What could have been if the Spanish Armada had been the Catalan Armada.
Plymouth Paella, Birmingham Butifarra, Manchester Mongetes, Exeter Escudella i carn d’olla, Edinburgh Escalivada...
At least Pep Guardiola has Pam Amb Tomaquet, Mongetes amb botifarra and Cava on Saturday evenings...
Just kidding... I like fish and chips and the English do good on sausages - the Mystery Meat.
I ought to note that the British taught the Aussies how to brew beer.... besides inventing IPA. So on that alone, I tip my hat to them, many times.
Tonite we shall drink some Harp's with our corned beef ( yeah, I know, it's Irish )....
Plymouth Paella, Birmingham Butifarra, Manchester Mongetes, Exeter Escudella i carn d’olla, Edinburgh Escalivada...
At least Pep Guardiola has Pam Amb Tomaquet, Mongetes amb botifarra and Cava on Saturday evenings...
Just kidding... I like fish and chips and the English do good on sausages - the Mystery Meat.
I ought to note that the British taught the Aussies how to brew beer.... besides inventing IPA. So on that alone, I tip my hat to them, many times.
Tonite we shall drink some Harp's with our corned beef ( yeah, I know, it's Irish )....
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Before I retire in the evening I watch the "Indian foodies" or "Indian street-food" on FB. The only street-food I eat these days is an occasional "dirty-water-dog" outside my doctor's office in Manhattan.
Years ago had some "street-food" at Hampi in India. The reaction was immediate. My biome isn't up to the task!
Years ago had some "street-food" at Hampi in India. The reaction was immediate. My biome isn't up to the task!
'Shakahari' means vegetarian...
There is a lane in Chandni Chowk, in Old Delhi, called 'Parathe Waali Gali', or Paratha Lane...
There were four shops when I last visited, some have expanded to less congested places...
Each shop has about 40 varieties on offer, some are seasonal.
Plain, stuffed with things like Paneer, Radish, Daal, and so on.
The accompanying items are free, you pay per paratha...
There is a milk shop also, lassi is made from the specified weight of curd, sweet or salty as per your choice. You say 100, 200, or whatever, they weigh the curd, add water , and salt or sugar, and whizz it...there you are...
And they sell sweets, by weight, the Rabdi is great. In season carrot halwa is available.
A throwback to the old days when food was singular, not bland / too spicy stuff tasting the same every where.
In Calcutta, they make egg paratha, the roti is cooked partly through, and beaten omelette mixture spread on it, then it is pan fried, one side at a time.
There is a lane in Chandni Chowk, in Old Delhi, called 'Parathe Waali Gali', or Paratha Lane...
There were four shops when I last visited, some have expanded to less congested places...
Each shop has about 40 varieties on offer, some are seasonal.
Plain, stuffed with things like Paneer, Radish, Daal, and so on.
The accompanying items are free, you pay per paratha...
There is a milk shop also, lassi is made from the specified weight of curd, sweet or salty as per your choice. You say 100, 200, or whatever, they weigh the curd, add water , and salt or sugar, and whizz it...there you are...
And they sell sweets, by weight, the Rabdi is great. In season carrot halwa is available.
A throwback to the old days when food was singular, not bland / too spicy stuff tasting the same every where.
In Calcutta, they make egg paratha, the roti is cooked partly through, and beaten omelette mixture spread on it, then it is pan fried, one side at a time.
Chutney is mostly a paste like item, with a short life, about a week in the fridge. Coriander, with or without mint / lemon juice / green chilies / salt is the most popular. Most are not cooked at all.
Pickles can be stored at least a year at room temperature., and you can see the ingredients.
Oil, and sometimes vinegar are the main preserving agents, some pickles have sugar or jaggery in them.
The third category is short lived pickles, where the preserving oils are used in small quantities, and you can see the ingredients.
