Madrid

It's been so long I hardly know where to begin, so I'm going to jump straight in. I moved to Madrid, Spain with my family for 11 months the year before last. It was, (tentatively), supposed to be indefinite, but, from the get go I knew in the back of my mind that it wouldn't last long.

Fluffy balls of meat

Similar to arguing with people about how making burger mince in a blender is perfectly fine: "you really DON'T need a grinder", I sometimes have no idea what I'm talking about. Take the humble meatball. I thought using good quality extra lean ground beef was fine on it's own, throw in a couple of seasonings, maybe some breadcrumbs and there you have it. Nice chewy, slightly dry little meatballs. That's OK. Then, I cooked and ate these little gems and realised just how stubborn I was being. These little fluffy mounds were like eating clouds thanks to a careful and considered approach by the creator. You NEED WET BREAD in your meatball. That's right.

I like to eat, eat, eat zoodles and courgetti

Much like fashion, music and home decor, food seems to follow trends. Kale salad springs to mind, the ubiquitous chewy must have of a few years ago. Bacon seemed to regain a huge following again, turning up in such strange concoctions as bacon donuts. But, very recently, the spiralized craze began happening and everywhere we looked, zucchini became the 'it' vegetable due to it's remarkable ability to resemble spaghetti once spiralized. It doesn't stop with the humble courgette either. Sweet potatoes, cucumber, even carrots are all masquerading as low carb pasta and noodles. I'm a little late to the trend, although I've tried the 'zoodles' plain with butter and a little garlic, sauteed slowly until softened, but not as the base for a sauce or soup. Last week I tried them with a traditional tomato pasta sauce and today I made a spicy beef laksa.