Trout Lake Market Bounty

Embarrassing for a picnic planner to admit really, but I had never been to Vancouver's Trout Lake Farmer's market. I usually do Yoga on Saturday mornings so had never found myself in the right place at the right time.  So this weekend, with some picnics in mind, I decided to break with tradition and take a wander through. My mum, her friend Mrs. B and my friend the 'Funburger' were in tow.  Needless to say nature's bounty was much on display and we ended up with some lovely things for my BC Day picnic.

Eggplant....gorgeous cute, round ones. And purple peppers, sweet and yummy.

Yellow plums...they have a name...but it escapes me. Someone? Anyone? Feel free to chime in anytime.

Purple Potatoes. Very Barney. The vendor recommended mashing with some green onion but also said a potato salad would work well. And being that potato salad is so much more 'picnic' you know which route I went.

Overall I found the experience to be a lovely one and one I will repeat on Saturday mornings...just means getting up earlier...not really my forte but I digress.

There really is something special about getting as close to the source as you can and then spending the time to make it even more special. More on that later.

Impromptu Picnic

So I've been jonesing for a picnic.  And contrary to my usual form...I did not plan. But I didn't let that stop me.  So a quick round-up at my local shop and a stop at our neighbourhood asian fusion restaurant and my picnic was born.

The location - Vancouver's sunny Spanish Banks.  And inspired by my recent trip to Spain, that wasn't the only Spanish thing on this picnic.  Although I readily admit to purchasing almost everything for this impromptu picnic. I did manage to through together some yummy pintxo Gilda - anchovies, olive and spicy pipparra peppers.  The ultimate in portability...perfect for a picnic.

I also insisted in bringing along my new Bodega glasses, typical Spanish glasses found in tapas bars which I found double nicely as picnic glasses because of their wide bottom and low centre of gravity.  Picnic need not necessarily mean plastic.  If you are an adult and can confidently say you are not clumsy, then you can still have nice tableware.

A few starters - Greek Salad, Olive & Rosemary Bread from Vancouver's Terra Breads and store-bought houmous.

The main course, a yummy Asian salad from The Red Door.

Madrid – Pan de Lujo

Here are some pictures from our Lunch at Pan de Lujo in Salamanca district. Very cool, oasis like setting. We had a group of 5 and shared a few dishes.  All yummy. An escapist atmosphere out of the hustle and bustle.

Madrid – Casa Lucas

The main roads in Spain are all measured from the Puerta del Sol in Madrid so we have literally arrived at the epicentre. 440kms from Galicia and we are here!

For our first afternoon, we visited Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor area. It was extremely hot and humid and at one point rained, which was a blessing because it cut the relieved the air of its humidty.

For our evening meal we went to Casa Lucas in Cueva Baja, once again, the recommendation came from my friend Bob.  Another great one Bob - thanks alot!

The raciones are creative and delicious but with simple, yummy flavours.

More pintxos

Here's a few shots from our last night in San Sebastian. I am really going to miss this place.

Welcome to the land of Pintxos

We have landed in San Sebastian - a food lover's paradise and one of the most beautiful places on earth with its gorgeous beaches on the Bay of Biscay. San Seb. is home of the pintxo - a basque word  for a small literally two bite meal.

And there are tons of them!

Every bar we go into has them lined up and piled high on the counter.  Jamon Iberico mini-sandwiches, foie gras on toast, scallops in béchamel sauce served in a scallop shell, goats cheese and eggplant tower, crab mayonnaise, leeks and sundried tomato on toast.

We move from place to place like roving marauders, tasting just a bite here and a bite there washed down with little half glasses of wine or Xacoli, a basque specialty, a light white wine with gas poured from a height.

Just when I think I have found my favourite taste, my favourite place, we go somewhere else and it is supplanted. If this isn't living in the moment, then I do not know what is.

I am in heaven!

Come on over to my friend Frank’s…

On the Road Again It's Tuesday.  We left Barcelona yesterday and now find ourselves in Marqués de Riscal, near the small town of El Ciego. For those of you who have not heard, Frank Gehry designed a small hotel here. Even if you aren't an architecture fan, you may have seen it if you followed On the Road Again, on PBS. So this is somewhat of a 'station of the cross' on our way to the Guggeheim in Bilbao. For me it's a definite Pilgrimage having been a Frank Gehry fan for some time.

The initial part of the drive out of Barcelona on AP2 - is fairly boring. You hit the A68 and then head for Zaragoza, Logrono.  Lunch time happened in a roadside cafe service station. Delicious. We kept it simple, bocadillos of chorizo and spanish potato omelette, tortilla. Mmh, mmh good! In Spain, even fast food, is good food.

The countryside changes as you come into Navarra and La Rioja and becomes very lush and green, rolling wine country. El Ciego is just inside the border of Pais Vasco aka Euskadi to the Basques.

Marques de Riscal

There is no point in me describing the marvel that awaits you when you arrive at Marques de Riscal.

Actually - I do want to talk more about this...but I need to get organized with pictures etc to do it justice so expect a follow up but suffice it to say...I LOVE!

Wine Tour There was  tour of the winery starting right away so we jumped on board. The hotel was described as having been designed by the 'Canadian Architect Frank Gehry' which of course he is, but it isn't always mentioned so we puffed up our chests a little bit with pride! We toured both the modern winery and the two older ones which are used only for storage and some aging. The older wineries were really impressive, beautiful buildings. It was really what you expect an old world winery to be. They only make Reds in El Ciego - no Crianza - just Reserva and Gran Reserva. This is of course, Rioja appellation. Marques de Riscal do have another winery in Rueda where they make a Verdejo and some other lighter whites.  Of course we tasted both.