You can make a short lived pickle by tossing chopped cauliflower, green chilies, carrots, and spring onions (and similar things) , adding crushed mustard seeds, salt and turmeric powder in mustard oil .
Delicious, lasts a week at ambient below 30C max.
A sample is in the picture...
Mustard oil, because of its characteristic taste, is used for such North Indian items, and it does not spoil or go waxy like sunflower and peanut oils.
You can, however, use corn oil, that is also suitable, and milder in taste.
Pickles can be stored at least a year at room temperature., and you can see the ingredients.
Oil, and sometimes vinegar are the main preserving agents, some pickles have sugar or jaggery in them.
The third category is short lived pickles, where the preserving oils are used in small quantities, and you can see the ingredients.
You can make a short lived pickle by tossing chopped cauliflower, green chilies, carrots, and spring onions (and similar things) , adding crushed mustard seeds, salt and turmeric powder in mustard oil .
Delicious, lasts a week at ambient below 30C max.
A sample is in the picture...
Mustard oil, because of its characteristic taste, is used for such North Indian items, and it does not spoil or go waxy like sunflower and peanut oils.
You can, however, use corn oil, that is also suitable, and milder in taste.
Decided to forego traditional Irish dishes last night. Instead we had:
Black Lumpfish caviar on rice crackers
Salad of bamboo shoot, soured mustard green, pickled red onion, salted daikon and pickled ginger with a sesame oil dressing. Finished salad on the righ in the photo.
Mrs. W. then did up a fine quick fry prawn and onion dish along with Gai Lan.
I had apple and danish blue cheese for dessert.
Black Lumpfish caviar on rice crackers
Salad of bamboo shoot, soured mustard green, pickled red onion, salted daikon and pickled ginger with a sesame oil dressing. Finished salad on the righ in the photo.
Mrs. W. then did up a fine quick fry prawn and onion dish along with Gai Lan.
I had apple and danish blue cheese for dessert.
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We did the usual corned beef,cabbage,carrots,onions,red potatoes boiled in a local brown beer ‘Hooter Brown’ came out good but was rather disappointed in the cabbage I grew this year, it was beautiful but had no flavor…….maybe was the variety but i‘ve never had such bland cabbage!
Was going to make sauerkraut out of the rest but am second guessing it now
Was going to make sauerkraut out of the rest but am second guessing it now
Attachments
tonyEE - where to start - I never mentioned Andaluz I said North Africa was the origin not only of paella but most 'Spanish' dishes. It simply isn't true about quail and rabbit, I've never seen either in Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Extramadura or Andaluz - have you ever been to those regions?
Falangistas - on the train from Hendaye to Madrid we shared a carriage with a Spanish professor teaching at the Sorbonne.He sketched a picture of a man and asked us did we know him? My travelling companion Brian was a cockney, an ex films spark, he had given up the job rather than die from alcoholism. He was a big blond man, obviously of Saxon blood and with a quick mouth, not advisable in Fascist Spain, I had to nudge him and said "keep stum" - "that is the great generalissimo Franco" said the Spaniard. If Brian had said what I'm sure he was going to say the obviously fascist prof would have got the Guardia at the next stop to arrest us both.
Just two days away from going home we were in Pamplona and woke up to hear a lot of chanting coming from the university - liberte, liberte. That's when we realised it was May day, it being 1968. We had arranged to meet the camera car driver Reg in the plaza del castilles which we did. He was having a coffee with some of the film crew and that was when I saw the reality of Fascism real close up. The square was full of falangistas ready to confront the Euskadi students. There was a tradition of them running across the square with a flag - red for the Socialists and Communists and black for the Anarchists. It was the job of the falangistas to trip up the students and hold them until the Guardia got to them then if the student was male the Guardia would use their short batons and pistol buts to destroy their genitals, if it was a female they smashed their faces in. Just before it all kicked off an old pre war Ford van painted grey drove across the square and pulled up 15 feet from where I was sitting, the back doors swung open and there inside was a piece of superb German engineering - a twin barreled heavy calibre anti-aircraft machine gun, gimbal mounted. Manning this weapon was a small gnome like Guardia. He went back to the van twice to pick up belt fed ammo boxes which he set up and cocked both belts ready for firing. He sat on the tractor type metal seat and with ease swung the guns around in all directions. Up came a young Guardia captain who slapped him around the face and told him in no uncertain terms that he would kill him if he opened fire without orders.
