The Tuesday Tapa

Don't get me wrong, the title above might be making it sound like my cooking exploits on the odd Tuesday are a weekly feature of mine. They are not. Only High Days and Holidays, as they say, or an occasion that can be marked by a tiny morsel or two. Just like today. I am going to celebrate Dia de San Valentin today (yes, today) with that Pasta recipe that Helen gave me. I shopped yesterday so all that remains is to organise the cooking and I think that I'm going to do it restaurant style which will just require a reheating operation at time of service. All good fun.

If at First.....

A rather good few days has not been topped with €133m going into the bank, I failed to even get one number right in the EuroMillones Draw. Oh well, another day, another euro. It has been a busy last few days in the bar though and I can now (thanks to Else-Britt) show something of my pancake production line last Tuesday. This coming Tuesday I'm going to do a little something for Valentines Day. It's awkward to do it actually on Thursday because there is not a lot of room behind the bar and I would get under Beryl's feet while trying to cook and serve etc. But I can do things on Tuesdays because I'm there all night long on my own. So, last night a few of us huddled together and brainstormed a name for the dish I'm planning to cook and we came up with Pasta D'amore which will be my take on the recipe that Helen gave me the other day (Shell's Shrimp Pasta). Helen has also offered to help with the shopping costs and I'm very grateful for that.

Yesterday's Lunch Party on Else-Britt & Ole-Erik's roof terrace was thoroughly enjoyed by all. And, again, thanks to Else-Britt's superb digital camera I can publish a photo or two. Her menu was Lakserulade followed by a Beefy stew and finishing with a Lemon Cheesecake. "Don't let Ole-Erik get you on the Aquavit!!" said Beryl when she heard about the invitation, "you have to work after your meal." Well, that was like a red rag to a bull so I had a sly snifter or two (maybe three) and it is quite nice I have to say, never having tried it before. At work I was in a perfect state because the food had soaked up the modicom of alcohol taken with it, but I did feel tired. Two photos of the assemblage, 1 including me for a change and also a shot of the Lemon Cheesecake Else-Britt made for dessert.












Yesterday I received an email from Katia to tell me that Lary is out of Hospital and back home, and giving me a phone number. Earlier, before starting this blog, I sent an SMS but I don't know whether the phone is a Mobile or Landline although it seems from looking up the area code that it is probably a mobile.

Here's Hoping

I'm just off next door to join Ole-Erik and Else-Britt for lunch on their rooftop, well I think that that is where they are serving today. Anyway, while I wait for the appointed hour I thought that I would just let you know that today I have played the Lottery, the EuroMilliones to be exact, because it cannot roll-over and the jackpot stands at €133,000,000 (95,000,000UKP) and must be won. Worth a shot. I'm playing 3 lines.

San Valentino

First I have to tell that I accompanied David this evening for a meal out at a local Chinese. Ann was readmitted to hospital a couple of days ago with a blocked intestine. I don't know the full details but she was in IC until yesterday and is now on a ward while the Doctors assess her situation and decide what to do. Essentially a non-critical condition but, of course, the enlarged heart gives continuous cause for concern when surgery has to be considered.

Pancake Day was an un-mitigated success. I took along 2 batches of batter and brought back hardly enough to make a couple for myself back here in the apartment. I'm so proud. I'm so pleased. And today, tonight, I 've allowed myself to be talked into doing something for Valentines Day next week. Well, that's easy, "Prawns in love" seems a good choice. A dish invented by a local Indian Restaurant that I will personalize and use next Tuesday when I can use the whole evening/night to serve my variant without getting under Beryl's feet after 9pm. Tomorrow (really today as I write) I have been invited to Elsa-Britt's for a late lunch along with a few others, and I am humbled that their schedule is revolved around my need to go to work at 5pm. Right now though, I ought to start refining my ideas for a St.Valentine's Tapa but bed beckons, tomorrow will do, there is plenty of time.

Claire from Bentonville, Arkansas in the USA arrived today and chose to meet with friends in the bar straight away rather than nap, get over the journey and unpack etc, etc. Besides bringing some Ground Pepper for me ( by special request) she has also brought, she tells me, some "Jack Daniels Barbecue Sauce" and some "Jack Daniels Spice mixture" which all sounds very, very interesting and heralds more mucking about in the kitchen because, as Claire says, "that's where you always seem to be". It seems that she reads this blog!!

Choices

OK, the shoppings done, which was where I was when you rang earlier, and I'm all ready to make a couple of batches of Pancake Batter to take with me along with all the other gubbins I'm going to need. I've even bought another (cheap) fryingpan so that I can go into mass production - 2 at a time!! And there is going to be a fantastic choice :

1....Plain
2....Plain with Sugar.
3....Plain with Lemon.
4....Plain with Lemon and Sugar.

Served very simply, no silver service here, and all for the asking!

Pancake Day

Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday and I seem to have let myself in for doing pancakes in the bar. OK, no problem as they say but it means that I have to go back later tonight to see Favio (when he calls in while waiting for Ana-Mary) to check with him that a little bit of cooking is allowed. What I intend to do is make a load of batter here in the apartment then transport it along to the bar along with a frypan, some butter and an electric hotplate and cook to order (should I get any that is). Traditional Pancake Day fare....a pancake rolled with Lemon Juice and Sugar. Should be fun, it's a long time since I tossed a pancake in public.

BTW I baked this week's loaf yesterday. Due to circumstances beyond my control, having started at midday with blending the flour, salt, yeast and liquid, it didn't go into the oven until after work at 2200hrs or thereabouts, with the interim time being used for 1st and 2nd provings. It came out perfectly, just like a shop-bought one. I haven't got an airing cupboard so I can't provide a warm spot for the dough to rise in but yesterday I accidently learned that hours of proving time, rather than minutes, are best here in my apartment.

0030 I'm back from seeing Favio only I didn't get to ask him personally about whether it was OK for me to cook in the bar; I ended up walking a customer home who was otherwise slightly unstable on his feet and when I got back the question had already been asked by Ana-Mary and Beryl and I was told "yes". So, pancakes tomorrow it is, and I've had to promise to save one for Ana-Mary. Anyone know how to make the damn things cos I don't?!! :-)

Head in Hands?

Windows Vista is not an easy OS to get to grips with (especially when everything is in Spanish) but I think that I have succeeded. Due to my XP machine's soaking the other day I've had to migrate all Internet and Blogging ops to my Vista machine. To completely do that has taken a few days involving downloading new drivers and software to cope with the Vista environment and then getting everything to work. Not easy. But it is done now, more or less, I think, so camera turn-offs, despairing attitudes on-camera etc should all be a thing of the past now, I hope. I should also note here that my email notification of posted comments to the blog is back-up-and-running as well and I've just read a 3 day backlog! To those who missed out on waves, this is a verbal one. :-)