made this month's challenge earlier on in the month, before the book came in, so I'm happy to say I've been able to complete another challenge!<br /><br /><strong>The 2010 February Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Michele of <a href="http://www.veggienumnums.com/">Veggie Num Nums</a>. Michele chose to challenge everyone to make mezze based on various recipes from Claudia Roden, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dugid.<br /></strong><br />For my challenge, I stuck to the basics: Pita, Hummus, Falafel, Roasted Red Peppers and Baba Ghanoush (recipe taken from <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Arabesque-Greg-Lucy-Malouf/dp/1844005135">Arabesque</a> by Greg & Lucy Malouf)<br />For the pita, I found that I needed a lot more flour that given in the recipe (despite having weighted all the ingredients to the tee!). It more than likely is the type of flour and humidity as I find that recipes never turn out the same here in Spain as when I cooked them back home in Ireland.<br /><br /><div>As per the instructions, I tried out the recipe for the hummus (using peanut butter as suggested instead of tahini) but I don't know what it was but it was insipid. Tried to fix it by adding a drop of sesame oil (only a drop) but it turned out AWFUL. Normally E can stomach anything, but the mixture had him gagging, so the whole batch went directly into the bin.<br />Possibly was the chickpeas, I had overcooked them in the pressure cooker, burning a few but they were still edible before making the hummus, or maybe the peanut butter-sesame oil combo.. Who knows! You win some, you lose some.. Luckily I had another spare jar in the cupboard so I made my usual recipe with generous handful of freshly ground cumin and coriander seeds, a good squeeze of lemon and sunflower oil.<br /><br />The falafel were amazing.. Really easy to make once you had soaked the chickpeas overnight, but I felt they needed a kick of chilli (I didn't want to go overboard with the chili) but it was soon solved with some chili sauce and a good dolp of yoghurt-gerkin dip. Lovely!<br /><br />In the end, all good but forgot to take photos of the arrangement.<br /><br />******************<br />Pita Bread – Recipe adapted from Flatbreads & Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid<br />Prep time: 20 minutes to make, 90 minutes to rise and about 45 minutes to cook<br /><br />2 teaspoons regular dry yeast (.43 ounces/12.1 grams)<br />2.5 cups lukewarm water (21 ounces/591 grams)<br />5-6 cups all-purpose flour (may use a combination of 50% whole wheat and 50% all-purpose, or a combination of alternative flours for gluten free pita) (17.5 -21 ounces/497-596 grams)<br />1 tablespoon table salt (.50 ounces/15 grams)<br />2 tablespoons olive oil (.95 ounces/29 ml)<br /><br />Directions:<br />1. In a large bread bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. Stir to dissolve. Stir in 3 cups flour, a cup at a time, and then stir 100 times, about 1 minute, in the same direction to activate the gluten. Let this sponge rest for at least 10 minutes, or as long as 2 hours.<br />2. Sprinkle the salt over the sponge and stir in the olive oil. Mix well. Add more flour, a cup at a time, until the dough is too stiff to stir. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Rinse out the bowl, dry, and lightly oil. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until at least doubled in size, approximately 1 1/2 hours.<br />3. Place a pizza stone, or two small baking sheets, on the bottom rack of your oven, leaving a 1-inch gap all around between the stone or sheets and the oven walls to allow heat to circulate. Preheat the oven to 450F (230C).<br />4. Gently punch down the dough. Divide the dough in half, and then set half aside, covered, while you work with the rest. Divide the other half into 8 equal pieces and flatten each piece with lightly floured hands. Roll out each piece to a circle 8 to 9 inches in diameter and less than 1/4 inch thick. Keep the rolled-out breads covered until ready to bake, but do not stack.<br />5. Place 2 breads, or more if your oven is large enough, on the stone or baking sheets, and bake for 2 to 3 minutes, or until each bread has gone into a full balloon. If for some reason your bread doesn't puff up, don't worry it should still taste delicious. Wrap the baked breads together in a large kitchen towel to keep them warm and soft while you bake the remaining rolled-out breads. Then repeat with the rest of the dough.<br /><br />****************<br /><br />Hummus – Recipe adapted from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden<br /><br />Prep Time: Hummus can be made in about 15 minutes once the beans are cooked. If you’re using dried beans you need to soak them overnight and then cook them the next day which takes about 90 minutes.<br /><br />1.5 cups dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight (or substitute well drained canned chickpeas and omit the cooking) (10 ounces/301 grams)<br />2-2.5 lemons, juiced (3 ounces/89ml)<br />2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed<br />a big pinch of salt<br />4 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste) OR use peanut butter or any other nut butter—feel free to experiment) (1.5 ounces/45 grams)<br />additional flavorings (optional) I would use about 1/3 cup or a few ounces to start, and add more to taste<br /><br />Directions:<br />1. Drain and boil the soaked chickpeas in fresh water for about 1 ½ hours, or until tender. Drain, but reserve the cooking liquid.<br />2. Puree the beans in a food processor (or you can use a potato masher) adding the cooking water as needed until you have a smooth paste.<br />3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Adjust the seasonings to taste.<br /><br />*******<br />Falafels - Recipe from Joan Nathan and Epicurious.com<br />Prep Time: Overnight for dry beans and 1 hour to make Falafels<br /><br />1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight OR use well canned drained chickpeas (7 ounces/100 grams)<br />1/2 large onion (roughly chopped, about 1 cup)<br />2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped OR use a couple pinches of dried parsley (.2 ounces/5 grams)<br />2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped OR use a couple pinches of dried cilantro (.2 ounces/5 grams)<br />1 teaspoon table salt (.1 ounce/5 grams)<br />1 teaspoon dried hot red peppers (cayenne) (.1 ounce/2 grams)<br />4 whole garlic cloves, peeled<br />1 teaspoon cumin (.1 ounce/2 grams)<br />1 teaspoon baking powder (.13 ounces/4 grams)<br />4 tablespoons all-purpose flour (1 ounce/24 grams) (you may need a bit extra)<br />tasteless oil for frying (vegetable, canola, peanut, soybean, etc.), you will need enough so that the oil is three inches deep in whatever pan you are using for frying<br /><br />Directions:<br />1. Put the chickpeas in a large bowl and add enough cold water to cover them by at least 2 inches. Let soak overnight, and then drain. Or use canned chickpeas, drained.<br />2. Place the drained, uncooked chickpeas and the onions in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the parsley, cilantro, salt, hot pepper, garlic, and cumin. Process until blended but not pureed. If you don’t have a food processor, then feel free to mash this up as smooth as possible by hand.<br />3. Sprinkle in the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of the flour, and pulse. You want to add enough bulgur or flour so that the dough forms a small ball and no longer sticks to your hands. Turn into a bowl and refrigerate, covered, for several hours.<br />4. Form the chickpea mixture into balls about the size of walnuts.<br />5. Heat 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees (190ºC) in a deep pot or wok and fry 1 ball to test. If it falls apart, add a little flour. Then fry about 6 balls at once for a few minutes on each side, or until golden brown.<br />6. Drain on paper towels.<br /><br /></div>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-63599016270868954272010-01-14T15:16:00.004+01:002010-01-15T09:54:16.412+01:00Daring Cooks' Challenge January 2010 - Chicken Satay with peanut sauce<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The January 2010 DC challenge was hosted by Cuppy of </span></b><b><a href="http://recipes.cuppylicious.net/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Cuppylicious</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> and she chose a delicious Thai-inspired recipe for Pork Satay from the book 1000 Recipes by Martha Day.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /><br />When I saw this, I could have leaped for joy - finally an easy recipe with relatively easy ingredients to source. Also a recipe that wouldn't have E complaining about the preparation/end result. Satay is regular favourite in our house, especially when it's barbecue season (which is all year round really).<br /><br />You see, our neighbours/best friends/drinking buddies/food connoiseurs/Wii competitors are half from the Netherlands (One is Dutch, the other lived there for a long time so she's a lovely mix between Spanish weirdness and Dutch To-the-pointness!) so satay was one of their regular speciality dishes for almost every barbecue (or when they had the mix). They are not great cooks themselves so tend to use semi-prepared mixes in preparing their chicken satay.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6uaoxO-aWxET1vfEVyvjSOo3eTKEoyKJ-fDH4ASQbRwfg9hmNmgrYoBTP_lxtBolLOtpYbXyigcNe7mbMwQIvZVrCsLkxFb8y54t8ZIsbqrfaHCNgQVXpSZCP0oj4cwockUTnO20Kivc/s1600-h/IMG_2288.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6uaoxO-aWxET1vfEVyvjSOo3eTKEoyKJ-fDH4ASQbRwfg9hmNmgrYoBTP_lxtBolLOtpYbXyigcNe7mbMwQIvZVrCsLkxFb8y54t8ZIsbqrfaHCNgQVXpSZCP0oj4cwockUTnO20Kivc/s200/IMG_2288.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426885748002130322" /></a>Originally I had though about sitting out on this challenge (given that we were already at 10th Jan, with final posting on the 14th), but when I saw how little ingredients were needed, I reckoned I should at least try.. Most of the ingredients were stuff that I had at home and used regularly for marinades (yes, we do a lot of barbecues), except the peanut butter. Wasn't sure if I was going to be able to find that so easy (it's not a Spanish taste) but found a supermarket where there are a load of ex-Pats around the area so reckoned that they should have it. Success..<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7bOT-e2-Xm3aEyOD7KCMA71vWJPDF8vNqBZfWIKlnZd2ZBkbfez-Tt7c531zMT0WPD-X5q8NUIUofYYpAxLhu0dY4wotMGPBWezR0DFZmigkcTQxciLF1kH4i_w0_B3_mxJa_oO20yc0/s1600-h/IMG_2289.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7bOT-e2-Xm3aEyOD7KCMA71vWJPDF8vNqBZfWIKlnZd2ZBkbfez-Tt7c531zMT0WPD-X5q8NUIUofYYpAxLhu0dY4wotMGPBWezR0DFZmigkcTQxciLF1kH4i_w0_B3_mxJa_oO20yc0/s200/IMG_2289.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426886681196150754" /></a>So it was a case of bung all the ingredients in a bowl with the chicken and leave it for 12 hours (approx) and the same with the peanut sauce. I wasn't sure whether E would like the sauce - it was really strong of peanut and I'd put a whole bird's eye chili (guiñdilla) so reckoned that he was going to give me stick about it. Boy was I wrong - he'd left the remaining sauce in the office for his workmates who loved it - I think they were all bringing in chicken the next day to dip in the sauce!!<br /><br />Well, see for yourself... Simple, hassle-free cooking - great when you're short for time!<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Yt7_bV1UX6Sfj6XmO2euPMR6uN0hiKzM1IRqu0E5rE6P0pyXOoU5tBJ53r9FX8Z3Tg_cAiclVywsK0Ct9HNlSFbzXhGkBayPlswy9P6A4AG3J-MXFd0zZHIE1ufdiWVvi6m6f-lT0fw/s1600-h/IMG_2292.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Yt7_bV1UX6Sfj6XmO2euPMR6uN0hiKzM1IRqu0E5rE6P0pyXOoU5tBJ53r9FX8Z3Tg_cAiclVywsK0Ct9HNlSFbzXhGkBayPlswy9P6A4AG3J-MXFd0zZHIE1ufdiWVvi6m6f-lT0fw/s320/IMG_2292.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426882290559424242" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /><br />******************<br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Satay Marinade</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />1/2 small onion, chopped<br />2 garlic cloves, crushed<br />1 T ginger root, chopped (optional) (2 cm cubed) - substituted for ground ginger (wasn't going out to buy some)<br />2 T lemon juice (1 oz or 30 mls)<br />1 T soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)<br />1 tsp ground coriander (5 mls)<br />1 tsp ground cumin (5 mls)<br />1/2 tsp ground turmeric (2-2.5 mls)<br />2 T vegetable oil (or peanut or olive oil) (30 mls)<br />1 pound of pork (loin or shoulder cuts) (16 oz or 450g) - I used chicken breasts<br /><br />Directions:<br />1a. Cheater alert: If you have a food processor or blender, dump in everything except the pork and blend until smooth. Lacking a food processor, I prefer to chop my onions, garlic and ginger really fine then mix it all together in a medium to large bowl.