Socarrat

'Socarrat' - is the description given to Paella that has been cooked to perfection.  By definition standards it is 'the delectable crust that forms at the bottom of the Paella Pan when the liquid is rendered and the rice has reached its peak of succulence.'  For the Spanish a Paella without Socarrat is not a Paella.

For my Spanish friends, particularly those who come from Valencia where this dish is most famous, a Paella must also meet other criteria; it is made with chicken, rabbit, green beans and white beans.  Anything else is a variation on tradition and is not the real thing.

Paella is one of my favourite dishes.  My love for it began when I went to visit Valencia a few years ago.  I ended up having it everyday for the entire weekend, each day I tried a different variation of it.

I have been asking Estherita for some time now to show me how to make an authentic Paella, and today was the day.  We did it step by step and hopefully I'll be able to remake it through memory.  But the result was 'socarrat' and so unbelievably tasty.

Muchas Gracias Estherita for the lesson in Paella.

xx

A Day of Much Needed R&R

This year so far feels like all work and no play.  The stress seems to be getting the better of me and is following me into my free time when I should be having fun.  Which is why this Easter Weekend I'm determined to have some R&R.

It's Good Friday and that means a road trip with the girls; Estherita and Alicja.  Our destination of choice: Cambridge.

The best part of this road trip is the spontaneity.  We discussed it on Wednesday for an hour and voila we are on the road Friday, with no real plan in mind other than to have a wander around this town.

On arrival in Cambridge, our trip began with a little tour of its car parks. We couldn't decide where to park and with Tom Tom issues, we ended up visiting a number of car parks before we settled on the cheaper and more convenient option.

The BBC also had the same idea of visiting Cambridge.  The town was armed with photographers and video crew.  With Easter being a religious holiday, one of the main photographs taken was of a guy dressed up as Jesus on the cross, which must have been for an editorial piece.  It was quite graphic.  I am not sure of the picture, but make of it as you will.

Spontaneity being the theme of this trip, we called Estherita's friend, Michal, for recommendations of where to eat.  He joined us and took us to a local Pizzeria, where the chef was  Cambridge's own version of Gordon Ramsey.  Had the kitchen been filmed we would be just hearing a series of beeps.

Fed and watered, our walkabout began with a visit to the Colleges that make up this prestigious University of Cambridge.  It is home to some of the greatest scientists in the world, such as Isaac Newton.  He studied here and his College is marked with a statue of him holding an apple ... and a table leg?  A prank by previous students that replaced whatever he was holding with a table leg, but it's good to know that the academics in this town have a sense of humour.

All the walking and fresh air got us a bit thirsty, so we took a pit stop at a local watering hole; Anchor, which was where Pink Floyd first started out.  A nice little place with fire places and high beams.  I can understand why Pink Floyd was inspired by such a place.

A town with lots of history, academic and otherwise.  Definitely a place to be inspired if you are searching for some.

P.S. Thanks ladies for being my photographic muses! xx

Snow

A fresh white sheet of snow, snow tracks caused by my wellies, hot cocoa to put warmth back in the body following a walk outside.  A perfect winters day...

...only it is the end of March!  The chill of the winter months should be disappearing, the thaw should be seeing the start of flowers beginning to bud and soon we should be seeing blossoms for Daffodils appearing in time for Easter.

Snow is the last thing that anyone should be expecting at this time of year.  Talk about Global Warming.  Flowers peeking through the cracks in the snow is just unheard of around this time of year.  Especially in the UK, we're used to rain, not icicles.

I'm not a big fan of the snow.  It is pretty when it first falls and has been untouched.  But as soon as people start walking and driving over it, it soon becomes an ice rink.

Let's hope the snow is of short duration and that we don't see it again till the winter months at the end of the year.