Category Archives: food & drink

jamón cutting masterclass

03 Saturday Dec 2016

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

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jamon-masterclass-2So THIS was fun. On Thursday evening – after THE SCAN – I went to a jamón cutting masterclass, put on by Pando Restaurants as part of their new series of gastronomy classes. We started off with a bit of theory, but soon it was all hands on, with professional cortador Victor Fernández showing us how it’s done. And while we watch we got to taste the various cuts of jamón as they were passed around the room. Some brave souls even got up to try wielding the knife (with mixed results).

Although I know a fair bit about jamón, and also (in theory at least) about how to cut it, there is always something more to learn, and it was a lovely evening out with other “foodies”, food writers, journalists, etc. Looking forward to the next class.

jamon-masterclass-1I’ll be doing a “proper” blog post about it tomorrow on Azahar Sevilla.

no carbs no booze – day 3!

30 Wednesday Nov 2016

Posted by in cancer, diet & nutrition, food & drink

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nocarbs-1courgetti with garlicky-bacony tomato sauce

Day three! Final day of PET scan prep and the no-carb-no-booze diet. And as you can see, I have been eating rather well. Wouldn’t want to eat like this forever, but I may start taking regular “carb & booze breaks” from now on. Or even just have the occasional no-carb-no-booze day. I actually had way more ideas for great non-carb things to make than I had time for.

nocarbs-3cheesy-eggy thingy

I only realized yesterday that I also wasn’t supposed to be drinking caffeine (!!) but apparently that’s more important during that last 24-hour stage, which is today. I certainly won’t make a habit of drinking green tea for breakfast, and a couple of times I would have LOVED a glass of wine (especially when out and about) but it really hasn’t been a big deal.

nocarbs-2chicken garam masala with lots of veggies

Anyhow, looking forward to having some toast tomorrow! The usual routine is that I get the scan done between 8 and 10 in the morning. Then I go for breakfast in the cafeteria while they check the images. Sometimes I have to go through the machine a second time, sometimes I don’t. After that, I’ll get my results. I’m so nervous! See you on the other side…

arte de cozina – menú cervantes

29 Tuesday Nov 2016

Posted by in andalucia, food & drink, friends, gastronomy, getaways, restaurants

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arte-cozina-gangGood times in Antequera with @welovemalaga @svqconcierge @tomatours @thaneprince @larosillacomida. This was the highlight of our very RAINY weekend, meeting up at @artedecozina on Sunday afternoon for Charo Carmona’s La Cozina en Tiempos de Cervantes, recreating dishes from the book of Francisco Martinez Montiño, chef to Felipe III (circa 1611), and paired with local Málaga wines.

We were also thrilled to find out that Charo had just received her first Guia Repsol sun (Spanish equivalent to a Michelin star). Well deserved.

menu-cervantesThe Menu…

  • garbanzo cream
  • fried cod skin
  • aubergine with honey and spices
  • cardoon pastel
  • retinto beef “scotch egg” with quail egg
  • podrida stew
  • tuna and egg omelette
  • pigeon in mandarine sauce
  • almond quesadilla
  • sugar melindre with apple
  • chocolate “lecture”
  • vintage muscat 2015 (white)
  • igualado 2016 (red)

antequera getaway 2016

26 Saturday Nov 2016

Posted by in andalucia, food & drink, friends, gastronomy, getaways, travel, trips

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arte-cozina-cervantes

This will just be a short getaway, and it came about just by chance when I saw this poster on Manni’s Instagram announcing a special Menú Cervantes at Arte de Cozina. Soon plans were made for a few of us to meet up, which has now ended up with 10 for lunch tomorrow!

I’m leaving this morning because I haven’t been to Antequera for awhile (in fact, over two years!) and thought it would be nice to spend some time there. I was actually going to spend two nights but the weather forecast for this weekend is solid RAIN, and my friends Angela & Mikel are going to be away, so it’ll just be for tonight and I’ll catch the train back home after lunch tomorrow. Right, gotta go catch my train!