1 minute concinero – Bread in 5 minutes a day

1 minute concinero (cook): Empanadillas de bonito (tuna stuffed pastries)

Challah flatbread invented

It started off well. The dough and braiding was perfect.

From 2009-09

But we left it to raise in the kitchen and forgot about it. The next morning it was too bloated. Whoops!

From 2009-09

When we got home to bake it for Shabbat dinner, it was completely deflated. We baked it any. Looked funny, but it still tasted great.

We invented a new dish, Challah Flatbread!

From 2009-09

Aug ‘08: Toledo, and scenes from La Parcela González

In August we spent a summer break in Spain with Marta’s family. We stayed as “La Parcela González” (the González’ parcel of land) a few miles outside of Madrid. It’s a beautiful home (still partially under construction) and has some amazing views.

From 2009-08 Spain

From 2009-08 Spain

We met the new family dog, Sammy.

From 2009-08 Spain

And had a delicious family barbecue with home-cooked dishes from different regions of Spain, and fresh food from their garden.

From 2009-08 Spain

From 2009-08 Spain

From 2009-08 Spain

It was a very relaxing trip.

From 2009-08 Spain

We also took a quick trip out to Chinchón to get a few bottles of their special (and quite potent) anisette.

From 2009-08 Spain

From 2009-08 Spain

But the highlight of the vacation was the day trip to Toledo, 70km south of Madrid. Location of “La Convivencia (“the Coexistence”), where Jews lived together in relative peace with Muslims and Catholics for over 750 years (711 to 1492). It was established under the Islamic rule of the Caliphate of Cordoba and ended when the Catholic monarchs issued the Alhambra Decree which ordered the expulsion of Jews from Spain. The skyline is distinguished by the Alcázar on the right, and the peak of the Cathedral in the middle.

From 2009-08 Spain

From 2009-08 Spain

From 2009-08 Spain

I absolutely loved it. Click the picture below to see the entire photo album with all the details and history that I learned.

2009-08 Spain

Taste of London 2009

Another year, another taste.

Fruit carving at the Thailand pavilion.

From 2009-06

Samantha, Mark, & Marta… nice coconuts! (And the drinks were tasty, too.)

From 2009-06

Pyramid of brownies. Let my taste buds go!

From 2009-06

Soy & honey lamb chop from Kai Mayfair, a Michelin starred restaurant and voted Best Chinese in the Zagat guide. Perfection on a plate. (The bottle is my new SIGG aluminum travel water bottle, which I can’t live without.)

From 2009-06

Chocolate pudding from a catering company whose name I’ve forgotten. But I’ll never forget the taste of that delicious pud.

From 2009-06

A rival chocolate pud with oreo crumble from L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon. (Yes, this year I spent most of my credits on buying desserts.)

From 2009-06

Marta’s favorite, 3rd year running: chocolate fondue with fresh marshmallows, biscotti, and strawberries.

From 2009-06

In a sugary haze, I managed to delete the rest of the food pictures. But I can’t forget to mention our favorite restaurant, Cocoon, and their astonishingly tasty tiger prawns and crispy duck rolls.

On our way home, we went to Baker Street station and saw the Sherlock Holmes statue:

From 2009-06

From 2009-06

Homemade fajitas & guacamole

Ever since the honeymoon, we’ve been on a huge Mexican food binge. We’ve been practicing our guacamole recipe and Marta’s learned to make perfect salsa & spicy beef. Mmmmmm. Hungry now.

From 2009-03

Hot Salty Beef

What’s in a name? Like South Park’s chocolate salty balls or Alec Baldwin’s Schweaty balls. But in this case ’salted beef’ is what they called ‘corned beef’ in the UK.

From 2009-03

Adventures in Cake Decorating

It was Easter break. Marta & I had waited long enough to break in the cake decorating kit that I bought for her birthday.

Step 1: bake the cake. We chose a Madeira cake because it’s more moist and lasts longer than a classic sponge cake.

From 2009-04

Step 2: frost the cake. This gives it a base to add the decorations. We used a glace icing, warmed and poured over the cake. (A lot faster than sugarpaste, and Marta doesn’t like marzipan.)

From 2009-04

From 2009-04

Step 3: prepare the royal icing. We made half a kilo of icing with some cocoa powder. That gave us plenty to experiment with all of the nozzles and patterns.

From 2009-04

From 2009-04

Step 4: decorate the cake! Marta decorated half and I decorated the other half. This is Marta’s half.

From 2009-04

This is my half.

From 2009-04

And this is the final product. Not as neat and glamorous as I hoped. It gives me a new respect for cake decorators. The cake tasted great, but the icing and glace were a bit too sugary sweet. Looking forward to doing it again, perhaps with a buttercream frosting next time.

From 2009-04

Taste of Cock (flavored soup, that is)

Ok, so I’ve got the humor of a 5-year old. But c’mon, the punchlines are practically endless. Must… resist…

From 2009-01

…can’t fight it any longer. Just one:

“Served best with meat balls.” Bwaahahaha! LOL! ROTFLMAO!

My first Thanksgiving with the (soon-to-be) in-laws

Marta’s parents came to London on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and so we decided to cook them a traditional TG dinner. We bought a gorgeous turkey roast covered in bacon, and placed it on a bed of cranberry and almond stuffing.

From 2008-12

Oh, the deliciousness!

From 2008-12

Add some fresh bread, string bean casserole, wine, sweet potato pie… I’m drooling just thinking about it.

From 2008-12

The best part was trying to explain the story of Thanksgiving, in my broken Spanish. “The early American settlers were hungry because the weather was bad. They couldn’t make food. The Native Americans helped them to eat. They had a fiesta to celebrate their new friends. (Later, when the Americans learned how to make food, they killed the Native Americans and took all the land.)”