<br />2a. Cut pork into 1 inch strips.<br />3a. Cover chicken with marinade. You can place the chicken into a bowl, cover/seal and chill, or place the whole lot of it into a ziplock bag, seal and chill.<br /><br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Alternatively.. you can try this marinade<br />Faster (cheaper!) marinade:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />2 T vegetable oil (or peanut or olive oil) (1 oz or 30 mls)<br />2 T lemon juice (1 oz or 30 mls)<br />1 T soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)<br />1 tsp ginger powder (5 mls)<br />1 tsp garlic powder (5 mls)<br />1 tsp cayenne pepper (5 mls)<br /><br />Directions:<br />1b. Mix well.<br />2b. Cut pork into 1 inch thick strips (2-2.5 cm thick), any length.<br />3b. Cover pork with marinade. You can place the pork into a bowl, cover/seal and chill, or place the whole lot of it into a ziplock bag, seal and chill.<br /><br /><b>Peanut Sauce</b><br />3/4 cup coconut milk (6 oz or 180 mls)<br />4 Tbsp peanut butter (2 oz or 60 mls)<br />1 Tbsp lemon juice (0.5 oz or 15 mls)<br />1 Tbsp soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)<br />1 tsp brown sugar (5 mls)<br />1/2 tsp ground cumin (2.5 mls)<br />1/2 tsp ground coriander (2.5 mls)<br />1-2 dried red chilies, chopped (keep the seeds for heat)<br /><br />1. Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add soy sauce and lemon, mix well.<br />2. Over low heat, combine coconut milk, peanut butter and your soy-lemon-seasoning mix. Mix well, stir often.<br />3. All you’re doing is melting the peanut butter, so make your peanut sauce after you’ve made everything else in your meal, or make ahead of time and reheat.</span></span>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-43231505737321127332009-11-17T18:15:00.004+01:002010-01-15T10:14:05.828+01:00Ready, set, bake...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />YAY.. happy today, apart from arriving home knackered from a busy weekend visiting the folks back in Ireland, my new oven and hob have arrived!! <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrqgvG952PtzgI2JqxuJeA16FfmRORzNiVM5NlithSbsRem3HJOD8UvcwyW3AUvUJYN_JVnGiT-7HjPJG2oMKAysKPg5Gt67ew3_KVXlYTvbDKvNsqoRnovvlCbK6ruRPvFtQx_Seml8/s1600-h/IMG_1985.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrqgvG952PtzgI2JqxuJeA16FfmRORzNiVM5NlithSbsRem3HJOD8UvcwyW3AUvUJYN_JVnGiT-7HjPJG2oMKAysKPg5Gt67ew3_KVXlYTvbDKvNsqoRnovvlCbK6ruRPvFtQx_Seml8/s200/IMG_1985.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426892223917802274" /></a><br />After many months complaining about my non-functioning oven (it's all or nothing, baby) our new <a href ="http://www.siemens-home.com/ie/our-products/cooking/ovens/HB76AB560B.html?source=browse">Siemens</a> oven has arrived! Unfortunately for the bank balance, since the last one was integrated with the gas hob, we've had to change that too. So ended up converting over to a induction plate hob from <a href = "http://www.balay.es/catálogo-2009-2010/cocción/placas-de-inducción/3-zonas-de-cocción/3EB917L.html?source=browse">Balay</a><br>Just waiting for some lovely man to come and install it.. Hoping he comes in time for me to make scones for the weekend<br /><br><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;" /></a></span></span>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-75658957170625774332009-11-14T09:34:00.019+01:002009-11-14T09:34:00.564+01:00Daring Cooks' Challenge November '09 - Sushi<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The November 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was brought to you by Audax of </span><a href="http://audaxartifex.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Audax Artifex</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> and Rose of </span><a href="http://bitemekitchen.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Bite Me Kitchen</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. They chose sushi as the Challenge.<br />According to their brief, Sushi is much appreciated for its delicate taste and exquisite appearance. Sushi actually means vinegared rice, which is the essential ingredient in every sushi recipe. Sushi is simple and cheap to make at home, needs no special equipment and is an excellent way to use left-overs.<br />Although sushi in various forms has been around for fourteen centuries, the modern version was invented in Japan where a 'hand-formed' sliced fresh fish and vinegared rice ball was eaten as a snack food. Nowadays, sushi is made with various seafood, meats and vegetables, raw and cooked. The challenge is in four parts<br /><br />Part 1: Making proper sushi rice you will wash, rinse, drain, soak, cook, dress, and cool short grain rice until each grain is sticky enough to hold toppings or bind ingredients. Then you will use the cooked rice to form three types of sushi:<br /><br />Part 2: Dragon sushi roll, an avocado covered inside-out rice roll with a tasty surprise filling<br /><br />Part 3: Decorative spiral sushi, a nori-coated rice roll which reveals a decorative pattern when cut<br /><br />Part 4: Nigiri sushi, hand-shaped rice rolls with toppings<br /><br /><br />I don't think I was 100% motivated and focused on this challenge as E was diagnosed with Bell's palsy a few weeks ago (after an eventful weekend spend at the hospital. When it first started, they weren't too sure what it was. So they decided to admit him to hospital to run more tests (in case it was a stroke or something similar).. After a day, they detected that it was centralised to his face (i.e. didn't affect the rest of the left side of his body) so they put him on steroids and told him to be patient, that he would eventually recover movement.<br /><br />Patient is not a word in E's vocabulary, so as you can imagine it's been a trying few weeks. I've had him kicking around the house for the last few weeks on sick leave, impatient to start moving the muscles in his face and the relief is now he's almost able to close his eye and can now move his cheek a little.<br /><br />So as you can imagine, the Daring Cook's challenge was the least of my worries (especially as I've been inundated with translation projects recently, meaning that I spend my time in front of the computer all day - adding to E's boredom). When I finally found a free minute to think about sourcing the ingredients, I had a tag-along.. (E just can't understand my preparation before cooking, and the lack thereof this time round caused numerous heated discussions between us).. Anyway, enough about that..<br /><br />The sushi -><br />Part 1. Sushi rice.. meh, easy to make (except when you don't read the labels of the bottles and end up with pre-sweetened sushi seasoning instead of rice vinegar). Ok, so I cheated but I have to say I didn't notice any difference in the rice..<br />Part 2. </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Dragon roll with smoked herring </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(I do know where to get eel here </span><a href="http://www.terresdelebre.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Terres de l'Ebre</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, but didn't have time to go there) </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and courgette</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> (no cucumber either) - the only thing I got right was the avocado!<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizedu6JM47NeSh6MLvo2JjW8KXP3PXgH8AW3TKCZ8KEDLESTd_Ys9lpiRU11bBqIjQi0yKMW8J0A39bRVxaHMkwJoO8WNS-8FpOl2UbPE4qrxjOnDoN1QRu3nPeYqPPJWTsNS-Eig8K6s/s1600-h/Dragon_roll.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizedu6JM47NeSh6MLvo2JjW8KXP3PXgH8AW3TKCZ8KEDLESTd_Ys9lpiRU11bBqIjQi0yKMW8J0A39bRVxaHMkwJoO8WNS-8FpOl2UbPE4qrxjOnDoN1QRu3nPeYqPPJWTsNS-Eig8K6s/s320/Dragon_roll.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402159035117825682" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />Part 3. </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Spiral roll with herring, courgette and fresh tuna</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. I know, there was supposed to be </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">6</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> ingredients, but couldn't think of anything else that wouldn't kill the flavour of the fish. As it was, I went overboard with the rice (as usual - it's the second time that I've made sushi and I had the same problem), so they were more sushi balls than sushi rolls.<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMX2nE5nmHjjANw4BsJ4wOYdaMADm0AmjoP_w8yDZJwTEX6LQ03CDX_Rfd-hw4mrC0JmitTalt4TYwlWr9Q0sWQyWT-zeMM1qFj_ncu1K6ZrnNgzPmgDIAXYEz-Med6UFhOc-ZVf6ekQ/s1600-h/Spiral+roll.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMX2nE5nmHjjANw4BsJ4wOYdaMADm0AmjoP_w8yDZJwTEX6LQ03CDX_Rfd-hw4mrC0JmitTalt4TYwlWr9Q0sWQyWT-zeMM1qFj_ncu1K6ZrnNgzPmgDIAXYEz-Med6UFhOc-ZVf6ekQ/s320/Spiral+roll.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402159629268034306" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /><br />Part 4. </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Nigiri with fresh tuna, pan-fried calamar and monkfish</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. Okay, so these turned out a little better except I discovered that when I returned home with the rest of the ingredients that I hadn't any wasabi paste left.. Improvise.. so we added dijon mustard! It was, well, *interesting*. E liked it but I wasn't convinced.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju1XDuLwjIRDFX4BgMQ7_4V4GeExRCAlJiBrR6mgj3NEBx1-e1ejaNsflh2sVGgY_JUTuESW0zv5cJj-YSjCGSS51gEZMOZj61BpQkRk2gs4fAl-aj3HKrKCL6lh_zZKHWKHNLP-Qt5b4/s1600-h/Nigiri.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju1XDuLwjIRDFX4BgMQ7_4V4GeExRCAlJiBrR6mgj3NEBx1-e1ejaNsflh2sVGgY_JUTuESW0zv5cJj-YSjCGSS51gEZMOZj61BpQkRk2gs4fAl-aj3HKrKCL6lh_zZKHWKHNLP-Qt5b4/s320/Nigiri.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402158038541042738" /></a></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Anyway, another challenge done and dusted.. I suppose I should be happy with the result (given the circumstances) but being a perfectionist, it's a lot to ask. I've got high standards but in some ways that's a good thing as maybe the next time round it will be even better..<br /><br /></span><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;" /></span></a></span></div>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-75166412700854279422009-10-14T13:37:00.012+02:002009-10-14T13:37:00.369+02:00Daring Cooks' Challenge October '09 Part 2- Dessert Wonton<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This month's <a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com">Daring Cooks</a>' Challenge consisted of two different parts. The second part of the challenge hosted by Jade of </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=3407605763750811679&postID=7516641270085427942"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Steamy Kitchen</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> was to make wontons, but on the condition that they had to be sweet. The filling could be anything, as long as it could be served as a dessert.<br /><br />Hmm.. interesting challenge. The question, what to stuff them with? The basic recipe given by Jade was for chocolate, which got me thinking. Chocolate, the darker it is, generally is served as a sweet, but it can also be used in savoury recipes (think, Mexican mole). So vice-versa, probably other 'traditionally' savoury dishes could be used in sweet dishes. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqIzUVhaaarAvxVp1uR5m_irX_HmKyYk7jPnOV0NszS2PeUh86y2f2Ixrr1jxSqBiaODhYU5N8jguV0qUAyfUui80IHTA6a3Nd6oQVc23-EQpk3sVahyYihzNk6EGp5MX5E7ylGyV0eAM/s1600-h/IMG_1679.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqIzUVhaaarAvxVp1uR5m_irX_HmKyYk7jPnOV0NszS2PeUh86y2f2Ixrr1jxSqBiaODhYU5N8jguV0qUAyfUui80IHTA6a3Nd6oQVc23-EQpk3sVahyYihzNk6EGp5MX5E7ylGyV0eAM/s200/IMG_1679.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387227434066213986" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It's an element that has been proved by numerous chefs as often sweet elements bring out the flavour in more salty dishes. Inspired by the range of gastronomic chocolates created by </span><a href="http://www.cacaosampaka.