The ups and downs of living like a nomad! I have being changing locations for the passed decades, way more than I envisioned for myself, but somehow life kept making these changes on me. First time was when I decided that my city in the countryside of Sao Paulo, Brazil, was too small for me. I was just 21 and decided to make this bold move against best advise from my family. It was scary in the beginning but when you are 21 you are kind fearless. So I managed to live there for 10 years. I became a big city girl. I became an artist (so I thoughtI did) I fell in love, I got married, I fell out of love, got a divorce all in 10 years.

And in the face of starting over. I had the brilliant idea of moving to Australia to study Hotel Management. (Mind you, I didn’t speak a word in English) but as turned out, at 31 I was still fearless. So I went down under, learned English, spent 6 months studying hotel management, just to find out it wasn’t my thing. Changed to Graphic Design, fell in love, got my husband number 2 (that’s how I call him). He is my number 2 and favorite husband. LOL. After 3 years living in Sydney for some reason we moved to Manhattan NY, and there surrounded by the best restaurants and chefs I fell in love with cooking, became a blogger, got to my 41 feeling a bit over the top, not so fearless turns out, but still fearless enough to decide to move cross country. Why am I telling you my entire saga? I don’t know? Maybe because I need answers, am I crazy? Because all the time when I’m getting used to a new place, making friends, and making connections I decide to go as far as I can. Am I just avoiding connections? Why? Turns out now I’m here at beautiful California, sunny city, pleasant people, new places to adventure, new friends to make. And hopefully that’s where we will stay. At least for 10 years anyway. LOL

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Greek Meatballs and Pita

• 500g lamb mince
• 3 anchovy fillets, chopped
• 40g fresh breadcrumbs
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon, plus a squeeze of lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 red onion, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 200ml Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
• 4 pita breads, toasted

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. In a large bowl, put the lamb, anchovies, breadcrumbs, lemon zest, half the garlic, and half the chopped parsley, and mix well together using your hands.

Season well, then shape into 20 balls. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the meatballs, in batches, and cook for 2-3 minutes, turning, until browned all over. Transfer to a roasting tin and roast for a further 10 minutes.

Soften the onion by soaking in a bowl of boiling water for a few minutes, then drain and refresh under cold water. In a bowl, mix with the olive oil, lemon juice and remaining parsley.

In a bowl, mix the yogurt with the remaining garlic and mint and season to taste. Serve the meatballs and red onions in toasted pitas and accompany with the mint dressing.

Yesterday we went to the Guggenheim Museum to see the Kandinsky exhibition. It was a nice afternoon I love the bright colors he used. But the place was really full you could hardily see the paintings and some people, God bless their souls, had to almost touch the paintings with their noses to see it. But overall was a fun day. When we came back my hubby said he missed Moroccan food, so we looked at my books for some recipes and I chose this one with potato and olives from “The food of Morocco” book. It’s very yummy, if you don’t have a Tagine Pan don’t sweat, any other pan will do. But the secret is slow cooking it so the flavors really get together. Enjoy.

Lamb Tagine

• 2 lb boneless lamb shoulder
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions finely chopped
• 2 garlic gloves finely chopped
• 1-teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 3 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
• 1 cup green olives
• 1 lb potatoes
• 1/8-teaspoon ground saffron treads
• 1-tablespoon olive oil, extra

Trim the lamb and cut into 1-¼ inches pieces. Heat half of the olive oil in the tagine pan over high heat and brown the lamb on each side in batches, removing to a dish when cooked. Reduce the heat to low add the remaining olive oil and cook the onions for 8 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic, cumin, and ginger and cook for a few seconds. Add 1 ½ cup of water and stir well to lift the browned bits. Return the lamb to the pan, along with the paprika, ½ teaspoon of salt and a good grinding of black pepper. Add the coriander then cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Then add the potatoes and olives and cook for 15-30 minutes. I served with basmati rice with coriander seeds and pistachios.

Yuruuulll my hubby is back; FINNALY…there was plenty of talking to the walls around here. Long conversations with Basil plants, nooo…. Rosemary I didn’t forget you, I know I bugged the hell out of your ears too. If Talking to plants make them flourish I will have the biggest bushes in town. But it’s over now, so to welcome him back I cooked a delicious Spanish meal. We love Spanish flavors, the smoky flavors of  “Pimenton” (smoked Spanish paprika) and some heat from chili powder. It’s a party in your mouth. We had this dish with chunks of peasant bread but it would be wonderful with spaghetti too.

