Salt cod fritters reheated really well in the air fryer!
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Lovely golden fritters. In Portugal they make a big batch at a time. When you buy it, even in a restaurant it’s no longer hot, but that’s how it’s always done.
I almost bought a big slab (flattened whole fish) of bacahlau (supermarket, Madeira) but a Russian tourist spent the entire time checking out every single bacahlau with her bare hands. I suddenly lost all interest in buying. She saved my all the time and effort I would have needed to prepare any bacalhau/salt cod dishes.
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2 fresh roe sacs
I was shucking the oysters and it occurred to me to use a long deep shell to hold the roe.
When it’s roe you really don’t want spices or something pungent to overpower the delicate taste of rich dairy and oysters. I enjoy this kind of simple meal very much.
Also made some chicken wings.
The marinade: chipotle, Madeira, my own mix of “fajita seasoning”. Cooked SV then finished in the oven till crispy.
The second version is a bit different. The wings were steamed in the marinade.
The marinade: fermented black beans (not rinsed, roughly chopped), Taiwanese “BBQ sauce”, salted mustard and Madeira wine.
Ate this meal with noodles (not pictured).
And lastly, crab claws and a worthless beer.
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Garlic fried rice with an egg on top, broccolini and tomato with sesame dressing, and coconut milk chicken adobo:
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Nice hard cheese (Kaltbach, Swiss, cave-aged) that I eat sometimes. Harder to come by than the usual Swiss stuff.
My impromptu “riff” on a Greek meze liver dish that is marinated in red wine (and lemon juice). I blitzed the last of a boozy cherry compote in the blender with some more wine and lemon juice added. Lamb’s liver has been cooked SV first.
Greek anchovies
Just a few things I have lying around and it’s lunch.
Presents to myself (again!). Photos by Zwilling.
A new SV circulator but for travelling only. The smallest SV does not ship to anywhere else.
First glass kettle. It’s big. Comes with a tea insert but I have other tea pots for that.
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Cretan-style (sourdough rye) toast.
Scrambled eggs with tomatoes, feta and kalamata.
Memories of Santorini…
Nice outside… but can’t sit here because it’s “reserved” for smokers. It’s like this everywhere.
We were first to arrive and got to pick a table. Lunch spot is in a village around the corner from a winery where we would visit after the meal.
How you know it’s a local place… the salad has more tomatoes, more cheese and is drenched in olive oil.
FYI, the world’s 2 top olive oil producers Italy and Spain, consume on average 10.5 litres a year. Cretans consume more than 35 litres a year (!), more than anyone/population in the whole world! Olive oil is king in Cretan gastronomy.
Aubergine dip. On Santorini they eat Santorini aubergines (Solanum avigerum). This variety is only available on the pretty island (mostly in people’s own gardens), white, seedless, not bitter at all, and hardly absorbs oil.
Good Bifteki, not dry at all.
Lamb chops in Greece usually look well-done but it’s tender and flavourful. If you eat meat never miss a chance to eat the lamb. Greeks often order a whole kilo but we only have room for a portion. Menu has prices for “portion” and “kilo”. Greeks also come in a group of at least 3 or more so they can eat a whole kilo. But I have also seen pairs and they ordered a kilo. Can always take the leftovers home.
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Tunafish toast or open-faced tunafish sandwich?
Canned yellowfin with Mayonesa and ETBTB seasoning (Aldi) and some onion salt (not needed), on Martin’s potato bread, toasted, with steamed egg slices, Central Grocery (NOLA) olive salad and Sabra s’chug. The Sabra had been in the fridge a long time and turned a very dark red; looks black in the pic, unfortunately
Inspired by Le Fricasse Tunisien, a street food sandwich in Tunisia, usually on a fried roll, with olives and capers and potatoes, plus egg and harissa. No mayo, but I’d made the tuna spread the night before for a sandwich.
