More bad mirror pictures. 90′s Versace. I’m not a food critic. So many awards!
by pinkagendist
We didn’t go to lunch yesterday because of the James Dean re-capture and I was exhausted by the evening, entirely not in the mood to cook- so I suggested we go out to eat. For almost a month now I’ve limited eating desserts to three (120 calories each) chocolate mousses per week maximum. I tried on my 90′s red Versace trousers and fitted shirt… they were tight, but they closed. The trouser button did look as if it was considering popping open and making a run for it, but I wore them anyway.
My goal is to (once again) have a 29″ waist and fit comfortably into the red trousers, so I’ll start doing exercise again in the next couple of weeks. Anyway, we went to Teo’s, my absolute FAVOURITE tapas place in Spain. Tapas are the perfect food for people who are afraid of commitment. Instead of having a large main course, you choose lots of little things. We discovered Teo’s about eight years ago because Teresa, our then maid, had her son’s first communion party there. The food is amazing, the prices are excellent and Teo is charming.
The house wine is a Ribera del Duero called Hizan. In summer, it’s common in southern Spain to serve chilled red table wine. This one works particularly well cool.
Mike started with a cod and orange salad
I had the mini-hamburger with lobster mayonnaise. I dropped my camera and chipped the plate, Teo told me not to worry about it.
Mike had the filet mignon with foie-gras on toast, I had chipirones (baby squid) with ciboulette sauce
Then there were small fried fish with a garlic/parsley coating (can’t remember what fish it was)
This was amazing: date, almond paste, chicken breast & bacon, date sauce
Lamb chops with mint
Ox-tail meat-balls with a foie-gras sauce
I didn’t have dessert, but Mike had vanilla ice-cream, each ball is infused with different spices (cinnamon, clove etc…)
Our bill for this extravaganza was a measly 42 euros. That’s US$52 or UK£ 33- shockingly that includes the wine (not the tip.) The average tip around here is 10%, but we generally leave more.
Two lovely people presented me with blog awards this past week. The first was Meeka, she’s Austra-Hungarian, it’s like Austro-Hungarian, except from Australia instead of Austria. She likes her food and occasionally she’ll share a great recipe with us. Instead of following the instructions of her award, I’ll change things up and say thank you with an easy and wonderful Andalusian recipe.
Orange and onion salad: 2 sweet onions (sliced), 3 oranges (cut into wedges), a handful of parsley. Dressing: 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, 3 olive oil, 1 teaspoon brown sugar (or to taste), salt + pepper. Serve chilled on a hot summer day as a starter. For extra interest add strips of smoked cod or mojama (cured tuna)
The second award came from Diary of a Mad Gay Man. He’s young, he’s creative and he’s come up with the best graphic for an award ever!
To him I give a recipe for Andalusian Gazpacho. Easy, healthy and wonderful. It’s a cold summer soup that requires no cooking.
100 grams of stale bread
800 grams of ripe red peeled and seeded tomatoes (don’t use the tinned stuff!). To peel with ease, pour boiling water into a bowl, then plunge tomatoes into hot water for a minute or 2 max.
1 small green bell pepper (or half a large one), seeded and cut into chunks
1 small cucumber (peeled and seeded)
2 garlic cloves (crushed)
1 dl. of extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons sherry vinegar (We’re in the same region as Jerez, the birthplace of sherry, so it’s popular around here)
Put everything into a blender and blend until very smooth. If too thick add water to loosen the texture. Serve chilled in summer with the same raw vegetables you used to make it as garnish. If you want to make the flavours more interesting also have things like coriander and flavoured croutons. The traditional way of serving gazpacho looks like this:
mwahahaha! I’m greedy and I’m pinching a copy of the gazpacho as well :p
I’ve tried oranges in salad before but not like this so I’ll make it tomorrow night – should be delicious with roast rack of pork
köszönöm szépen!
Have fun with the gazpacho… every Spanish household has their own variation. I tried one with green-apple recently that was amazing.
Combination with roast pork sounds outstanding!
Also, there’s a North-African soup, I can’t remember the name, which is basically gazpacho but they add plain yoghurt to make it creamy.