Meatballs and Clams

• 11/2 tablespoons of butter
• 3 small shallots, diced
• 1 heaped tsp smoked Spanish paprika
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• 3 garlic, 2 crushed and 1 sliced
• 2 tbsp dry sherry
• 3 tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs
• Half pound pork mince
• 1 egg yolk
• Olive oil, for frying
• Half pound cleaned squid, cut into rings
• 1cup white wine
• 1 can chopped and squashed tomatoes
• Half pound clams
• Handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• Olive oil for drizzle

Melt the butter in a heavy-based casserole soften the shallots for 5 Minutes. Add the paprika and crushed garlic and cook for 1 min until the paprika becomes fragrant. Splash in the Sherry, then pour the whole lot into a bowl with the breadcrumbs. Season and cool.

Add the pork mince and the egg yolk to the bowl mix well. Shape into 18 small meatballs. Wipe the pan, put on a medium-high heat, and add the oil. Fry the meatballs for 5 minutes, just to color, then lift onto a plate, but keep the oil in the pan, fry the sliced garlic. Add the squid and fry to give a little color. Now tip in the white wine and bring to the boil, scraping the bottom. Stir in the pulped tomatoes, bring to the boil, and add the meatballs and the clams. Cover and cook for 5 minutes until the clamshells open. Discard any that stay shut. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley, drizzle with the extra virgin oil, and then serve with crusty bread.

Summer is here, and you step out to the streets happy as a butterfly wanting to smell the flowers. You try to get a big breath of the summer air and… COUGH, COUGH, COUGH; you almost lose your lungs. The smell of pee, garbage, and who knows what else, almost make you run back home. But being a die hard optimistic I keep going. Hoping that the flowers and butterflies will show up eventually. Well…. they don’t. That’s how it is living in the big apple. You sweat bullets in the steamy air; you have to fight a taxi driver that came from the hottest place on earth and think that 90 degrees is considered mild weather for the day and decide to economize his AC. Then you question yourself why on earth you want to live here?  And the answer to that is you don’t, but still do anyway. New York has its magic, the culture, the restaurants, the cool stores, lots of options and different people. But nature, beach, fresh air… NOPE! I know, I shouldn’t be complaining especially after such a long winter. But one has the right to dream right? And I dream with beach and nature. So to cheer myself up a little, I cooked lamb chops, nice couscous salad to go with it and had a romantic dinner with my lovely hubby.

For the Couscous:

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup chopped shallots
• 3 cups Chicken Stock
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups couscous
• 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions

Melt the butter in a large sauté pan, add the shallots and cook for 3 minutes over medium heat. Add the chicken stock, salt and pepper, raise the heat to high and bring the stock to a boil. Off the heat and add the couscous. Cover the pan and let it sit for 10 minutes. Add the pine nuts and cranberries to the couscous, stir and serve.

Are you lost in the middle of all these Internet tools? I am, sometimes some friends complain that I’m ignoring them, but it’s really hard to catch up (for me at least). I’m on ‘Facebook’, ‘My Space’, ‘Orkut’, ‘Tweeter’, ‘Foodbuzz’, and some others, which I don’t even remember. It’s way too many. But all the time another friend sends me an invitation and I end up with another membership. I just don’t want to let them down. I try to get the hang of it, but most of the times I just don’t get it. Take Facebook; you are suppose to Super Poke people, or send them an IQ test. Then, there is Tweeter; “ What are you doing right now? “  “What are you thinking…right now? I find it really hard to forgo information about my life in such a liberal way. I’m the secretive type, not even my husband knows what exactly I’m thinking most of the time. I’m not into talking too much either, which is not ‘typical female’, because according to recent researches, women speak three times more than men. A woman says about 20 thousand words per day, which is 13 thousands more than a man does. Women also speak much quicker than men. Psychiatrists state that inborn differences between male and female brain explain the fact that women are more talkative than men. But my husband always says I must have a defect because I don’t talk too much. Having a blog, was in a way a rout to open up a bit more for me. Maybe that is why sometimes, I still find it difficult to sit and write. But when it comes to food I could probably blab my mouth all day. Take this rice with herbs that I made, the smell was fantastic, and tasted delicious too. I love to cook with skewers it looks so pretty you can use a variety of veggies and meat. Just before you serve, squeeze a bit of lemon or lime on top and you have a delicious and impressive meal.

 Basmati Rice With Herbs And Pork Skewers

•  1 cup uncooked long-grain (white) basmati
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh curly parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill leaves
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh scallions
• 1 tablespoon minced basil
• Freshly ground black pepper

 Combine the rice, 1 3/4 cups water, the salt, and butter in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce the heat to low, stir once, and simmer, covered tightly, for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the rice to sit covered for 5 minutes. Add the herbs  and pepper. Fluff with a fork, and serve warm. For the skewers I used pork, red onions, and peppers. And in the end I topped with my dill vinaigrette.