Buncha pics, recipes and videos
Deli sliced Cajun seasoned chicken breast, Mayonesa, on Martin’s potato bread, with some Zat’s Creole seasoning mixed with the mayo.
And some Cheez-it Snap’d crackers, which are unfortunately addictively crunchy.
There was a portion of Blue Runner beans and pickled okra, too, not pictured.
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Cajun-ish hot dog, V.1
Never Any Chicken sausage (Aldi); I thought I had picked up the andouille but I had the Italian. I soldiered on.
Make-shift hot dog bun - Pane Turano (Aldi) trimmed, skillet toasted, Zat’s Creole mustard on 1/2, Blue Runner red beans on the other and on top of the link, + onions and small peppers from a jar of pickled okra.
I’d had the mustard for a long time and it had lost a lot of flavor; peppers were also worthless. But it was filling, and tasty after all.
That was all I had for lunch as I had over-eaten all day long the day before.
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How nice you see your lunches, Bruce! 
Big, late lunch and ended up forgoing dinner.
Home-made dumplings (I used a mould that opens and closes like a shell). The Lao Gan Ma-style chilli oil is also home-made.
Simple spinach drenched in my own chilli oil. Some crispy shallots on top (Vietnamese, store-bought).
Tofu with fermented black beans and broad bean paste, plus some chilli oil for colour. Non alcoholic beer.
A few days ago I saw a photo of Santorini deep in snow and thought it was a fake so I had to look it up. Turned out it’s true. Freak weather in Greece earlier this week. Athens was under near half metre of snow, but many Cycladic islands were also affected. Crete is farthest south and the summer there lasts the longest (you can swim in the sea throughout October) and Santorini is only 2 hours by boat away.
This was Santorini on Monday the 24th: photo 1, photo 2. I found 2 of my own photos taken in September to see the difference.
Gorgeous Greek island(s), beauty at every turn.
Pastel sunset. Btw, most people make the mistake of looking at/photographing the actual sun-setting. It’s nothing spectacular, really. The real beauty is the colours of the sky away from the sun, and the (pastel) colours that the light reflects on the buildings. This is the most iconic image of Santorini. The sunset alone got Santorini the votes for “most beautiful Greek island” and “one of the most visited islands in the world”. From a poverty-stricken island to that is a big honour. Nowadays Santorini is prosperous and well developed. Former residents returned in the 80’s when things began to change for the better. Many people left to find work elsewhere after the earthquakes in the 50’s. Greek government had to air-drop food and stuff during the hard times.
And there I was eating by the calm blue water. Thira is Greek name for Santorini.
Where I sat. It was a different Santorini back in September.
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Really strange to see Santorini blanketed in snow & a hefty one at that.
They had some problems not having equipments and experience dealing with snow. It lasted a couple of days but it goes to show there could be more freak weather events in the future, even in normally hot regions.
More from one of the sites I use for Greek news.
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Whaaaaa! I want one!
Ah! I feel that way about the sun on the hills at sunset near me, but I can’t even imagine capturing it.
I have only taken it out of the package and looked at it. Haven’t tested anything.
If you want the smallest one then have a look at Chefstep’s. They don’t ship outside the US so I got the Zwilling.
https://www.zwilling.com/us/content/sous-vide-content/sous-vide_faq.html
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Ready to eat as is but I take it a step further. Drying. My Miele oven has “drying” function.
Candied blood orange slices. One of the rare times I use sugar, let alone this much. But I eat these very sparingly.
6 oranges in total. Half the batch has Mexican vanilla essence.
Being dried in the oven right now. When it’s done I’ll dip each slice in pure chocolate (1/3).
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Thank you!
I think chefsteps requires the use of an app; doesn’t display stuff on the device. I think that’s how they keep it small.
I have the Anova. I’ll compare and contrast, but a new one would be hard to justify.
I also have a “water oven” version that I rarely used, and could maybe be replaced with a new toy!
I suspect this is a discussion for a different thread.
