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casa azahar

~ my life in sevilla

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Category Archives: food & drink

bitesize sevilla

06 Monday Jan 2025

Posted by azahar in culture, food & drink, gastronomy, music, podcasts, recipes, sevilla, spain, substack, work

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

bitesize sevilla, sevilla, substack

bitesize

So remember when I started off the New Year last week by saying goodbye to Twitter and writing my first Substack post? Well, I am just now coming up for air. I had no idea that one post was going to turn into its own publication and brand and open up all kinds of ideas and possibilities. Also Substack is the most unintuitive platform I have ever participated on, and so a lot of time this past week has been spent just trying to figure it out. I think this is because it is trying to be too many things. Aside from being a publishing platform for writers it has various other features such as the aforementioned separate publication option, plus posts, notes and chats (don’t ask). And there is also a podcast option, which I have yet to look at.

As a result of all this STUFF there, there are at least three “HOME” pages and two “SETTINGS”… plus you have to set everything up, which is tricky to do when you can’t remember which home or settings page you need, or even where you last found them on your dashboard. Anyhow, things are pretty much operational now and happily it’s not tricky to navigate simply as a reader, so please have a look if you’d like to… Bitesize Sevilla (two posts up so far!). And if you like what you see you can subscribe for free.

And so how is this different from all the other platforms I am on? Well, I’m glad you asked, because although Substack may seem like more of the same, the hope is that it will start generating some much needed income. Not only because of still being sidelined due to THE KNEE, but also just because it’s exciting to have a new project and do something a bit different. The writing for Bitesize will overlap with my other blogs, websites and social media, but the aim is to create an essential guide to all things Sevilla… all in one place.

For the moment the posts are all free to read as I am getting started by publishing a series of basic info posts, but once I start researching and writing more in depth pieces then people will be able to access those by subscribing to one of the payment options (monthly or yearly). I’m also considering a podcast for a bit later on. My feeling about most podcasts I’ve been listening to is that they’re just too long. I plan to make mine “bite sized”, maybe half an hour. And again, some will be open and others for paid subscribers only. But first things first. I have a LOT of writing to do now and so I’d better get to it!

a dantastic afternoon

28 Thursday Nov 2024

Posted by azahar in christmas, food & drink, friends, restaurants, sevilla, spain

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

christmas, dan jamon, friends, lalola, restaurants, sevilla

deb graceDeb & Grace

Deb is back! This time with her friend Nina. And so we met up at Manolo Cateca, along with Grace (who is soon to be neighbour) for a pre-lunch sherry and to also delivery their Sevilla L’Armanaques. Peter also joined us as I wasn’t actually able to carry the two almanacs on my own (they’re quite heavy this year!). He then took home all the lovely loot Deb brought for me from London: mince pies, the latest Decanter mag (with my article in it!), a lovely card to add to my collection and a mystery gift which I am trying not to open until Christmas Day. Afterwards Deb, Nina and I went on to have lunch at the fabulous Lalola Restaurante. And oh my, what a lunch it was.

This is becoming a lovely tradition that I hope continues, with Deb returning to Sevilla every year to revisit the places she and her late husband Dan (aka Dan Jamón) used to go to in their favourite city. Today, as in the past three December visits, we met for what inevitably ends up being a very long, very boozy and very emotional lunch, and this was no exception. The restaurant choice was perfect because Dan loved his jamón, really anything Ibérico, and so going to Lalola, and having chef Javi Abascal, El Rey de la Casquería (the Offal King, sounds better in Spanish) prepare a special Ibérico tasting menu just for us was… well, Dantastic.

lalola (1)🐷 starters: buñuelo de bacalao, jamón croqueta, chicharrón de cádiz topped with scallop tartare

🐷 sautéed boletus topped with seared foie

🐷 arroz Ibérico with jamón, presa, asparagus, topped with papada

🐷 grilled abanico Ibérico with potatoes

🐷 jamón baklava with pistachio ice cream and white chocolate crumble

🥂🍷 Sumarroca, Ossian Wines, Cortijo Los Aguilares, Bodegas Baron

lalola (2)chef Javi Abascal

mixing it up

13 Wednesday Nov 2024

Posted by azahar in azahars kitchen, casa azahar, food & drink, homecooking, sevilla

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

azahars kitchen, casa azahar, homecooking, sevilla

bowls

My first ever mixing bowls! Well, just the two smaller ones. I can’t believe I’ve never owned actual mixing bowls before. I usually just use whatever… pasta bowl, soup bowl, popcorn bowl… but I didn’t have anything the size of the middle one and lately with some new recipes I have been needing that option (been making do with pots or tupperware). Love the non-slip silicone bottoms and useful lids, and they fit into each other like russian dolls, so easy to store. I didn’t get the whole set because the popcorn bowl serves the same purpose as the large one and is seldom needed.

And that was a blog post, folks! I still don’t know why any of you follow me here (but I’m glad you do). 😅

my angels

23 Monday Sep 2024

Posted by azahar in food & drink, friends, health, sevilla, tapas tours

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

sevilla, tapas tours

my angels

A massive shout out to my angels… friends Fiona, Sharon and Peter who have stepped up to help out lately. It started off this past summer when I realised (once again) that I was getting way too many tour requests than I could handle. This always happens, to be honest. And often Peter helps out, because he loves doing the tours and it’s some extra work for him. But it wasn’t enough. So I talked to Fiona and Sharon to see if they were looking for some extra freelance work. I’ve known Fiona forever and met Sharon at an olive oil event last year and so I knew that we shared the same philosophy when it came to food tours, and that I could trust them with passing on my clients to them.

BUT THEN… when it became clear I wouldn’t be able to do the tours I’d already booked for Sept/Oct – and Peter was already doing as many as possible – these two lovely ladies stepped up and have totally helped me out. I mean, I know it’s not my fault that I CAN’T WALK, but it was also killing me that I would have to cancel these tours. And now, thanks to the three of them, nothing has had to be cancelled and I am so grateful for that. Now I can relax about this at least, knowing my clients are in excellent hands. Thanks so much guys!

hooked on salsa verde

27 Tuesday Aug 2024

Posted by azahar in azahars kitchen, casa azahar, food & drink, gastronomy, homecooking, sevilla

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

azahars kitchen, homecooking, nigella lawson

nigella (1)

A couple of weeks ago I saw that Nigella Lawson was back on Bluesky – or at least giving it another go – and she posted a recipe to her spicy “green sauce”. A simple yet totally addictive salsa. Vegetarian/vegan too. My version is a bit of an adaptation, but you can see both below…

Nigella’s Recipe
Azahar’s Kitchen Recipe

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