Last weekend was certainly one for the books. The FOOD books! Oh Lordy, did we eat well. The start of February couldn’t have gone better; pure hedonism at its finest. Well, it could have gone better if my skin had improved even the teeniest bit, but the flareup is still going strong. RATS. I guess that’s why I really savour the weekends, I give my diet a little wiggle room to keep myself sane. I’m not saying I’m in crazy austerity mode during the week, holed up in an attic eating gruel (we don’t even have an attic) but I do make better choices.
That being said, diet hasn’t had much impact on my skin. Yet. I kinda feel like I’m in the dark with no torch. But these things will pay off eventually, I think. If one keeps on keepin’ on. And my weekend indulgences allow me to do just that.
Oh yeah…I nearly forgot to mention. The odd post here and there, I comment on the picture quality. This is one of those posts. Since iResize stopped working on my Mac entirely, I’ve been editing with the most basic software – the preview option. That mixed with some portrait google app images (I have the google camera app on my Samsung Note 8!) I probably should have taken in landscape, images are a little sub-standard…but hey, it could be worse. Image editing apps on my phone rock. On my desktop, not so much. Any recs are more than welcome.
FRIDAY
I don’t shun routine on the weekends completely, that would be counterproductive. I start my day with lemon water, then celery juice a while after, tincture of B12, tincture of ionic zinc and Omega-3 tablet. Do they work? Who knows. The optimist in me says absolutely.
I also have collagen coffee. This is the latest member of team morning routine, double-shot of coffee with foamed coconut milk and a scoop of collagen powder. I’ll try anything for my skin, and it has great reviews.
I went for an early morning walk in the crisp (but sunny!) weather, where I came upon this little dude enjoying his brekkie. It made me think of my brekkie. Suddenly, I was real hungry. When I arrived back to the apartment I fired up the airfryer and threw in one of those parbaked (gluten-free) demi baguettes. Within minutes my kitchen smelled like a bakery, and I made me some avocado toast with vine tomatoes, chill flakes, salt flakes and a big glug of my favourite olive oil, O-Med Picual EVOO. I was off to the best start, sufficiently fuelled for my workday. I even enjoyed my breakfast with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, from those amazing machines supermarkets have here where they pulverise whole oranges in seconds, the skin exploding right before your very eyes.
Friday, PM. It was still crisp and sunny in equal measure but clouds were beginning to materialise. This weather may not last, I thought to myself. And I was definitely in the wrong outfit. You’d think being an Irish person would prepare me for all kinds of weather, but it never does. Irish people never know how to dress for the rain, despite how much of it we experience.
Anyway, we continued our food journey at Restaurante Oliver, a charming seafood bar and restaurant on Plaza Pescadería, a cute little square near the cathedral. The inside is pretty, the outside terrace is cosy and warm (thank god for heaters) and perfect for people watching. We went for the latter, as the two of us are kinda nosy. Iñaki more so…he’s a major gossip queen. Fun fact, Anthony Bourdain stopped by Oliver in 2013 for his Parts Unknown Granada episode.
We shared pulpo a la gallega to start. It was nice, but I prefer the clams we ordered as a starter last time…they come out swimming in lots of garlicky lemony butter. The clams were *tiny* though, so we wanted something more substantial, hence the change. For his main course, Iñaki had monkfish in saffron sauce.
For me, my very favourite, grilled seabass. The grilled seabass is so good here. I perked up right now in this very seat just thinking about it! Perfectly cooked and seasoned, just a good ol’ piece of fresh fish, no further requirements. Well, also cutlery because I don’t wanna get my hands all oily and fishy. The waiters are always really pleasant and professional and they have a nice selection of wine, if ya feelin’ fancy.
Yikes, the weather turned and suddenly it was FREEZING! We continued with our weekend of indulgences bidding farewell to Oliver and going right around the corner to La Finca, one of my absolute favourite spots for coffee here in Granada. Everyone loves La Finca, they’re probably the most popular coffee place/coffee roasters here. So much so that they recently added another cafe. It’s always nice to see small businesses thrive. I got a flat white to go, Iñaki got a cappuccino. It started to rain. I needed to get home to blankets and warmth. We did brave the cold for a few more minutes though, to stop by La Tarta de la Madre de Cris (back on Plaza Pescadería) to pick up a slice of their famous cheesecake (it really is the best!) A rich, dense yet fluffy slightly caramelised vanilla cheesecake. The cheesecake is so rich, it doesn’t even have a biscuit base. I know, sounds totally weird but don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. If you’re having trouble picturing it, it looks like this.
We had only arrived home and Iñaki decided he wanted to take a little siesta (not only food indulgences going on, clearly) so I made the most of my time and did an hour of yoga. It probably earned me about a thimble full of that cheesecake, but whatever. Namaste. I ate my slice all cosied up on the couch in my very favourite rather fetching Elmo jammies where we watched movies for the rest of the evening.
SATURDAY
Repeated Friday routine. Instead of avocado toast, I had a smoothie of banana, dates, coconut yoghurt, cacao powder, cinnamon and raw wildflower honey. It’s the best. I then went for my walk which tends to be longer on Saturdays as I like to go further afield, exploring. It is the weekend after all! I threw on the first bits I laid my paws on in my wardrobe, which I found amusing. Black jeans and a black jumper. Not the best choice when you’re a stage five flake mobile like I currently am, but sometimes you’ve got to live on the edge.
Oranges are in bloom everywhere right now, a real mood lifter. I snapped these on my way back with a little supermarket detour. I had a plan up my black flaky sleeve.
Empanadas! And they turned out just great. I love Fugazetta, a delicious Argentine pizza, so thought I’d have a go at making them in empanada form. I got gluten free pre-made dough (corners need to be cut sometimes) cheese (mozzarella, provolone) and some oregano. This made four substantial empanadas. I fried up some onions (cut them into strips, about a quarter of a white onion, depending on how many you make) I then rolled out the dough and cut around side plates to make little circles. I didn’t do egg wash as I’m avoiding eggs at the moment, so in its place I rubbed a little bit of olive oil around the dough disk, put a tablespoon of each cheese, the onion strips, a pinch of salt and lots of oregano. I then folded the disk over, sealed it with a fork and then twisted the edges to seal it further, coating the whole thing again with the lighest layer of olive oil (you’d obviously use the egg here again too.)
The idea came into my head to make these as we have an airfryer now, which we’re getting so much use out of! We don’t have an oven so it’s really working out. I preheated the airfryer for 5 minutes on 180, and cooked the empanadas for just 8 minutes, checking halfway through. You could achieve the same with a regular oven, about 180C for 20 minutes. I just wing the measurements/heat/cooking time.
I enjoyed my creation in my cosy little nook in the corner of our apartment with a blanket; reading, reading, reading. We then watched the rugby. Yeah, let’s not go there.
Saturday, PM. We got all gussied up to go for dinner, a place Iñaki hadn’t been yet. We went to Bar Damasqueros first for a pre-dinner drink, knowing full well we’d get a tapa too. I love that bar, it’s dark but very open, quiet and in a part of our neighbourhood I love because again, its off the beaten track. This bar is at the foot of the crazy steep steps that will take you up to The Alhambra and The Alhambra Palace Hotel. Our tapa? A little tomato crêpe. Almost too cute to eat.
Dinner! This is Restaurante Damasqueros, on the same street as the bar. Both are called after the street which I don’t need to name at this stage. You’ve already figured it out.
I love this little spot, run by chef Lola Marín, a Granadina herself. She changes the tasting menu every single week. How impressive is that? I reviewed them before, so I won’t go through all the dishes above. In fact, I didn’t even include pictures of every dish, 2 are missing here. You’ll just have to visit.
At only €39.50pp for the tasting menu, the value is excellent and they are fantastic with dietary requirements. They really looked after me last weekend. The one thing I couldn’t eat (which I didn’t expect to, it was already prepared) was the ‘chorizo’ above. It arrived with the bill, alongside shots of a liqueur made with rice milk. I had to include the pic, such a clever creation. It really does look like chorizo, a chocolate-y nutty version.
The meal was just magical. So enjoyable, so many flavours…such postprandial somnolence. I slept like a baby.
SUNDAY
Another beautiful day in G-town! Ugh, remind me to never refer to Granada as G-town again. The day started with my usual routine and stopped with the collagen coffee. I was way still way too full from Saturday night’s feast to have anything for breakfast. After some couch-potato-ing, we asked each other what kind of food pangs we had and where we should go for lunch. I know, more spoiling ourselves but I’ll say it again, (I’ve said it like 3 times in this post) it’s the weekend! We decided on Muglia, the most amazing Indian restaurant here. The food is so good, it makes me cry. Actually, sometimes I do cry because it can be unbelievably spicy. Which I love. Finding spicy food in Spain is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
It was such a beautiful day that we had a stroll around the city first. My favourite thing to do in Granada is walking, as you may have guessed. A) because the city is so walkable and b) there’s so much to see and do, you’ll always happen upon something worthwhile, be it a little square you never noticed before, a new cafe enticing you with a window full of delightful baked good, a lively bar…and there’s often someone playing Spanish guitar. It’s the best past time.
We ordered the tandoori prawns (amazing) Iñaki had the Biryani Special (spicy rice with lamb, chicken, prawns) I had the prawn madras. We ordered saag aloo to share. You simply can’t have Indian without ordering saag aloo. It’s non-negotiable.
Making the most of Sunday Funday, we went to Check In, a cocktail bar on Calle San Matías. The decor is that of an old London Underground carriage. The prices are great, the cocktails creative and you can upgrade to premium spirits for a couple of euro more, it lists both options. For example, a margarita with Jose Cuervo, €5. Upgrade to Patron Silver, €7. That type of jazz. We had a couple of mojitos, just €3.50 each. These went down pretty darn well after our Muglia trip, a mojito is perfect for a spicy belly.
Our Sunday ended with more walks (we went home and watched movies after our two rounds of mojitos, but I had so much energy I went out AGAIN) and…MORE food. Yes, more. I worked up an appetite on said walk, and we ended up ordering Dominos (Dominos promotions are amazing here in Spain, so cheap) gluten free chicken grill – grilled chicken, onion, mushrooms and sweetcorn, with chicken kickers and chicken strips. They were all part of the offer, I swear.
So there we are, my food adventures peppered with plenty of Granada eating and drinking inspiration for the aspiring visitor. Bye weekend, you were the perfect symphony of food, drinks and fun.
Who knows what culinary delights we’ll experience next weekend and what mischief will ensue. And the amazing news is, next weekend is already here! Right now! Today! Hooray! Don’t you just love it when that happens?
This weekend has got some big shoes to fill, let’s see how it goes. Have a good one friends.
♥ ♥ ♥