Tapear Having had our palates whet with a lovely Rioja 2005 Reserva (a very good year apparently), we headed up to the terrace to gaze out on the view and try to assimilate the information hitting us via every sense and of course sample some more wine. We settled on a beautiful rose which was just perfect in the heat of the day.   The view from the terraza is stunning, overlooking the town of El Ciego, with its sandstone Church set on a backdrop of the Pyrenees. This is a situation where you literally do not know where to look. Architectural marvel on one side, picturesque village and vines on the other.  Getting a bit peckish I think…so more tapas….these were 'posh' ones…Sardine terrine  & fried idiazabal cheese stuffed with quince paste. The sardine was tasty although not my favourite…as for the cheese. Divine. Words cannot explain. Sorry.

Regroup Having barely spent anytime in the room, we headed up to refresh and just enjoy the space.  It feels less like a hotel room and more like you are staying in your very cool friend Frank's house. He just happens to have left you a bottle of wine and some complimentary water. We are staying in the Gehry wing and our room looks out over the vines and the winery as opposed to the town of El Ciego. (view mentioned earlier). Super G says it's the kind of place you could write a novel in.

The Futbol Spain and Portugal fought it out with Spain emerging victorious after a goal in the second half. We watched this from the comfort of the hotel bar which again, is much more like your cool friend Frank's living room than a hotel bar.  There were only a handful of fans, but everyone was fully committed which is what matters most. So Spain hang on and we can continue our journey as well.

Dinner By this time it is 10:30 so we go light and opt for the traditional restaurant (as opposed to the Nueva Cocina version). For the first course we share a gorgeous salad with tuna and red peppers - always a delicious combination - and the house croquettes, creamy béchamel chicken and ham. These may be the best I've ever tasted.  For second course, we all have fish - merluza - aka hake except for Super G who opts for patitas de cordero. Lamb's feet which were explained to us as lamb shank with some feet as well. Here's the thing. No shank. Just feet, mostly knuckle grisly bits. But the sauce was delicious.  Bad ordering not bad food.  Dessert - I have Flan, described on the English language menu as 'egg yolk pudding' which I suppose technically, it is.  As a Spanish speaker, I insist on getting the Spanish language menu whenever I am in Spain, because I find the English translations often either confuse me or do nothing to whet my appetite.  Case in point - 'Clean pig's foot', 'lukewarm shrimp'….they just don't fly in English. The highlight of the dinner was definitely the wine - 150 Anniversary Edition of Marques De Riscal Rioja. Super velvety and yummy. The crowning glory on a magnificent day.

Please lower your tray tables

So day one of the holiday and I'm now under serious pressure to produce a post given that I have told scores of people of my intention to write a fabulous, hilarious and utterly compelling food blog. I figured if I told enough people about this blog…then I would have to do it.  I have used this strategy successfully before so I was confident of its successful outcome. It reminds me of my childhood experience at swimming lessons.  Jumping off the diving board becomes necessary to avoid embarrassment once you've walked to the top of that big ole ladder.  So here I am. Just blogging away like nobody's business.

We left Vancouver for Barcelona, via Toronto.  A wonderful highlight of the journey occurred in Toronto Airport where at the end of a particularly long concourse, there appeared as if by magic, a lovely man from Johnny Walker who offered us a shot of whisky wearing some sort of logo wear that said 'Keep Walking'.  This made me feel like the holiday had finally begun and gave me the necessary fortitude to make it to the international terminal, where we soon boarded our flight to Barcelona.

I confess that I secretly enjoy Airplane food…not necessarily for it's deliciousness, but more for the miracle of engineering that allows it to exist. I am one of those people that wonders what people mean when they say they detest it.  I mean really, you are suspended 35,000 ft above the earth in a steel tube - this is no time to start complaining about the food.  Rejoice in this miracle. Besides, as a picnic planner, I admire the organization…the compartmentalized nature of the offering.  Mini plates set out as 4 course dinner with dolly sized cutlery. What I always look forward to is the cheese and cracker. A nod to the cheese course. It's an acknowledgment that cheese is necessary for any complete meal, something I can get on board with quite easily.  So imagine my disappointment when the tray arrived 'sans' the usual 'fromage'. I'm sure someone in accounting figured that the removal of this item from the tray would save many millions from flight operating costs….just another chip away at the full service airlines used to provide.

I've just started Michael Pollan's, The Omnivore's Dilemma which upon reading, if you are not already questioning where your food comes from, you soon will. Tonight on Air Canada, the Omnivore's Dilemma is Chicken or Beef. Normally when I fly, I make my choice based on the carbohydrates…potatoes usually winning out over rice or pasta. But somehow Super G convinces me to have the chicken with rice…which turns out to be pasta.  For a few minutes we amuse ourselves by doing tasting descriptions as if we were judges on Iron Chef.  "The mustard sauce gives this dish a rich unctuousness one would not expect'"  "Interesting and imaginative use of zig zag carrot shapes" This kills about 5 minutes of our 8 hour flight but it makes us happy.  The only thing to do now is to eat the brownie. Why not, I'm on my holidays!