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What's everyone eating this week?

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Re: What's everyone eating this week?

Postby Lusciouslush » Wed Aug 15, 2018 6:53 pm

Renee - if you find your red onion too strong in a salsa chop it & soak in lemon juice - takes the fire out plus good to use in sandwiches etc. - the lemon can also be used for dressing/ marinade so no waste.

Basically a salsa is a no-brainer - whatever you want to put in usually goes - i.e. pineapple / mango/chilli/onions/ lemon/lime juice/pinch of sugar/bit of desiccated coconut/ mint/ coriander & on & on..…..all a question of taste & what you're putting it with.

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Re: What's everyone eating this week?

Postby Renee » Wed Aug 15, 2018 7:30 pm

Thank you Member 461 and I hope that you do too! :wave :wave :wave

Thanks for that tip, lush and I think that I could use nectarines instead of mangoes.

I like your version Pampy and will try that next time. I haven't really experimented much with salsas.

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Re: What's everyone eating this week?

Postby Pampy » Wed Aug 15, 2018 7:32 pm

I've heard that soaking sliced onions in cold water for about 10 minutes tones them down a bit. Apparently, the water absorbs the sulphur compounds responsible for the pungency.

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Re: What's everyone eating this week?

Postby jeral » Wed Aug 15, 2018 7:50 pm

Pampy, I was thinking of the sort with mango, red onion, red bell pepper, green chilli, garlic (crushed), lime juice, S&P, and the dreaded coriander leaf which I'll sub with a touch of dried mint instead. Why I have it in my head that that is standard, I don't know since as you and Lusciouslush say (and I've done before) can use anything one fancies.

When I made prawn toasts actually following a recipe for once, the ginger overpowering them annoyed me slightly as in "let the star shine through" so thanks Renée, I'll take care with the red onion proportion.

Renée, so sorry to hear about your hake and the nuisance of having to return it. The third time? Three strikes and that shop is out?

I think hake is day-only fish like mackerel, i.e. doesn't keep once de-chilled for sale, so when I buy it goes in the pan immediately. Our fishmonger has some recently which he displays as a whole fish for cutting portions off. He will cut out the cartilage (bone equiv) if wished without destroying the fragile fish flesh , or just buy 1" steaks and cook bone-in. There aren't 'orrible bones, as you can see from this simple hake and asparagus recipe video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxW7fmU0rBI
(11 mins but worth it)

PS, I forgot to mention that if you can get steaks cut from the centre of the fish they are best.

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Re: What's everyone eating this week?

Postby Alexandria » Wed Aug 15, 2018 10:45 pm

Today, my tourist group and I were in Sant Feliu de Guixols, Girona on the Costa Brava ..

Our extraordinary lunch was at the Alabriga Sea Club located in the Albaiga Hotel overlooking the sea ..

The ambiance was unparalleled and the renowned author & Chef Paco ( Francisco ) Pérez truly out did himself ..

This is definitely a special occasion restaurant ..


http://www.hotelalabriga.com
Last edited by Alexandria on Wed Aug 15, 2018 10:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What's everyone eating this week?

Postby Renee » Wed Aug 15, 2018 10:47 pm

Jeral I can get beautifully fresh fish from the fish stall on Chorley market which is collected from Fleetwood docks early morning. It's a bus ride away, so in future I am only going to buy fish from there.

Thank you for the link. I remember that my mum used to buy hake steaks with the bone in the middle. It's a lovely fish.

Pampy, thank you for the tip about soaking the red onions in water first. I certainly won't make the same mistake again.

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Re: What's everyone eating this week?

Postby strictlysalsaclare » Thu Aug 16, 2018 7:37 am

jeral wrote:karadekoolaid, do you still make frequent use of your dehydrator?

strictlysalsaclare, many thanks for the crispbread pancakes recipe. I can get cornmeal plus they do indeed look very easy :)


Hi jeral

I forgot to mention the other day that the cornmeal pancake dough makes a surprisingly good alternative to pastry in son instances. e.g. pasties (providing you eat them straight away), also canape tartlet cases.

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Re: What's everyone eating this week?

Postby Gillthepainter » Thu Aug 16, 2018 8:55 am

That's a rather swanky hotel there, Member 461.
Last time we were in Sant Feliu, we visited for the open water swim event, Marnaton, that pops up all over the place on the Costa Brava.
The Spanish/ Catalans are excellent swimmers.

Renee.
That is darned annoying. It's all very well having the fish date on the back of the counter label, but it would be better if the customer could see it.
I have to ask what date the fish is normally.

What supermarket was it?

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Re: What's everyone eating this week?

Postby Alexandria » Thu Aug 16, 2018 10:40 am

Gill,

Yes, it is quite a luxurious property .. The Sea Club outdoor dining space is amazing ..

The travel operators provide a list for the tourists and they vote for which restaurants they wish to lunch at ( dinners are usually at hotel included ) .. Media Pension which is breakfast and dinner .. This is done before the group arrives as we must reserve in advance for 40 to 50 people ..

Lunch is 95% out and at their own expense ..

They also hold an informal vote here, for example: Italian, Catalan or Regional Spanish, Japanese or Thai for example depending where we are travelling .. Which do you prefer ?

The highest number of course, is the destination ..

Have a lovely summer .. :clap :clap
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Re: What's everyone eating this week?

Postby Renee » Thu Aug 16, 2018 11:36 am

It is indeed a lovely hotel Member 461! Hmmm … let me see. If I was asked to choose, I would always go for regional, because I would want to experience the food of the country that I was in. The results might not always be that, of course!

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Re: What's everyone eating this week?

