my partner in crime, jill, and i were similar in many ways. one of those ways was that we both loved our food and drink. after living together for just over a month jill declared "monday is a new day". this meant that we were going to stop behaving as if we were on vacation - stop eating and drinking loads, stop lounging around all the time. i planned to eat slightly healthier, slightly less, and start practicing yoga on a regular basis.
the fact was that we had had enough time to discover many of the yummy foods japan had to offer. the izakayas that we visited had picture menus (for easy ordering) and every time we visited one we knew what things we wanted. of course gyoza (pan-fried dumplings), deep fried oysters, tiny eggplant halves with miso, french fries, sashimi, edamame (green soybeans), and atsukan (hot sake!). white russians at karaoke. fried chicken and egg on rice concoctions from the mini-mart, onigiri (filled rice balls wrapped in seaweed), and late night bowls of ramen.
and as if that weren't enough our home cuisine creations were evolving too. every friday night was "gyoza night". we cooked up a couple packages of supermarket gyoza and sat on our little sofa watching videos. we started making pizza toasts. we managed to make nachos in our toaster oven (in japan they didn't have tortilla chips, but we did find "plain" unflavored doritos - seriously). other favorites included beef stroganoff and jill's fabulous mac and cheese (which i now make for myself and claim it's my recipe - sorry hon!).
so despite riding the bloody bikes everywhere all this food was starting to add up. and i behaved for a little while. but then came christmas. and our trip to tokyo. japan is just a food lover's paradise, what's a girl to do?
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Sunday, February 05, 2006
4 jobs and 3 years ago
i can hardly believe it has been so long, but three years ago today i wrote in my journal:
i had just arrived in london after an overnight flight and was trying to settle into the whole idea of long term travel. and the idea of traveling alone. it was the beginning of an amazing adventure in my life.
after working a contract job for almost 5 months and being turned down twice for a full time position in the group i decided to take my money and run - to do something a little crazy. and it felt a little crazy at the start. as time passed though, i eventually got into the rhythm of travel. lazy mornings, sitting hours at a cafe with only a coffee and my journal, making sandwiches from the supermarket, visiting a museum or sitting on the beach, scoping out a restaurant for dinner.
by the end of the 10 weeks i was feeling confident enough in my travel skills that i was giving advice to other travelers at my hostel. but i was also looking forward to being home again, to staying in one place for a while.
now that i've had 3 years to reflect on that trip, i've learned a lot of things and become a better and happier traveler. a couple of tips for long term travel:
lately i've just been dying to be back on the road, i miss the variety, the pace of life. luckily i have my journals, my blogs, and my photos to transport me back to those times. and before i know it, i'll be on the road again. you can relive my france and italy 2003 trip vicariously through my fritaly blog. and until my next big trip i'll continue writing about my adventures in japan.
5 February 2003
am here, finally. it's strange. can't believe i'm really here - all the preparation, planning. my nerves come and go. and sometimes i can't believe this is only the beginning, that i'll be wandering for two and a half months...
am here, finally. it's strange. can't believe i'm really here - all the preparation, planning. my nerves come and go. and sometimes i can't believe this is only the beginning, that i'll be wandering for two and a half months...
i had just arrived in london after an overnight flight and was trying to settle into the whole idea of long term travel. and the idea of traveling alone. it was the beginning of an amazing adventure in my life.
after working a contract job for almost 5 months and being turned down twice for a full time position in the group i decided to take my money and run - to do something a little crazy. and it felt a little crazy at the start. as time passed though, i eventually got into the rhythm of travel. lazy mornings, sitting hours at a cafe with only a coffee and my journal, making sandwiches from the supermarket, visiting a museum or sitting on the beach, scoping out a restaurant for dinner.
by the end of the 10 weeks i was feeling confident enough in my travel skills that i was giving advice to other travelers at my hostel. but i was also looking forward to being home again, to staying in one place for a while.
now that i've had 3 years to reflect on that trip, i've learned a lot of things and become a better and happier traveler. a couple of tips for long term travel:
* when everything seems to be going wrong - throw a little money at the problem. sometimes a night in nicer hotel or a meal at a proper restaurant is all you need.
* don't schedule yourself too much - sometimes you just don't feel like seeing the most famous sight in wherever, so don't do it and don't give it another thought.
* take pictures of the people you meet - it'll make your memories that much stronger.
* write everything down - that way you can relive the adventure whenever you want!