I had bought in the UK from an army surplus store an American camouflage jacket which I was wearing. I always thought it funny that the maker in New York city was a certain Frank.N.Stein. I decided that it would be prudent to remove the jacket and stash it in my duffle bag before everything kicked off. There was a stunt man who thought he was the bees knees when it came to drinking and women, he was wearing a white shirt and he was s~#t scared and trembling. I shouted at him "drink your coffee" he picked up the cup and not a drop reached his mouth, it was all over his white shirt. At the other end of the table was Reg and he was having really bad flash backs to his time in Korea. One of the crew spoke fluent Spanish and explained to the Guardias around him what was happening. The reactions of the Guardias was profound, they showed lots of compassion for Reg but the stunt man was treated with outright contempt and he got up and ran away with the Guardia kicking him out of the square.
I decided I had to cross the square and see what was happening up at the university. I crossed the square with the Falangistas glowering at me and me at them. As I reached the top of the square from a side street came a terrified mob of people stampeding just like cattle, if one fell it was certain death. The square had a mezzazine pavement level, I ran up the few steps just in time, turned the corner and began to walk parallel to the railings in front of the university behind which were thousands of students. Around the corner came a phalanx of Guardia heading in my direction. I stopped and the students became silent, it was almost like a scene from a Serge Leone movie, I could hear the music of Ennio Morricone - was I going to die for their revolution? No. As the phalanx reached me I said in Spanish "I'm a Scottish Celt and I'm not participating" I got shoved along the road - 1 against 40/50 is not good odds and it wasn't my revolution - I lived.
So tonyEE - Cataluyna wasn't a good place to be a falangista and the Guardia were quite happy to kill the Euskadi in Navarro and Pais Vasco.
The tortilla espanol/potato omelette is OK but the Spanish as a whole are noted for their excellent omelettes with all kinds of ingredients. When we lived in Guadix a new newspaper came into existence in Granada - Granada Hoy with lots of giveaways. The first was a ceramic chess set with Christians and Moriscos and the second was a set of traditional Granadino recipes - I have never seen a single one in any restaurant in Granada or anywhere else in Granada province - it's chips with everything. There are some good restaurants and bars if you leave the tourist areas and in the student areas, really good tapas. Just before we left for France two English girls opened a vegan takeaway near the university. they had been at York university together, their food was damn good and gives the lie about tasteless vegan food, simply not true. In the avenida Juan de Dios there is a Chinese restaurant that has to be awarded the order of the Dog's Bollocks. It is run by a Chinese woman who could earn a fortune as a Miss Whiplash. Her control is total and the food is divine, her staff work at the run.
As to the English boiling meat - where did you get that from LOL. When the English were fighting wars abroad their soldiers got 1lb of bread and 1lb of meat per day, the meat they roasted. There are some fine English/Scottish/Welsh and Irish dishes and FYI the quality of UK restaurants is without doubt far and away the best in Europe. The increase in quality over the last 30 years is incredible It was always a myth that food all over France is good and sadly in most Spanish restaurants it is chips with everything. Restaurants aren't interested in preparing meals that take time.
As to 'las' ramblas not 'les' the big food hall/market there is mainly a rip-off tourist trap. The best meal I ever had living in Spain was in Santiago de Compestela - a pilgrim rip-off centre. Just below the city walls was a fusion restaurant. We saw the Spanish queuing 20 deep and thought yes we will join this queue. The waiters were sweating terribly as they ran to try and keep up a decent service. the food was bloody marvellous. I had a chicken and mango salad - outstanding and Angela my wife had a spinach and garlic omelette - I have tried without success to match it, it really hacks me off I have never succeeded.
