Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Gourmet Barcelona

Not only is Barcelona an amazing food city, it knows it. Starting at the Plaza Catalunya, on Friday or Saturday at 11:00 am you can take a Gourmet Walking Tour put on by the Barcelona Tourism office. The cost is just under $15 and it is well worth it. Over the course of two hours a local guide leads you down a bit of the Ramblas, from the Boqueria into the Barri Gotic and finally to La Ribera making numerous stops along the way. The tour is a terrific way to orient yourself and make sure you hit some of the best examples of Barcelona's gastronomic riches. The first stop is Granja Viader , the site where Cacoalat, a kind of bottled chocolate milk was invented. This is a great place to find all kinds of local dairy products, cheeses, crema catalan, yogurt, but also cakes and sweets that are local specialties. On to the market! I will post more about the Boqueria but suffice it to say it one of the most impressive covered outdooor markets in Europe. There is a great variety of ......

Sunday, July 09, 2006

This week the food blogging world was filled with posts about Summer fruit, ice cream and sweet peas. But the theme of my posts of the week is posts from bloggers who have been missing in action lately. Welcome back! Which is worse, skipping a meal or missing a plane? To help you make up your mind on this issue, skip over to In Praise of Sardines to read this weeks most hilarious post. You may have heard about Incanto's head-to-tail feasts, but check out SF Gourmet's description of a Strawberry Dinner . More themed dinners are on the menu at Incanto, a restaurant on my neverending list of places to try. Near disaster in the kitchen doesn't keep Grub Report from posting, in fact it seems to have inspired a post, with a delicious photo to boot. I'm now convinced, roasted or steamed, fresh corn is the ultimate Summer food! FOOD...

Friday, July 07, 2006

Cucumber Avocado Soup: Recipe

Last Summer I spent my birthday up in the Napa valley. I stayed at a spa, went wine tasting and ate out, of course. It was sunny and relaxing and just a little bit indulgent. I had a terrific time and especially terrific meals, the highlight of which was a cool creamy soup at chef Douglas Keane's restaurant Market , in St. Helena. Frankly the soup ingredients sounded like a spa treatment--yogurt, cucumber, avocado, was it a soup or a facial? Inspired to create my own version I gathered a whole bunch of fresh green ingredients and started experimenting. If your cold soup repertoire consists of gazpacho, try this one on for size. It's a great solution for dinner on a hot night, especially since it can be made in minutes and without heating up the kitchen. So how is my soup different from Keane's ? Rather than using red wine vinegar, I used lime juice. I used only yogurt, no buttermilk. I also peeled the cucumbers which means the soup does not need to be strained. I garni......

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Did you get it?

Just a quick note to say the monthly email newsletter went out this morning. If you didn't get it, feel free to sign up for it and I'll send you a copy. It is a double opt-in system, so after you sign up you'll be asked to confirm your subscription. The newsletter provides links to posts from the prior month along with a preview of what's coming up as well as some links to sites I think you'll like. This month I share my wishes for Summer and what to expect later this month. Thanks again for visiting and staying in touch....