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Cacao Sampaka</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> (which includes or included dark chocolate truffles with parmesan cheese, balsamic vinegar, chili, black olive), I decided that the same goes for wontons..<br /><br />Sticking to the basic recipe for chocolate wontons, E & I (well mainly E under instructions from the head chef) created a selection of wontons, each with their own individual flavour. Just like we tend to do when serving a box of Cacao Sampaka chocolates, we mixed up the wontons (although accidently this time) and were left to trying to identify the flavour by its taste.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ-kDaEtlhj5ifxSR9bibXs8qqlg2-jDL2iigUPrZoNYFGXHs1n_AAxbxd0KRFUpjX0G1OnMJQwmBawMRTedPa04mGa8VE5MAfzKh3G_dFdLGEMGtyZH0H5jhGPp9gHvycHPCbMtoBiYA/s1600-h/IMG_1684.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ-kDaEtlhj5ifxSR9bibXs8qqlg2-jDL2iigUPrZoNYFGXHs1n_AAxbxd0KRFUpjX0G1OnMJQwmBawMRTedPa04mGa8VE5MAfzKh3G_dFdLGEMGtyZH0H5jhGPp9gHvycHPCbMtoBiYA/s320/IMG_1684.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387228994002436306" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The spices we used included: freshly ground cardamon, sweet chili sauce, curry, rosemary and more common, cinnamon; however I reckon the sky's the limit with this - pink peppercorns (whole), coriander, ginger, wasabi. As E started getting more enthusiastic about the idea, he made a few just for him: chocolate, banana and sweet chili sauce (well if they serve strawberries with pepper, why not banana with chili?).. According to him they were amazing - I'll take his word for it! I'm not going anywhere near bananas!<br /><br />The result.. An interesting experiment, although I think it's only for the adventurous and for people who really like dark chocolate. I don't think my neighbours were too enamoured with the result.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /><br />*****************************************************<br /></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Recipe</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />Preparation time: 15 minutes + 15 minutes cooking time (for 12 wontons)<br />Servings: Makes 12 wontons.<br /><br />Ingredients:<br />1 large egg<br />1 tbsp. water<br />12 wonton wrappers, defrosted (keep wrappers covered with damp towel)<br />12 pieces or nuggets of chocolate (use any type of chocolate you like)<br />High-heat oil for frying (i.e., vegetable oil, corn oil)<br />Confectioners’ sugar (icing sugar) for sprinkling<br /><br />Directions:<br />In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water to make an egg wash.<br />On a clean, dry surface lay 1 wonton wrapper down with a point toward you, like a diamond.<br />Place 1 piece of chocolate near the top end of the wrapper.<br />Brush a very thin layer of the egg wash on the edges of the wrapper.<br />Fold the bottom corner of the wrapper up to create a triangle and gently press to remove all air from the middle. Press the edges to adhere the sides. Make sure the wrapper is sealed completely.<br />Repeat with the remaining wrappers and chocolate pieces.<br />Keep the folded chocolate wontons covered under plastic wrap or a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying.<br />In a wok or medium pot, pour in 2 inches (5 cm.) of high-heat oil.<br />Heat the oil to 350º F (180º C) and gently slide a few of the chocolate wontons into the hot oil. Make sure you don’t crowd the chocolate wontons.<br />Fry the wontons for 1 ½ minutes, then flip over and fry another minute until both sides are golden brown and crisp.<br /><br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">*****************************************************</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;" /></span></a></span></div>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-25626748940670647072009-10-14T12:36:00.029+02:002009-11-11T11:35:37.195+01:00Daring Cooks' Challenge October '09 Part 1- Chicken Pho<font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This month's </span></font><a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Daring Cooks</span></font></a><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">' Challenge was proposed by Jade of </span></font><a href="http://steamykitchen.com/"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Steamy Kitchen</span></font></a><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. So what is Vietnamese </span></font><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ph%E1%BB%9F"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Pho</span></font></a><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">? It's a noodle soup.. but, in Jade's words</span></font><i><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> "What makes Pho so different than any other type of noodle soup is the spices that go into the simmering broth. Warm spices like coriander, star anise, cloves, cinnamon, fresh ginger transform an ordinary broth into a very authentic Vietnamese Pho."</span></font></i><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms', serif"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></font><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Mmm.. the combination just sounds wonderfully warming, especially now that we're into the Autumn days where it's darker when you get up, and darker in the afternoon.. I don't know what it is, but suddenly my body has kicked into hibernation and is warmed by the idea of steamy soups and broths.<br /><br />Jade recommended charring the onion and ginger beforehand to fully release the flavours and I think that's the key. I'd made noodle soups previously with similar spices but they never turned out as fragrant as this one. But I think the best thing about Pho is that it isn't at all spicy (unless you added dashings of Sriracha sauce, of course).<br /><br />Having toasted all the spices on a griddle pan and charred the onion and ginger (unpeeled) under the grill until the edges were black, it's just a case of chucking all the ingredients into a saucepan and bringing to the boil. The </span></font><a href="http://steamykitchen.com/139-vietnamese-chicken-noodle-soup-pho-ga.html"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">traditional recipe</span></font></a><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> calls for stock made from chicken bones but since I was short for time to complete the challenge (we have had something on every weekend up until now), I took for the short cut, using a tetrabrik of chicken stock..<br /></span><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDESdWf0cZXPT5dA_NQAVAS9EQe8-fh-OxYcjDy4H9TShVCjuUESIARuFO0zzQ6dIve-0QyNTbbBsy1WXycGv2qHV_ihKVV2nuWbIOojmwAik_1Roypy446HBoIck5W95k352OxbjihCM/s200/IMG_1660.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387215276460291730"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">One thing that must be said, if it starts to form lumps - don't freak out! It's the normal process when boiling chicken.. It needs to brought to the boil (rapidly bubbling) in order to remove the 'bad' fats from the chicken. It's just a case of slowly skimming off these lumps and you'll end up with a completely clear broth. Amazing, especially since the stock used was cloudy! :-)</span></font><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms', serif"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL7-JfepE_u5SoNSMlWcR0ML9Zap41JHZBqea9jIaak_yRmPcVOUw_IykEedkQSYrb9HaSWPsKJT2WJiiArnh6lLQi1X05yn9OoDB3iTw2iIgqwqZKOvzzQC3Q8ydxBbivJQ0QTB7qSRI/s1600-h/IMG_1678.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL7-JfepE_u5SoNSMlWcR0ML9Zap41JHZBqea9jIaak_yRmPcVOUw_IykEedkQSYrb9HaSWPsKJT2WJiiArnh6lLQi1X05yn9OoDB3iTw2iIgqwqZKOvzzQC3Q8ydxBbivJQ0QTB7qSRI/s200/IMG_1678.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387220228080883458"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The rest of the process is a cinch.. I used vermicelli rice noodles, soaked previously in hot water until soft, but I reckon thinner, ordinary noodles would work much better (otherwise, it ends up that there's more noodles than actual stock).</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms', serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As regards the accompaniments, I don't think they're really necessary.. The only one which I'd recommend is the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sriracha_sauce"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Sriracha</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> sauce (a Chinese/Vietnamese/Thai chili sauce).. a few drops just to give it a bit of a kick without being overpowering.</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></font><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">All in all, a success - toasting the spices is a bit time-consuming and requires organisation, but it's definitely worth the effort as it 'softens' the ginger so that it doesn't overpower the anise/coriander/clove combination.. And as you can see, the end result didn't turn out half bad.. Good start to the first of many challenges, although I know E is quaking in his boots - he hates when I start experimenting with new dishes and techniques.</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNLWJnrXTI4xiPzAzZDr9w4uhyphenhyphenqxf7rDMU2yH9FiHCFfOCqXsvkkDEX92z1dX2aYR31mq2VOazv6H87bEoC5ocqYJjwxbqlJYIpBzuW__j1ZXO-PJKNvNdqjgKYJUGIc7B0g2BbLtQTgI/s1600-h/IMG_1673.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNLWJnrXTI4xiPzAzZDr9w4uhyphenhyphenqxf7rDMU2yH9FiHCFfOCqXsvkkDEX92z1dX2aYR31mq2VOazv6H87bEoC5ocqYJjwxbqlJYIpBzuW__j1ZXO-PJKNvNdqjgKYJUGIc7B0g2BbLtQTgI/s400/IMG_1673.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387221317581930834"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /><br />*****************************************************<br /></span></font><b><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Recipe</span></font></b><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />Preparation Time: 45 cooking time + 15 minutes to cook noodles based on package directions<br />Servings: Makes 4 servings<br /><br />Ingredients:<br /></span></font><b><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">For the Chicken Pho Broth:</span></font></b><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />2 tbsp. whole coriander seeds<br />4 whole cloves<br />2 whole star anise<br />2 litres store-bought or homemade chicken stock<br />1 whole chicken breast (bone in or boneless)<br />½ onion<br />1 7.5 cm chunk of ginger, sliced and smashed with side of knife<br />1 to 2 tbsps. sugar<br />1 to 2 tbsps. fish sauce<br />1 lb. (500 grams/16 ounces) dried rice noodles (about ¼ inch/6 mm wide)<br /><br /></span></font><b><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Accompaniments:</span></font></b><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />2 cups (200 grams/7 ounces) bean sprouts, washed and tails pinched off<br />Fresh cilantro (coriander) tops (leaves and tender stems)<br />½ cup (50 grams/approx. 2 ounces) shaved red onions<br />½ lime, cut into 4 wedges<br />Sriracha chili sauce<br />Hoisin sauce<br />Sliced fresh chili peppers of your choice<br /><br />Directions:<br />To make the Chicken Pho Broth: heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds, cloves and star anise and toast until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Immediately spoon out the spices to avoid burning.<br />In a large pot, add all the ingredients (including the toasted spices) and bring to a boil.<br />Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes, skimming the surface frequently.<br />Use tongs to remove the chicken breasts and shred the meat with your fingers, discarding the bone if you have used bone-in breasts.<br />Taste the broth and add more fish sauce or sugar, if needed. Strain the broth and discard the solids.<br />Prepare the noodles as per directions on the package.<br />Ladle the broth into bowls. Then divide the shredded chicken breast and the soft noodles evenly into each bowl.<br />Have the accompaniments spread out on the table. Each person can customize their own bowl with these ingredients.</span></font><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms', serif"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">*****************************************************</span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></font><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'trebuchet ms'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;"></span></font></a></div></div></div></div>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-14887393074894498672009-10-06T08:53:00.013+02:002009-10-14T14:47:53.459+02:00End of the wedding season...