Ph. Jose Rains

Le father said it best, Spaniards found the secret to life: countless town parties, holidays, endless meals, breakfast on the beach, water flights between neighborhoods, siestas, food and drinks, food and drinks….and… food and drinks.

We heard about the Ruta Martiana from a friend in Berlin, and when we moved to Palma we made sure we visited it, the very next day.

Every Tuesday a series of bars in Palma’s old town organizes the Ruta Martiana (We are still discussing if the name come from Martian or Tuesday, so it would be something along the line of ‘The Tue-rtian Road’ but don’t quote me on that.) These bars offer its customers one caña (200ml beer) and one tapa for around 1 or 2 Euros.

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If you’ve met Le Boyfriend or if you’ve read this blog for a while, you would know that he  is obsessed with Burgers, and throughout our stay in New Zealand, he made it his mission to find the best burger joint in  the country (That’s how the burger quest was born.) We wanted to do the same here but I realised that even though he can eat them every day and is quite picky about them, we’ve never actually tried to make our own, so this time we bring you “The Burger Quest: Homemade Edition”

A couple of months ago I convinced le boyfriend to buy a stand mixer and the only reason he said yes was because it came with a meat grinder attachment….which meant…future burgers. So last weekend we put it to use.

For the patties, he used a mixture of rump steak, brisket and Scotch fillet, salt, pepper, a bit of paprika, Worcestershire sauce and an egg. The burger itself consisted of a hamburger bun (store-bought, we previously made our own buns but this time we didn’t have the time) Emmental cheese, crispy bacon, tomato and lettuce. I attempted to do an Alioli sauce but failed, so we used basic mustard and ketchup sauce.

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I’m writing this from my bed, with long PJs on, a long sleeve shirt, a cardigan and with my fox slippers by the side of my bed, which can only mean one thing….autumn is here and with it, cold and rainy days in grey Berlin.

To fight the cold weather you could expect me to bake up something warm, something spicy and decadent, pair it up with coffee or tea and snuggle up under a comfy blanket. Well no, I refuse to give in to Fall and I decided to bake a cake that reminds me of summer, of birthday parties and easily my favourite cake of all time: A Lemon Meringue Pie (Simply called Lemon Pie in Argentina)

I invited a few friends for tea, so the pressure is on, a  buttery crust, zesty lemon curd filling and topped with a sweet italian meringue, who hard could it be?….well will find out since its the first time I’m making it.

I used Mary Berry’s Lemon Meringue Pie recipe this time, that you can find here, I’ve been obsessing with The Great British Bake Off lately so I had to try one of their recipes. I think next time I will use less lemons since my lemon curd turned out a bit too sour. I know is not the prettiest pie but it was my first try, we’ll see next time how it turns out.

Jules.-

I know what you are thinking, ‘Those are Pretzels…with P’, well…. no, actually these soft snacks are called Bretzels in Germany and it is said that its name changed in the USA because there were re introduced by the Pennsylvanian Dutch community. Still in Germany, even though the name varies throughout the region, they are still named with a B: Brezn, Bretzel, Brezzl, Brezgen, Bretzga, Bretzet, Bretschl and so on.

Bretzel (Pretzel)

These snacks go way back, some say even to the early middle ages. It is a baked bread, commonly shaped into a twisted knot, complemented with a lye treatment and seasoned with salt. It’s name may derive from the latin ‘bracellus’ or ‘bracchiola’ (bracelet/little arms) that could have to do with its shape.

Even though people still argue about its origin, the Bretzel has (to this day) big ties with the Christian religion. Some say it’s shape resemble hands is prayer or that the three holes represent the Holy Trinity. But the biggest reason yet, is because it’s minimal ingredients made them into a meal that could be eaten during lent season, and they quickly became the Easter and ‘lent meal’ by excellence. Just as we ‘hide eggs’ nowadays, people used to hide Bretzels for kids to find.

