Category Archives: Markets

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For foodies and market lovers

Today is a drizzly, rainy day in Barcelona and the perfect day to visit some of the fabulous markets! We spent several hours wandering the aisles of  La Boqueria – or officially – Mercat de Sant Josep de La Boqueria! This huge public market is on the records back to 1217, and it still stands today as a huge market hub.

Don’t I wish I could shop here regularly!!!!

An extensive array of seafood…

Vibrant and fresh fruit and vegetables ..

Wonderful breads, meats, spices, legumes, gelato – anything your heart desires ..

 

 

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Valencia

So glad we made the short stop-over in Valencia, and our apartment was situated within walking distance of most of the highlights which made it especially nice.


We took the three-hour free walking tour with Elena as our guide. Once again we were given so much anecdotal information as well as history. These tours are the best!

We started at Plaza de Virgen – behind the cathedral – and witnessed the end of the Fire Festival,  heralding the start of Spring, where the Virgen statue was totally covered in flowers. Had we known about the Fire Festival (Fallas Festival), we should have arrived a couple of days earlier and experienced the bonfires and celebrations in plazas throughout the city!


As we all know, Valencia is famous for its oranges, and Elena told us about the popular beverage Agua de Valencia which, of course, we had to sample.

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The main market building was one of the striking buildings we saw with a beautiful central dome, lots of lovely ceramic tiles, and leaded windows. One of them displaying the Valencia coat of arms with the two-Ls (given by King James when Valencia twice showed loyalty to his reign, and the bat which is part of Valencia’s lore.

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The food of Galicia

I had heard about the amazing food in Galicia long before we even planned this trip. We have not been disappointed! Walking through the market one sees an abundance of freshly caught fish, beautiful beef, lamb and pork and so many different types of cheeses and sausages! Oh! and chocolate, pastries and cakes that are found in the Pasterias! And then there is the olive oil and the wonderful wines! One of the specialty cakes is the St. James’ Almond Cake which is decorated with the St. James’ Cross.

Another fabulous thing in Santiago DC is that a complimentary plate or two of tapas are served with first drink order.

Outside the market this delicious looking octopus (pulpo)  was being cooked in a large tub. It was served on the little wooden plates by cutting into bite size pieces, seasoning with salt and pepper and then drizzling with olive oil! I wanted it so badly, but we were going to have a delicious lunch and I couldn’t spoil my appetite! Ps. I found some on the road to Salamanca and we had it for our picnic lunch!

Our picnic of pulpo, cheese, bread and wine!


We lingered over an amazing lunch at O Curra da Parra.

 

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Honey and cheese

I bought this honey directly from the bee-keeper at the market in Ponta Delgada (Azores). It is the most flavorful honey I have ever had – this particular one is clover – or so he told me! We are enjoying it on the delicious Portuguese bread with salted butter or sharp cheese – as we learned at Taberna Acor….


Yesterday we enjoyed limpets in garlic butter at Restaurante Caravela in Sao Vicente (Madeira). Local flavours abound

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Around Wiesbaden and Out on the Town

More wandering the streets of Wiesbaden with our friend, Sue, who flew in for the weekend!

A ride up to Neroberg to see the Russian Chapel.

Relaxing few hours spent at the Thermal Bad

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An evening out on the town to see the shop windows, lights of the Weihnachtsmarkt, and a few songs at der Eimer!!

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A weekend in Fort Pierce and beyond

Saturday morning was spent in Fort Pierce at the farmer’s market, which is really much more! In the lovely waterfront and downtown location it was busy, busy and Lucy did extremely well with the crowds of people and other canines.

On Sunday we took at drive down to Lake Worth to check out the Street Painting Festival which was even more spectacular than I’d imagined. 600 artists – professional and amateur – take part over the weekend creating masterpieces in a 10×10′ space on the downtown streets. This, a fundraiser, is in its 22nd year, has raised money for art scholarships.

Food vendors, crafters, and others were also there ..

