Um. Well I was hunting for something basic. I found it. 
Yup. Believe it or not Tomatoes on Bread is a genuine recipe. Its also a perfect summer lunch time meal. 
Another dish on the move in a lunchtime picnic special. Trying to work between three jobs is rough. Not to mention exhausting and insanely stressful.
Another quick dish eaten on my London adventure. This time from a small tapas bar near Camden in London town. God knows how but after one of my standard epic walks I ended up in Hampstead Heath from having started near Westminster. Well I had music and the sun was out. 
Another busy week and some cross country traveling has resulted in a lack of updates. On this day I found myself back down in London for a graduate open day at Dneg studios. I had such a great time there and handed them just about every shred of information I have for an application. So once again its back to waiting and keeping fingers crossed. Handily opposite the studio was a spanish deli and restaurant called iberico which was lovely. Being on a non-existent budget meant I opted for a small but lovely dish and made a mental wishlist of things I'd like to buy/try.
Finall a dish using Spanish Morcilla as opposed to breakfast favourite black pudding. This was not made by myself (as you can probably tell from the genuinely attractive presentation) and was created with balls of black pudding from Milan which were mixed with rice. Tasted closer to sushi than black pudding which got me thinking about some sort of Japanese-Spanish fusion dishes...
Such a busy, crazy week it's been, so much so I'm having to edit this on the move so post presentation like many of my dishes at the moment is in need of a makeover. So this dish is more Medditerranean than specifically Spanish. And while they were mentioned on Masterchef Austrailia (possibly my favourite program...because I'm sad like that) the coincidence of me making them was simply circumstantial. 
The insanity of my life this year has resulted in having some part time employment in a gorgeous Medditerranean restaurant part time. It's a lovely place with renowned food and working there is rather fun. On the more disturbing side though it has meant that I have encountered industrial sized times of pressed cod roe. This makes my stomach churn slightly as roe, which I encountered for he first time in South Africa n Feb is, in my opinion, pretty awful. I just don't appreciate it. The idea of industrially pressed fish eggs though strikes me as worse. The Spanish lady at work, Carolina however tried to sway my hand and assisted in making this tapas. Not only did I eat roe but successfully poached an egg in wat without the use of any utensil. Yes 28 years of age and I can finally make eggs...
Taste: 2.5/5
Well Anchovies are not my favourite fish. But incredibly common in Spain and Portugal, they are a staple ingredient in many tapas dishes. I've been pushed for time and been on the to so much recently that I have no choice now but to start making a d net into the dishes contain them. It's not that I hate them but I find a little goes a long way and I prefer them as an ingredient in sauce than marinated in a dish. Still it's not cucumber and salmon roe tapa so I'm confident I can do this!
So incredibly shattered. Taken on far too much recently but in a way think I needed to. Its good for me at the moment to be rushing around and kept busy. So another simple, quick one! 
Lunch in the go. Ironic that I'm now working in and out of kitchens all day yet finding it hard to cook for myself. This wasn't made by me but for me which is just ace. Tapas lunch on the go! What's better than coking for yourself, getting cooked for that's what! The homemade chips I have been informed were cooked in the following way : 
"cut into wedges, par boil for 3mins, put oil cajun spice, chilli powder, cumin, coriander and paprika in roasting tin mix wedges with spices, season then whack in oven for 25mins turning half way"
This fitted the requirements of the canteen, filled the bellies of some hungry men and was the first time I've created a recipe for a large amount of people for a set time. Not the most exciting dish but worked in the context and helped me tick my tapas box. Juicy, tasty and chargrilled. 
Believe it or not : Ways to dress olives is genuinely a collection of olive marinading recipes! With the book residing an hours drive away I find alternative ways of dressing olives. Being on the go this week, pots of olives work in salads and are a great source of food/ energy when flitting between three jobs. Exhausting though. The best thing about this is that you can re-use some ingredients. For example after making 'Gambas Pil-Pil' and demolishing all the prawns, the remaining garlic/oil infusion makes a gorgeous baste for olives! Also works for roasted peppers, tomatoes, salads, pickles...etc...
Ooohhh...what's this? Wait. Hold the phone. What IS this. Yes this. What? That. That glowing ball in the sky. Could it be... at last....a summery day! [stares at sky for a minute blinking] . Nods. Indeed. QUICK. I demand we go to the beach at once! 
As life is proving to be relentless and its onto another move and another [secondary] job and another home I have managed to leave my Tapas book behind in home #2. Nevermind I can pick it up soon and the internet and imagination/ resourcefulness fixes all. This one was created on one of my favourite beaches at a much needed picnic. So I was schlumpy from work and shattered after the pervious late night's work involving a laptop which fell out with a 3D mesh (grrr..Maya) but a picnic on a beach was called for and it was very fun. Muchos Gracias Brillantes Uno! 
Seaside surf and turf. Nothing like a bit of sand to add an extra texture/ dimension to a meal. This was such a fun adventure and needed a dish which was equally as spontaneous and exciting. A simple tapa (with epic flavours) was required and this did not disappoint. I raised eyebrows when adding the jalepenos but the mozzarella and prawn completely balanced the dish out. Tasty, insane (and slightly sandy). 
Another serving from The Tapas Bar. This time from the bird family! Moroccan spices like I've never had outside Spain. All these tasty encounters are also teaching me that I badly need to expand my vocabulary to fit the tastiness of the food, (and invest in a better camera) I'm just not doing the good dishes enough justice!
Lunch with one of the closest people to me in the world resulted in the ordering of these delightful squidgy things. 
How to cheer yourself up when ill/ down/ blargh : find and eat some chili squid with a lovely companion! Sure its unhealthy but (after tom yum or wanton soup) its my favorite ultimate comfort food. Eaten all over the Medditeranean and Middle - Far East this has become a staple order of mine whenever I go out for a meal and is something I WILL learn to cook properly...
Never fails to cheer me up. Perfectly cooked, lovely flavours and excellent white wine, lemon, parsley dipping sauce. More Please. Yes Please. Yumsk..
So so so incredibly tired and been rather ill today which resulted in a frustrating spiral of moping inside despite the weather, realisuing how nice it was and how bad I felt so moping more. Regardless though it was time for something simple and refreshing.
Bar prawns which are easy to come by and wonderfully tasty Scallops are without a doubt my favourite seafood. They are so incredibly odd and I'm still not entirely sure how they even function [cue a wikipedia search]. I like how non-descript they are, appreciate their texture and the fact they go very well with black pudding which I love is merely a bonus. The recipe actually called for mussells but simply I prefer and had some Scallops. I actually made this for breakfast because I work up very hungry which given my co-ordination skills at that time of day was a miracle. 
Salad-type one today. Why not start the week as I mean to go on - Colourfully. Simple but I am hoping that the different tastes of the red and green peppers will be interesting enough.