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Last weekend we were at the last of the weddings this year down in Tortosa.. The last of five.. Joana & Paco, a cousin of E's dad... (there was 7 brothers and sisters in his granmother's family so there was a big difference between the oldest and the youngest - Joana's my age).</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Regrettably, what was looking to be a fun event (was really looking forward to it - the reception was at </span><a href="http://www.lesmoles.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Les Moles</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> in Ulledecona), turned into One Wedding and a Funeral. E's granny fell into a coma on Friday night (passing away in the early hours of Sunday morning) so we were no more in the humour for going to a wedding the next day..</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">That being said, it was a wedding to remember - the food lived up to be everything that everyone said it would be..</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Catering for large numbers tends to be a recipe for disaster - sorry folks, cooking fillet steak with foie gras for 200 people is just not possible. The steak most probably has been cooked at 9am that morning, so the probability that it will be as tough as boots is extremely high!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Joana & Paco got it 100% right - apart from the appertif hors d'oeuve, which were select and good quality, but pounced upon the moment the waiters loomed into view (it WAS 3pm, so obviously people were hungry), the rest of the meal made up for it..</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizAVKZdbpNTC94fvQuVboXCKPMNbKaT05n7ipdHffroRIy3kLS913998zTbLG_2Jpi4rKDyxAvvdtOWLa3nTCZ5FKctBGOUZHpulpjdWW711prfKn2qkhni0Eh3sQFS-7ECF1_l23uAwc/s1600-h/IMG_1722.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizAVKZdbpNTC94fvQuVboXCKPMNbKaT05n7ipdHffroRIy3kLS913998zTbLG_2Jpi4rKDyxAvvdtOWLa3nTCZ5FKctBGOUZHpulpjdWW711prfKn2qkhni0Eh3sQFS-7ECF1_l23uAwc/s320/IMG_1722.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391978536827633778" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Simplicity was the key, taking good ingredients and presenting them simply. It was certainly an example of a traditional Spanish wedding fair - the sign of a good wedding is the number of prawns/langoustines etc. that you get presented with! And this one, certainly turned up trumps..</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Here you can see the Pumpkin soup, served separately (plated poached egg and langoustine, and then the pumpkin soup poured over the top)..</span></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Dinner was topped off with a visit from </span><a href="http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quico_el_C%C3%A9lio,_el_Noi_i_el_Mut_de_Ferreries"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Quico el Célio, el Mut i el Noi de Ferreries</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, a traditional band from the Terres de l'Ebre region, whose speciality is the traditional </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jota_(music)"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Jota</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> originating from Tortosa. Joana's mother joined in to give her own ad-lib version dedicated to the couple (one of the features of the Jota is that people make up the lyrics as they go along, adapting them for the occasion). </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">They even played my favourite </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bkkn0W1vDQ"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">De Roquetes Vinc</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> which has a special meaning for E's family, as it's a song that his Alzheimer-inflicted grandmother (Joana's aunt) still sings to this day on her more lucid days.. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">En fin.. a new beginning for some, a ending for others.. And so the circle of life goes on...</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">******************************</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Here's the full line up:</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Aperitif</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Star-anise scented crisps</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Iberian ham</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Marinated anchovy and herring toast</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Vegetable and foie gras coca pastry</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Red pepper and courgette mousse cone</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Langoustine and bacon brochette</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Iberian ham croquettes</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Griddled prawn brochette</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Dinner</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Grilled langoustines</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Pumpkin soup with langoustines and poached egg</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Sea bass with calamar 'eel' and calamar ink 'caviar'</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Blood orange and strawberry sorbet</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Duck confit with muscatel and cinnamon scented apple purée</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Textured rice pudding (with rice crispies!)</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Wedding cake - Individual chocolate mousse cakes</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;" /></span></a></span></div></div></div>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-31973773402684170222009-09-22T09:34:00.012+02:002009-10-14T15:08:28.166+02:00Food and celebrations<div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">There's something about celebrations that brings the need to share it over food. Food and celebrations are so interlaced that it's like the event didn't even happen, if some bread hasn't been broken. Take Christmas, part of the thrill for me is the food that I associate with it..<br />The same goes for weddings. Although most people won't have clue what they ate on the day, part of the feeling that they take home from the wedding is created by the food they ate. Even to this day, we've had people commenting with mixed opinions about the dessert at our wedding (Blue cheese ice cream with figs) - foodies absolutely loving every minute, and the rest noting the wedding for strange contrasts - the Catalans thinking it was an Irish tradition, and the Irish thinking that it must another one of those strange napkin-swinging Catalan traditions..</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />This weekend we went to the wedding of our best friends, Raül and Carmen in Sant Vicenç de Moltalt. E has known Raül all through college (he was the year ahead in Hotel Management), had worked with him in his first job after college (the Hotel Campus in UAB where E worked as Receptionist and Raül as Maitre D) and ran into him again when they both went to work as consultants in CCS for a hotel ERP software program (without even knowing that the other was applying). Since then, their friendship has been constant - always finding a companion to comment Barça's latest trials and tribulations, and an accomplice to try out the latest restaurant or other culinary experience.</span></span><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So as you can imagine, Raül finding a suitable girlfriend was going to be subject for scrutiny..</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">When we met Carmen, we both breathed a sigh of relief.. No one could be more perfect, more fitting than Carmen, with her instantly fitting in and becoming part of the group as if we'd know her for decades..</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As you can imagine, when they announced that they were taking the plunge we were all over the moon, and started rubbing our hands just thinking about the wedding banquet. Knowing Raül & Carmen, friends after our own hearts, the outlook was promising! </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And boy did it fulfill! The couple chose </span></span><a href="http://www.turodelsol.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Turó del Sol</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, a restaurant about 20 minutes outside Barcelona for the location of their civil wedding. It was the most appropriate and well-organised setup we've seen in a while, which made everything run to plan..</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The food was simple but extremely well executed. But the excitement of the day - seeing how much our two best friends beamed (Carmen must had a sore face the next day from so much smiling), that I only remembered half way through that I hadn't taken any photos to document the event.. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So you'll just have to imagine that the food was brilliant (a massive chunk of hake, cooked to perfection; followed by a sirloin of pork with a wine jus; and a plate of Leches (milk pudding, milk custard, rice pudding), and I'll leave you with the happy face of the </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">novios!</span></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></i></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSYL6UUKgsRu7_R0U9KtYheZr9chccMsH0q9WHSKcjViRr9ph7HPafUgLmC-jXxTTXM0q4E3CS-jD0_IKNqdZbQr8PSLiZqGTzJKeYMhi2UK_5e8NFk84vWzvIeaH51cy4WR1Q-03aB3U/s1600-h/IMG_1603.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSYL6UUKgsRu7_R0U9KtYheZr9chccMsH0q9WHSKcjViRr9ph7HPafUgLmC-jXxTTXM0q4E3CS-jD0_IKNqdZbQr8PSLiZqGTzJKeYMhi2UK_5e8NFk84vWzvIeaH51cy4WR1Q-03aB3U/s320/IMG_1603.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391989768854167938" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;" /></span></span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">P.S. Will try and root out the menu, it's around here somewhere - I never throw anything away from the weddings I've been at..</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">P.P.S. Found the menu.. Here it is:</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Centre of hake in a garlic shoot cream</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">**</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Fillet of Iberian Pork with a red wine jus</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">**</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Milk puddings<i> </i>platter</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">**</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Wedding Cake (Strawberry mousse tart)</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div></div></div></div>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-82599882215802278342009-08-24T09:10:00.022+02:002009-08-24T09:40:17.382+02:00Daring Cooks' challenge - Gnocchi de mató<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />Since I've signed up for the Daring Cooks' challenge, I thought it might be a good idea to practise with previous recipes. So to start off slowly without trying anything too complicated, I opted for May's recipe - <a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/recipe/zuni-ricotta-gnocchi">Ricotta Gnocchi</a>.<br /><br />First problem, source Ricotta. When checking out what exactly Ricotta was made from, to my delight I discovered that it was just the Italian version of <i>requesón</i> or <i>mató</i> as it is known here in Catalunya. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKL8meJsdXia-ihqXHMuS67l3tphXT6dKGJS_OQKmDkHFrPZYPRFxGYlxsNbQ0sz_Zb6asy4sSyUDZRR4fBi0VqGLy6nm0fnen-8rw7Y7-OumXh9PPiQq8ULwhjD-N360IzTj5DDG5NLU/s1600-h/IMG_1504.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKL8meJsdXia-ihqXHMuS67l3tphXT6dKGJS_OQKmDkHFrPZYPRFxGYlxsNbQ0sz_Zb6asy4sSyUDZRR4fBi0VqGLy6nm0fnen-8rw7Y7-OumXh9PPiQq8ULwhjD-N360IzTj5DDG5NLU/s200/IMG_1504.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373426851125334450" /></a><a href = "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mató_cheese">Mató</a> (known as <i>brossat</i> in Tortosa and a main ingredient for passissets - more about them later) is a main ingredient here, used much like ricotta in both sweet and savoury dishes. Grand, main ingredient easy to find and the other ingredients are more everyday stuff (eggs, flour).