Category Archives: casa azahar

christmas eve 2018

24 Monday Dec 2018

Posted by in casa azahar, cats, christmas, food & drink, friends

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This year I was saved from either spending Christmas on my own or – even worse – spending it with Peter the Grinch. Don’t get me wrong, Peter and I are good friends but when it comes to Christmas, well, he really sucks. And by that I mean he pretty much sucks the life out of it.

Last year I actually spent Christmas on my own, at home with the cats, since it was my first year living on my own again. And that was just fine. But it’s always nice to have an excuse to make a nice meal at Christmas time and share it with friends, so I was happy that Pam and Gord were going to be back in town.

I first met P & G in January 2013 when they booked a tapas tour with me. They have been back a couple of times since then, and this year decided to do a road trip between Sevilla and Málaga. In fact, I’ll be joining them for a couple of days in Jerez later in the week.

It was a lovely evening and, as you can see, Peter was also invited (grinchiness is less toxic in a group). And you may also notice that little scamp Morcilla all snuggled up next to El Gordo. I was shocked – she has never done that before. At best she will come into the same room as strangers, but here she was getting all cosy.

Dinner was fab. P & G brought some gorgeous jamón Ibérico and I made my famous carrillada al oloroso. Plus I had found some parsnips while in Málaga last week (!!!) so added those to the roasted veg. First time in YEARS having parsnips. I also made some really good honey-chilli-dijón cocktail sausages that I had come across on my friend Lizzie’s (@hollow_legs) Instagram that morning. So the oven got a serious workout and we all had a great time.

if at first you don’t succeed…

12 Wednesday Dec 2018

Posted by in casa azahar, food & drink, home, homecooking, sevilla

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… improvise! Last week I tried some nice spinach and garbanzo albóndigas at my friend Ana’s new bar Lama La Uva al Sol, and so the other day I decided I wanted to try making some. I looked up a few recipes for inspiration and then came up with my own. Everything was going fine until I made the fatal flaw of adding an egg to the spinach and garbanzo mixture. I thought it would help it bind, but it had the opposite effect, as you can see below…

I tried a few as “albóndigas”, dipping them in a mayo-greek-yoghurt coriander sauce, and they just kept falling apart. But they were very tasty! So undaunted, the next day I decided to try them in a different way. After reheating I crumbled them over some basmati rice and had them with the sauce on the side and … delicious!

I’ve always been a bit of a reckless cook, basically self-taught since I left home at age 15 and discovered a whole new world of fresh vegetables and other food items that hadn’t been a part of my growing up. And I have always been keen to try making new dishes, without worrying too much about the outcome. I guess that’s what I mean by reckless. I reckon that if you start with great ingredients, and as long as you don’t, say, burn the shit out of something, then the dish will probably turn out just fine, if not perhaps what you’d first envisioned. Anyhow, this new breaded spinach and garbanzo crumble is going into my repertoire. But I still want to ace the albóndigas.  😉

mother’s little helper

08 Saturday Dec 2018

Posted by in casa azahar, cats, home

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Morcilla has been turning into quite the unstoppable force. Mostly she uses her kitteh super powers for good, by which I mean making me feel like the most special person on the planet, but other times she demands payment. Above you can see her in her role as my Personal Assistant, and having her attached to my shoulder (seriously attached, with claws) is actually welcome company as I spend several hours each day at the computer and her cuddling and nuzzling and purring somehow makes everything feel fabulous.

More recently she has become “helpful in the kitchen” (please ignore spattered windows – it’s been raining and I have yet to wash them). Here Morcilla is extremely happy – you can tell by her puffed out tail – as she has just climbed up my back (ouch!) and after a short while perched on my shoulder she jumped over to the little storage shelf and had a good sniff around. Potatoes and onions and garlic – oh my!

But it seems I can’t turn my back for TWO MINUTES. After finishing with some washing up in the kitchen I suddenly found myself Morcilla-less. Where could she be? Didn’t have to look far to find her at another of her favourite activities… dragging stuff out of drawers under my bed through the small opening that is supposed to act as a handle. She will often get the drawer open eventually and pull everything out, and then climb inside.

To be honest…. I love this shit! Yes, it’s a bit annoying at times, but it is mostly adorable. And, being a house cat, there isn’t really a lot going on for these guys. Loki and Luna mostly just do the eat, sleep, lounge around thing… but Morcilla is much more about having FUN. Once again she reminds me so much of Azar. And just like Azar, she has become much more affectionate and demanding as she gets older. What can I say? I’m all hers.