Barcelona: La Comida! (Food)

The Food in Spain was spectacular, and as always it is one of the most major points of my life and my vacations so I have covered some of the native Spanish foods I indulged upon in Barcelona.

Tapas, comes from the Spanish verb Tapar meaning ‘to cover’. Originally bread was used by bar tenders to cover the Sherry of their guests to keep out fruit flies from the sweet drink. Some began using salty sausage such as chorizo to cover the drinks to make the patrons thirstier and increase drink sales. From here bars got more and more creative with the snacks and soon became just as or more important that the Sherry itself. From this tradition Tapas were born. It is a style of eating meant to promote socializing.

People either get up and circulate eating straight from the bar, or a group at a table can order a variety of hot tapas and share them. The sharing is more communal and people are not concentrating on their own complete meal. In Spain this is very popular and I have to say delicious.

Some popular Tapas are Chorizo sausage, a variety of Spanish hams, a regional specialty called pan au tomate (bread smeared with fresh tomato and olive oil), fried green chili peppers, ham croquettes, patatas bravas (fried potatoes with garlic aioli and pepper sauce), mushroom veal, fried camembert with caramelized onions in red wine, and the list goes on and on. All I can say is I am INFATUATED <3

Fried Peppers, Aubergine, and Goat Cheese

Pan au Tomate, Quince Jelly and Goat Cheese Salad, Among Others

Chorizo

Fried Green Peppers and Patatas Bravas

Fried Camembert with Caramelized Onions in Red Wine

Other specialties I encountered were Paella, a stew with rice or noodles that are boiled down to the consistency of a saucy stir-fry. Depending on the region the paella has seafood, meat, vegetables, and different tomato, vegetable, or saffron based sauces.

Churros and chocolate, were also popular, and horchata. Horchata is a drink of boiled rice (sometime tiger nut) with vanilla, sugar and cinnamon and has a milky consistency although it does not contain milk. The rice is removed and the liquid is served cold.

Speaking of being hot and serving cold Gazpacho is a spicy tomato soup that is served cold in Spain, there are now some variations with fruits and peppers which are great. The original and still one of the best is the Tomato

And last I can’t forget our drink of choice! The Red wine based fruit punch that is SANGRIA! A Spanish staple especially at restaurants is a refreshing cocktail available by the jug, or other giant glasses is great to share and wash down all the tasty food.

Hope you are hungry!

Delicacies of Norway

On our first night in Norway we were greeted by a traditional Norwegian supper. Norwegians eat 4 times a day: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Supper.

Breakfast and Supper are generally the same and consist of a variety of breads and crackers and things to eat on them. Usually several types of cheese and spreads, sliced meats, eggs, herring in tomato sauce, fresh veggies like red pepper, cucumber, and tomato. Breakfast tends to be a very important meal compared to in North America. Lunch and Supper are eaten in typical fashion and then supper is eaten at around 8pm.

I tried a variety of traditional Norwegian foods as well. Some popular items are dried fish (a less tasty beef jerky idea), canned mackerel in tomato sauce (usually eaten with breakfast), liver paste, and prawn cocktail. Fish cakes and paste and caviar are also popular but I did not have the chance to taste them.

One night we had waffles that we topped with jams, sugar, sour berries and vanilla cream sauce, and most unique of all is Norwegian brown cheese. Brown cheese is semi-soft cheese that comes in a block and is eaten alone, on waffles, or sweet buns mostly and has a somewhat sweet caramel like taste. I found it delicious on waffles with strawberry jam.

We also had hot dogs that were topped with dried crispy onion bits and rather than using buns we wrapped them in a potato tortilla called a lompe, which are popular in some countries in Europe.

Most of all I ate lots and lots of chocolate!! The Norwegians make chocolate as good as the Swiss and sell them in large bars that seem to get eaten as fast as a small one. They have all sorts of kinds, all of them excellent. They also have a treat that my brother and I are obsessed with called SMASH. Smash are basically Bugle corn chips that are covered in chocolate and are possible the single most addictive food I have come across since green tea smoothies.