<br><br />As instructed, I strained it overnight in the fridge (mató tends to be quite liquidy) and proceeded to make the gnocchi. They turned out to be easier than I thought in making.. Didn't even fall apart on my first attempt!<br><br /><br />I decided to go with the basic recipe - just a dash of nutmeg and plenty of parmigiano. The trick is to handle them as little as possible to ensure a fluffy filling that is quite different to the more common <i>gnocchi de patate</i> but still as deceptively filling.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWDLjHt-tenHSbMfAn1sMfBvZbMaSncmhpAwdfhgLzTv662Bgr6jFeHd4hyphenhyphenBeeHWCOmkvejgNRAuP3-gaV5nZ3CVuz1F5a46ifucqMDQP8lJbn58GRmCZRmeHo2bxurxA4XnUSFk8o1PI/s1600-h/IMG_1506.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWDLjHt-tenHSbMfAn1sMfBvZbMaSncmhpAwdfhgLzTv662Bgr6jFeHd4hyphenhyphenBeeHWCOmkvejgNRAuP3-gaV5nZ3CVuz1F5a46ifucqMDQP8lJbn58GRmCZRmeHo2bxurxA4XnUSFk8o1PI/s200/IMG_1506.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373428865988493634" /></a><br />According to my official taster (E), they passed the test although he suggested the next time they should 'accompany' something else (i.e. I'm still hungry) and that I should try a wild mushroom sauce made with ceps (porcini). So I guess, round one passed. Will I make them again? Probably - they were a lot easier to make than I thought - the most time consuming moment, forming the gnocchi (trying not to make them too big nor too small) but I definitely think I'll try E's suggestion in the Autumn (when there's fresh ceps around).<br /></span></span><br /><br><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;" /></span></span></a>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-79526767032791120322009-08-20T10:13:00.011+02:002009-10-14T15:10:33.486+02:00The Daring Kitchen<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/sites/default/files/tdk_logo.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 276px; height: 92px;" src="http://thedaringkitchen.com/sites/default/files/tdk_logo.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Have been toying with the idea of joining the </span><a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Daring Kitchen</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">'s baker's challenge for quite a while but have been put off since my oven does all or nothing (so I discovered one Christmas when trying to make my first Christmas fruitcake - Crispily black on top and gooely, uncooked mixture inside - lovely!). Why do things by half? It can just about cope with a pizza although it complains every so often, overheating its electric circuit and shutting completely off while giving a *lovely* aroma of burnt plastic. It's on the books for a change, but it's a matter of E and I seeing eye to eye about roller-drawer or hinged oven doors, and changing the hob as well (E wants vitro, I love gas) so I think it's going to be a while before we change it.. Anyway, so I reckoned that the world was not ready for my experiments as a baker (I don't think E was either as he openly discourages me from baking cakes etc!).<br />Thankfully I've found another challenge to keep me occupied that doesn't necessarily require an oven. Here's hoping that I can encourage E to help out since he likes me blogging and the like. He's an extremely good cook. I suppose it's his training (he did a degree in hotel management which included stints in the kitchen) but he's more a case of open-the-fridge-and-see-what-I've-got-to-make-dinner type of chef, not a fan of following recipes at all.. So it's going to be a push to get him to stick to the text. Don't you just love a challenge?<br /><br /><br /></span><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;" /></span></a></span>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-82685074302624831982009-08-13T17:17:00.005+02:002009-08-20T10:29:52.340+02:00Food for thought<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Found an interesting article in the Guardian entitled </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2001/oct/14/foodanddrink.jayrayneronrestaurants.restaurants">Everyone's a Critic</a> which discusses the idea of educating kids' palates. It talks about a trip with a crowd of two-year old's to Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck.. <br>Wow, Imagine feeding green tea and lime foam to a two-year old! - Would have liked to be in their shoes!<br><br><i>P.D. Was discussing the whole idea with E afterwards, and he came up with a very good point.. For kids, every taste is new to them, so in some ways the finer qualities of foie or oysters would be lost on them until they have sufficiently developed their palate to know what they do and don't like. He has a point; especially when we think that there's many adults out there that haven't developed their palate either, turning their nose up at a lot of things without really trying them</i><br /><br><br><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;" /></a></span></span>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-81884580203469226332009-07-20T18:45:00.011+02:002009-07-20T19:13:30.165+02:00Age-old cycle of the seasons<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Found a rather interesting site just now, recommended by a friend of mine. </span></span><a href="http://eattheseasons.co.uk/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Eat the Seasons</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> reminds us of the benefits of eating when fruit, veg and fish are in season.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span><div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">it reduces the energy (and associated CO2 emissions) needed to grow and transport the food we eat</span></span></li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">we avoid paying a premium for food that is scarcer or has travelled a long way</span></span></li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">it helps support the local economy</span></span></li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">it helps reconnect with nature's cycles and the passing of time</span></span></li></ul><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">They're rather important reasons for going seasonal, apart from the all important "it tastes better" too! Overall they have most of the fruit and veg seasons, right (apart from artichokes, better to leave them until January/February in my opinion).</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">It's funny how we've gone a complete circle again, returning to the ideas that originally appeared in </span></span><a href="http://www.mrsbeeton.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">, published in 1861. According to Mrs. Beeton, currently in season we have:</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">FISH.—Carp, crayfish, dory, flounders, haddocks, herrings, lobsters, mackerel, mullet, pike, plaice, prawns, salmon, shrimps, soles, sturgeon, tench, thornback.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">MEAT.—Beef, lamb, mutton, veal, buck venison.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">POULTRY.—Chickens, ducklings, fowls, green geese, leverets, plovers, pullets, rabbits, turkey poults, wheatears, wild ducks (called flappers).</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">VEGETABLES.—Artichokes, asparagus, beans, cabbages, carrots, cauliflowers, celery, cresses, endive, lettuces, mushrooms, onions, pease, radishes, small salading, sea-kale, sprouts, turnips, vegetable marrow,—various herbs.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">FRUIT.—Apricots, cherries, currants, figs, gooseberries, melons, nectarines, pears, pineapples, plums, raspberries, strawberries, walnuts in high season, and pickled.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Although here in Spain, we tend to think the best time to eat shellfish (</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">marisco</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">) is the months that contain an R - January, February, March, April, September, November, December; but I suppose the season may be much longer in colder waters/climates (i.e. for artichokes). Having been used to having everything that we want, when we want, I think it's kind of nice tasting the 'first of the season'. The wait for the mandarin oranges or sweet, juicy nectarines makes them all the nicer.</span></span><br></div><div><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;" /></a><br /></div>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-2129430252673324102009-07-18T16:48:00.021+02:002009-07-18T17:45:08.434+02:00Fishy wisdom<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">We Irish have a special relationship with salmon; it is probably the only fish that is full accepted in the Irish diet (despite being an island). There isn't a house in Ireland that doesn't whip out the smoked salmon and brown bread at Christmas, weddings, funerals and christenings! Maybe it's </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salmon_of_Wisdom"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Fionn's blood</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> in us all.</span></span><div><img style="float:right; cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIpQo1ojsAocb9ctZV4Xij7xdWk884n9fOL-cRzz3Q1sga7DmyfI3F8m3fDcX0HP_LHpr7wJoJ7zpIHxPN4yJzaU-YSmrcC4snGGIPWwrtQ9NSWFOoKWzxsRugIgrtwK-nIjCbd6fTkZs/s200/IMG_2435.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359822256494415858" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br />Here in Spain, there isn't as much furor for salmon, sadly being over looked for other more meaty fish like monkfish and cod. Having been here 6 years now, I'm beginning to understand their liking for cod. In Ireland, I tended to avoid it like the plague, as it was insipid and bland. The cod here is different, probably because it's </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_cod"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">salted</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">, which is good in some ways as it gives more flavour to an otherwise unappetising fish. The downside is if you don't soak it enough, you'll end up drinking water for the rest of the afternoon, so we've discovered on numerous occasions.. 48h hours is just not enough!</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /><br />Shopping today I came across some lovely looking whole salmon, at only 5.95€ a kg - not bad. Despite being farmed, which usually means that it's rather fatty, it wasn't the case this time; it turned out a lovely fish. Rather than having the supermarket butcher it (and I mean mutilate it with a knife), I decided to take it home whole and wrestle with ourselves. E wasn't too enamored with the idea, as he says it's a great way of blunting knives, but then again, isn't that what they're for? Personally I always prefer to buy a full fish, having always seen mum and dad filleting fish at the kitchen sink, rather just asking for cuts to be cooked the same day - it's a fish that freezes well and is rather versatile.<br /><br />The fish came in under 3 Kg, so there was plenty of fish to work with. In the end we took one full side and pan-fried it whole for a recipe I found in Arabesque (Barbecued Salmon and Aubergine Terrine). It starts off by lining a terrine with oven-roasted, ruby-red peppers, then sprinkling some crumbled, salty feta. On top of that, along one side, it layers poached leeks and on the other, some peeled, roasted aubergine. We placed half of the fillet (which had been panfried with a little garlic) in the centre and sprinkled it with some crushed coriander seeds. Then another layer of feta, more aubergine and leeks and the remaining salmon. Finally we topped it off with the rest of the peppers, and a layer of clingfilm. We've put some TetraBrics of stock on top to weight it. E was a bit skeptical about whether it would compact, but so far, the liquid seems to be dripping out. We'll have to wait until tomorrow to see the result.<br /><br />The trimings along the backbone are going to be used for E's salmon tartare, a real treat where he mixes roughly diced fresh and smoked salmon with minced onion, gherkins, capers, hard-boiled egg and a dash of mustard and oil. A great temptié or a meal in itself (it's rather rich, so best to share - no worries here!).</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">I cut the other side into smallish darns and popped them in the freezer, to be salvaged another day when I'm homesick. Nothing like some panfried salmon and spuds to reminisce about moist lush Ireland!