Zhajiangmian again with cucumber
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which kind of noodles did you use? Dried or fresh? Rice of Wheat?
Used tian Mian Jiang?
Thanks
Sorry, I don’t know most names of butterflies. After a quick search I think the one in my photo is probably a Brassica ravager (Pieris rapae). I love all butterflies!
The steps down to Isola Bella in your photo is the last and easiest part. I walked down from the main and only street in the centre of Taormina. No stairs and super steep.
I know. It’s a sensitive subject matter. But hey, I like both cuisines and think both countries are amazing food destinations. Turkey is on my list and I’m sure I’ll love the country, too, when I get there.
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That looks good and sounds exciting!
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thanks
In Portugal and Spain they serve tinned fish/seafood properly like this… on a plate. But I have seen men eat sardines straight from the tin, tilting their heads to get the last bits out. And all the while, sitting in the car.
My cupboard is full of sardines and other tinned seafood. When I’m in another country I try all the tinned sardines the supermarkets stock.
Not from a tin. I cooked it myself and only had to let it sit in olive oil with some herbs for a little while. Greeks love octopus so much you can even find it deep in the hinterland. I took photos of frozen octopuses at a supermarket in Meteora and that’s nowhere near the sea.
Tomatoes, olives and feta, it’s mandatory.
Roasted aubergine. Mix well with good olive oil before eating is a must. Turks are the biggest aubergine eaters in the world. I think Greeks or Indians are probably second biggest.
Waikiki melon “carpaccio” with full-fat quark & honey.
No meal is really complete without more cheese. I forgot to ask where the “mountain cheese” came from. Could be anywhere in the Alps… France/Switzerland/Austria. The one on the right is a domestic cheese that I like. Made from full-fat Jersey cows’ milk. The cheese tastes very rich and flavourful. One of the rare domestic cheeses I am willing to give the time of day and respect.
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Yellow watermelon on toast with cottage cheese
Finally ate (and drank) all the melons I bought last week. Must have gained 2 kilos from the sugar alone.
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Some more photos from the woods, mostly of wild, poisonous fungi.
Not boletus
Huge and a bit ugly
Toxic “shiitake”-like
I thought it was tinder but most likely not
Pretty fuzzy weed
The bush of fuzzy weed releasing seeds into the wind
We had the woods to ourselves. The weather god took pity on us and gave us 2 last beautiful summer days. Each year the summer gets worse, either too hot or wet, or both.
Onions drying in the field. Farm is on my route to/from the woods.
It’s a small farm. My bike in the foreground.
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Grilled cheese sandwich. Homemade bread, raw butter (from Lancaster), cheddar, mushrooms, thyme, and old bay. Plum chutney on the side.
We had them yesterday, too. Kid came home from school and wanted another one.
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Sunset landing… the moment of sheer bliss. One because, I’m here to realise a childhood dream. And two, it’s been bloody long since my last landing!
Unfortunately, I have to go to bed, like now. Going to check out the farmers market first thing in the morning as they close early in the afternoon.
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Yay! Looking forward to pictures!
Tell us more?
Sprechen Sie Compound nouns?
Btw, 5 years ago I decided, after a long and hard consideration, to drop country of my childhood dreams Australia from the list and made peace with my 10 year old self. I did research New Zealand but it left me cold. Austria has incredible scenery, too, and value for money is far better, not to mention they have my kind of food.
I’d rather in land of (goat’s & sheep’s) milk and honey.
And another product the island is enormously proud of is its olive oil. Airport’s arrival hall has a wall showcasing the island’s agricultural products and this poster that covers an entire wall, the width of the hall.
In the Cretan capital!
It was late by our standard dinner time at home so we could not really eat a real meal so close to bed time (when Greeks eat their dinners). Grabbed a few things from a mini (tiny) mart around the corner and that was my first meal.
Same species, caught and processed in Greece, the taste is different from what I am familiar with, which is Moroccan/Portuguese/Spanish sardines. But all sardines are great, to me.
First holiday since Feb 2020! I go away 3 times a year so this would have been my trip number 4 or 5 in normal times. N95 muzzles. From the moment I left the house for the airport until I got inside my lodging.
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Congratulations! And great pictures! Did you put together the food map?
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Our kid’s raw goat milk comes from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. We used to always visit the farms where our eggs, milk, cheese, vegetables, and fruits came from. However, we switched to this farm for milk 3 years ago, yet never visited until now. The family is Amish or Mennonite, I think. (Sometimes it takes time for people to open up and share these sorts of details.) Our kids started playing together and we ended up spending the day there. (The kid was happy to miss Legoland to run around the farm all day!!?!)
Anyway, there are many similar farms in that area, with both raw and pasteurized dairy products. We grabbed all we could. I’ve never had better milk anywhere else, not even when my grandparents would milk their own buffalo in Pakistan. I especially love the raw butter with all its grassy nuances. Ufortunately, it goes bad fast and freezing it affects the mouthfeel, so we only bring back what we can use in 2 weeks. That’s the reason there’s not that much cheese in that grilled cheese, so the butter can shine. We also got goat feta from them which was excellent. Can’t wait to go back, although I’m a bit hesitant until it gets colder. They have a lot of chores around the farm and don’t use any machinery. I felt like we were distracting them at this critical time.
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Hmmm…UN Special Agency Diplomatic Passport! Intriguing!
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