Tag Archives: food

andy & stella

21 Monday May 2018

Posted by in friends, gastronomy, tapas

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A few years ago I briefly met Andy Hayler @wyahaw at a Foodie Hub event in London. I had already been following him on Twitter because he is a very interesting guy, having eaten at EVERY 3 Michelin star restaurant in the world (as of 2016). The next challenge is to complete that same feat this year. Hence his visit to Andalucía to dine at Ángel León’s Aponiente in El Puerto de Santa María.

Happily he and his wife Stella decided to also spend a few days in Sevilla and we got to meet up a couple of times. First for a spontaneous “tapas tour” and then for a lovely lunch at Cañabota. Both times we ate and drank very well, and it was just so fun spending time with kindred spirits. Hope to see them again, perhaps in London.

jerez getaway march 2018

06 Tuesday Mar 2018

Posted by in food & drink, friends, getaways

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This week I was supposed to be out on an Andalucía Adventure travelling around the white villages with Peter and our friends from Austin Texas Jane & John, but the rainy weather put the kibosh on that plan. Instead we opted for a return to sherry country with a side trip to Cádiz.

After arriving in Jerez and checking into our hotel we made our way to the central market for a quick breakfast of churros, followed by a market visit and a quick sherry at El Pasaje. Then it was time to visit Bodegas Tradición.

As most of you already know, Bodegas Tradición is a unique bodega experience. Not only do they only make VOR and VORS sherries (aside from one fino) but their private art gallery is a joy to behold. Sabrina put out some lovely snacks for us and we sat around chatting and sipping our very special wines. It was actually Tradición’s palo cortado that changed my life all those years ago at a bar in Sevilla, turning me into the sherry-obsessed person sherry professional I am today.

After leaving Tradición we made our way back to the city centre for a penúltima, in order to relax and figure out where to have dinner that evening. That’s when I heard from Rocío from Bodegas Urium and we ended up having an impromptu bodega visit there with the family: father and bodega founder Alonso, and Rocío’s husband Mario. This small family-run biz doesn’t offer public tours, but on occasion they very generously open up their doors to friends, and friends of friends. As always, Alonso was in fine fettle, regaling us with stories while pouring wines from the barrel. I think Jane & John came away from this visit a bit awe-struck, and to be honest, I always do too.

Dinner that night was at one of my favourite places in Jerez, the super traditional Tabanco Las Bandarillas. It’s all home-style cooking there, nothing fancy, but always fabulous. And with super friendly service. Then it was time for bed as we had another special bodega experience planned for the next morning.

colonoscopy prep

06 Tuesday Feb 2018

Posted by in food & drink, health & happiness, hospitals, sevilla

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Since Sunday I have been on the pre-colonoscopy low residue diet. It’s really not that hard to stick to, though I’ve noticed that the food list I was given at the hospital last week varies a bit from other lists I’ve found online. But in general they are similar.

Today I am on the day-before liquid diet, which is obviously more extreme (and way more boring). But that’s nothing compared to when I have to start taking the SOLUCIÓN EVACUANTE this evening. All I remember from last time was that I was gagging after the first glass of this stuff, and I’ll have to drink 10 of them – one every 15 minutes – until finished, and then 6 more the next morning. Wish me luck!

shortest shelf life ever

22 Friday Dec 2017

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

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I absolutely adore roasted piquillo peppers and use them in all kinds of dishes, even just tossed into salads. I usually use a different (superior) brand to this, but as these come pre-sliced (and are way cheaper) they also serve their purpose. Anyhow, I went to make a quick tomato sauce the other day and was about to add some of these when I thought to look at the use-by date, since I had been away in Málaga and actually couldn’t remember when I’d opened this jar. Well, the expiry date was about a year away but then something else caught my eye… in small print on the back label it said that once opened the peppers must be kept refridgerated. No problem there. But then it said “for a maximum of 48 hours”. Whaaat??

I’ve been eating these things for years and I am quite sure I have used them even after having been in the fridge for a couple of weeks, or even longer. The only time I wisely decide not to use them is when I see they’ve gone all furry (obvs). But they seem to last a long time, and fellow foodie pal Lynsey @larosillacomida tells me that as long as they are still under the brine in the jar then they are fine. Which these were. And they hadn’t gone furry. But I still ended up tossing them. Dammit.

But honestly… 48 hours??? I’ve never heard of any preserved food spoiling IN THE FRIDGE after such a short time. What is the point of preserving them if you have to eat the whole damn jar once it’s been opened? This can’t be right.

pasta lover?

16 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by in food & drink, homecooking

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Ever since I discovered the joys of online grocery shopping I also discovered that El Corte Inglés tends to throw in a couple of “gift items” with each purchase. This time it seems we hit the “jackpot” with some B&J cookie dough ice cream, a package of sugar-laden chocolate granola, a DULCE caffé latte thing and… Pasta Lover Pasta!

I have no intention of going anywhere near the first three items mentioned. But in the interest of gastronomy and science, today Peter and I decided to give the pasta thing a go, if only to find out why it was somehow better to cook spaguetti in a microwave for 5 minutes and smear some packaged sauce on it, rather than boiling it for 9 minutes and then adding something nice on top. Here we take you through the steps…

For those of you who think it is FAR TOO MUCH WORK to boil some water in a pot, with Pasta Lover all you have to do is add water to the plastic pasta tub and pop it in the microwave for five minutes. Then you shake out the excess liquid using the lid, which also functions as a strainer, and which would be a great idea if half the pasta didn’t slide out into the sink in the process. So after scooping the pasta out of the sink and adding it to what was left in the plastic container, you then open an extra-large “ketchup packet” of Pasta Lover Sauce made with 100% Natural Ingredients, plop it on top of your oddly textured pasta and there you go.

Trust me, if you are actually a pasta lover – or any sort of food lover – you will NEVER want to eat this. In fact I can’t understand why anyone at all would want to eat this. At the most it shaves off maybe 4 minutes of prep time. And the price – 2.25€ single serving – is NOT cheap. WTF?