</span></span><br><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;"/></a></div>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-31842082538550529402009-07-06T16:34:00.009+02:002009-10-15T19:08:32.491+02:00Grocery shopping, the same all over the world, or is it?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Yeah, I know. A mind-disengagingly, boring task anywhere. Well for most people anyway.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">E and I seem to get a kick out of it. It's a first stop-off, no matter where we go. I say that you can always tell how a country is by its supermarkets or lack-thereof.. and Spain is a food lovers paradise, so go figure that it would be instant gratification for us just doing the weekly shop.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Well, that was how it was until our busy lives caught up on us, forcing one or the other to do it alone. Not as much fun, alone.. I'm mean, somethings are meant to be done together. A long list of things comes to mind.. Yet, it ended up either being a) a strange </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">guiri</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> dashing through the aisles with her yellow-luminous post-its, hell bent on doing it as fast as possible (yep, my record was 34 mins for a full shop) or b) a tired-Spick whose face would light up with all the food that wasn't on the efficiently e-mailed shopping list or that already could be found in the laden shelves at home. Definitely not fun.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">So where did the fun go? Most probably when the whole convenience food came..</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">When I arrived here, I would spend hours on end wandering around supermarkets mesmerized by the different food brands and lack thereof (I still can't stop giggling when I see </span></span><a href="http://www.bimbo.com/default.cfm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Bimbo</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> bread and reckon that </span></span><a href="http://www.unilever.co.uk/ourbrands/homecare/cif.asp"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Cif</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> should still be Jif). I simply couldn't understand why their milk was on shelves and not in the fridge and why most supermarkets were rather empty of food and variety. For students in those days, it was hell. On earth. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br />Later, I discovered that supermarkets were not the places that the *real* people in Spain shopped. Heaven forbid if you even considered buying meat in the supermarket. For fresh stuff like that, you had to go to the market. The idea of convenience food was pizzas, chinese noodles and a millions of types of croquettes. Convenience it wasn't - rather *sin*venience - too much hassle and oil for a student.<br /><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">So what happened? <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Globalisation, I guess. Or one rather smart market analyst who saw a gap market and a growing trend. I suppose it goes to figure, since the average working week is a minimum of 40 hours, and food customs (main meal in the middle of the day, and evening meal at 22h) meant that no one has enough time to go to the market (generally closed before 20h, unlike the supermarkets that open until 9 or 10 at night), let alone cook anymore. So it's a case of cartons of ready-made gaspazcho, cellophaned torillas, even </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">callos a la abuela</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> (tripe in a murky looking sauce that looks like anything but home-made by your granny - she'd turn in her grave, she would). The markets are fighting back, trying to employ celebrities to advertise the advantages of going local (better quality, fresher produce) but who can fight against price given the current aroma of the economic crisis?</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">It's one of the changes in Spain that I don't like at all. That's why going to Tortosa with its local market (with produce that has just hopped off the field) makes my mouth water for the fresh crunchy greens. Yet, there's other days (when I couldn't be bother to cook - yep, it happens to me too) that I'm glad I've got a tin of tuna in the house.. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br />I guess it goes without saying that if a sign of a country is its supermarket (in my eyes), it won't be long before we all speak Spanglish.. :-/<br /><br /></span></span></div><div><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;" /></span></span></a><br /></div>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-29408190864623889242009-06-18T15:09:00.015+02:002009-07-18T17:49:09.498+02:00Mackerel, just like when I was a kid in Barley Cove<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">S<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">unny hot summer days are finally here.. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Somehow my appetite has gone haywire. With all the heat, the thoughts of eating anything hot during the day turns my stomach. These days I've been craving refreshingly cold Niçoise salads; Capreses with juicy, meaty tomatoes, drizzled in sunshine gold olive oil; tart, creamy potato salads with lashings of astringent plump capers.. So it goes without saying that at some stage I'd delve into the comfort foods of when I was child.</span></span></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 200px;" src="http://www.onlythewindknows.net/blog/wp-content/mackerel.png" border="0" alt="" /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Today I started thinking about Mackerel.. A seriously under-rated fish in some countries - I don't think many people in Ireland have even tasted mackerel, let alone see a whole one, head and all. As a child I used to sit on the edge of a rock in Barley Cove while I'd watch my uncle Bobby trying his hand in enticing a shoal to his hook. Some days we'd be bathed in lovely afternoon sunshine, but mostly we'd be sitting there in raincoats until we got too cold and gave up.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">He never gave up, rain, hail or shine.. Actually he was quite good at it (yet he could never understand my dad's patience to fish in boat in the middle of the lake), so there was many occasion that we would be faced with mackerel for tea, making the caravan smell for the whole weekend after..<br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Since then, it's kind of evolved for me, mackerel, learning different ways to cook it but I think deep-down i still prefer it the old way - straight off the pan with lashings of butter and black pepper..<br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">E tends to prefer it Catalan style - </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">escabetx</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> or poached slightly/marinated in vinegar and oil. Wasn't too keen on it as first as vinegar was a big no-no for me, but over the years that I've been here (6 already), it's slowly growing on me. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">It's rather simple to prepare: 1 part wine vinegar, 2 parts olive oil and some water to cover, a bay leaf and some black peppercorns. Place the gutted and de-headed mackerel in the liquid and bring to the boil. When it starts to boil, remove from the heat and leave to cool in the liquid. Once cold, transfer to a small casserole dish and cover completely with virgen olive oil. Not only does the oil 'soften' the taste of vinegar and mellow the flavour of the fish. E prefers to leave out the oil -just using vinegar and water, but it makes it too vinegary for my liking.<br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> The great thing is it keeps really well in the fridge (or on the countertop if you don't live in hot Spain -it's currently 29º) for a few days. Mmm.. My mouth already starts to water as if it were a bag of salt and vinegar crisps..</span></span></div><div> </div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /><br /></span></span><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;" /></span></span></a><br /></div></div>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-60731754274712337782009-06-05T12:01:00.005+02:002009-07-18T16:40:18.614+02:00To La Rioja or to not La Rioja, that is the question..<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It's official. E and I have been married for a year now.. So to celebrate, the lovely folk at F&G where we held our wedding last year gave us a night in one of their hotels for our first anniversary.</span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Where to go was the question - the only solution being to Logroño, heart of the La Rioja district so as you can imagine, we forcibly went.. Imagine, a *whole* weekend tasting wine - you'd have to like it a bit for a start, and then somehow manage to find your way to a restaurant to eat something to soak up all that wine.. A difficult task was at hand..</span></div><div><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Well, in Logroño they've got that under control, you just stagger </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">along. The weekend we were there it was the festival of the Laurel district meaning that everyone was out on the street eating </span><a href="http://cocklesandmussels.blogspot.com/2008/12/patxi-ay-va-la-hostia.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">pintxos</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, but unlike Bilbao the bars *ONLY* did one pintxo each.. To be honest, I'm not sure which one out of all the different ones we tried (yes another pub crawl was in order) was the best.. it's a toss up between the Triple-tiered garlic button mushrooms, where the liquidy, pungent juice sank into a day old piece of bread (Garlic mushrooms and garlic bread in one bite!) or maybe the </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">gula</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> or saltcod scramble roll (gulas are a delicacy of Spain - originally the young baby eels before they were nearly fished out of extinction, nowadays made from a fish paste but still in th</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">e form of tiny slivery, worm-like eels).. Sounds ucky but the scramble was just at that point between cooked and slightly runny that it made it a marvellous bite..</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUrT_QTbefzWh0WIoAE0QMOrfaqs-zGKtIYqxjRqm4rNOpuKcVxL5vYl-EMF2z5OrzFVYSQvWU-selJ1PrlARMjhmCli2rJ3Zp4IRLwmMyqle-x9qrvIKGNUjsC-q7uNvmC8tm0v1dUZU/s400/IMG_1322.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351290485824442050" /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Anyway, getting back to the real motivation for the trip - the wine, and oh so much of it! Everywhere, of every type, and for every pocket (imagine €0.70 for a shot of wine!). I don't think I really *got* wine, until going to New Zealand but now, it seems that E and I are somewhat experts, well if you can compare us to the other visitors to the area who didn't have much of a clue (why go to visit Bodegas if you don't even like wine??¿¿!)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">E had done some thorough research beforehand, checking out the best wineries to go, which I goes to figure since he couldn't let the Spanish side down after all that fabulous tasting in NZ.. And he didn't let the side down. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The first stop-off was in </span><a href="http://www.cvne.com/web/index.php"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">CVNE's Vi</span></a><a href="http://www.cvne.com/web/index.php"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ña Real</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, half way between Logroño and Laguardia, heart of the Rioja district. What can I say, we arrived at a great time - winery to ourselves, just one group of girls with us as we toured around the facilities (state of the art and the flagship of CVNE now) and proceeded to taste the standard samples and then some.. We stumbled across the real reason why Corona beer isn't called Corona in Spain (it's Coronita) as CVNE makes an incredible sweet wine called Corona - definitely a must-try.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg40CzIZOorbvruPIMRrOajeNbuBQ12HO4wTAyniCRHMHQD_mcYrs6MxziMxFRmwqalOWQjmvjy9rSjh6Gdp-L5FX7kEzPvgdT-m73w9i8bL1nl5rDDonVlKh4luyZ8Lz1wdxncF6dyXU/s200/IMG_1330.