Category Archives: culture

comfort food

01 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by in cooking, culture, diet & nutrition, food & drink, health & happiness, home

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Today I made this very comfort-foodie dish based on having tried it a few times elsewhere. It has some of the usual comfort food ingredients (potatoes, eggs) as well as some chorizo and spicy pimentón thrown in for good measure. And most enjoyable it was too!

Here is the recipe: huevos rotos

But as comforting (and delicious) this late Sunday lunch was, when it comes to comfort food I’d probably say my favourites would include cheese. Like, mac & cheese or grilled cheese sandwiches.

What’s your favourite comfort food?

sons of anarchy

15 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by in culture, television, twitter, video

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It’s like the Sopranos on motorbikes!

A couple of weeks ago Twitter pal Antonio (aka @The_LazyPig) mentioned he was watching the third season of this and was loving it and so – always on the look out for a good series (preferable to films these days) – I got onto Amazon and saw they had a special offer on a season 1 & 2 pack. And today at lunchtime Peter and I finished the last episode of season one, which had a very satisfying cliff hanger.

It’s all very Shakespearean and the acting is great. I am also whisked back to my teenage years when I was 14 and used to hang out with a biker gang. I have no idea if they were up to anything illegal and didn’t actually get that involved, but as I recall they were all rather protective of me. It was also the last time I ever got on a motorbike. Next up: Game of Thrones (the Sopranos in Middle Earth!).

Sons of Anarchy on Wikipedia

semana santa practice

29 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by in culture, fiestas, religion, sevilla, spain

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Bet you don’t see this where you live! And as many times as I’ve seen it, including the guys above a couple of nights ago, I am always stopped in my tracks and, well, a little bit in awe. They are costaleros practicing for Semana Santa, when they will carry the statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary on the backs of their necks throughout the processions. Here they are practicing with weights instead of statues while they perfect their moves because, as you can imagine, it’s quite difficult to manouevre these things, and taking corners is especially tricky. During the processions you never see the costaleros (other than those taking breaks and having beers at nearby bars) and I find it fascinating to see them at work like this.

[also posted on azahar’s Sevilla]

“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???