We also enjoyed some of the local neighborhoods with the quaint little Florida cottages.

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A little slice of Germany

A short trip to Waldoboro took me back down memory lane – more than 40 years! and my time spent in Germany. It’s always fun to visit Morse’s for a browse around their store stocked with european food items, and enjoy a hearty lunch in their little restaurant.

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Muscat, Oman

One of the ports we were most looking forward to and it did not disappoint! Muscat must be one the cleanest and most beautiful cities on the Arabian peninsula – in fact, cleaner than many cities that we’ve visited worldwide .  We arrived as the sun was rising over some small, craggy islands, and like Salalah, the city hugs the water with mountains as a backdrop. Once again, we secured a taxi to take us on a three-hour tour of the town and we saw all the highlights.

Visiting Oman has given us the opportunity to learn more about the country and its ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said, than we would have had we not visited. He appears to be a much loved Emir and has done great things for the country with his progressive and forward thinking ways. After attending Sandhurst and serving with the B.A.O.R. in Germany, he continued studying in England and then embarked on a world tour. He rose to power after overthrowing his father in a palace coup in 1970, but has continued to keep Oman neutral, maintaining friendly relations with both Iran and western allies.

When driving around Muscat it is evident that he put his country first and the results  are in the beautiful architecture, good roads, magnificent Royal Opera House and mosque, manicured parks and flower lined highways.

Evidently he is in failing health and has no children so the line of succession is in question – probably falling to one of his nephews. The palace is also amazing – set in a cove in Old Oman, it is a complex of different palaces within the grounds – ranging from an older fortress style structures to marble dome topped and white modern buildings that one can only imagine mirror the opulence we saw at the mosque and Opera House. The 155 meter royal yacht, Al Said, was docked very close to our ship in Muttrah port.

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A week in Puerto Rico

Our first visit to PR was in 2009, and we vowed to return soon – six years later we did it! It is an easy hop, skip and jump from Portland to San Juan, but the atmosphere, weather, food, environment is definitely vastly different than Maine! While staying at the beach in Isla Verde (at El San Jan – ELSJ) we enjoyed having a car to explore the countryside. Having previously visited Rincon in the west coast, and the south coast, we decided to stay in the eastern third of the island. The temps (at times in mid-90’s) meant morning and late afternoon sightseeing or beach walking!

Photos from “out and about”

Food and eating!

Old San Juan

The beach..

El Yunque National Forest

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Chatuchak not for me!

We took the MRT early to get to Chatuchak market – a humongous market (covers 30 or so acres!) It wasn’t crowded when we arrived, but by the time we left I couldn’t stand it any longer, and walking to Mo Chit station was like swimming upstream against the current!  We picked up a few odds and ends, but, frankly, saw better deals elsewhere. A gazillion clothing stalls and just about anything else too!

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Chiang Mai choices

Riding a red cab…. these can either be hired individually as a cheaper, non-a/c option, or can be caught randomly from the roadside if they are going the route you need.

…..to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep – a ride up and up (on twisty turn roads) out of the city for a good 30 minutes.

Walking the Old City

Markets

Spending a day at Thai Farm Cooking School where we learned many new (to us) techniques and prepared and cooked five courses which we also consumed! It meant no dinner last night!!

Dash Restaurant – a terrific place to eat. The open post and beam house built entirely of teak.

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Christmas services at All Saints Anglican Church – it just wouldn’t have been Christmas without celebrating in church!

Eating khao soi – the specialty of this region of Thailand.