* don't schedule yourself too much - sometimes you just don't feel like seeing the most famous sight in wherever, so don't do it and don't give it another thought.
* take pictures of the people you meet - it'll make your memories that much stronger.
* write everything down - that way you can relive the adventure whenever you want!
lately i've just been dying to be back on the road, i miss the variety, the pace of life. luckily i have my journals, my blogs, and my photos to transport me back to those times. and before i know it, i'll be on the road again. you can relive my france and italy 2003 trip vicariously through my fritaly blog. and until my next big trip i'll continue writing about my adventures in japan.
Friday, February 03, 2006
tortilla espagnol
on my second night in spain i went out with carlynne and alida from my hostel and a friend of alida's who had been teaching in madrid. we charged him with choosing a restaurant, since he was the most familiar with the city. his first pick was far too crowded - we were never going to get a table. after a little more wandering we finally found another of his favorites and sat down to eat.
after perusing the huge menu (which was translated into english, german, and french) i decided that i would try a tortilla espagnol - literally a spanish omelette, meaning a potato omelette. it turned out to be one of the most divine things i've ever tasted. and so i decided then and there that my mission for this trip would be to find the best tortilla espagnol in spain. so here's what i found:
madrid
my first tortilla was perfectly round and crisp on the outside - like it had been flipped out of the pan and onto the plate. no rolled or folded omelettes here. the potatoes were diced small with just a touch of chopped onion and some spice i couldn't quite identify. also, far from being just a filling, the potatoes were evenly dispersed through the entire omelette.
granada
this tortilla was thicker than my last, but still about the same circumference. the potato peices were larger and it was lacking something... that i couldn't quite put my finger on.
sevilla
1. a pre-flamenco meal (very early by spanish standards). once again there were big chunks of potato but that elusive spice was back. :) it was also served with some potato slices on the side.
2. when i arrived early at the bus station on my way back to madrid from sevilla i went out in search of coffee. outside the bus station i found a little stand with a funny man inside. as i stood there chatting and drinking my coffee i decided to get a sandwich for the ride - a tortilla sandwich. the omelette was rolled this time - obviously - to fit inside the bread. the potatoes were a medium dice with onion. overall the omelette sandwich was pretty tasty, even at room temperature a few hours later.
the verdict
madrid wins it - the first was definitely the best. the small dice of the potato gave a better egg to potato ratio. i've even been able to reproduce this at home! it turns out that the onion *is* the elusive spice, somehow in this recipe it's just very subtle.
overall i found spanish food mediocre. but the tortilla espagnol has forever become one of my favorites. this is my last post about spain, next week i hope to get some more japan stories posted as well as a tribute to my 2003 fritaly trip.
after perusing the huge menu (which was translated into english, german, and french) i decided that i would try a tortilla espagnol - literally a spanish omelette, meaning a potato omelette. it turned out to be one of the most divine things i've ever tasted. and so i decided then and there that my mission for this trip would be to find the best tortilla espagnol in spain. so here's what i found:
madrid
my first tortilla was perfectly round and crisp on the outside - like it had been flipped out of the pan and onto the plate. no rolled or folded omelettes here. the potatoes were diced small with just a touch of chopped onion and some spice i couldn't quite identify. also, far from being just a filling, the potatoes were evenly dispersed through the entire omelette.
granada
this tortilla was thicker than my last, but still about the same circumference. the potato peices were larger and it was lacking something... that i couldn't quite put my finger on.
sevilla
1. a pre-flamenco meal (very early by spanish standards). once again there were big chunks of potato but that elusive spice was back. :) it was also served with some potato slices on the side.
2. when i arrived early at the bus station on my way back to madrid from sevilla i went out in search of coffee. outside the bus station i found a little stand with a funny man inside. as i stood there chatting and drinking my coffee i decided to get a sandwich for the ride - a tortilla sandwich. the omelette was rolled this time - obviously - to fit inside the bread. the potatoes were a medium dice with onion. overall the omelette sandwich was pretty tasty, even at room temperature a few hours later.
the verdict
madrid wins it - the first was definitely the best. the small dice of the potato gave a better egg to potato ratio. i've even been able to reproduce this at home! it turns out that the onion *is* the elusive spice, somehow in this recipe it's just very subtle.
overall i found spanish food mediocre. but the tortilla espagnol has forever become one of my favorites. this is my last post about spain, next week i hope to get some more japan stories posted as well as a tribute to my 2003 fritaly trip.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)