A few treats from London

Although Londoners are known for having some very bland food, eating just meat and potatoes, and boiling EVERYTHING I have found some great food.

In the market in Covent Garden we had Ben's Cookies. They are baked fresh and sold by weight. They had peanut butter full of whole peanuts, One inch chunks of white chocolate with cranberries or macadamia nuts, chunks of spicy-sweet ginger. They were unbelievably good!

Also in the market we had a Portuguese rice dish called Paella with veggies and seafood. We also got it on discount because they were closing up.

That night we watched the Olympic Gold hockey game at an Aussie Pub. The next morning we met my friend Barbara from South Africa (who lives in London) and my brother's girlfriend's friend Hanna from london and went to a restaurant called the Breakfast Club. I had a breakfast burrito and Banana Bacon French Toast. SO GOOD

We then spent the afternoon at the world famous Harrods. We had chocolates and cupcakes and asian foods. (Even ferrero roche cupcakes) The full displays from all over the world were unbelievable. We then looked at designer clothes, jewellery, and laid on patio furniture.

In another market in London we found a fantastic tea shop where they had a wall of tea. I had coconut black tea and Earl Grey with rose and lavender. That was only a few among the array.

This was a taste of my food in London and will be filling you in on Norway very Shortly.

Alberta Fish & Game Banquet

This weekend I was invited to the Fish and Game banquet by my Huntress Friend miss Steph Roberts. This may not seem that exciting to most, but they happen to have a gourmet buffet of internationally themed wild game dishes. This made it very exciting for me!

I don't have any pictures from my camera but if I get my hands on any I will post them here. In lieu of this I will post the menu.

Strawberry Spinach Salad (U.S.A.)

Greek Salad (Greece)

Yaki Soba Game Bird Chow Mein (Japanese)

Pheasant & Partridge Cacciatore (Italy)

Mosse Roulade w Wild Mushroom Cream Sauce (Germany)

Venison Madras (Indian)

Crispy Gingered Elk (Thai)

Irish Whitetail Pot Pie (Ireland)

Mule Deer Enchiladas (Mexico)

Kentucky Backwoods Ribs (U.S.A.)

Spanish Rice (Spain)

Russian Roasted Red Potato (Russia)

Hot Buttered Mixed Vegetables (England)

Grade AAA Roast Beef (Canada)

On top of the great menu they had free wine and Desserts causing me to over eat. Needless to to say it was a pleasure and pain to eat all the food till it caught up with me.

I would do it all again next year!

Tapas Party!

As a kick off to this blog I am posting photos and the menu from my recent Tapas party. Over the last year, particularly while in South Africa and while trying to get a job in Spain I have developed an interest in Tapas. I bought a magazine and cook book of appetizer recipes and after reading through both and picking about 30 recipes I wanted to try. I then narrowed it down to a hefty 3 'appetizers', 2 soups, 5 'entrees', and 2 desserts to make. I then chose 5 close friends and recruited my lovely mother to help me cook all the food. After a whole lot of grocery shopping and finding a lot of wonderful crockery I pulled off a Tapas party.

MENU

Bruschetta w Feta Cheese and Balsamic Drizzle

Fiery Plantain Chips w Mango Cream Dip

Salty-Sweet Tostadas

Coconut Chile Soup

Mango Gazpacho

Meatballs w Spicy Peanut Butter Curry Sauce

Calabrese Bites

Coconut Shrimp Tostadas w Pineapple Salsa & Guacamole

Thai Chicken on Lemongrass Skewers

Mushroom Risotto Balls

Chocolate Dipped Grapes

Strawberry Mascarpone Trifles

Crisp Cinnamon Banana Boats

The food was definitely a success and looked great. If I have enough energy I will try to mount another with new recipes.

Mackenzie Putici