Real-Deal Khao Soi Gai (Northern Thai Coconut Curry Noodle Soup With Chicken)

About This Recipe

YIELD: Serves 4
ACTIVE TIME: 45 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 2 hours
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: wok, large granite mortar and pestle
THIS RECIPE APPEARS IN: Four Essential Northern Thai Dishes to Make Right NowRecipes From Chiang Mai: How to Make Real Deal Khao Soi Gai (Coconut Curry Noodle Soup With Chicken)

Ingredients

  • 1 whole dried Thai bird chili (or 1 whole chile de arbol), more or less to taste
  • 2 whole small shallots, peeled and split into quarters
  • 4 whole cloves garlic
  • 1 stalk lemongrass, bottom 4 inches only, roughly chopped
  • 1 teaspoon makrut lime zest, or 2 whole makrut lime leaves (see note above)
  • 1 (1-inch) knob fresh turmeric, roughly chopped
  • 2 thin slices ginger
  • 1 small bunch cilantro stalks, cut from the very base of the stalks, leaves and thin stems reserved for another use
  • 1 teaspoon whole coriander seed
  • 6 pods Thai black cardamom or 1 pod green cardamom, inner seeds only
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Thai shrimp paste
  • 1 cup vegetable or canola oil
  • 1 pound fresh Chinese-style egg noodles, divided
  • 2 (15-ounce) cans coconut milk, or 2 cups fresh coconut milk (do not shake)
  • 1 cup homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
  • 2 tablespoons palm sugar (see note above)
  • 4 chicken legs, split into drumsticks and thighs
  • Fish sauce to taste
  • Sliced shallots, lime wedges, and pickled Chinese mustard root (see note above) for serving

Procedures

  1. Place chili, shallots, garlic, lemongrass, lime zest, turmeric, ginger, cilantro stalks, coriander seed, and cardamom in the center of a 12- by 12-inch square of heavy duty aluminum foil. Gather edges up to make a tight pouch. Place pouch directly over the flame of a gas burner and cook, turning occasionally, until aromatic and wisps of smoke begin to rise, about 8 minutes. If no gas burner is available, place the pouch in the bottom of a wok or cast iron skillet and heat over high heat, turning occasionally, until smoky, about 10 minutes. Allow contents to cool slightly and transfer to a large mortar and pestle.
  2. Add a large pinch of salt to the aromatics. Pound until a very fine paste is formed, about 10 minutes. Add shrimp paste and pound to incorporate. Set curry paste mixture aside.
  3. Separate out 1/4 of the noodles (enough noodles to make a crispy fried-noodle topping for 4 bowls) and set the remaining noodles aside. Heat vegetable oil in a large wok over high heat until shimmering. Working in batches, add noodles to oil and fry, stirring and flipping until golden brown and crisp. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Season with salt and set aside.
  4. Discard all but 1 tablespoon oil from wok. Using a spoon, skim 2 tablespoons of creamy fat off the top of the coconut milk and add to the wok. Heat wok over high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until coconut milk breaks and oil begins to lightly smoke, about 2 minutes. Add curry paste mixture and cook, stirring and smearing the paste into the oil, until aromatic, about 45 seconds.
  5. Slowly whisk in the coconut milk, followed by the chicken stock and palm sugar. Add chicken legs and bring to a simmer. Cook, turning chicken occasionally, until chicken is tender and broth is very flavorful, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with fish sauce.
  6. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add remaining uncooked noodles and cook until al dente, about 1 minute. Drain noodles and divide between four warmed bowls. Top noodles with two pieces of chicken. Divide broth evenly between bowls. Top with fried noodles and serve immediately with sliced shallots, lime wedges, and pickled mustard greens on the side.
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Siem Reap

Many blessings have been counted over and over! Our safe travel around Myanmar with eight takeoffs and landings and road travel. All flights reasonably on time and no lost luggage. The flights from Yangon to Siem Reap were somewhat arduous given layover time in Bangkok, but complaints can’t be made – we made it to this beautiful oasis – our hotel Pavillon d’Orient.

Our tour doesn’t start until 1 p.m. so we took  a tuk-tuk into town to have a reccy – it all looks very manageable; the market is huge and interesting, as usual, lots of good looking restaurants, massage parlors, etc. and quite a few tourists. I took a pic of an Australian couple having a good massage thanks to all the little fish! We might have to try it another day.