In 68 for most, Spanish life was hard, very hard, Cataluyna is not Spain it has always been wealthier than other parts. For most it was grinding poverty. Andaluz was deliberately neglected by Franco because they were violently anti-Franco. That's why when Brian and I left for home there were hundreds of Andaluzes leaving on the same train at Hendaye to go and work in France, the Netherlands and Germany. English hotels were full of Spanish chamber maids. In the 50s' nearly half the population of Galicia left for Venezuala, Chile and the USA.
I know that life is easier for most Spanish now compared to Franco's Spain but as in France, European peoples as a whole have lost their individual uniqueness,there is a terrible 'sameness' about so much of life now, that's what happens when small businesses are crushed by big business - so it goes.
Falangistas - on the train from Hendaye to Madrid we shared a carriage with a Spanish professor teaching at the Sorbonne.He sketched a picture of a man and asked us did we know him? My travelling companion Brian was a cockney, an ex films spark, he had given up the job rather than die from alcoholism. He was a big blond man, obviously of Saxon blood and with a quick mouth, not advisable in Fascist Spain, I had to nudge him and said "keep stum" - "that is the great generalissimo Franco" said the Spaniard. If Brian had said what I'm sure he was going to say the obviously fascist prof would have got the Guardia at the next stop to arrest us both.
Just two days away from going home we were in Pamplona and woke up to hear a lot of chanting coming from the university - liberte, liberte. That's when we realised it was May day, it being 1968. We had arranged to meet the camera car driver Reg in the plaza del castilles which we did. He was having a coffee with some of the film crew and that was when I saw the reality of Fascism real close up. The square was full of falangistas ready to confront the Euskadi students. There was a tradition of them running across the square with a flag - red for the Socialists and Communists and black for the Anarchists. It was the job of the falangistas to trip up the students and hold them until the Guardia got to them then if the student was male the Guardia would use their short batons and pistol buts to destroy their genitals, if it was a female they smashed their faces in. Just before it all kicked off an old pre war Ford van painted grey drove across the square and pulled up 15 feet from where I was sitting, the back doors swung open and there inside was a piece of superb German engineering - a twin barreled heavy calibre anti-aircraft machine gun, gimbal mounted. Manning this weapon was a small gnome like Guardia. He went back to the van twice to pick up belt fed ammo boxes which he set up and cocked both belts ready for firing. He sat on the tractor type metal seat and with ease swung the guns around in all directions. Up came a young Guardia captain who slapped him around the face and told him in no uncertain terms that he would kill him if he opened fire without orders.
I had bought in the UK from an army surplus store an American camouflage jacket which I was wearing. I always thought it funny that the maker in New York city was a certain Frank.N.Stein. I decided that it would be prudent to remove the jacket and stash it in my duffle bag before everything kicked off. There was a stunt man who thought he was the bees knees when it came to drinking and women, he was wearing a white shirt and he was s~#t scared and trembling. I shouted at him "drink your coffee" he picked up the cup and not a drop reached his mouth, it was all over his white shirt. At the other end of the table was Reg and he was having really bad flash backs to his time in Korea. One of the crew spoke fluent Spanish and explained to the Guardias around him what was happening. The reactions of the Guardias was profound, they showed lots of compassion for Reg but the stunt man was treated with outright contempt and he got up and ran away with the Guardia kicking him out of the square.
