06 Wednesday Jul 2016
Posted in food & drink, sevilla, spain
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Aside from asparagus season, blueberry season is my next favourite. LOVE having a small bowl of these delicious lovelies every morning with yoghurt. It’s coming to an end now, and soon the blueberries will be double the price and coming from far-flung places around the world. Enjoying it while it lasts.
What’s your favourite seasonal fruit or veg?
01 Friday Jul 2016
Posted in food & drink, homecooking, sevilla, tapas, tapas tours
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Hello July! The temps are soaring (well, kind of, still hasn’t reached mid-40s here) and eating habits also swap over to light summer-style eating. On my tapas tours people often ask what the “Queen of Tapas” eats at home. Or if I ever eat at home! Of course I do eat at home more than I eat out and, despite my appearance, I’m not actually a big eater. But I do go for the Spanish habit of making lunch my main meal of the day. Typically in summer it will be something fresh, like this arrugula, tomato and feta salad. In winter lunches tend to be a bit heartier, with stews and other dishes, which you can find on Azahar’s Kitchen. But my favourite dinner at home, any time of year, usually around 9.00 pm, is simply hot buttered toast. Comfort food.
What’s your favourite comfort food?
30 Thursday Jun 2016
Posted in hotels, sevilla, sevilla staycation, spain
In 1990 I moved to an apartment in Bristol, England that had what I called my “Spanish kitchen”. It also had a view of a “Spanish roof” from my bedroom window. It was a Spanish kitchen to me because the tiles were terracotta, and the Spanish roof, that looked like this photo, was on a nearby building (not sure why because this isn’t a typical roof style for Bristol). Both those things kept me dreaming about moving to my new home, and then I got a job at a tapas bar there! I was convinced I was on the right path, so even when I was asked to stay in Bristol and manage the bar… I just had to go. I was reminded of my Bristol “Spanish roof” during my Staycation at the Doña María Hotel. This was one of the views from their rooftop.
28 Tuesday Jun 2016
I remember thinking how much I was going to miss my old barrio (Santa Cruz) when, back in January 2011, I was forced to move away from the street I’d called home for over 17 years. And then I happily discovered that my new barrio La Alfalfa was actually quite vibrant and homey (though I also unhappily discovered that my street is “too vibrant” with late night bars).
As time went by I realised that I was in fact between two barrios, the Alfalfa and Encarnación (where that wonderful waffly clump of “mushrooms” is), and now I can’t think of a better area to live in Sevilla. Being in the official centre of town everywhere (or at least everywhere I usually go) is pretty much a ten-minute walk away. And my apartment is spacious and bright. So, I couldn’t be happier. I think about all this now as I once again consider moving. There are lots of reasons for doing this, but there’s also no rush, so next move I plan to tick ALL the boxes on my list. Which now will include not leaving my ‘hood, or at least not going too far from it. When was the last time you moved?
20 Monday Jun 2016
Sevilla gave me a lovely send-off yesterday evening.
casa azahar 