Note on the orange salad, make sure the oranges are sweet, if they’re not sprinkle them with brown sugar and let sit for half an hour, otherwise it turns into a disaster
lol – thanks for the tip on sweetness as the new seasons navels are still quite tangy. Will try the gazpacho with yoghurt as well as I love yoghurt in anything.
Speaking of yoghurt, have you ever tried a lassi? My ex is anglo-indian, rarely cooked but made a great lassi
I don’t cook with quantities much either so adjust to taste but basically 1 ripe banana, 1 chopped sweet apple [skin on], the juice of one orange freshly squeezed and roughly 1/2 cup of good yoghurt [plain]. Throw it all into a blender and puree until very smooth. Healthy, low fat and DELICIOUS!
A thought on mirror pictures: on the rare occasions I’ve taken pictures of myself for the blog, I turn the camera around so that the lens is pointing straight at me and I can see the viewfinder reflected in the mirror (good with most digital cameras, including the one on my phone, not effective if you’re using something older). The disadvantage to this plan is that the longest shot you can take is the distance of your arm, but at least you don’t have to worry about flash reflection.
Very clever
I hadn’t considered that… Not enough practice in mirror pictures yet!
Edouard,
I am loving the mirror pics because they are confirming my every cliche about gay men in Spain: they all live in palatial estates, walls lined with mirrors, marble tabletops filled with busts of literary figures and Spanish war heroes.
But of course then there’s the fighting for gay youth, the James Dean rescuing, and you’re not a cliche.
I love that you and Mike exist in the world. Thanks for being my internet friend.
-Eli
I couldn’t live with myself if I wasn’t a bit of a cliché! James Dean took a sausage from Mike’s hand today, we think that’s progress… But then again, we’re gay, so we think anything involving sausage is positive. Or is that Germans? Anyway-
How’s the draining going? I was once in a hospital attached to all sorts of weird equipment for almost three months. Hip replacement, knee replacement and rods around my femur. It was a porn accident
Just kidding, just a regular car accident. The morphine was great, though, but still painful. Are you pain free?
Well, well, well, another gay cliche exposed as reality: I knew you boys were all “hung” up in hospitals with porn injuries at one point or another…
The draining is going great, actually. I called the nurse today to check if my level were good and she said “those numbers rock.”
The pain, well, it is minimal, I would say I am in no real pain, but pretty uncomfortable. I have switched from Vicodin to Advil and I think the Advil is actually working better. I m tightly squeezed into this compression vest, and have to stay in it until Wednesday before I even get a peek at the new chest.
You boys play safe now, and give Jimmy an extra sausage for ol’ uncle Eli–
-E
I love tapas (good tapas!) because when reading menus I always have such a difficult time deciding; I want to try everything. Plus, my eyes are bigger than my stomach. I also like white button down shirts on guys–well cut–especially opened at the collar with sleeves rolled or pushed up. Saw your hat on previous post, and I am a hat person, too. I look good in hats and they keep the sun off my fair (read: pale, sensitive, and getting older) skin. Thank you for the gazpacho recipe. It sounds delicious. How is that wild doggie doing in his new abode? The canopy and bedding were sweet touches for James Dean.
~ Lily
Hi, Lily
Hats are an absolute must for me- skin cancer runs in the family. James Dean got his 2nd dose of de-worming medication last night. He hasn’t eaten today. I tried to tempt him with a piece of cheddar which he snapped at, but I think it was more about my hand being too close to his face than hunger. The vet says it’s normal and he should be hungry again tomorrow.
Do try the gazpacho, it’s fantastic on a hot summer day!
Yes, I shall try the gazpacho. I do like your arrangement of it, too.
Poor James Dean. I imagine he has water within reach. Between the medication and relocation, it must be a bit of an adjustment.
No worries–you can pull off hats and shades, with your movie-star good looks and I imagine with panache. Keep rockin’. (So to speak. You can rock to whatever you wish to listen to. At least, I often rock to classical, among other things. And oh yes, you do have Mike’s voice, there… : ) ~ Lily