Postby Alexandria » Thu Aug 16, 2018 11:42 am

Renée,

Thank you for your feedback .. :clap :clap :clap

The majority select " fresh shellfish and / or fish " as it is something that they cannot obtain in their own countries particulary those in interior regions .. verses Capital and huge cities.

Have a wonderful day and all my best for a lovely weekend ahead .. :thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup
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Re: What's everyone eating this week?

Postby karadekoolaid » Thu Aug 16, 2018 2:11 pm

Pampy wrote:Is there a standard recipe for mango salsa? The one I make has mango, spring onions, red chilli, lime juice and zest, black pepper and coriander. I often add/substitute things like sweetcorn, red onion, pineapple, avocado...


I make mine with mango, onions ( red if possible), lime juice, fresh green chiles, coriander and salt. I´m not really convinced its worthwhile putting anything else in it. I mean, it´s the mango you want to shine through, isn´t it?

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Re: What's everyone eating this week?

Postby Joanbunting » Thu Aug 16, 2018 2:39 pm

What a shame about the hake Renee. For me hake like makerel is a fish which needs to be out of the sea and into the pan.

Thats why a don't like buying fish which I can't see whole and, instead is filleted and wrapped in plastic. The only alternative , if you live a long way from the sea is to buy it frozen at sea. Good for you for taking it back!

I checked out the Fresh store in town again this morning because I wanted som exotics for a Caribbean meal I am planning this weekend. I was pretty horrified at the fish on offer - no prevenance and not a single item with an MCR blue label that was until I found 2 packs of Scottish natural dyed smoked haddock. In France the only smoked haddock I can usually find is bright orange.

So tonight it's smaked haddock Florentine with a new laid poached egg on top. Can't wait :yum
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Re: What's everyone eating this week?

Postby jeral » Thu Aug 16, 2018 2:57 pm

Member 461, interesting as I was going to ask you if the tours were specifically gastronomy oriented rather than just sightseeing. I've no doubt the tourists take full advantage of the joy in selecting from food items that are less available at home.

It reminds me to be thankful for how lucky we are here to have the choice we have and spare a thought for those who barely have any food at all to eat.

Striclysalsaclare, many thanks for the cornmeal pastry tip. Gives me the immediate idea of making my own Jamaica patties which are hard to find and even harder as veggie or vegan version for some reason.

karadekoolaid, ta. Funnily enough, it was remembering that you introduced mango salsa (to me) in a post ages ago that jolted me into going back to a "proper" recipe this time :thumbsup

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Re: What's everyone eating this week?

Postby Renee » Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:12 pm

What a poor selection of fish, Joan! I was very surprised that you were able to buy naturally smoked haddock where you are living. Your smoked haddock Florentine will be lovely though and no doubt will make a nice change for you! I'm wondering if the fresh fish will be delivered for Fridays, because a lot of people seem to eat fish on that day and it will be close to the weekend too.

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Re: What's everyone eating this week?

Postby Alexandria » Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:16 pm

Jeral,

The Tours:

1) Of course, depending on region or city, for example, Madrid Capital, includes, the 3 main museums, amongst other guided city tour monuments and / or emblematic plazas etcetra ..

2) The hotels provide the accomodation for set period, 1 week, for example depending on the hotel´s policies .. Breakfast and Dinner .. Some trips include a long journey for example: Andalusia, Madrid, The Silver Route which begins in Mérida, Extremadura and runs north to Asturias .. The Basque Coast, Portugal, Italy and southern France ..

3) Lunch is always at a restaurant of the group´s choice which is provided to them via the Travel Agencies from us ..


4) There is also a list of optionals and the tourists can select their itineraries .. All is done via the travel agent and us .. Then, of course, there are always contingencies due to weather for example ..
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Re: What's everyone eating this week?

Postby Alexandria » Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:22 pm

Joan,

Caribbean exotic sounds fascinating !

Good luck with your weekend lunch / dinner ..

Have a lovely summer .. :wave :wave :wave :wave
Barcelona, soulful & spirited, filled with fine art, amazing architecture, profoundly steeped in culture & history, and it engages all your senses, and food fancies.

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Re: What's everyone eating this week?

Postby Joanbunting » Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:30 pm

Thanks Member 461. We lived in the West Indies for 6 years and I love cooking and eating the food but ingrediets are not always easy to find in France.
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Re: What's everyone eating this week?

Postby jeral » Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:45 pm

Joanbunting, I think you're right to keep foraging in the huge Fresh shed to find gems since I find that some food in Lidl is really good and recommendable whilst some I happily leave on the shelf. In fact, the one thing my elderly mum hates is having to have her shopping done for her now, i.e. hates that she can't shop around any more. Anyway, I thought it was an EU rule that the source country had to be labelled, even if that rule is bypassed by referring to country of packing for some things.

Incidentally, Ocado (no idea why import bog standard veg available here) started stocking Picard frozen items. I've tried a couple but aren't impressed TBH. Maybe Picard keep their best veg for the French :evil: ;)

Anyway, enjoy your nice haddock tea tonight :) Maybe you should have bought two lots, one to freeze, but hopefully it might stay a stock item...

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Re: What's everyone eating this week?

Postby Alexandria » Thu Aug 16, 2018 4:16 pm

Joan,


You are very welcome Joan ..

There are many Expatriates from Martinque & Grenada in The Marseille region .. Check on Facebook, Expatriates in Marseille .. Maybe some one could recommend where they buy their home land spices and products .. :thumbsup


Perhaps heading over to the Vieux Port Docks, where the local fishermen sell their daily catches right off their boats could be worth the trip ..
One can place in deep ice for the trip in a " ice trunk " used for picnics .. :D :D :D :D

Have a lovely summer ..
Barcelona, soulful & spirited, filled with fine art, amazing architecture, profoundly steeped in culture & history, and it engages all your senses, and food fancies.

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