BonVivant

Thanks, Gfweb. I can never get enough of pan con tomate and jamón.

I like your savoury version. Looks like Dampfnudeln in Swabia but that one is steamed in milk and butter. Buchteln is as Austrian as Strudel but it is actually Czech. If only I had a sweet tooth...

Now back home from holidays in Sheffield (UK), Albania and northern Greece. Monkfish was seared then finished in oven, on top of celery and young carrots. Added the Speck in the last couple of minutes. Samphire before the photos were made.

Oregano because I'm in Greece at the moment. The beers are also Greek, btw. Bought half kilo of oregano at the market today to take home with me for all things Greek. Here they really do sprinkle it on almost anything (savoury)!

My first souvlaki in Meteora, Greece.

I did recently cross into northern Greece from Albania. Beautiful and is a lot more developed here. Having just spent 18 days in Albania almost everything hits me in the wallet here in Greece. However, it is still cheaper than some other European countries. A couple of lunches I had in Meteora. The most memorable thing about Meteora is its monasteries atop sheer cliff walls. All the tourists flock here for that. --------------------------------------------------- IowaDee: many thanks! I still have photos from about 4 previous trips to sort out when I have time and inclination. For now you might want to have a look at my food (and more) photos taken in Porto, Portugal. (04:21m, has sound)

A "speciality" of Gjirokaster, Albania. Fried rice "balls". Spinach pie Qifqi frying pan (with spinach pie in background) Seen from the castle's terrace (Posting from northern Greece now)

(Not Lay's, just Albanian crisps. Is there a thread or non Lay's? Please move it if there is such a thread.) The wine is from right here in Berat.

Picnic in the park (in Berat) today. The little wedge is sheep's cheese (quite strong). Yesterday in Tirana. Byrek is Albanian version of Turkish Börek, which is popular snacks in cuisines of former Ottoman empire. (Also in the photo is 9 bags of seeds I got at the market in Tirana) Posting from Berat, Albania.

Had a semi "fancy" shish qebap* today at the "outdoor beer garden fest" in the capital of Albania. I ordered pork and chicken skewers for my qebap. Yoghurt sauce with pickled green tomatoes and roasted/pickled pointed sweet peppers for the bread. You can pick whatever sauce you like for your (shish) qebap. Typical not fancy qebap from a street rig looks like this (see pics below) and it doesn't come with any sauce or pickles/vegs. Nothing. I did ask why (when there was someone round who could translate for me) and the answer was because in the old days Albanians couldn't afford any sauce or any extras in their qebap. Well, now they certainly can but still keep it simple if buying from a street rig. The capital has a 10 days of beer drinking outdoor at the moment. At night the entire street (temporarily closed to traffic) is full of people enjoying (draft) beer and snacks. Too bad there's only 1 beer, which is Birra Tirana. Snack menu

I ate a sheep's head, yes I did. First pic is spit-roasted together with chickens. Second pic is pot-roasted over wood fire. Seen here from enough of a distance so you don't have to see the bits (which I removed right after the photo was taken). Food like this is very normal in Albania (where I am visiting at the moment). Btw, I was supposed to eat it with my bare hands but I had no problems using a knife and fork to extract the bits.

I don't see this flavour at home so it's new to me. Taste is a bit too subtle, however. Posting from Shkodër (northern Albania). Baggage tag is airport code for the city where the beer comes from (I just left it this morning). Old bridge from Ottoman time on the postcard.

I took my sweet time today. If I had a cat it would have gone insane! Am a slow eater but when it's crab for dinner you'd have gone to bed before I was done eating. The crabs got a rather nice deeper red colour from Sichuan chili with black bean sauce.

This is a typical breakfast or lunch in northern Germany where many things from the sea feature heavily in its gastromomy. Smoked things from the sea receive equal love. I like northern German smoked seafood even more than the fresh stuff (and the fresh stuff is already good). Such exquisite smoked fish and roe are the best I've ever had anywhere (besides Japan). Pumpernickel slices are mandatory, for they go so well with smoked fish. It was a big lunch! Sourdough bread under the scrambled eggs is made by yours truly.

Thanks! The hook is designed in such a way that the more the creature struggles the deeper the hook digs into the jaw. I pulled out the whole jaw because the hook didn't release. I have this town in mind for a future visit just to eat their famous foods, smoked eel and ham. Bad Zwischanahn, in northern Germany.

I have intermitten tropical temperatures and today it's again unbearably hot and sticky, after a week of autumnal weather. A no-cook dinner is the right choice on this hot day, with the AC on full blast. A beautiful eel from one of my regular fishmongers, by a small-scale smokery in his village. Sometimes it comes with a string What I have in the house for (my version of) Smørrebrød. All the vegs in the photos are also in the salad. The beetroot is super sweet and the radish is bitingly sharp. I removed the hook from the eels's jaw There's some crème fraîche in this mixture of grey shrimp and roe It's still warm tomorrow but after that it'll revert to being autumnal again so who knows what I'm making for dindin in the coming days.

Huiray: yes, I did. Ideas for next times will be steaming ( 'Chinese style', but it will be a whole small fish or "steak" cut with skin and bones intact). Teriyaki, or with a miso crust (oily fish)

Steamed cod loin, eaten alongside some boiled potatoes and a plain salad (chervil, "lamb's lettuce", samphire, radishes, tomatoes). Roe and samphire provided all the salt. I always have some kind of green herb in olive oil so I did drizzle some on the fish before digging in. Same food, different plates for contrast.

HeidiH, use a sharp knife to score the squid flesh either with the tip or blade. Just don't press too hard or you'll cut right through it.

Half of the mince got inside the quid. I found out when I sliced the squid open. Eaten alongside round rice noodles and aubergines (the latter was last minute). Unfortunately, the overhead shot was a bit too dark I had to brighten considerably.

Huiray, I make my fish in several ways including steaming with ginger and chives (don't like green onions or scallions), white wine/dry sherry and soy sauce (finishing with sesame oil). And yes these enormous flakes are lovely to see and eat. I shall look into making such a photo in the future. ---------------- Dejah, I can roll tightly but they always end up ugly. They turn out either too small or too big.

Photos didn't turn out well mostly because the camera was struggling to focus on the opague rice paper. There were snow crab meat, samphire and different green leaves in the rolls. I'm rubbish at rolling, as you can see below.

^ I used this variety which is very fleshy and heavy. The little ones are super sweet. The giant fleshy ones are also delicious. Have tried to find the name of this variety and got "beef tomatoes" but it really is not. Green saucy thing is simply marjoram and olive oil. Marjoram is so fine and sweet and goes perfectly with tomatoes. (Note that it's best to eat tomatoes with some kind of fat.) Enjoy your tomatoes, Anna N!

Tomatoes again. And why not? They are at their best in august.

"Normal food" today (as in normal in northern Europe). There were also boiled potatoes and a plain salad. Pink "peppercorns" because I like their sweetness and gorgeous colour. Very quickly seared. The loins were mostly raw, it's almost sashimi. Almost. I don't mess with quality ingredients!