Since the 12th century, (mostly in southern Germany) the bretzel has been used by bakers and its guild as an emblem and can be found hanging outside bakeries. It’s usually savoury and can be eaten with butter, mustard or cold cuts. Sweet versions are quite popular in some regions, topped with sugar, chocolate or covered with nuts.

Mythology and traditions: 

• New year’s Bretzels: On January 1st, people give each other slightly sweet Bretzels to symbolise good luck and good fortune.
• On the 1st of May, boys used to paint bretzels on the houses of girls they fancied.
• An upside down Bretzel could be a sign of disgrace.
• ‘Bretzel Sunday’ is a festival in Luxemburg were boys would give girls a bretzel to show they were in love with them, in return the girls would give them a decorated easter egg.

On a ‘type’ note:
Bauhaus
ITC Bauhaus was designed by Edward Benguiat and Victor Caruso based on the prototype created by Herbert Bayer of the Dessau Bauhaus in 1925. It’s name comes from the Bauhaus movement and Design School created by Walter Gropius in 1919. 

Each country has their own special recipes, foods and ingredients. Some which are new, some which date hundreds and hundreds of years. During the first couple of weeks in Berlin I made it my  mission to try as many new foods, flavours, dishes as possible (no matter how strange or new they seemed to me)

After a bit of research and in a way of forcing myself into a creative project as well, I’ve decided to create ‘The ABC of German Food’ a typography and photographic project where I research and create photographic pieces on two of my ‘favourite’ subjects, typography and food. For the next couple of weeks/months/howeverlongittakes I’ll be posting a new german dish, all the way from A to Z. So lets start with A!

Apfel Strudel (Apple Strudel)

Even though some will argue that the Strudel is actually from Austria, the Apfel Strudel is a staple in any German household. The word is self, Strudel, derives from the Middle high german ‘Whirlpool.’ It consists of a piece of pastry, filled with a tart apple filling with cinnamon, breadcrumb and maybe raisins, nuts or rum (depending on the recipe) and rolled into a log and baked.

Some say the first recipe ever recorded was found in 1696 at the Wiener Stadtbibliothek (State Library) and it was highly influenced with the Ottoman Empire’s cuisine, specially since the puff pastry typically used in the Turkish baklava was the base for the dish.

A couple of years ago my own grandmother taught me how to make one. You can find the recipe here.

On a ‘type’ note:
American Typewritter
ITC American Typewriter was designed by Joel Kaden and Tony Stan in 1974. It retains the typical typewriter alphabet forms, lending the font a hint of nostalgia.

If you are in Berlin at the moment you’d know that we’ve experienced some rather cold and rainy couple days, adding to the fact that I haven’t been feeling well, I was in need of some comfort food.

These treats can be found pretty much in every Argentinian bakery, some plain, some dipped in chocolate… I’ve even found caramel filled coquitos! (coc.e.tos) They are not only super easy to make, but you only need 3 ingredients.

So if you are in need of some sweet tea time treats and have 20 minutes to spare…this recipe is for you. Plus check the end for some extra tips.

You’ll need:

200gr Shredded coconut
200gr White Sugar
2 Eggs

Optional: 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla extract

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Lay some parchment paper on a flat tray
2. Beat the two egg, add sugar, coconut and combine (at this point you can add the vanilla for an extra bit of sweetness)
3. The mixture should be a bit sticky and depending on your preference, there are 3 ways of setting these to cook.

• You can pour the mixture into a piping bag with a star tip and lay small, cone shape blobs in the baking tray (they might rise a bit so don’t lay them too close to each other)
• With the help of a small ice cream scoop, scoop small balls of the mixture and lay them on the tray.
• With wet hands (that way you avoid the sticky mess – or cooking gloves) grab small pieces of the mixture and shape them to your liking (cones or balls) and set them in a tray

1. Put them in the oven for 10 minutes, they should be slightly brown but chewy on the inside.

And that’s it! I made around 30 or more of these little treats with this recipe and it fixed my sweet tooth of the day (and week probably) If you try them let me know, tag me, send me a link, you know the drill….

How to take the Coquitos to the next level:
The options are endless…but…after they are cooked and have cooled down if you dip the base of the coquitos in chocolate you are in for a special treat.
Or, you can use the same mix to create a gluten free base for a pie, just follow the instructions, lay the mixture in a pie tray and bake for 10 minutes. After it cooled down, you can fill it with a layer of caramel and a layer of chocolate ganache. Pop it in the fridge for the chocolate to harden and you’ll be left with a Coquitos cake and surely will be a success.

For the past couple of days I had le boyfriend stay at home because he was feeling poorly. Adding to the fact that after the most disgustingly hot weather days, the temperature finally drop and it was rainy and cold again and we were feeling quite lazy it gave me the perfect excuse to start baking again.

I hadn’t had the chance to bake much since we got here, hopping from house to house, lack of kitchen elements and not being quite in the mood, but yesterday felt like one of those days, were you just want to curl up in the sofa with something sweet, a cup tea, a book and some cuddles.

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Between packing up our house for our Berlin trip, plus that whole month and a half in Argentina and now getting to know this new city. Le Boyfriend and I basically just lived off burgers. It’s simple and you can’t really F it up, so it quickly became our go to meal when we were out of ideas.

That being say, today I was tidying up some old photographs when I realised I had a couple of photos from a Burger Quest we did when we flew to Wellington. I don’t know the reason why I didn’t write a post at the time, but late is better than never, so with out further ado I give you, Burger Quest part 3.

Since the moment we landed I was swamp with messages from friends saying we should check out Cuba St. for lunch, so after walking pretty much the whole Te Papa Museum, we continued our walk towards Cuba St.

Not knowing what to eat (as per usual) we walked and walked until we bumped with Grill Meats Beer, a cute bar grill with a crafty vibe and an open kitchen to feast your eye. This place is not so much a burger joint but a meat-lovers dream, a great combination of craft beers and drinks with yummy meats straight from the grill.

Of course, we overestimate our hunger (and the portions) and ended up ordering way too much. We started by ordering a couple of beers (Emerson Bookbinders and a ParrotDog Flaxen Feather) and an some bacon and cheddar croquetas. The portion was about 5 croquetas, which were around the size of a Cadbury Cream egg, it was ok, but I don’t know if I would order it again, since the filling, yet yummy, felt a bit ‘mushy’.

But we are here for the burgers, so lets begin. (I’ve checked the website and it looks like the menu changed so I don’t think these are in the menu anymore) Le Boyfriend went for a pulled pork burger with some apple slaw and I ordered a Staxx Burger which I didn’t realized it came with two patties. Overall it was great, we were full and both burgers tasted amazing and were fully cooked which is a must for le Boyfriend (Im more of a medium rare kind of girl).

This time we’ll award Grill Meats Beer 3/5 LB faces

For those who follow me on social media this is no surprise, but I am at the moment spending a couple of day back in Argentina. This time we came with a bit more time to visit friends and family and this time I was able to snuck in a couple of yummy treats.

Since moving to New Zealand our ‘eating habits’ changed, not only we eat relatively more healthy but we’ve tried and loved food that is really hard to find here, such as thai food, corean, indonesian and indian food. The later is one the le boyfriends go to meals when we have to choose a place to go to.

So, since I’m such a good girlfriend and I like to subdue my family to the strangest of experiments, I’ve decided to bring with myself a couple of spices and attempt an Indian Butter Chicken Curry. Since argies are not used to spicy food, I’ve decided to start with something mild and go for a butter chicken.

The Guests:

• The Excited one  (le boyfriend): it had been a while since he had indian food and was overall excited of having it for dinner.
• The Sceptic one: (le father): slightly sceptic but intrigued about trying this thing I’ve been talking non stop since I got there.
• The Yes Man: (le Casanova aka Le sisters boyfriend): he is the perfect subject to try new foods, he’ll say yes to anything and ask for a second serving.
•  The ‘Are you sure is not too scipy?’ lady (aka le mother): mostly scared about the spiciness and effect that it might have on her, yet the only one who tried indian food before.
• The Yes Girl (le blondie): Much like her counterpart, she is the perfect guest. She will try whatever you cook and be excited about the experience.

