Category Archives: food & drink

yes, we have some tomatoes

24 Friday Feb 2023

Posted by in food & drink

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For the past week or so I’ve been hearing about the big tomato shortage of 2023 in the UK, who are laying the blame at reduced crops in Europe (and specifically Spain) due to drought conditions. Ladies and gentlemen I give you these lovely seasonal tomatoes from Almería and Málaga, bought at the Triana Market this morning. There were also tons of the usual hothouse tomatoes, but why the fuck does anyone want to eat tomatoes out of season? We’d all be better off if we stopped thinking we can get EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME when it comes to food. That’s not how nature works.

It seems the main reason the UK is experiencing fresh produce shortages is that most European transport drivers don’t want to spend up to 70 hours in a queue to deliver their products, and who can blame them? Well then, that means more for us.

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even more birthday!

26 Thursday Jan 2023

Posted by in birthdays, food & drink, friends, sevilla

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reyes and shawn

And the birthday deliciousness continues! Met up yesterday with the lovely Reyes Morales for yet another birthday lunch (well, why not, eh?) Reyes had never been to Lalola and I was long overdue another visit so it was a perfect choice. My friend Javier Abascal is chef and owner of Lalola and is known as El Rey de la Casquería (the King of Offal – sounds better in Spanish) with a seasonal menu that features almost every part of our beloved Ibérico pig. We opted for the Ibérico Tasting Menu and it did not disappoint. But mostly it was just so great to have a solid three hours just catching up and chatting with Reyes… about absolutely everything. Sure, we see each other all the time at her bar, but I always love it when we can get some “girl time” together.

The food was fabulous, service was great, and Javi kept popping over to make sure we were happy. Check it out.

Captura de pantalla completa 26012023 152354

passing on pulpo

18 Wednesday Jan 2023

Posted by in animals & pets, food & drink

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pulpo

I remember exactly when this happened but I still don’t know why. On April 30 (last spring) I went for lunch at a lovely place called Harinas Cocina a Fuego Lento and ordered the pulpo. And it arrived looking gorgeous, perfectly chargrilled with stir fried mixed veg and romesco sauce. Turned out it tasted as fabulous as it looked but after my first bite… I couldn’t eat any more of it. Suddenly it felt wrong, somehow, but I didn’t know why or how. And I haven’t been able to eat octopus since then.

Of course whenever I mention this to someone they immediately assume it’s because I watched that (frankly bizarre and disturbing) Netflix documentary about a grown man who developed a creepy “relationship” with a female octopus. So no. However, over the years it seems I have been absorbing all kinds of cool and interesting facts about these amazing creatures, often in the wee hours when I’m scrolling Twitter when I should be sleeping. Videos of them solving puzzles, working out escape routes, and especially about how all those suckers are full of knowledge, memories and feelings. So on that day back in April I took a bite and it just made me sad.

I remember thinking afterwards OMG THIS IS A SLIPPERY SLOPE because pigs are also very clever and there are plenty of other animals that are frankly adorable, especially when little (and at their most delicous). Because this whole octopus thing was not a conscious decision, it just happened to me, so who knows where this will lead, if anywhere at all. Well, wait and see…