On Deck
Posted: January 6, 2012 Filed under: Menus, travel | Tags: Arzak, Friday Menu Planning Leave a comment »I missed my on deck last week but am back to regular all day work hours so here it is. I’m pretty psyched to have some new readers despite my pictures on this week’s recipes being less than spectacular, iphone + green walls don’t always make for the prettiest shots. This is kinda my secret spot to do my food recipes, I haven’t let my facebook universe in on this place and only a couple friends know it exists, so it is nice to get stumbled upon.
Anyhoo, here is what is on deck for the week:
Friday: pizza party
Saturday: Thai rice noodles with tofu, or a tofu-rice noodle stir fry
with cashews, ginger, or curry noodle soup.
Or maybe hoisen sauce with the rice noodles, veg and tofu? Playing this by ear.
Sunday:
White bean and kale soup
Roast eggplant for baba ganoush – switching up my yogurt and rice cracker lunches!
Monday: Puy lentil-sweet potato salad. add quinoa or brown rice? Kale salad
Tuesday: Eggs poached in smoked tomatoes with spinach. simple salad
Wednesday: leftover thai noodles
Thurs: Polenta with roasted veg, kale salad.
And since it is Friday, I’m thinking about this:
Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Posted: December 15, 2011 Filed under: recipes, travel | Tags: easy, feta, gluten free, Mushroom, Onion, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Portobellos, Speedy, Stuffed Mushrooms, vegetarian, zucchini 3 Comments »I think we are now scrapping Bordeaux/Marseilles for Shanghai and Beijing for May!! Eek!
And tonight I am making Stuffed mushrooms and roasted brussel sprouts. I skipped the balsamic that was in my plan, but used the zucchini and onions I cut the other day. Also got rid of some feta that was hanging out.
ZOMG! This is such a plating/ picture fail and it is soooooo effing good. Sad. This is going on rotation. Don’t skip the Sundried tomatoes. Srsly!
Barcelona 8
Posted: November 26, 2011 Filed under: Food Porn, rants, restaurants, travel | Tags: Barcelona, Boqueria, Cooking Ideas, food porn, Olivias, Pizza, raval, Ravalo, Spain, travel Leave a comment »It was our last day in barcelona and it all went astray. The husband finally got a full blown stomach flu and was down for the count. Or rather puking his guts out.
I went out to get to do some last minute stuff in the afternoon. Namely check out the kitty garden and grab some lunch. The kitties, it turns out, were not accessible and I could only stare at them longingly throughout the fence. So I went to read a mag and then walk around.
Wine Shopping
Posted: November 26, 2011 Filed under: travel, wine | Tags: Barcelona, Markets, Penendes, small vintners, Spain, travel, vin natural, wine Leave a comment »We travel for wine. Some people think this is nuts but we bring back cases of wine when we travel and not the crap from duty free or $50 ++ bottles. We buy bottles to cellar and wines that are not imported. Something special and you don’t have to pay a fortune for it. Generally, you pay to have your wine aged for you and ready to go. You can get an exceptional bargain if you buy it and hold it yourself.
We have a nice bodega across from our flat but unlike some other merchants, they are a bit confused by us. We grabbed some great wines but were excited to happen upon a Penedes regional market set up over the weekend outside the Boqueria. You got a glass for a euro and could taste away. We were on our way to grab lunch but stopped for a taste and told them we would be back in an hour.
We also checked out the foodstuffs. Cheese and jambon and dried mushrooms, which I can’t figure out if they will trigger my luggage so I had to skip, and honey and stuff
Barcelona 7
Posted: November 25, 2011 Filed under: Food Porn, restaurants, travel | Tags: Barcelona, Carmelitas, Markets, restaurants, Sagrada Familia, Silenus, travel Leave a comment »We did our 1 touristy thing today and went to the Sagrada Familia. I hate churches and was sorta shamed into going but this is not a regular church.
We bought our tix online and picked them up at the ATM but once we got there and to the elevator, found out that we did not have the 2,50€ passes for it and it was sold out. Kinda irritating cuz there was no option to buy online and the husband was disappointed. No worries, it was a sunny day so I took some pics.