I don’t know about you, but for me, no curry is good enough without its naan or paratha, so I started by finding a naan recipe and getting the dough ready (you can find the one that I’ve used here)  For the curry, I brought some spice paste from NZ specially prepared for butter chicken, the only thing I needed to do is mix the paste with some tomato sauce, cream and onion and toss cubed chicken stirring until cooked through. The only thing left to do is to cook some basmati rice in boiling water with a pinch of salt, and serve.

Final thoughts:
All the guests looked happy and agreed that it was yummy. Non of them found the curry spicy or in the need to add cream to it to soften the flavour. The naan bread didn’t go as planned since I found it didn’t have the soft, flexible texture as the ones I’ve tried before, but it still tasted good.

We could say then, that Butter chicken: 5/5 Argies approved

What do you think? Have you tried indian food before or intend to do it? Should we continue to try new foods from different countries and share them with the rest of the world?
Until next time.- Jules

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, last Sunday was Valentines Day. Le Boyfriend decided to go on a boys trip to Miami and my sisters’ boyfriend was stuck with finals so we spent valentines the best way we know: binging sweets and TV shows.

If you are like me, you’d think that ‘love’ should be celebrated everyday and there is always a good excuse to dust off your shoes and go on a date with your SO, sister or friends. So without any specific order, I made a wee list of my 5 favourite places to go out in Auckland. Here we go…

Top 5 places to have a date in Auckland

1. Indochine Kitchen
   With tons of fairy lights and eclectic light bulbs on the ceiling this is the closest thing to a starry night sky you’ll get. Yummy Vietnamese food and an artsy vibe perfect for a casual date. I recommend ending the night with some Vietnamese dripping coffee…. try it cold…. try it with condensed milk.
2. Mexico
   Every time I think of spending some quality time with my girls I think Margaritas! and Mexico is the perfect place to do that. Chips, guac and fried chicken are staples to an ever changing seasonal menu. Filled with big tables and sangria pitchers this is a good place to enjoy some spicy treats and chat throughout the night.
3. Moustache Milk & Cookie Bar
   I know, they closed down their store in Wellesley Street. But there is a new Cookie Bus roaming the streets of Auckland! For a quirky day date or a coffee fix with your fam just keep an eye on their facebook page to see where they are going to be next.
   
4. The Gin Room
   This one is for the cocktail lovers. We found this place by stalking and following a guy on Vulcan Lane that looked like he came out of a 1920’s film. (yes we are creeps) Going up on some inconspicuous stairs, we were greeted by low lights, 1920’s decor and a chatty bartender which is now competing on the Angostura NZ cocktail competition. If that is not a good omen for the quality of the drinks I don’t know what it is.
5. Federal Deli
   A take on an old school NYC deli for meat lovers and coffee chuggers. They offer bottomless coffee cups to get your caffeine fix and have a great range of sandwiches and meaty dishes, all of this while being served by cute 1950’s looking girls. If you don’t mind getting messy DO try the poutine! Definitely a perfect lunch spot.
   

Honarable mentions:

• The Little Sazerac: Known to us by ‘The Little Hallway’ this is one of my favourite bars situated on a little booth between Raquet and Orleans in Britomart. This is a great place to have a drink with your favourite guy or with friends.
• Faro: Lately I’ve been venturing into Korean BBQs and I loved this place. You sit down, order a bunch of yummy meats and sides and get your cook on! Just make sure the fan is on, unless you want to smell like food for the next couple of hours haha
• Cibo: I HAD to name this place. It a bit more fancy but it was the first fancy dinning restaurant le boyfriend and I went to for our first anniversary in Auckland and was the last one we visited before leaving. Good food, good wine and great attention.