I decided I had to cross the square and see what was happening up at the university. I crossed the square with the Falangistas glowering at me and me at them. As I reached the top of the square from a side street came a terrified mob of people stampeding just like cattle, if one fell it was certain death. The square had a mezzazine pavement level, I ran up the few steps just in time, turned the corner and began to walk parallel to the railings in front of the university behind which were thousands of students. Around the corner came a phalanx of Guardia heading in my direction. I stopped and the students became silent, it was almost like a scene from a Serge Leone movie, I could hear the music of Ennio Morricone - was I going to die for their revolution? No. As the phalanx reached me I said in Spanish "I'm a Scottish Celt and I'm not participating" I got shoved along the road - 1 against 40/50 is not good odds and it wasn't my revolution - I lived.
So tonyEE - Cataluyna wasn't a good place to be a falangista and the Guardia were quite happy to kill the Euskadi in Navarro and Pais Vasco.
The tortilla espanol/potato omelette is OK but the Spanish as a whole are noted for their excellent omelettes with all kinds of ingredients. When we lived in Guadix a new newspaper came into existence in Granada - Granada Hoy with lots of giveaways. The first was a ceramic chess set with Christians and Moriscos and the second was a set of traditional Granadino recipes - I have never seen a single one in any restaurant in Granada or anywhere else in Granada province - it's chips with everything. There are some good restaurants and bars if you leave the tourist areas and in the student areas, really good tapas. Just before we left for France two English girls opened a vegan takeaway near the university. they had been at York university together, their food was damn good and gives the lie about tasteless vegan food, simply not true. In the avenida Juan de Dios there is a Chinese restaurant that has to be awarded the order of the Dog's Bollocks. It is run by a Chinese woman who could earn a fortune as a Miss Whiplash. Her control is total and the food is divine, her staff work at the run.
As to the English boiling meat - where did you get that from LOL. When the English were fighting wars abroad their soldiers got 1lb of bread and 1lb of meat per day, the meat they roasted. There are some fine English/Scottish/Welsh and Irish dishes and FYI the quality of UK restaurants is without doubt far and away the best in Europe. The increase in quality over the last 30 years is incredible It was always a myth that food all over France is good and sadly in most Spanish restaurants it is chips with everything. Restaurants aren't interested in preparing meals that take time.
As to 'las' ramblas not 'les' the big food hall/market there is mainly a rip-off tourist trap. The best meal I ever had living in Spain was in Santiago de Compestela - a pilgrim rip-off centre. Just below the city walls was a fusion restaurant. We saw the Spanish queuing 20 deep and thought yes we will join this queue. The waiters were sweating terribly as they ran to try and keep up a decent service. the food was bloody marvellous. I had a chicken and mango salad - outstanding and Angela my wife had a spinach and garlic omelette - I have tried without success to match it, it really hacks me off I have never succeeded.
In 68 for most, Spanish life was hard, very hard, Cataluyna is not Spain it has always been wealthier than other parts. For most it was grinding poverty. Andaluz was deliberately neglected by Franco because they were violently anti-Franco. That's why when Brian and I left for home there were hundreds of Andaluzes leaving on the same train at Hendaye to go and work in France, the Netherlands and Germany. English hotels were full of Spanish chamber maids. In the 50s' nearly half the population of Galicia left for Venezuala, Chile and the USA.
I know that life is easier for most Spanish now compared to Franco's Spain but as in France, European peoples as a whole have lost their individual uniqueness,there is a terrible 'sameness' about so much of life now, that's what happens when small businesses are crushed by big business - so it goes.
Same here, favorite little Italian restaurant was nearly empty. Today is the "Feast of St. Joseph" so we are doing Italian again.
If anyone would like a NYTimes article on "Thin Chicago Pizza" PM me.
I believe we get that as standard fare in US supermarkets... in a glass jar.
(1) I've been to Catalunya, Aragon, Valencia, Murcia, Mallorca, Castilla and Andaluzia. Next time I want to do Navarra ( I got genes from Pamplona ), Basque Country, Cantabria, Galicia and Leon. The food and people are outstanding. Just stay out of politics and futbol.