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351289260287691186" /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I could go on and on about that winery and their other one in Haro (La Rioja Alta) .. but then, the best way to know what I mean is to go there as they're so well set up that visitors can even look around during harvesting, which is totally unheard of here in Catalunya (our viniculture friend Ramon disappears off the space of the earth during September and October).</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Other great finds were </span><a href="http://www.bodegasbilbainas.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Bodegas Bilaínas</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> and </span><a href="http://www.riojalta.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">La Rioja Alta</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, each so completely different, with totally different philosophies but the same basic processes. And yes, the car did come back a few cases heavier... You can't go and not bring souvenirs for everyone! :-)</span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;" /></a><br /></div></div>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-52801424023550747732009-03-18T10:23:00.008+01:002009-07-18T16:40:59.836+02:00What do the Aussies put in their fish?<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">One of our major "must do" things while we were in Australia is to check out their fish market.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Ever since my Mum visited my aunt and uncle in Sydney, I'll never forget her talking about the fish market - how they'd buy some fish and eat it there in the same place. Will it really live up to our high expectations given that we're used to see great markets like <a href="http://cocklesandmussels.blogspot.com/2008/08/s-espaa.html">La Boqueria</a>?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The answer was sort of..</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOQ_iWtkGhlwm1OnAo8cRAGW-K3B6T_CYIveMTtCQUO4in6drDYFcOMOUTevtw6TF5BKqq_-s3DjFq0rc6xiWn_HeBTsbXjNiyw9TuqUGR2aFzsgEUy2W9tDCDDlmCK4f2tHMMdLrOnpc/s400/IMG_0430.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351182493354750770" /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The variety was amazing, a lot of varieties of fish that we know back home but different - like New Zealand green-lipped mussels (mmm, go figure that I'd be interested in them!), Sydney bay oysters and a number of different catfish and snapper. However, what shocked us more than anything was the price - how can monkfish be selling at $27 a kilo, that's just €13.50! Our prices start around 27€, so there must be a catch.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">We couldn't help but wondering why, if the fish is so cheap, don't the Aussies spend all there time at the fish market (it was empty apart from the usual Japanese tourists)? The place had a run-down feeling and my uncle told us that they weren't quite sure what to do with it, as </span></span></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRezHgmy1vbI7AibsSaIEiHtJR8ozAdDDSZf27b61TEHyUBhuN0ID6iNIuxJHLQqBeNPlEyFsCsRGF1FwkQmPN-DLNgRAN18MmX_Rv2kwIRaK9MoF2SRgs7b4Yu5fEtRQF5HZPASqdE7o/s320/IMG_0432.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351184953216807314" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms', -webkit-fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">it was outdated now, they had problems keeping the fish during their su</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms', fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">mmer with its high temperatures, and it seemed that no one (apart from the Japanese who would go wild over the tuna - every fish stand served ready-to-eat sushi) went there to buy.</span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">There doesn't seem to be much clue about how to cook fish (especially in our Aussies' house - fish is "ew, yuck, it smells so fishy" word). E couldn't understand why anyone would want to serve mussels in coconut cream.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">So the challenge for us was to present it so that even my picky cousins would try it. Tough challenge, given the variety of fish, but we reckoned that we had to narrow it down to the more </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">meaty </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">fish - Monkfish, cuttlefish, fresh red tuna, and some of the Sydney bay oysters just for us, as it was unlikely that any one else would try. My uncle was delighted at the thought that someone else would encourage the rest of the family to try new things.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">As usual, E donned his chef's hat and started preparing the perfectly cleaned fish (no heads or bones here!) - the plan was simple: grilled tuna with a dash of salt and pepper, deep fried monkfish, beer-battered cuttlefish and oysters au naturel. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I think the fact of seeing someone *cooking* in the kitchen made my cousin take on an adventurous spirit and he even tried an oyster although wasn't too enamoured although the comment was "it's not bad..". First, challenge past with success. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">How about the rest of the family? Well, I won't bore you with the details but I think it went down well, even with my extremely picky aunt (it's not surprising that the rest of the family as turned out suspicious of new food!). There's nothing that gives me more satisfaction than when we convince someone to try something new that they've never ventured to try before and find that they actually like it!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', -webkit-fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', -webkit-fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Getting back to the fish - we found out why it was so cheap. It's not that it's bad fish, just rather insipid when you compare it to Mediterranean fish (which has a higher salt content). So no wonder everyone dares to spice it up with chilli (chilli squid, chilli fish, chilli mussels - everything gets a health dose of chilli)!</span></span><br><br><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;"/></a></div></div>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-57825777643377314782009-03-10T11:05:00.007+01:002009-07-18T17:52:30.690+02:00Australia, the land of hope, opportunities and Vegemite<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://aussiefavourites.com.au/cornershop/images/vegemite175.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://aussiefavourites.com.au/cornershop/images/vegemite175.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br />We're about to head off to Australia and New Zealand in a few weeks for my brother's wedding in Queen Charlotte Inlet, Marlborough Sounds, so have been checking out what's typical to eat in both places..</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">In Australia, since we'll be staying with my aunt and uncle, we're sure to try their barbie at some stage or another (from what my mum tells me, they're not motivated cooks!) but hoping to try some meat pies (good recommendation from Glynn), kangaroo meat (E's choice since we've already tried croc and ostrich) and their shrimp since I've already tried </span></span><a href="http://www.vegemite.com.au/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Vegemite</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> and wasn't too fond of it! And of course, some macadamias will be coming back to Spain!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">As for New Zealand, their lamb is infamous all over the world and there's apparently a variety of mussels that sound really good! Let's see what comes up.. :-)<br /></span></span><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;" /></span></span></a></div>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-18368692508606756592008-12-23T15:17:00.005+01:002009-07-18T16:41:50.486+02:00Patxi, ay va la hostia!*<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd7tIx8ZUUaP7FzaM9K8YTTMpndxk6IfZ1S17NCM5KmFNgDnzNAR-u-dfeF7TBUEeU-wvT1pX4GasZnSVw7F32ouDcD2x3whiY8XXxee06wnsAPcxxniqC5vEUcI5oD0UiPcx3GcWsB78/s1600-h/IMG_0141.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd7tIx8ZUUaP7FzaM9K8YTTMpndxk6IfZ1S17NCM5KmFNgDnzNAR-u-dfeF7TBUEeU-wvT1pX4GasZnSVw7F32ouDcD2x3whiY8XXxee06wnsAPcxxniqC5vEUcI5oD0UiPcx3GcWsB78/s200/IMG_0141.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351193329413690562" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />Last week, E was sent to Bilbao again on business, so given I was in a quiet time workwise and E had accumulated Spanair points, I decided to join him and that way visit our friends Izaskun and Josefa in Bilbao..</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">What can I say other than the Basque Country deserves its name as culinary hotspot. What's more, the city is more than just the Guggenheim.. Wandering around the markets while E was working was just amazing. There were people at all the fish stalls, clamouring to get to the front and an amazing variety too. The scallops looked particularly good. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">However it has to be said, that the main focus in Bilba</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">o (and San Sebastian, which is the next city on the "to do" list) is on their </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">pintxos.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Pintxos </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">are the Basque version of tapas, but generally just a mouthful, stuffed on top of a piece of bread. Essentially it arose from when wine was served in the olden days, a piece of dry bread was placed over the top of the goblet to stop any flies or other nasties from falling in. From there it has evolved into a cultural tradition, with all the bars in the Basque country filled with people at lunchtime and in the evening. There's no tables or chairs as everyone stands around, even </span></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8OwnMbMOWzMyHvviXMs7TEVuhHU_eZX9wARXz6jgVJ-D8B-nTVYIeRrQ67RVjGojZbtbxtMa9Tpa75uODJwvYF0RUMgCJwO61wdrSUfDm215YbSWYvYyqzVYse3ywAUMToYzrwh7WTY/s200/IMG_0116.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351198951778039026" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">outside in the street with a zurito (a small shotglass of beer) or a glass of wine (more common). Depending on the area, the variety changes although most bars tend to have a speciality.. so as</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">you can imagine, it leads to a bar-crawl! I especially loved the ones with </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Txangurro </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(crab meat mixed with mayonnaise) and the amazing mushrooms in Cafe Bilbao in Plaza Nueva.</span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The weekend we were there was the patron saint of Bilbao so Saturday everyone was out on the street to celebrate. Surprisingly after the rain that we had the days before (constant Ireland-like drizzle) Saturday was a bright, warm winter day. Izaskun and Josefa decided it was about that Alain started to look like a real Basque so he was dressed for the occasion. The atmosphere was amazing, people everywhere with bottles of cider</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> (not like ours back home) more like wine but made with apples. Izaskun insisted that we try the local </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Xistorra</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> and </span><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talo"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Talo</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">- a pancake made from co</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">rnflour which was rather nice but filling!</span></div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTd7FC6Et-LrfJEkDacXHYSwfsAHsB67bk3qVsdrH3uULdXYqXOMNfTG7GupUHs4TmA9RBMansp7z-mDImegbisBNX0gUi3klXd-K9QIOd1EENufTqw7REVF62xiGdY3Z8Pr7U4RdovkI/s200/IMG_0148.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351200617420658898" /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">All in all, culinary wise, it is definitely a capital city!