116 - Orange and Fennel Salad [Naranja y Ensalada de Hinojo]

A nice refreshingly light option after for a moderately warm day. But rather Orange.

The Verdict:

Curious. There is an appealing balance of texture however I think that sweeter rather cheaper oranges should have been used as the overall taste is rather tart. I think however it would make a nice accompaniment to Moorish Lamb or even Cervice for a more acidic balance.

Taste:  3/5 Bit Unbalanced
Time:   3/5 10 mins
Visual: 3/5 Good Colours
Magic: 2.5/5 Not Really

115 - BBQ Skewers [Brochetas de Barbacoa]

Something I have come to learn. If Australians ever invite you for a BBQ always, always go. The meat will be perfectly cooked, there will be tasty beers and will go ahead even if it's raining. As preparation I brought some marinated meat based on a harrissa and paprika BBQ recipie.

The Verdict:

Not the tastiest marinade I've had so far as I prefer ones with more of a chilli/lime kick however our hosts Joe and Hettie cooked the skewers perfectly and they went down well. Not bad for a overcast, damp Northern summer day!

Taste:  3/5 My Personal Favourite
Time:   3/5 20 mins
Visual: 4/5 Glistening
Magic: 3/5 Had Better

114 - Morcilla Croquettes [Morcilla Croquetas]

Every so often a promotional email makes me excited. When I learned from a friend that The Anthenaeum in Aberdeen were having a tiki themed event with tapas I decided I had to go! It took a few attempts to get there but worth it as it was a lot of fun and I manged to acquire some tiki cups. The tapas was interesting as it was a Scottish fusion twist on Spanish food (Haggis and Chorizo) with Caribbean cocktails. A strange mix but one that made me happy!

The Verdict:

Loved these. Crispy, tasty, moist and incredibly, incredibly moreish. They were filling, made more so by the mayonnaise dip but boy were they good.

Taste:  4/5 My Personal Favourite
Cost:   4/5 Decent Deal
Visual: 3/5 Patchy
Magic: 3/5 Si

113 - Fried Broad Beans [Habas Fritas]

Entirely self inflicted unlucky 113. Today I was mostly hungover, and deservedly so. Besides trying to keep down a McDonalds milkshake, not fall asleep in the middle of a park in Edinburgh and watch Despicable Me 2 in the cinema I ate some Habas Fritas.

The Verdict:

Fried Crunch + Salt = Good for a Hangover.

Taste:  3/5 Salty Crunch
Cost:   4/5 Good Old M+S
Visual: 2/5 Fried Beans
Magic: 3/5 Why Not

112 - Cerviche!

For any unfortunate people out there who follow this haphazard blog ramblings you may remember my encounter with Cerviche in London. The wonderful people at this restaurant have created a book and for the launch they did a pop up restaurant tour across the UK to which I got a discount to attend to the Edunburgh event. To say the meal was excellent is to undermine it. Too many pisco sours and prose co later I was pretty well oiled but satisfied. There were many dishes I could of chosen to review as the daily one however went for the classic Seabass Cerviche..

The Verdict:

Yum. Yum. Yum. Yum.

Taste:  4/5 Yum
Cost:   3/5 Part of a deal with book 
Visual: 5/5 Pretty
Magic: 4/5 Yes!

P.S. Buy the book, it's awesome.

111 - Weird Cheese Balls [Pau De Queijo]

I have some rather great friends, many of which I rarely see these days, so it's always refreshing on meeting with one to know that you can pick up where you left off. This led to a trip to Edinburgh to catch up with the lovely Judith. Judith and I love weird and wonderfully textured food and this led to a love of the squishy Asian Mochi (first tried at an eventful free wine event which led to a trip to see Fylan Moran) and their savoury Brazillian counterparts....

 
The Verdict:

I still have no idea about these. They are so weird, and kind of defy logic and gravity. Like a strange love child of gnocchi and cheese thins. Still being curiously attracted to bizzare and unusual things I naturally love them.  Thanks Judith! We have no idea if we are even making them right due to Portuguese instructions but definitely an acquired delicacy!

Taste:  3/5 Cheesy and Squishy
Time:   2/5 30 mins
Visual: 3/5 Weird Balls
Magic: 4.5/5 They Defy Logic

110 - Potato Croquettes Pincho and Death Sauce Adventures

Not had a potato croquette since I was much younger, though I knew a girl who as a student almost exclusively lived on them!

The Verdict:

Not exotic by any means but who doesn't like crumbed mashed potato. Comfort food in bite size chunks. Now on bread...

Taste:  3/5 Comfort Mush
Time:   2/5 30 Mins
Visual: 2/5 Ridiculous
Magic: 3/5 Yes!

P.S. Every now and again it's great to go on a different dining experience and this was an awesome new one on me. Cue Oryza Hotpot in Aberdeen, split Hotpot soup base with add your own vegetables, meat and seafood. Soo tasty. Can also finally say I have had kimchi, which after reading Banana Yoshimitsu's novellas made me happy. Also mental oriental death sauce was pretty damn awesome! 

109 - Butternut Squash and the Veggie Tapas Feast

This was a special evening. I was back up north and Andrew and I decided to host a dinner party for two awesome vegetarian friends of ours who has just gotten engaged [Major congratulations Emma & Dan]. Given this challenge the logical thing was to create plates of tapas. What resulted was a healthy feast of various tapas, some we had done before (stuffed mushrooms, olives etc) and some like the honey roasted Moroccan butternut squash were new. I met Emma and Dan on a rooftop in Glasgow for a music festival and if that doesn't result in friendship I don't know what will!

