Category Archives: homecooking

little salad dressing shaker thingy

09 Friday Aug 2019

Posted by in casa azahar, cooking, food & drink, home, homecooking

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Damn these summer sales! I once again find myself with another kitchen gadget that I didn’t know I needed until I saw it… and then also saw it was ON SALE. Not only cute but look how practical it is. The lid closes with an airtight snap while you shake up your favourite salad dressing, then easily opens for pouring. Also did I mention… SO CUTE!

I was actually looking for one of these simple squeeze bottles, like the (totally life-changing) one I bought for washing up liquid. Seriously, if you are not using one of these babies for your dish soap instead of a big clunky value-sized bottle of Fairy liquid, you do not know what you’re missing. It almost makes washing up a pleasure. Top tip: cut off the attached cap – not necessary.

So why was I looking for a squeeze bottle you ask? Well, I was remembering a time when I always had a pre-mixed “house dressing” ready to go that was not only perfect for drizzling over salads and other fresh veggies, but also was great on boiled potatoes, rice, even grilled fish and meats. I was reminded of this when I visited Finca Buenvino and watched the fabulous Jeannie whip out her bottle of “secret sauce” salad dressing and use it on almost everything, and it’s been on my mind ever since. So now I have the cutest bottle ever and just need to perfect my own secret sauce. Anyone want to share theirs?

hooked on slaw

08 Friday Feb 2019

Posted by in azahars kitchen, casa azahar, homecooking

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Been making lots of vegetable slaw lately, using my spiralizer instead of a grater, so I decided to put up a recipe for it on Azahar’s Kitchen. I mean, it’s pretty basic, but what the heck. Since temps are unseasonably warm lately it’s a nice dish to have on hand (good for at least 3 meals).

Azahar’s Kitchen – Slaw

garam masala vs central heating

12 Saturday Jan 2019

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Coldest day of the 2018-2019 winter so far – overnight temps 2º, daytime high of just 14º. Brrrrrrrrr…. and so while I do have the luxury of functioning central heating here at Casa Azahar, it’s also nice to feel warmed up from the inside. Hence this spicy chicken garam masala, chock full of veg (red & green peppers, onions, garlic, spinach, courgette, parsley, cilantro) which is making the house smell amazing. Will add yoghurt when it’s served. Only problemita is that I’ve made enough for at least 8 people.  Who’s coming over?  😉

if at first you don’t succeed…

12 Wednesday Dec 2018

Posted by in casa azahar, food & drink, home, homecooking, sevilla

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… improvise! Last week I tried some nice spinach and garbanzo albóndigas at my friend Ana’s new bar Lama La Uva al Sol, and so the other day I decided I wanted to try making some. I looked up a few recipes for inspiration and then came up with my own. Everything was going fine until I made the fatal flaw of adding an egg to the spinach and garbanzo mixture. I thought it would help it bind, but it had the opposite effect, as you can see below…

I tried a few as “albóndigas”, dipping them in a mayo-greek-yoghurt coriander sauce, and they just kept falling apart. But they were very tasty! So undaunted, the next day I decided to try them in a different way. After reheating I crumbled them over some basmati rice and had them with the sauce on the side and … delicious!

I’ve always been a bit of a reckless cook, basically self-taught since I left home at age 15 and discovered a whole new world of fresh vegetables and other food items that hadn’t been a part of my growing up. And I have always been keen to try making new dishes, without worrying too much about the outcome. I guess that’s what I mean by reckless. I reckon that if you start with great ingredients, and as long as you don’t, say, burn the shit out of something, then the dish will probably turn out just fine, if not perhaps what you’d first envisioned. Anyhow, this new breaded spinach and garbanzo crumble is going into my repertoire. But I still want to ace the albóndigas.  😉

labneh!

20 Tuesday Nov 2018

Posted by in andalucia, casa azahar, food & drink, friends, home, homecooking

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So the first (and to be honest ONLY) time I had labneh was on a visit to Ronda in July 2012 and stayed at a small guesthouse run by a Lebanese woman called Anahid. She prepared breakfast for us which included fresh coffee and toasted rolls, gorgeous tomatoes with basil and olive oil… and labneh! I was so taken with it that I vowed to make it some day. And well, better late than never.  🙂

The inspiration came when I finally bought a Melitta coffee cone the other day, as I remembered it was very handy for straining yoghurt when I used to make tzatziki back in Toronto. I have since heard from friends on Instagram that paper towels in a colander @panepanna or a bra cup (!!!) @sledpress work just as well as the more standard cheesecloth method, but I like my little coffee cone.

After a couple of days in the cone, today the yoghurt looked ready for the marinade (olive oil, chopped parsley, lemon zest, s&p) and now it will spend another couple days in the fridge. I’m so excited! If it turns out I’ll put the recipe up on Azahar’s Kitchen (though I kind of just gave it to you already). Stay tuned!