Category Archives: food & drink

balbuena y huertas

07 Thursday Sep 2023

Posted by in food & drink, gastronomy, instagram, restaurants, sevilla

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balbuena huertas (1)

Not my usual Wednesday! José Luis Pastrana, chef at brand new Balbuena y Huertas in the soon to be opened Cavalta Boutique Hotel (5 Star GL), got in touch on Instagram to ask if I would like to try their tasting menu. And so after the usual clarification that I don’t accept invitations in exchange for publicity (fine by José Luis, he said he preferred it that way) I asked pal Fiona Flores if she wanted to join me. Lately we’ve become quite a good team when it comes to visiting new restaurants, hotels, etc.

The meal, as you can see below, was quite spectacular and lunch lasted until almost 6 pm, after which we were given a tour of the hotel, which is set to open in a couple of weeks. The six-course tasting menu is actually very good value at 38€ (53€ with wine pairing). The meat course was swapped with tuna for pescatarian Fiona and were given a few cocktails too, with and without alcohol. It was a fabulous experience and so I am happy to do a review for them soon on my website. Have a look…

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pizza party

21 Monday Aug 2023

Posted by in casa azahar, food & drink, friends

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pizza paul (1)

The last time Paul was here we got to talking about the HOT MESS that is my website setup. I mean, it’s ridiculous really but, in my defence, when I first started building self-hosted websites I was learning as I went. But at this point anyone looking at my FTP file manager would just shake their head (as Paul did) and say “what the fuck?”. So, as this is actually his work, I asked him if he could help me with, ahem, tidying things up a bit. At first we tried this via WhatsApp but then decided it would be better to wait until he was back in Sevilla. Which is now!

We decided the best time would be on a Sunday afternoon (yesterday) when things are pretty quiet around here and, as it’s also back up to 42º, nobody really wants to be outside. To make it feel less like work for Paul I said that after we finished we could get some takeaway pizzas and he could help me with one or two of these lovely red wines from Mallorca and Valencia that have been hanging around for a couple of years. I’m more a white wine girl, so having company – the first time having someone over who wasn’t a handyman since 2019! – seemed a good time to crack these babies open.

pizza paul

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they’re back!

10 Thursday Aug 2023

Posted by in food & drink, friends, sevilla, spain, tapas, tapas bars

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ana simon sara (1)

What a surprise this was! Yesterday afternoon I was all cosy in my comfy chair reading National Dish when I get a message from Ana (aka Mrs O) saying they were heading to Lisbon from Sotogrande and decided last minute to stop off in Sevilla for dinner and spend the night. Four hours later Ana, Simon, little O and I were perched on bar stools at Cinco Jotas enjoying manzanilla and jamón and waiting for Casa Morales to open (I called ahead to Morales so when we arrived my usual table was reserved for us).

ana simon sara (2)

Their last visit was in November when they came for a weekend with Ana’s family and a family friend, and I was thinking how great it was to see them again so soon. THEN I found out that they are now living full time in Sotogrande and they’ve even started a new business down there called Collect Corner (check it out if you live in the area) and so we’re practically neighbours now. Anyhow, a lovely surprise and a lovely evening catching up with lovely friends in one of my favourite places. Really made my day!

national dish

09 Wednesday Aug 2023

Posted by in books, food & drink, sevilla

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national dish

Look what came today! This was the second book I ordered last week, along with The Book of Sherry Wines, bringing my total book purchases since downsizing in 2017 to a resounding three (the third, well, first one was The Wines of Northern Spain by my friend (and Master of Wine) Sarah Jane Evans.

National Dish is by Anya von Bremzen and looks like it’s going to be delightful. I had a teeny-tiny part in it when Anya and her partner Barry were here doing research in the spring of 2019 and we met up a couple of times, going to a few bars where I introduced her to the owners who agreed to be interviewed. It’ll be hard not to skip ahead to the chapter on Sevilla!

In this engrossing and timely journey to the crossroads of food and identity award-winning writer Anya von Bremzen explores six of the world’s most fascinating and iconic culinary cultures—France, Italy, Japan, Spain, Mexico, and Turkey—brilliantly weaving cuisine, history, and politics into a work of scintillating connoisseurship and charm.

blueberries!

03 Thursday Aug 2023

Posted by in casa azahar, food & drink, health

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blueberries

I love blueberries. In fact, they are one of the few fruits I could actually eat on a daily basis. Plus they are a “super food” when it comes to inflammation issues. Except, they are only around for a brief season. And so! Since I am embarking on this new chapter of making changes, blueberries and lemon water have become a part of my morning routine lately (before I do chair yoga!) as well as taking the fish oil capsules after lunch (those fuckers are actually hard to swallow). All of this in preparation for my appointment with the endocrinologist/nutritionist tomorrow.

But back to blueberries. As they are in abundance right now I’ve found some from Segovia that only cost 4€ for half a kilo (which I think is great, they usually cost double that out of season and come from Peru) and so I have decided to stock up while I can and freeze them. I have never frozen blueberries before. But it seems you should wash them lightly and dry them thoroughly before laying them flat in a tray to freeze for about an hour. Then you put them into plastic bags (also laid out flat) to finish freezing. We shall see.
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