The best Panna Cotta I ever had

 

Trastevere is definitely my favourite part of Rome. Just across the river, it is a lovely little neighborhood, removed from the clouds of tourists that swarm the main hubs. I love the Italian architecture, with the yellow and pink facades draped in foliage, lining the small, cobblestone streets. I actually got a little lost trying to find Santa Maria there.

On my last day in Rome and last evening in Italy, I scouted the streets of Trastevere for a place to indulge in one last dinner. This area of the city is known for its many great restaurants and cafes. What I was really craving was a good dessert so I picked my menu based on that (are you surprised?). Finally I discovered a place that was serving a choice of panna cotta. 

SOLD.

 

This was by far the best panna cotta I have ever had. It was vanilla, topped with caramel, and simply delicious. It had such a wonderful, thick and creamy texture, and it wasn’t so heavy on the gelatin, which I really liked. 

Mmmm I don’t think I can eat panna cotta anywhere but in Italy ever again.

Chocolate con churros

Don’t you love weekends in Spain? I know I do

Last weekend I decided to take a spur-of-the-moment trip to Zaragoza and Madrid. I only live about two hours from the Spanish border so why not? It’s just a quick hop over the mountains to Zaragoza. It was the perfect weekend to go because a few of the friends that I lived with in Australia, the same who I traveled with during our summer tour in Spain, were going to be in Madrid. I couldn’t NOT go.

It was quite a complicated affair to get there and back but completely worth it. It was a fantastic reunion and though it was a short visit, it was a great one. I also met a few others that lived in the same residence I did while on exchange in Sydney, but they arrived the semester after I left. Wherever I am in the world I seem to find these incredible people. It’s such a fantastic and never-ending experience.

Of course, being in Spain, I had to take advantage of my weekend and stuff myself with as many tapas as possible. I also got to eat my beloved paella again and of course some sangria and tinto! And for breakfast on the Sunday? Chocolate con churros :)

You can’t leave Spain without having churros and chocolate.

During our summer trip the last city in Spain we hit was Madrid, where one of my travel buddies lived. In the late morning of our last day we visited a chocolateria hidden down an alley before exploring the downtown area. My friend ordered for the two Canadians churros and hot chocolate, apparently one serving was more than enough for two people. And she was right. 

The server brought out a massive plate of churros and large cup of melted chocolate for us to share.

It smelled amazing! The churros were hot and fragrant, mmm who doesn’t love deep fried dough powdered in sugar? The chocolate was outrageously thick and rich; it was hard not to just eat it by the spoonful. We really enjoyed this indulgence on our last day in Spain. It was very heavy though, and left us feeling full for a long time.

It was a great wakeup before walking around the city for the whole day.

A very balanced breakfast if you ask me

IBIZA

Santa Gertrudis

Such a big reputation for such a small place.

The most beautiful beaches I explored this summer belonged to this Mediterranean island.

Ibiza contains two types of life: the crazed, drunken tourists stumbling about Elvissa and the sun kissed hippies who inhabit some of the small inland villages, farms and beach huts.

It was really an advantage having a car (which, did I mention, was a convertible bug?!!) because we could avoid the busy main streets packed with foreigners and bars and escape to the more remote areas of the island. It really is tiny - it only takes about 45 minutes to drive from one side to the other, so we were able to tour all over, testing a variety of beaches and enjoying the landscape.

One village that we were recommended by a local was Santa Gertrudis. We stopped in this quiet area for an afternoon, walking through the small streets lined with white-washed buildings. Of course we couldn’t come to Ibiza and not have a taste of some of their traditional food.

At a small bakery in the village we tried orelletes, which is a pastry shaped like an ear with anise.

We also shared some flao, a tart made of goat’s and sheep’s cheese with herbs and honey. This was my favourite of the two. The cheese filling was sweet and had a really nice texture. If you’re ever in Ibiza, I highly recommend you try some!

After three days of sleeping in our car and living out of tiny backpacks, we were starting to feel like hippies. Just needing to darken our tans a bit and dress in all white, flowing clothes to fully blend in. We were seriously considering finding a beach hut for 3 and extending our stay a while. We could live off fruits and fish and earn a little money selling bracelets at the hippie market.



Famly Lunch in Valencia

After our trip down to beautiful and sweltering Granada, we stopped in Valencia for a much needed day of relaxation. One of my friends who we were traveling with is from Valencia, and his parents live in a gorgeous house just outside the city. We spent a lovely afternoon there lounging by the pool before being invited inside for a magnificent feast.

This meal was just so good - by far the best while I was in Spain - so I just had to share it with you

They ordered a meat and vegetable paella from a nearby restaurant, that they believe makes the best paella around. This was absolutely delicious and bursting with flavour! I think I could eat paella and never get tired of it. It is definitely one of my favourite Spanish dishes and holds a special place in my heart.

 

Gazpacho soup in the form of shots!

 

My friend's mother is an incredible cook and prepared so many amazing dishes for us to try: mussels, calamari, prawns, mini empanadas, Russian salad served in avocado halves, smoked salmon boats and a lovely red wine of Valencia. We ate to our hearts' contents and this divine meal left us full for hours.

And if this all wasn't enough, it was followed by fresh fruit and an amazing cake, again prepared by my friend's mother. Such a kind and welcoming family, I am so so lucky to have enjoyed this!

Looking at these pictures brings all those tastes back to my mouth. 

Craving the flavours of Spain!

Tapas

I'm really sad that I don't have a Thanksgiving post today.

Not being in Canada and living without a kitchen (it brings tears to my eyes to even type it) has made celebrating Thanksgiving with a turkey feast impossible. I apologize for the lack of recipes and pictures this weekend. It's especially sad because I dearly LOVE autumn flavours and all the dishes, desserts and ingredients you find at this time of year. Pumpkin, squash, yams... I adore you!

I did have turkey this weekend though... in the form of a sandwich, while camping in the mountains. And tonight I watched the first Friends Thanksgiving episode. Not a bad way to celebrate. I do hope to cook a Thanksgiving dinner next month with the Americans that are over here in the south of France as well.

Anyways... HAPPY THANKSGIVING CANADA!!

Hope you're eating twice as much for me at home.

So basically... I love tapas. I mean, how could you not?

You're at a bar, you order some drinks, and along comes a plate of appetizers.

I love having tapas as a meal, it's such an enjoyable way to eat and you get to try so many different dishes in one sitting.

Granada was definitely the cheapest place for tapas - drinks were 1euro and they came with a plate. Of course, the more drinks you ordered, the tastier the tapas became.

One night in Barcelona we went to an all-you-can-eat Tapas bar.... all-you-can-eat tapas are dangerous. I'm a little embarassed to tell you how many plates we shared between the 4 of us. I took pictures of each and so when I counted them all at the end we apparently had tried 17 types of tapas. In my defense, we didn't finish all of them and they were our first tapas in Spain! We were really excited okay?! And hungry... We really got to taste everything, from Albóndigas (meatballs in tomato sauce) to Pimientos de Padrón (fried green peppers)

Mixed salad, Ensaladilla rusa (Russian salad) and calamares

Frittata

I cannot remember the name of these - deep fried and stuffed with fish, they're pretty tasty

Octopus - yum!

Shark?!

Patatas Bravas

This is a terrible photo but it's the only one I have of empanadas - one of my favourite tapas, and these were made by my friend's mother - delicious!

Writing this post is really making me crave tapas again.

It's a good thing I live only about 3 hours from the Spanish border...