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">*Typical Spanish expression apparently characteristic of the Basques</span></div><div><br><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;"/></a><br /></div>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-85963406055306912622008-11-12T15:08:00.001+01:002009-07-18T16:42:04.247+02:00Book, done and dusted..It goes without saying, the longer you have to do a translation, the longer you will take.<div><br /></div><div>Boy, I was glad to finally hand in the final version of the infamous chef's recipe book. I'd got a little tired of having my mouth constantly watering, to only find that my fridge was bare of ingredients (when I'm on a project, the housework/shopping gets left for later).</div><div><br /></div><div>It will be interesting to see how it actually translates, not in the literal sense - that work is already done, but whether it achieves good sales, although the print run is going to be limited. It's not going on sale here, so I just hope the editorial might give me a copy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Will keep Amazoning over the next few months to see if anything comes up..</div><div><br><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;"/></a> </div>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-15834467557540405182008-11-07T18:48:00.002+01:002009-07-18T16:43:51.445+02:00Manzanas, massanas, pomes, apples.. Call them what you like<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJl89HEawFCu0bEZubbbIvxxIpx3jVlGtNM0OfMWw-Ksvy01K4y4hX1cViSp3R516PhfLZwinGShDH6dlbo4BoGpUe2mCfK2exYzvrsuXiNEIUH2_IswgFAURWZckEnZ_luQnA8WRh7Y/s1600-h/apples.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265975883025756082" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 275px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJl89HEawFCu0bEZubbbIvxxIpx3jVlGtNM0OfMWw-Ksvy01K4y4hX1cViSp3R516PhfLZwinGShDH6dlbo4BoGpUe2mCfK2exYzvrsuXiNEIUH2_IswgFAURWZckEnZ_luQnA8WRh7Y/s320/apples.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>After several failed attempts, I've finally mastered how to make a good apple crumble. It just requires good juicey apples, a dash of brandy (if available) and proper butter in the crumble. E liked my sis-in-law's version with pistachios that I think I'll have to try it out.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>A simple dessert, done in no time that doesn't require a properly functioning oven! (Mine has taken a liking to either burning or doing nothing, it doesn't do things by half measures so I discovered at my one and only attempt to make a Christmas cake last year)</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>If I win the Gordo this year, I definitely be buy <a href="http://www.balay.es/en/catalogo/producto/modelo/3ht668xp">this</a></div><br /><div><br><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;"/></a></div>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-75696055504111112222008-10-31T09:37:00.005+01:002009-07-18T16:44:31.699+02:00You can just taste it now...I know.. It's been a while since I've written anything here but to be honest, I haven't felt like I have anything to write about since the Pumpkin soup incident.. (silly accident with a blender and my finger... it's alright, it's still intact but I haven't had the same relationship with my blender since).<br /><br />Not that I have stopped cooking. In fact, it's quite the opposite.. just I haven't really felt like talking about it. So don't worry, E has been well fed with apple and red fruit crumbles, dark chocolate biscuit cake, spicy pumpkin soup (using my food processor - no danger of catching fingers there!).<br /><br />Also I'm in the middle of the translation of the recipe book by the Michellin-starred Catalan chef, so maybe so much translation has fulfilled my food thoughts! It's a great book, some of the recipes are really good - simple and easy to do but look great (like fried egg and black pudding ravioli - sounds weird but really good).<br /><br />Anyway.. on my investigations for the translation, I came across a really cool site. Essentially it's aimed at the trade but the photography is amazing! The company's called <a href="http://gastromedia.blogspot.com/">Gastromedia</a> and they have a portal that provides top quality photographs for advertising, publishing companies etc. <a href="http://www.gastrofotos.com/">Gastrofoto</a>. There's some really good stuff there, some photos a bit so-so but there's some really great shots <a href="http://www.gastrofotos.com/Detalle%20de%20ostras%20tibias%20sobre%20crema%20de%20cebolleta%20y%20caviar/62985/imagenesItem.aspx">like this one</a>. Makes the mouth water, which is what it is all about!<br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;" /></a>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-37049168330057576102008-09-27T08:56:00.008+02:002009-07-18T16:44:51.641+02:00More than just photos...It's an early start this morning as should be working but as always, my mind has wandered to subjects a bit more interesting (there's only so much SAP that a person can take!).<br /><br />Today, I've been thinking about food photography and styling after my attempt to photograph my spinach soup (to pathetic results - I'll show you later).. I'm absolute in awe of the people that can do it, and that do it really well.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTcAOKpv_FpOxgh-Q8rSwu89rgJqjdB4LyuIf65FZlu0f1r8jxs00zZo4OnyqdSyUSls1aYlcuJx-pe-2RJn0YyRv3x7z1o6rdSovv1PVErkzS2xS3uxAWiQDPRL60n-Ik5luKAHccTN4/s1600-h/purplepotato1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250594109938768546" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTcAOKpv_FpOxgh-Q8rSwu89rgJqjdB4LyuIf65FZlu0f1r8jxs00zZo4OnyqdSyUSls1aYlcuJx-pe-2RJn0YyRv3x7z1o6rdSovv1PVErkzS2xS3uxAWiQDPRL60n-Ik5luKAHccTN4/s320/purplepotato1.jpg" border="0" /></a>For example, Beatrice Peltre (aka <a href="http://www.latartinegourmand.com/">La Tartine Gourmand</a>) who takes some really amazing shots like this one to the right - for more great stuff, visit her portfolio at<a href="http://www.beatricepeltre.com/"> Beatrice Peltre.com</a>.<br /><br />For me, being a food stylist is right up there with being a food critic as some of my top dream jobs (apart from being translator, although I often wonder if I'm mad and whether I should be doing something else instead). Imagine, being able to say, the next time you pick up your copy of Food and Wine, that they are your photos making the world salivate.. I guess the essence is that, being able to express the taste and aroma of fresh muffins, the crisp texture of a carrot stick, the comforting feeling of a hot apple crumble in pictures .<br /><br />It seems that all the tips that the experts give is to use natural light and to play around with the macro on the camera. I think I'll have to buy a small tripod because my hand shakes too much to be able to get good shots.<br /><p></p><p>Hats off to the people out there making our mouths water!</p><br><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;"/></a>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-56913922035901496542008-09-26T16:42:00.013+02:002009-07-18T16:45:18.126+02:00Winter's a coming..<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg333g4CstYeO1AMJ8ZHAU-35el_C8qSh3qaivtWsprW82Zwke47cxX1ICwC8Ye2zC6D1YY_BD099daQIL0nC12MD1iOWTXcV8j1rE9DNqVI6bD4C-1loccjSx7Fx6s6Cf5pTo-NYOgWII/s1600-h/SOUPS.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250341108801197746" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg333g4CstYeO1AMJ8ZHAU-35el_C8qSh3qaivtWsprW82Zwke47cxX1ICwC8Ye2zC6D1YY_BD099daQIL0nC12MD1iOWTXcV8j1rE9DNqVI6bD4C-1loccjSx7Fx6s6Cf5pTo-NYOgWII/s320/SOUPS.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </span> <div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I don't know was it the fact of being back in Ireland for a few days, or maybe that my lovely brother and sister-in-law gave me <a href="http://www.avoca.ie/store/product.php?mid=8&sid=27">Avoca's Soups </a>for a birthday present, but can't seem to get the idea of making soup out of my head..<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Even E agreed with me that now was a time to start making soup again!<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The weather has taking a turn, aparently it was raining non-stop when we were in Ireland (that was surprisingly sunny!) so there's nothing like a good homemade soup to bring in the Autumn.<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Soup's something that E and myself can never agree on. Here in Spain, soup (<em>sopa</em>) is what we would call a broth - boiled vegetable stock with a bit of pasta if you're lucky. E has two favourites one - with cabbage, green pepper and onion (and nothing more!) that has you spending the night peeing (yep, purative qualities!), and the other is with other chopped veg and maybe a bit of pasta. Pasta's the only thing that makes it bearable, so E and I make a good match - I eat the pasta, he gets the stock.. I'm not surprised that Mafalda objected so much to it!! </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></div></span><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Irish soups are another cup of tea (or soup) altogether.. thick, creamy (they call them <em>cremas</em> here), even the broth has interesting chunks of vegetables and meat.<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Routed out my soup bean mix out of the back of cupboard and left it to soak yesterday.. It's a great mix of pulses, barley and split peas that I can only get in Ireland. Strange that, as I can get ever other pulse under the sun here in Spain, but no one actually sells a mixed pack that contains barley - it would definitely be a money-spinner, especially since they like their broth a lot here (or dishwater shown a bit of vegetable as I call it).<br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">So tonight I'm going to try Spinach and barley soup.. it's a recipe half from Avoca and half from <a href="http://www.phaidon.com/silverspoon/">The Silver Spoon</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">I'll sum it up here:<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><strong>Spinach</strong><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>,</strong> fresh if you can get it - I'll be using frozen, my fridge is bare after Ireland except for a Smoked Salmon, more about that later ;-)</span></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong>Barley</strong> </span>(and lentils)</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;">1 <span style="font-size:100%;"><strong>Potato</strong></span> (if I get to the shops in time, otherwise the barley will thicken it)</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;">diced <strong><span style="font-size:100%;">Onion</span></strong></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><strong>vegetable stock cube</strong> <span style="font-size:85%;">(cheating, i know)</span></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;">a bit of grated <strong><span style="font-size:100%;">Nutmeg</span></strong></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><strong>Parmesan cheese</strong></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;">Dash of <span style="font-size:100%;"><strong>cream/</strong>milk<br /></span></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Sautée the onion until golden and soft, add cubed potato and sautée a bit. Add stock, barley and spinach (it's frozen). Simmer on the stove for about 30 minutes until barley and potato is cooked, purée, add milk and cheese and pass through a sieve for a smooth velvety soup.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMBCboRNVNgPiQ_cZW-WlFPOp7hS2et_NQ2_EfrAt8xMK2evvQvLJGSIfC2vmDQ9gV5nUwMqiFY7Sv381nw5VK2l7uwvXy-q8GDCDr1KRt9kx0UwH_wu5_ddsX_AZ0iNaxwRXTo0iASyU/s1600-h/IMG_2048.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263238915578444594" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMBCboRNVNgPiQ_cZW-WlFPOp7hS2et_NQ2_EfrAt8xMK2evvQvLJGSIfC2vmDQ9gV5nUwMqiFY7Sv381nw5VK2l7uwvXy-q8GDCDr1KRt9kx0UwH_wu5_ddsX_AZ0iNaxwRXTo0iASyU/s200/IMG_2048.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;"/></a></div></div>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407605763750811679.post-71904095105704594042008-09-19T12:49:00.001+02:002009-07-18T16:45:29.250+02:00Is the world ready for Lyd's writing?Just been offered the job to translate a cookery book written by an infamous Catalan chef.. From what the publisher says it's a season-themed book, with recipes for every season..<br /><br />Fingers crossed that it works out.. Will keep you informed..<br><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/232/6994134FFA2C7658879B195F37A2DE10.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;"/></a>Lydia Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01548466358771299456noreply@blogger.com0