(2) I was a kid in '68, but I remember that walking to school there were lots of student "demonstrations", grafiti, pamphlets, noise and Guardia Civil. Barcelona is a rather large city (not necessarily in area..) so the University district was far from our neighborhood but rather close to where my school was... Nonetheless, no Anarchists, Communists or Fascists dare touch our school, or the nun's girls school near by. The Maristes had Jehova and the Pope on their side. ;-)
(3) British boiling meats.... OK, so not all British are Scottish... Hagis.... But, seriously English cuisine is not known for, ahem.... glorious invention and use of aromatics...
(4) Tortillas in Spain are excellent yes. I make them at home. Tortilla de patata is fantastic... just add some garlic, onions, pimento and you're in Heaven. How about tortillas de atun con pimiento.... You know, that tuna canned in olive oil, those nice red pimentos... a bit of crusty bread, a beer of red wine,... Dang... I'm geting hungry now. Funny, you didn't mention Jamon Serrano... I got one of the on our kitchen island, on a carving stand. It is a tough life... having to slice some jamon for the family as we make dinner. Ay!
(5) In Catalan, it is "Les Rambles".... When in Rome do as the Romans. There are very good places to eat at La Plaça Reial (*) and all over the Gothic Quarter... you just have to know... and if you get dragged by the family into buying some souvenirs... HAGGLE. It is a tourist trap. You'll get the kamaaina discount. Once, I decided to buy a Socialist Estalada right at their book counter on Les Rambles... the kids, being true Socialists, had no clue of the price.. so I offered them five bucks... USD no less, and they took it. ;-D
(5) Yes, the advent of mass communication has homogenized the World. For better of worse, I guess. Catalunya has always traded wealth for lack of political freedom (at the hand of the hegemonist Kings ;-D ).... My grandmother used to tell me, on Sunday, at the dinner table, after dinner, while she counted the money from the stores and got the deposit ready for the bank: "Tony, Franco is not good for politics but he is good for business!". Interestingly, my great uncles and grandfathers all fought as Anarchists during the War, yet once the war got done and they left the POW camps, they turned back to making money.... typical Catalans, I guess. My entire family, except for two that are MDs, are into the business of food. We might not have been royalty but we ate like Kings. And we could go into many restaurants in town and we'd get the Royal Treatment... on account that after four (Five, Six, Seven now?) generations in the business, everyone knows everyone.
(6) If you visit Barcelona, https://www.pansandcompany.com/en/. You know, that's my kind of fast food and you can get a beer in there...
Salud!
(*) Eons ago we were in Barcelona... we had spent a couple of days up in Puigcerda and Andorra so we came back on our wedding anniversary. We checked back into our place, it was sort of late, in July, so use four with our kids in tow, went to the La Plaça Reial and sat at one of those outdoor tables... the place is like a cloister with restaurants all around the perimeter... So, I told the waiter we wanted to do tapas and small dishes for dinner... it was our wedding anniversary... so the waiters treated us like Royalty. The kids got their Orange Schweppes, we got a couple of good bottles of Cavas and the little dishes came coming out for a couple of hours. It was late, nicely warm and the place was crowded. The 3rd best anniversary dinner... the 2nd was at Disneyland (at Catal restaurant)... the first was when our kids made dinner for us... then we found out they hadn't had their dinner so we made pizza for all of us.... but I digress.
Dinner tonite... well, it's not gonna be that good. Daughter is into making her sardine and feta cheese salads... Wife has a business dinner so I might just slice me some jamon serrano, make some pan amb tomaquet... I also have some fresh Manchego and salad greens. Perhaps I'll do an IPA or open up a Rioja or Catalan Garnacha. I wish I had grapes, but I got some good dried figs, dates and feta cheese...
Speaking of DIY Audio... well, I paid for a Linn Karousel. Turns out that on placing the order, the Scottish factory has one in stock, just one!, so I won't have to wait 10 weeks. It is a kit, comes with the bearing, subplatter, spring suspension and other bits.... But, I'm having an expert install it. This is a mechanical contraption....
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