maple time

After a long time without any Mast flavours, a new delivery arrived this past Thursday. And since we are close to the middle of the winter, what's better than a mapleing splash?

wintering

Right in the middle of a rainy week around the Finisterrae neck of the coastal woods, we are starting our own winter celebration. Almost three weeks of activities will hopefully recharge the batteries to survive the rest of another Offtarian cold white season.

panem habemus

Bread is such an essential part of any seriously good meal. It's hard to believe how it has basically been eradicated from many contemporary diets, and replaced by a square and tasteless piece of white something that could easily be artificial cork.

It often seems to be a not obvious task finding a decent bakery, where flavour and quality ingredients are the norm. Bourke Street Bakery in Syd City or Blackbird Baking in Tor City are good examples of successful baking. 

roe

Just like caviar, eating fish roe can be a magnificent pleasure, a real luxury at a much more accessible price. Simply boiled, with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil on top, and perhaps a potato or onion by the side, a remarkable experience of maritime purity can get ignited in a shockingly easy and intense way.

tangerine one

After a few years waiting, it was this week that our first tangerine grown in the property was ready to join the menu with great satisfaction. Three more are almost ready, so the test will continue in the coming days.

frosty am(s)

I guess it's that time of the year when the winter wants to make some sort of statement. Flying away from freezing Offtarian lands a couple of weeks ago didn't prevent waking up with temperatures below zero.

This is obviously far more manageable than winter survival in Canadia, but it still makes the first few hours of the day a bit challenging. Our lemon trees are the ones suffering the worst consequences of it.

mira

In the Spanish Kingdom at this time of the year it's not unusual to eat a lot of sweet creations. Turrones y polvorones may be the most common ones, together with mazapanes, glorias o yemas. 

There is a shop in Madrid -not far from the Congress where the corrupt Spanish politicians enjoy their lives of privilege and excess-, where they make very nice ones, which happen to be rather expensive.

Last week, in my way back from Munich, I had to stop in Madrid for a few hours, so I decided to enjoy that sunny Tuesday and visit Carrera de San Jerónimo. I got turrón de yema tostada, turrón blando de Jijona, turrón de avellana and some polvorones. All of them leave a sensation of dryness that requires a good drink, and nothing better than a glass of cava for that particular purpose.