2014 May | My Food Odyssey

May 30

Homemade Toffee Popcorn | www.myfoododyssey.com

Friday Favourites: Toffee Popcorn [Recipe]

Friday night is movie night here in our house. During the week we each tend to do our own thing – reading, listening to music or watching YouTube videos relative to our areas of interest. Come Friday, though, we like to curl up together to watch something a little trashy. Earlier in the evening we treat ourselves to one of our favourite Friday dinners – burgers (which we had today), pizza, fajitas or such like. Then I like to make a big bowl of popcorn to munch in front of the TV. Throw in a few beers and I’m in heaven. Read more

May 28

Puerto de los Portillinos, Spain | www.myfoododyssey.com

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Twist

We encountered a number of twisty roads on our trip last summer. One of the twistiest, yet most beautiful, was the road through Los Portillinos, a mountain pass 1957 metres above sea level set in the Aquilanos Mountains in north-western Spain. Despite the blue skies it was freezing cold at the top, with patches of snow in sheltered areas. Read more

May 23

Homemade Fajitas | www.myfoododyssey.com

10 Comments

Friday Favourites: Homemade Fajitas [Recipe]

I’ll never forget the first time I had fajitas. I was living in Texas and was brought to a restaurant by one of my colleagues to sample the local Tex-Mex cuisine. I had, of course, heard of fajitas but hadn’t tried them and decided to give them a go. The sizzling platter of meat and vegetables, along with a selection of cold toppings such as sour cream, guacamole and grated cheese, that was delivered to each individual diner fascinated me. I absolutely loved the idea of building my own fajita my way, with my chosen ingredients. Read more

May 21

Homemade Garlic Powder | www.myfoododyssey.com

29 Comments

Homemade Garlic Powder [Recipe]

I absolutely love garlic as an ingredient. I use tons of the stuff – pretty much every savoury dish I prepare contains at least one clove of garlic, probably more. Garlic seems to add so much to a dish – rich aroma, warmth, luxury, a touch of heat and a depth of flavour that seems to linger on the palate long after you’ve finished eating. For me, no other seasoning comes close to garlic. Read more

May 19

Simpsons in the sand, Weston-Super-Mare | www.myfoododyssey.com

11 Comments

Work of Art

I love spontaneous art. I love that people go to such trouble to make beautiful things, even when that beauty will be short-lived. This frequently occurs with fine dining, where chefs spend considerable time making food look beautiful on a plate, only to have it swiftly devoured. I took this photo in Weston-Super-Mare in England on our tour last summer. I love the fact that someone, possibly another tourist inspired by the large, blank canvas, has gone to such great lengths to create a beautiful picture in the sand, knowing that the tide will come in within a few hours and wash it all away. A work of art, indeed. Read more

May 16

18 Comments

Friday Favourites: Homemade Pizza [Recipe]

One of my chief ambitions in life is to rid my kitchen of all commercially processed foods and make everything myself from scratch. While I’ve made some good progress over the past year I still have a way to go. It’s an ongoing journey – I’ll get there little by little. I appreciate that I am fortunate in that I have time to spend in my kitchen preparing my food. Back when I had a full-time job I did my best most nights, making speedy reliables such as pasta dishes or stir-fries, keeping the ingredients as fresh and healthy as possible. But come Friday evening I wanted a treat – something sticky or gooey that could be eaten curled up on the couch in front of a good movie, perhaps with a cold beer on the side. Read more

May 13

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On the Move

One of my favourite “on the move” shots from our trip around Europe last summer. You can just make out the “Europe on a shoestring” and “Wines of the world” books on the dashboard. We didn’t pass many other cars so I thought this one, plus the surrounding view, were noteworthy. Read more

May 9

4 Comments

(Fun) Friday Favourites

I’m in a funny humour. It could be the alignment of the planets, perhaps residual giddiness from finding my first eggs in the chicken coop this week, maybe even Eurovision madness. Who the heck knows. But everything I read seems to be amusing me. I’m ok with that. I like to be amused! I guess most of us do, especially on Fridays, after a long, hard week. So, just for fun, this week I thought I’d bring you a selection of some of the more humourous links I came across during the week. I hope they brighten up your day! Read more

May 7

24 Comments

Which Came First?

Finally, I have the answer. It’s the chicken. The chicken definitely came first. Six weeks before the egg, to be exact. For six weeks I have been diligently checking the coop every day, patiently waiting for an egg. Friends advised that it might be some considerable time before we got an egg as the hens were so young and their combs and wattles were still quite small. Read more

May 6

14 Comments

Spring

Ah, Spring. A beautiful time of the year when life springs into action once more. Birds return to our trees and build their nests, flowers blossom, weeds shoot up in our grass and busy bees begin again to make their sweet honey. I know that dandelions are generally considered to be weeds (or perhaps wild flowers, if we’re being kind), but I love their deep yellow colour and lush green leaves. This bee seems to like them, too. Read more

May 2

5 Comments

Friday Favourites

It’s been another busy week here on the range. Digging has started for the geo-thermal heating for the new house. It’s not a pretty sight at the moment but it should be worth it in the end. Mr. Cock has become a bit territorial about the chicken house and attacked me yesterday when I went in to clean. We’ll need to see some improvements in demeanor, Cocky, or there may be a very large saucepan in your future. Finally, I’ve been working hard on planting my vegetable beds, often until late evening as it was just too hot during the day. Read more

May 1

Ayrton Senna barrel at Tio Pepe | www.myfoododyssey.com

Letters

A barrel of sherry signed by Ayrton Senna at Tio Pepe, Spain. Can a few letters change the value of a product? My guess is that this barrel will never be consumed, which I guess makes it priceless. Read more