Category of: Spain

How to eat vegetarian when travelling and Grilled summer vegetables with couscous recipe

July 28, 2016

There is an art to travelling as a vegetarian. You would think that with the abundance of gorgeous produce in the markets, especially around the Mediterranean, it would be easy to find vegetarian dishes in restaurants but somehow it is not. Now, I am interested in food and culture and will try other things even if they are not vegetarian, especially the local and traditional. I am certainly not going to travel without experiencing local foods.... View Article

Salmorejo – the gazpacho from Andalucia

August 31, 2014

Traveling is an education. It’s more than visiting historical sites and driving through beautiful new landscapes. It challenges our assumptions and provides context for our education. When we engage with the world around us we broaden our horizon, become culturally competent. If we are receptive, we may shed preconceived ideas about cultures and people and open our minds to other perspectives. Visiting foreign lands used to be an integral part of a person’s education and... View Article

Tisane – herb tea from your garden, and ordering herb tea in Spain

August 30, 2014

I was told off (gently) by the waiters in Spain. While traveling around this beautiful country for a couple of months recently I needed to get off the caffein train. We ate out a lot and lingered in cafes every day and the caffein was starting to get to me. I thought I’d change to herbal tea. Easy? not so fast. I annoyed many waiters in the beginning trying to order “camomile tea”. I soon... View Article

Eating vegetarian when travelling – and Roasted Vegetables Recipe

May 3, 2014

There is an art to travelling as a vegetarian. You would think that with the abundance of gorgeous produce in the markets, especially around the Mediterranean, it would be easy to find vegetarian dishes on restaurants menus but somehow it is not. Now, I am interested in food and culture and certainly will try other things even if they are not vegetarian, especially the local and traditional. I am certainly not going to travel without experiencing... View Article

Spain, Barcelona with Núria: Calçots and Salsa Romesco

April 8, 2014

One thing I enjoy about blogging is the instant community it opens up for you. You become part of a global community of like-minded people who tend to like the same things you do: eat, cook, write, photograph and travel. Before leaving for Spain my friend Val of More than Burnt Toasts, whom I met through blogging, introduced me to Núria from Barcelona. Núria is a blogger and you can find her cooking, travelling and... View Article

Spanish Champagne (Cava) – Penedes, Codorniu Cava Bodega and berries with cava-honey syrup

April 3, 2014

My culinary “must do” list while traveling in Spain included a visit to a cava bodega in Penedes. Penedes is the Spanish Cava region in Catalunya, located just outside beautiful Barcelona, easily accessible by car or by train. Cava, a.k.a. Spanish Champagne, has been produced in this region since 1872 when a local wine maker produced the first sparkling wine made in the traditional champagne method. The wine was called Spanish champagne until fairly recently when... View Article

Spain – Andalucia: Villa Tiberio, Eggplant fritters with honey (berrenjenas con miel)

March 30, 2014

One of the foods on my “culinary must do” list while  in Spain was eggplant fritters with honey. It is seemingly an unusual dish, I have never had it before and never really thought of serving a savoury eggplant with honey but it did sound good. I imagined it crispy on the outside, soft inside, a little savoury with a sweet honey drizzle, surely it would be delish. According to Claudia Roden (the Julia Child... View Article

Spain – Vermut en Grifo: Vermouth on tap with fried almonds and olives

March 20, 2014

When we travel I watch for and try to learn about local customs, especially in food and culture. One of the customs I noticed here in Spain is that the locals stop at a bar for a glass of vermut (vermouth) on tap as an aperitivo before lunch or dinner. Bars here by the way are not just for drinks. It’s a general term for places where you can stop by for coffee, lunch or dinner,... View Article

Spain – Stuffed Dates with cheese and walnuts

February 26, 2014

I haven’t been posting many recipes lately so I thought I’d offer this simple one to go with my last post since we drove through date palm groves on the way up from Marbella to Barcelona. Here is a simple but delicious way to make a different kind of “tapa” that I have seen served here and sold in food stores. You can serve it as  part of a tapas offering or with a cheese... View Article

Spain – Drive from Marbella to Barcelona (and chasing a single olive tree harvest)

February 26, 2014

It was hard to leave Andalucia. The blue Mediterranean, olive groves, white villages, fragrance of orange blossoms and unique sense of culture lure you with their beauty, enticing you to stay. We loved our few weeks in Andalucia, travelling to many cities and towns along the coast and farther inland, exploring the history, culture and food. Many of these places I haven’t yet written about but will in upcoming posts. We explored Andalucian cuisine, both at... View Article

Spain – Costa del Sol: Malaga and a towed car adventure

February 24, 2014

I hate to tell this to my Canadian friends who are experiencing minus 20℃ temperatures right now but we just came back from spending a balmy plus 20℃ degree day on the beautiful Costa del Sol on the southern Mediterranean coast of Spain. Life  sometimes is not fair:). We are staying in Puerto Bañus, the flamboyant community on the west side of Marbella (moving to Marbella tomorrow) and travelling up and down the Costa del... View Article

Spain – Costa del Sol – Mijas and Sugared Almonds

February 16, 2014

The Costa del Sol consists of several towns built from the beach to the hilltops above. There is hardly a break between towns and you can drive from one to the next without really noticing you left one and entered another. It’s a major tourists destination and there are probably hundreds of thousands of hotel rooms in the various resorts as well as apartments and homes as far as the eye can see. One interesting... View Article