If you ask an Argentinian to describe another Argentinian there are two possible outcomes:
We are cocky, we think we are the best on anything and we can talk ourselves from any situation. We are eternal pessimists, that’s why we always see the glass half empty and because of our unfortunate economic history we believe that makes us experts in matters such as politics and economy. For that reason we will always complain, complain about the job market, food and gas prices, politicians, security, TV shows, weather, etc. we love to complain.

on the other hand… (and I’d like to put myself in this group)

Some may say we know how to enjoy the little things in life, we have fun (that’s why many bands want to go to play to Arg. we are a great crowd) We love to spend time with family and friends, slow down, unwind, eat long lunches, spend the necessary time getting the “Asado” ready, sit down and have a glass of wine or spend entire afternoons chatting and drinking ‘mate’ with friends. Might be the Italian roots, but food bring us together. Because “Life is not a Pastafrola” (Life is not a piece of cake), we are melancholics, we know it, but we will make the most of it.

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I’m back! I apologize on the lack of post yesterday (I can blame it on the jet lag but it was pure laziness)

I little thing I kept for myself since I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to post about it was that I traveled to Sydney! Went went just for four days to visit some friends that are about to be parents and it was the perfect excuse to fly to Australia for the first time. So over the next weeks I will be posting a couple of  blog post on the trip (kind of what I did with New Zealand’s Northland) and we will call it: The Kiwi Diaries goes Aussie.

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Finally!

After weeks and weeks of convincing I finally talked Le Boyfriend into taking me for brunch. I don’t really know why I’m so obsessed with it, I hate breakfast, and any other day I try to avoid eating as soon as I wake up, but every weekend I have a crave for brunch, going out, and have some serious food. I became a fanatic and I’ve been asking him for too long.

He finally gave in and this Sunday we went to L’Assiette, located in the Britomart Area. I’ve been wanting to try this place for a long time, it is on every guide I’ve read ad on every “Must see” food places, including several Metro’s 50s Best Cafes in Auckland Awards. L’Assiette is a small french bistro that focuses on giving a French twist to kiwi classic meals, from Sweet patisserie to savory Galetes.

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The other day I was reading a blog post on flat whites (kiwi milky coffee) and I read something quite true: Kiwi coffee sucks, well to be honest the post didn’t exactly said that, but it is true that in most places they use instant coffee or worse…the burn it. The go from a plain tall black to flat whites, that are mostly milk. What happened to the range in the middle? The macchiatos, the “cortados”…even the Nono Cesar’s (Ristretto with some hot water on the side) Shout out to my grandma who teach me that.

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I’ve been doing some serious thinking, and you may remember that at the beginning of the month I wrote a blog post on the things I would want to do on February, but I realized that not everything is possible and it would be really complicated and boring to you to read one post on what do I want to do and another on “if I’ve done it”. So, as from now I will do one post at the end of each month on my monthly favourites.

– Frozen
Let it go! Let it go!
Thank you Disney. It’s been a while since I enjoyed an animated movie like this one. One get used to the old Disney classics that are focused on Love at first sight, were the bad guys are really bad, and the good one…well.. they are snow-white, a lot of singing and everyone searching for the same thing: Love. But lately Disney films are changing, the character a much more real, the reactions are more real, in Tangled you have one character that wonders why everyone just starts singing suddenly and in Frozen you have one character asked over and over again why would she marry someone she literary just met. [Message or my sister: Go watch it… no no, stop what ever you are doing…and go watch it]

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Given that my laziness stuck again and I couldn’t move my butt two blocks away to go to the lantern festival (the night part of it) I was left with no blog post for today. And since I promised I was going to do at least two posts per week I feel the need to at least share something.

So… when I first moved to new zealand (over a year ago…) Le Boyfriend took me for dinner with some argentinian friends, they all had the same thing to say. No, it was not welcome or some tips on what to do in the city, it was “In the first 7 months you are going to gain 14 pounds (7 kilos).” Nice huh? I’d just finish my university thesis and due to stress, nerves and pretty much Zombie Living for a few months I had lost a considerable amount of weight, so I was determined to keep it that way, no matter what they said.

To my surprise I didn’t consider that here the food is different from Argentina, the cheeses and milk are heavier, the bread slices are thicker and there is a cheeky little place called Burger Fuel, that for all of you healthy eaters….is hell. So after those 7 months I gained almost 20 pounds (10 kilos) I’ve been slowly trying to get back to my usual weight by trying to do more home cooked meals instead of take out and by going to the gym, but I didn’t take it really seriously and the truth is, I can try 500 diets but I really don’t know what I’m doing.

Luckily, a month ago a friend of a friend came to live to new zealand (I don’t think you have noticed….but we are pretty much invading the island) and she is a nutritionist, so Le Boyfriend and I asked her if she could set a diet for us and help us track our progress. I was prepared for the worst, like a month of iceberg lettuce eating and forbidden foods but she actually came up with a diet that we can “create ourselves” she just gave us food combination and portions. So I’ve been trying my best in the kitchen to come up with some tasty dishes that are part of the diet. And as for now Le boyfriend lost 2 kilos and I lost 1.5 in a week, so I guess something is working.

What do you think of my cooking skills?

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