Madrid maravilloso

Although it has been raining a lot during my staty here in Madrid, I must say it is a very beautiful city with a lot of fun things to do and nice food to eat!! Slowly I have been re adjusting to the life before the CFA and it is wonderful not having to study all the time!!

D has been showing me around the city and it has been very nice spending some time with him again. I got 2 (!!) nice presents from Tous because he thought I had done a really good job studying... very sweet!!

Tomorrow it's time to go back to London again. A short but sweet visit! Can't wait to come back here again!!

Am I a master chef or am I?!

I meal I whipped up in a second
Kablam!! It's a beauty on the inside as well as on the outside. 4 words: home made lemon custard, baby!!

What makes a good cook? I think a good cook knows his/her groceries very well - not saying that you have to know many weird exotic groceries that almost nobody has ever heard of, but if you have decided to go for steak - it means you can taste and feel the difference between a well done steak and a poory done one. So at what stage can you start feeling confident that you are at least a half decent cook? I'd say, when you know enough to be able to experiment and make a good meal - but that is entirely my definition. Just following a recipe time after time usually become less and less of a challenge, unless you go for haute cuisine, I suppose... Although I find that it is a talent as well to follow a recipe to the smallest detail and also get the dish to look exactly as in the recipe book is a merit on its own - I never get it to be just like in the book, but I always put my own little twist to it. I trust my kitchen instincts. It took me a few years to realise, but I finally have the confidence to say that I'm a pretty good experimental chef!

Having read my own comments to the pictures, I almost feel a bit obnoxious, so enough bragging now.

Over and out.

Do you dare to try my food?

Portugal

Today my darling D went to Portugal for business. He's going to stay 2 days in Lisbon and 2 in Porto. I'm so jealous! I would also like to go to Portugal and stay in a fancy hotel with a spa!!a

I told D to bring home a lot of Portuguese stuff, like wine or Portuguese food... Yum! It's more fun to get food than a perfume, I think. That way you get to experience a little bit of the trip as well. A perfume you can just go and buy anywhere. But typical local food is fun to share when you come home from a trip or, like me, receive someone coming home from a trip. Food brings us all closer...