Duvel

Sad but true. Unfortunately, most nutritionist are still trapped in a "cause and effect" type of thinking and are quick to attribute one property of a food item to a certain behavior on the entire organism rather that assuming it being part of interdependent regulation cycles, which are far more difficult to comprehend (cf. the sad story of 50 years of gout treatment). When you see recent medical literature a lot of the previous accepted truths are being questioned, reevaluated and these paradigm shifts - as witnessed by this article - find their way into the public eye. It's a good development.

Went out for a late (16.00h) lunch at Tres Turrons, Arenys de Munt. Its a local gem, packed with people all day. We had: Artichokes, both grilled and deep fried. I prefer the latter. Calçots (some sort of spring onion): It gets grilled over an open fire until thoroughly charred, then you peel off the blackened outer later and enjoy the soft and sweet inner part with Romesco sauce. That made my day! Xai (lamb): Fatty and chargrilled - 'nuff said. Mongetas (beans): A local speciality, tender and flavorful. Cornil amb samfaina (Rabbit braised in a red pepper/eggplant/tomato sauce): I do not care much for the rabbit - that's my wife's choice - but the sauce is to die for. I finished most of it with bread. Last dish was Cargols (snails): Braised in soffregit and finished in the oven. Those were big guys, plump and juicy. The sauce was slighly sweet and laced with garlic. Nice! The ladies and the little one had desserts: Coca de Llavaneres (puff pastry filled with crema, topped with pine nuts and baked) and ice cream-filled neulas with chocolate sauce. I had a cigalo (Coffee with Brandy) instead: The best way to judge its potency is by the temperature - mine came cold, so the coffee content was homoeopathic ... Very satisfying meal !

Catalan family breakfast: Embotits (cured meat & cold cuts): clockwise Bull negra (blood sausage), Xoriço, Pernil dolç (sweet ham), Pernil salat (Iberico ham), Salsichon. In the middle Fuet (cured mini salami) and Ahle Worscht (a clay room-cured raw sausage from my hometown in Germany). My two year-old demolished the carefully arranged plate in seconds - he loves his Fuet. Fromatge (Cheese): two goat cheeses from the Pyrenees. Dolçes (sweet stuff): Ensaimada (snail-type dough/park fat concoction dusted with caster sugar), Canya (puff pastry filled with custard cream and sprinkled with pine nuts) and a Croissant. Coca: sweet yeast dough rubbed with oil and sugar. All eaten on Pa amb Tomaquet (bread rubbed with ripe tomato, olive oil and sea salt). Freshly squeezed orange juice. Good start !

Staying with my Catalan in-laws in a small town north of Barcelona (like every New Years). Today Catalan home cooking by my MIL: Arroz de Girona. Made with soffregit and mussel broth, featuring gambas, mussels, squid, sausage and pork ribs. Simple and satisfying ...

Do they appear usually after the first cocktail ?

I usually rub the entire rabbit with salt and oil and put it in a casserole in a very hot oven (circulation). Once browned - about 10-15 min - I throw in a slightly diluted sauce (coconut milk-based curry, anything soffregit-based, whole grain mustard/white wine/onion, ...), close the casserole and put down the oven on very low. After 1 -1.5h tender perfection with nicely intense sauce.

Had the cucumber one the other day. Didn't really taste like dukes but was strangely enough tasty. Ok, the beer helped here ...

Like your new Avatar !

The poor guy didn't have wings ? ;-)

Cabbage lasagna with Savoy cabbage, minced lamb and middle-eastern type spices Abura-age tofu sheets as pizza bases Deep-fried tofu cubes with ragu bolognese Any type of fish fillets baked in a puréed spinach/ricotta mixture Bulgogi-style dinner with any meat / veggies (And once you enter the not so strict phase: check "retrograded starches" and go for sushi and potato salad in 1001 varieties ;-)

It depends a little bit what you aim for. For most occasions I'd go with a stout or a darker ale as well, giving me a more British islands-type of stew which I love. The classic carbonnade flandres however does have pronounced sweet-sour overtones and benefits from a fruity-sour beer. Another option would be the "Alexander" from Rodenbach. I lived in Waterloo (near Brussels) for a while and one restaurant made an excellent variety of the carbonnade flandres with "Alexander" ...

Very much so. Normally you would stir in some sort of red currant jam to accentuate the sweet/fruity notes, so putting Kriek in it serves as well the sweet flavor so as it does add a really nice acidity.

"Plenty" by Yotam Ottolenghi is my favorite vegetarian cookbook. Makes you think that meat might be optional (at least for some parts of the week). "Chinese Vegetarian Cooking" by Kenneth Lo is interesting as well, at least for the discussions on certain ingredients and some of the more unusual Chinese combinations of them ...

I am currently on a business trip to Bangkok, Thailand. This is what the supermarket next to the hotel was able to supply. I fully intend to sample them all once I get back home (need an independent, non alcohol-biased second opinion) ... (O.K. I tried already the "mystery flavor" - at least to me, as my Thai really s.. Is not that good. It was a weird mixture of lime, sugar and somewhat "damp" flavor. Needed several Singha and some Holy basil chicken to get rid of the aftertaste)

Nina, How do you do the peach sauce ?

You can try this one - it's pretty standard. The "Backin" referred to is simple baking powder (not soda). https://translate.google.de/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.oetker.de/rezepte/r/linzer-torte-oe-26-cm.html&prev=search

Over here all Turkish supermarkets carry this cut. It is delicious ...

Thanks Liuzhou. I have to admit it sound significantly less sexy now ;-) Looking forward to your technique dossier !

#2 Red-cooked cauliflower sounds like a great idea to me. Can you outline if this is just boiled in lu shui or is there any other method (given that this appears in a boon on stir-fries) ? Thanks !

After a BBQ in the prevailing heatwave in southern Germany something refreshing from a colder climate: Galway Hooker IPA (that's Irish Pale Ale). Weak in alcohol (4.3%) but surprisingly fruity and strongly hopped. A good beer for a hot Sunday evening ... Edited: too lazy to fix image orientation.

Back to your question: as vodka does not contribute much flavorwise I'd like to combine it with more complex fortified wines. Lillet blanc is a good addition if you like the bitterness of chinchona. Noilly Prat, Dolin are usually also easy to come by and if you are lucky and find a bottle of Yzaguirre - that makes a great vodka Martini.

Taroko spaghetti recipes work excellent with bottarga, if that's easier to source for you ...

What is "Bavarian style" sauerkraut ? I know of Bavarian style cabbage, but that is specifically the non-acidic alternative to the fermented sauerkraut ...

Hmm ... Maybe ロトツ 酒 ？