Barcelona 4
Posted: November 24, 2011 Filed under: Food Porn, restaurants, travel | Tags: Barcelona, El Fortuny, HISOP Leave a comment »I am behind on my postings so will make this one a shorty. Tuesday we woke up late and had lunch at El Fortuny which I recommend. We were able to change our dinner res at HISOP to evening as well.
Barcelona 3
Posted: November 22, 2011 Filed under: Food Porn, restaurants, travel | Tags: Barcelona, Cal Pep, restaurants, seafood, tapas, travel 1 Comment »It rained all day. I also was dumb and was up til 6am and slept til 12:30. We got up and ended up having an average menu del dia across from the MBAC museum. I forgot my phone so pics are on the husbands and really who cares. We did a major wander around then stopped to grab wind and stuff at the boqueria, but all the stalls were closed and the wine shop was having the floors refinished.
A fail.
Back at the ok corral, aka apt, we decided what to do for the night and I took a short nap.
Since it was rainy the husband decided we try cal pep or bust figuring line would be low. Or at least lower than they say.
Barcelona 2
Posted: November 21, 2011 Filed under: Food Porn, restaurants, travel | Tags: Barcelona, Eating out, food, Imprevist, Kaiku, Slow food, Spain, travel Leave a comment »We actually got up and went to lunch today. Goal was Kaiku but our only choice was an outside table when we called ahead before we left. All good, it’s 66 degrees, right. Ummm. Yeah. It is windier and colder at the beach. But if the windsurfers could deals so could we. 
Barcelona 1
Posted: November 20, 2011 Filed under: Food Porn, restaurants, travel | Tags: Barcelona, Boqueria, drinking, Eating out, mam I teca, Spain, tapas, travel Leave a comment »Barcelona 1.
After a crappy sleepless flight and a delay in getting in to our rental flat we set off briefly while waiting for The flat be cleaned to the Boqueria. We are literally outside the door of the Boqueria and score, across the street from a small wine vendor.
With time to kill waiting for the apt to get cleaned we set off to get food. Instead of buying foodstuffs we hit Bar central to eat.
On Deck
Posted: November 10, 2011 Filed under: Menus, travel Leave a comment »I am super excited that I just realized that we leave for vacation next week! This offsets the fact that I have felt like it has been Thursday like every day since Tuesday. Boo! So I am a day early on my On Deck, but whatevs.
I am still trying and failing to get a res at Tickets, I have no shame though and plan to try to do a walk in.
We only booked one res – HISOP . We will wing the rest. I have these places on my radar:
Gelonch | Gresca | Embat | Lolita
Definitely Quimet i Quimet, which we for some reason skipped the last time we went. And Mam i Teca, which we thought super-fantastic and reasonably priced. And definitely Kaiku, which makes me want to die looking at pictures and unfortunately they are only open for lunch and we are so lazy that we barely get up. But we stay out all night. Have to change this. We were good in Buenos Aires over the summer and did naps. By good, I mean we were out the door by 1pm. Must attempt this again.
Also perusing this flickr account because it is awesome.
Things we need to find: a good wine merchant who we can procure some interesting and small bodega produced wines, preferable vin naturel, and will bring back a case, I have decent cheese and bread shops in my head from the last time, but this time am going to attempt to shop the Boqueria since the apartment we rented is around the corner. This may be a fail.
This is my menu plan for the week:
Sunday: Roasted monkfish with olive sauce and and arugula-lemon mash potatoes, I’ll make a few changes.
Saturday: Pad thai
Friday: Pizza Party
Monday: Roasted Acorn Squash with rice, or the leftover “tagine veg”.
- Gym: quick cardio
Tues: Polenta with tomatoes, asparagus - Gym: full session
Wed: Use up what is leftover in the fridge?? – Gym: full session
Thursday: Pasta/Tomatoes – Hair appt + bar
Friday: Barcelona!
So since it is the end of the week and I am taking off half the day tomorrow, I am thinking about this:
and this cuz I think these fish displays are amusing and am obsessed with photoing them:
