Author: admin

Wine tasting in Fully

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Visited the vineyards of Marie-Therese Chappaz. Walked down the vineyards. Loved the scenery but hated the walk. It’s all narrow walkways, uneven stone stairways, steep slopes of foliage over slippery gravel… I’m surprised I didn’t fall off the bloody mountain.

The woman is a mountain goat. She’s just plowing ahead, not a care in the world, passionately talking about her vines, giving instructions to the people working everything by hand, and organizing her daughter’s 30th birthday over the phone…

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Made it home

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So, after a hectic night, the flight home was anticlimactic – and only 1/3 full. What they did with the rest of the passengers, I don’t know.

Did you know that if you ask nicely, you can take a picture of your son’s cuddly toy in the cockpit of a plane (though not in the air)? There are lots of buttons, knobs and dials in a modern airliner…

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I can’t go home

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At least not tonight.

Flight got canceled, woohoo! To make things even more fun, apparently Barcelona is hosting several large events/conferences this week and hotels are booked solid. The easyjet staff were walking up and down the queue of already happy people informing them that, yes, they could wait to get to the head of the line, but there was no guarantees that easyjet would be able to find them a hotel room by then. If we could find something on our own, we could get it reimbursed later.

I am SO happy that I finally got a corporate credit card just before my trip to Brussels. It’s already proven to be worth its weight in gold for occasions just like this. So now I’m I a very-nice-but-overpriced hotel room for tonight and I’m hopefully flying back tomorrow at noon.

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I want to go home

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Project mid-term review done. The project is seen in a very positive light within EIT circles. Positive initial feedback, good explanations, clear need, desirable, consortium seen as responsive. We will get the full feedback in a couple of weeks. I spent the afternoon walking around La Rambla and areas.

I’m at the airport now, but my 2050 flight has been delayed twice and is now showing for 2300. I’ve had fun, but I want to go home now.

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Paella on the beach

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The EBI spamish mafia would be proud. Cooked a full paella for 11 people on a beachside grill. It wasn’t my best – the rice was still a bit too wet so there wasn’t any soccarat – but damn if it wasn’t tasty nonetheless.

It was hilarious watching people pointing and talking about the guys cooking a paella. My BBQ-fu is strong. And I think I managed to not get heat stroke while cooking for an hour in full sun during a heatwave!

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[recipe] adult slushie / granita

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White wine slushie

120ml chilled, fruity, sweet, white wine like a Pinot Gris, Kabinett or Spatlese Riesling, Gewurztraminer
15ml Grand Marnier
3 frozen orange juice cubes
3 frozen pineapple juice cubes

Place all ingredients in a blender.
Blend on the lowest setting for couple of seconds. Just until the ice cubes are broken up.
Pour into a chilled glass.

Note that any sort of frozen fruit juice can be used: mango, orange, pineapple, peach, watermelon.

Espresso granita

100g firmly packed dark brown sugar
1L brewed espresso, hot
50ml Patron XO Cafe Tequila liqueur (optional)

In a bowl, combine brown sugar and espresso and stir until sugar is dissolved. Let cool completely. If desired, add coffee liqueur.

Pour mixture into a shallow freezer-safe container. Freeze for about 30 minutes, then, using a fork, scrape and stir to break up ice crystals. Return granita to freezer until firm, 8 to 12 hours, occasionally scraping and stirring with a fork.

To serve, spoon granita into small chilled glasses or bowls and serve at once.

Red wine and orange granita

100g sugar
1 bottle fruity red wine, such as Pinot Noir
Juice from 1 orange

In a saucepan, stir together sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until sugar has completely dissolved. Once mixture has come to a boil, remove from heat and let cool. When mixture has cooled completely, stir in wine and orange juice.

Pour mixture into a shallow freezer-safe container. Freeze for about 1 hour, then, using a fork, scrape and stir to break up ice crystals. Return granita to freezer until firm, 8 to 12 hours, occasionally scraping and stirring with a fork.

To serve, spoon granita into small chilled glasses or bowls and serve at once.

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[recipe] Slow-Roasted onion dip

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700g mixed onions (such as sweet, yellow, and/or red)
60ml extra-virgin olive oil
375g plain Greek yogurt
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cayenne pepper (for serving)

– Preheat oven to 400F/200C. Peel and trim ends off mixed onions. Cut in half lengthwise, then thinly slice.

– Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss onion with oil and 2 tbsp. water until evenly coated. Season with salt and toss again until well
coated.

– Bake, tossing and stirring onions every 10 minutes, until all onions are golden brown and
softened, 40–50 minutes total (some onions will brown more than others but that’s okay!).
Let cool.

– Transfer onions to a cutting board. Finely chop caramelized onions and transfer to bowl.

– Add yogurt and lemon juice; season with salt and lot of pepper. Stir to combine.

– Sprinkle dip with cayenne pepper.

Serve with carrot sticks, radishes and chips alongside.

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[recipe] Slow-cooker jambalaya

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Ingredients
350g andouille sausage (or any spicy, smoked pork-based sausage)
225g uncooked shrimp (peeled and de-veined)
1 large boneless skinless chicken breast, pounded to even thickness
3 bell peppers (one each of green, red, and yellow or orange), diced
1 white or yellow onion, diced
2-3 jalapeños, seeds and stems removed
1.5 cups uncooked white rice
2 cups / 500ml chicken broth
800g crushed tomatoes (2 regular sized tins)
3 tbsp cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper, or to taste
coriander, for topping

Slice sausage into medallions. Remove tails from shrimp if they are still on. Chop chicken into 1-inch pieces.

Add sausage, chicken, bell peppers, onion, jalapeños, chicken broth, tomatoes, cajun seasoning, and salt and pepper to greased slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 3-4 hours on low. Stir in rice and cook another 1-2 hours until rice is fully cooked and tender

About 20 minutes before serving, uncover slow cooker, stir in shrimp, re-cover and cook for another 15-20 minutes. Stir contents of slow cooker, sprinkle with chopped coriander, and serve hot.

Cajun seasoning:
2 tbsp Italian herbs
2 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp dried thyme

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