Category Archives: home

new knives!

26 Thursday Jul 2018

Posted by in casa azahar, cooking, home, homecooking

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I have new knives! Kind of a “starter set”, which probably sounds silly for someone who cooks (and loves to cook) as much as I do, and has been doing so for about 45 years. You’d think by now that proper knives would be first and foremost in my kitchen. But it’s confession time.

When I first left home and first discovered the delights of fresh food and homecooking, I was a broke teenager putting herself through highschool. I’m sure there were a few crappy knives in my various kitchens back then, but I always made sure I had one good one. This turned out to be a Henkel paring knife, which was all I could afford. Why Henkel? Because this was the brand I always trusted for scissors (I was still keen on a career in the fashion biz back then). So my one Henkel paring knife served for everything. And I guess I just got used to that, and developed ways of using that one small knife while filleting meat and fish, chopping onions, smashing garlic, and even occasionally peeling vegetables.

But lately I’ve been thinking about this, now that I have a small but serviceable kitchen, with my own oven installed and a new induction cooker. How much easier, better, whatever, it would be to have a proper set of knives? I wanted to find out. But what to buy?

Thankfully my friends (and professional cooks) Anna & Jorge @GuitianMayer served as my advisors, in terms of what types of knives to get and what price range to look at. First off I was thrilled that they also recommended Zwilling-Henkel (I had made the right choice all those years ago!) but I still had to work out what I needed. In the end I went to El Corte Inglés as all the Z-H knives are 20% off right now. But you know, they could actually train people there – the woman I spoke to clearly knew nothing about knives. And so, after several whats-apps, sending questions and photos to Anna & Jorge, I made my choice.

With these four new knives I suddenly feel inspired to try making things that actually require more than a paring knife. I know I am going to have to adjust my technique, but that’s kind of exciting. Feeling a bit like Christmas here today.

more no news is good news

25 Wednesday Jul 2018

Posted by in cancer, home, hope, hospitals

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After having my oncology appointment postponed a couple of times, I finally got in to see my doctor. And the news was kind of the same as the last time. The good news is that the inflamed area is a bit smaller than it was in March, so that seems hopeful. The “bad” news isn’t actually bad. But they still want to keep a watch on this, so another CT scan is scheduled for November, at which time they will probably also do another endoscopy. Meanwhile I am to get in touch if any of the scary symptoms return (abdominal pain, unexplained weight loss).

Anyhow, after leaving the hospital we stopped in at Las Teresas for a celebratory glass of cava with jamón. So until November… am really going to try to just get on with things, but it is difficult for me to just relax about all this. Still, very glad that it wasn’t actually bad news.

missing the dude

10 Tuesday Jul 2018

Posted by in cats, home, sevilla

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Been missing this lovely guy so much. It’s hard to walk by his usual spots, like here in the Plaza Santa Cruz, or around the corner in the Jardines de Murillo, and not see him there, basking in the sun like a king. Luckily I can still visit him from time to time at Beatriz’s place, and he is so lucky that she took him in last winter. But not seeing him where he belongs is still sad. Is this why people create shrines? I think it would actually be a good idea…

new smart tv… again

03 Tuesday Jul 2018

Posted by in home, internet, retail therapy, shopping

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When I bought my first ever Smart TV three years ago, I actually wasn’t that smart about how smart a Smart TV was supposed to be. At the time I was mostly keen on having the (then) novel option of having a television with WIFI and found one on sale that seemed to fit the bill. And it did, although once I got it home I regretted not opting for a bigger screen. I went from 32 to 39, which wasn’t really that much bigger. But it was fine, and I was happy with it, until about a year or so ago when I started having problems with the sound. It just suddenly stopped. Then would start up again. Then stop again. And that has basically been the situation for about a year and a half. I never know when I turn on my TV if I will have sound, or how long it will take to “click in” again.

Since this problem happened outside the two-year warranty, well, it was either pay to see if it could be fixed, then hope it would be fixed, or just wait it out to see if it would fix itself. I’ve been opting for the latter, but it’s just getting on my nerves already. Also, I’m pretty sure that the day will come when the sound doesn’t ever magically come on again… and I don’t want that day to be when I can’t get a good deal and end up buying something in a fit of desperation.

I know… I can watch TV on my laptop, except… nah.

So anyhow… just ordered this baby online and a couple of hefty guys should be delivering it soon. 50 inch, new this year (2018) and fully whatevered. You can see that I have been studying all this tech shit carefully…

atún encebollado

30 Saturday Jun 2018

Posted by in azahars kitchen, casa azahar, cooking, home, homecooking

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Saturday at the market is not usually my favourite place to be (too crowded), but I was in search of swordfish and ended up going to two of them. As it was late in the day none of the fish stalls at either Feria or Encarnación markets had any left, and so I bought some tuna instead. I asked for two pieces but didn’t expect them to be cut so thick, so Peter took one off my hands and we both headed to our respective homes to see what we could come up with. A couple of nights before we had tried this lovely atún encebollado (tuna with onions) at Bodeguita Romero, so I decided I’d like to try making it.

As usual, I looked on line and found several recipes, which I then adapted. Though apparently (as I was informed later on Instagram) I should not have left out the vinegar! In fact, I used manzanilla sherry instead of vinegar, which was delicious, but next time I’ll try it the more traditional way.

Season tuna with salt & pepper and brown in a pan with a good amount of olive oil. Then set tuna aside and add sliced onion and crushed (or sliced) garlic to the oil, sauté slowly until nicely browned, then turn up the heat and slosh in some manzanilla (or vinegar!). Let bubble for a bit, the turn heat down and return tuna to pan.

Peter opted to make fish and chips (with non-mushy peas). Which also looked tasty.