The Verdict:

I have to say this was tasty though in all fairness due to a) the combination of food on offer b) the accompanying wine it was hard to assess this individually. I can honestly recommend it to anyone who is holding a dinner party and wants a slightly unusual side! All in all most of the food was destroyed and very well received!

Taste:  3.5/5 Good! (I Think) 
Time:  2/5 45 mins
Visual: 2/5 Orange Mush
Magic: 3/5 Overall Yes

108 - Tomatoes and Balsamic [Tomates y el Vinagre Balsámico]

What to say about this one...

The Verdict:

Simple, quick classic with a balance of Mediterranean though not specifically Spanish flavours, would maybe try sherry instead for something with a bit more kick. Pretty standard affair that you wouldn't write home about.

Taste:  3/5 Acceptable
Time:   3/5 7 mins
Visual: 3/5 Red
Magic: 2.5/5 Not Really

107 - Pulled Pork with Goats Cheese [Sacó de Cerdo con Queso de Cabra]

I've grown to be rather fond of goats cheese which is a radical step for someone who used to detest it. I blame my time in Greece where goats cheese was prevalent and my increasingly savoury taste buds (white chocolate and jelly beans aside).

The Verdict:

A little goats cheese can go a long way and I don't think this one fell into the balanced category. Still, being a fan of the jaw spasming food, it was tasty! Actually preferred the cheese to the pork which is too much on the chewy gristly side to be my favourite meat. Don't get me wrong through this was tasty and if pork is for you then I'd recommend you go easy on the dairy and enjoy it!


Taste:  3/5 Unbalanced
Time:   3/5 10 mins
Visual: 2.5/5 Silly
Magic: 3/5 Mid-Range

106 - Spicy Beef and Moroccan Salad [Carne Picante y Ensalada Marroquí]

I substituted beef for venison for that is what I had. 

The Verdict:

This was super yummy. I may have overdone the chilli to make it beyond palatable for anyone else as recently my tolerance for spice has gone through the roof recently but this was healthy, light, flavourful and there was the right amount of sweetness in the cous cous to balance the hot meat. Happy days.





Taste:  4/5 My Kinda Hot
Time:   3/5 15 mins
Visual:  4/5 Fresh
Magic: 4/5 Chilli Yum

105 - Chorizo and Roasted Red Pepper Soup [Chorizo ​​y Pimienta Sopa]

Being crazy busy and rushing between a million jobs never leaves for much time, so energy is often at a low and on a drizzly 'dreich' day in this wet country what's better than a nice bowl of soup in a decent coffee shop. Also I love this cafe, it has tea bags with little leafs on them and a cute map on the wall.

The Verdict:
Filled a downbeat hole. Satisfying, warm and tasty.

Taste:  3/5 Warming Soup
Cost:   3/5 Decent
Visual: 3/5 Soupy
Magic: 3/5 Fit The Bill

104 - Egg and Spinach Tart [Huevo y Espinacas Tarta]

More eggs. I like eggs, particularly scrambled but boy I'm getting sick of them. Still at least the tart form created a welcome variation! Another one made at work and taken home to munch.

The Verdict:

Well overly exciting it may not be however it worked, was tasty and well balanced, decent lunch piece all round. I found it overall a bit much and didn't finish it but they were fairly demolished at work so maybe it's just me! 

Taste:  3/5 Satisfying
Time:   2/5 30 mins
Visual: 4/5 Fab Parcel
Magic: 3.5/5 It'll Do

103 - Prawns, Bacon Tomatoes [Gamba, Tocino y Tomates]

So why did I choose now to finally update it we'll, after two house moves, two epic holidays, a new artist residency, a million jobs, my schedule is winding down and I'm now looking for any excuse to find something I do while sitting in whatever tiny bit of sun we are getting. Huzzah. But enough rambling, it's back to it.

The Verdict:

The surf and turf version of classic blt flavours, this deconstructed version was pretty damn good, but given the ingredients I'd be shocked if it was anything but. Not my favourite but certainly a satisfying dish.


Taste:  4/5 My Personal Favourite
Time:   3/5 10 mins
Visual: 3/5 Warm Tones
Magic: 4/5 Meaty

102 - Spinach and Mushrooms [Espinacas y Setas]

Well it's been a while, but that's mainly because I've been super busy. I'm a stubborn old lass though so while I've fallen behind online the challenge was completed. And surprisingly I'm not sick of tapas. Miracle! So now that I've got time to catch up it's time to rifle through the photos and get cracking! :D

The Verdict:

I've been keeping a paper diary as a record which is invaluable and while I'd like to harken my glorious return to this blog with an exciting dish it is but The humble sautéed spinach and musgrooms that brings me back. Being someone who severely lacks iron in my diet spinach is a cheaper attempt to boost this, as such I've grown accustomed to it, that said it's often tasty and with mushrooms made a refreshing, although far too oily to be healthy, dish.Not bad.

Taste:  3/5 Sure

Time:   3/5 10 mins
Visual: 3/5 Not Really
Magic: 4/5 Fair Vegetarian Fare