Category Archives: culture

“skinny girl” wines? wtf?

23 Thursday Feb 2012

Posted by in culture, food & drink, wine, wtf?

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So I came across this today, which I thought was quite vile. A brand called “skinny girl” (bad enough in itself) that is promoting “skinny wine” at – gasp! – 15% fewer calories than a regular glass of wine. WTF?

Apparently this is the brainless-child of someone called Bethenny Franklin, who previously marketed a range of “skinny cocktails”…

This supposed “Food-Health-Lifestyle Guru” appears to be promoting more alcohol consumption with less guilt about getting fat, as none of her wine products are lower in alcohol than other wines, and are only slightly lower in calories. According to this Wine Spectator article, most dry wines are about 100 calories per 5-ounce glass, though may vary up to as high as 120 calories. So what Franklin seems to be marketing is the opportunity of doing the same amount of liver damage with only the tiniest bit less damage to one’s already anorexic figure…


…because who the hell else would care so much about 20 extra calories a glass???

crazy clutter

19 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by in culture, retail therapy, sevilla, spain

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[click on image to enlarge]

Don’t you just love old shops like this? I’ve been going to Bazar Victoria ever since I first moved to Sevilla, which used to be a challenge because most things are “in the back” somewhere and have to be asked for. I think the staff quite enjoyed my miming and bad Spanish whilst trying to get across what I wanted. These days I am more likely to see some cool kitchen gagdet in the window and have to get them to explain what it’s used for, which is also fun. Though I can never tell when Amalio is being serious so I’m still not convinced that the cricket cages are for real…

Do you have a favourite old shop like this where you live?

[more about Bizare Victoria on azahar’s Sevilla blog]

my first fabada

13 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by in cooking, culture, spain

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I’ve had a kilo bag of alubias (white beans) in the cupboard for ages and finally decided it was time to do something with them. But what? Twitter foodie friends suggested a fabada, a stew from Asturias, so here it is. My first fabada.

As usual, when trying something new, I found a few different recipes on the internet and then did a sort of mash up while adding a twist or two of my own. I’ll try to write down my recipe and get it up on azahar’s kitchen this weekend. Meanwhile, any guesses as to what’s in it?

What’s the last new thing you tried cooking?

[update: recipe is up! Fabada Asturiana]

justo

23 Friday Dec 2011

Posted by in culture, friends, sevilla, shoes

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The other day after I picked up my loaner iPad, Peter and I stayed at the Vineria San Telmo to enjoy a drink outside in the sunshine. I mean, sitting out in the sun in mid-December is pretty special. And then I saw my old buddy Justo. I’ve known him as long as I’ve lived in Sevilla. He used to do the shoe-shine thing outside my old home until the “powers that be” decided it was bad for tourism to have gypsy shoe-shine guys pestering the tourists. And to be honest, the majority of them were pretty obnoxious. But not Justo. He was always charming and chatty. I remember once, maybe 15 years ago, splashing out to have my shoes polished on my birthday.

And so when I saw Justo again we had a chat and, as usual, he pointed out the bad state of our shoes. Well, mine are suede so he couldn’t do anything about that, but Peter never takes care of his shoes and Justo said he would add two years of life to them for just 4 euros. How could I resist? So I bought Peter a shoe shine, and also about ten minutes of Justo’s time. We chatted and caught up a bit – Justo told Peter about how he’s known me forever – and I found out that he has been made the official shoe-shine guy for Restaurante Modesto! He even has a little badge saying so. All of which made me think about how much all our lives have changed over the years. And also about how “connected” I feel here, to all kinds of people and to all sorts of memories.

I told Justo I would put his photo on Twitter and make him famous, and he made me promise I would say he was the best shoe-shine guy in the Puerta de la Carne. Which I did. Because he really is. Peter’s two-year-old shoes look brand new.

christmas tree

12 Monday Dec 2011

Posted by in christmas, culture, sevilla

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Still not sure what to do about the Christmas tree situation here at the new casa az.

There doesn’t seem to be a safe place to set up my pretty wicker tree where the cats won’t be able to get at it and rip it to bits.

So for now I am enjoying other trees around town and one of my favourites is this one at the Vineria San Telmo.

Love the wine corks and little Tio Pepe baubles.

Might have to do what I did one year, which was to unplug and move the wicker tree into my closet every night. It was a bit of a pain, but I don’t see any other option, especially with Luna the turbo-kitten around.

What does your tree look like this year?