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Spanish Tortilla
Rebecca L. ¡Hola! I’ve been learning Spanish over the past few weeks, and luckily for me I live with some lovely Spanish ladies. A topic of debate that often comes up in our kitchen, other than which wine or cheese is the best, is Tortilla. This traditional Spanish dish is an omelette made with egg and potato. One might argue that a little bit of green onion is the perfect addition to this delicious dish, and another might tell you that pepper will ruin the taste of the oil. I have another friend who keeps a jar of oil ONLY for tortilla and reuses the same oil every time. I have personally never tried to make a tortilla as I'm scared of messing it up, but I am eager to have a try and see what my Spanish mates think. Here’s a simple recipe to follow, and I mean simple. It’s up to you if you think the onion or the pepper is needed! INGREDIENTS: 4-6 Medium potatoes (white)1 cup of Olive Oil½ Dozen Large EggsSalt/Pepper NOTE: As a guide, my friend says her proportions are one egg for every medium potato and as potatoes are always different sizes, a 6-person tortilla would roughly be around 4 potatoes and 6 eggs. METHOD A skillet works best for this (preferably one that is smaller than your dinner plate): STEP 1 Scrub, Peel and chop the potatoes into little 1-2cm cubes. Meanwhile, heat all the oil in your skillet for about 4-5 minutes. Drop in a potato cube to see if the oil is hot enough, if it bubbles around the potato edge it’s ready! Add potatoes with a little salt in batches, being sure not to overcrowd the pan. Use a wooden spoon to gently turn the potatoes in the oil, reduce the heat just so the oil bubbles gently. STEP 2 Continue to turn the potatoes every few minutes, until they are tender, and you can easily pierce them with a fork. Keep adjusting the heat so they don’t burn, you don’t want them to brown or break. As the potatoes are cooking, whisk up the eggs in a bowl with some salt. STEP 3 Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them in a colander or sieve, but keep the oil aside in a bowl. Combine the warm potatoes with the beaten eggs and gently mix together (Some people say to leave this mixture to sit for 10 minutes). Wipe the skillet with some paper towel and return to a medium flame adding a couple spoonsful of the reserved oil. Add the eggy potato mixture to the skillet and watch as the edges start to bubble and firm up, once they do reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for a further 5 minutes. STEP 4 With the top of the tortilla still runny, run a spatula around the edges of the pan, put your dinner plate on top of the skillet and very carefully, but firmly, flip the tortilla onto the plate. Add a bit more of the reserved oil to the skillet, and carefully return the tortilla to it using the spatula to guide it in. Cook for another 5 minutes, and then slide the tortilla onto a clean dinner plate. Don’t eat it immediately, let it rest for around 15 minutes as it tastes best at room temperature. My friends usually serve tortilla as a dinner with a simple cheese board, some charcutier and lots of wine. It’s also delicious completely on its own, and cold, as a snack or breakfast. Try it with a mixed leaf salad and a blob of mayonnaise. What’s your favourite tortilla recipe?
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Courgette and Summer Squash Salad
Bethany S. Spring has officially sprung here in the Pacific Northwest and we couldn’t be happier for all this sunshine and warmth. It already has me dreaming up beautiful picnics, tapas nights and BBQ. One of my favourite dishes to make is for those warm spring/summer evenings, a perfect accompaniment to whatever you’ve just taken off the grill. A ribboned courgette(zucchini) and summer squash salad! It’s got a zesty citrus finish with a kick of heat from the chilis that you keep you going back for more - if it lasts during first helpings! The Recipe: 2 Courgette (Zucchini) 2 Summer Squash 1 Cucumber 1-2 Fresh red chili or ½ tsp chili flakes(Optional) Feta Cheese Zest and juice of 1 lemon 1-2 Tbsp Fresh dill Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil Maldon salt and cracked black pepper to taste Directions: Step 1 Using a vegetable peeler make long ribbons with your courgette, summer squash and cucumber. Make sure you stop with the cucumber once you reach the seeds as we don’t want to add water to the salad. Place into large bowl. Step 2 Thinly slice your chili and pick your dill off the stem and toss into bowl. Then Zest and juice lemon straight into salad as well and toss. Step 3 Drizzle in olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste. Finish by crumbling desired amount of feta cheese on top (I would go for the whole pack personally!) And that’s that! Super easy, bright, and delicious! It’s sure to be a Summer favourite. Let us know if you try the recipe or if you have any salad recipes you like to make in warmer weather in the comments below!
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LISTEN: Still Processing Podcast
Matt C. Throughout the year, I have had a tumultuous relationship with podcasts. Whether it is finding the right fit, weighing the pros and cons between the value in listening to something informative vs. informational... the list can go on. It wasn't until the recent return of probably my favourite podcast of all time, The New York Times' Still Processing, that my woes were put to bed. The podcast talks everything popular culture, and the culture that surrounds being a young-ish, mindful-ish human person trying to survive in the 'modern' world! In their returning episode, Now That's What I Call A Bridge!, they broke down the recent boom of the song Drivers Licence by Olivia Rodrigo and its impact on popular culture, explaining, 'Bridges used to be a core feature of popular music, but they’ve become an endangered species, right next to the sitcom laugh track.' Some of my favourite episodes include their deep dives on the lives and careers of some of our most beloved musicians including Lauren Hill, Whitney Houston and Tupac. You can listen to Still Processing on Apple Podcasts here and Spotify here.,
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Pandemic Puppy
Bethany S. Yes, I joined the band-waggon of getting a dog during a pandemic. My husband and I actually wanted one for a couple of years now and moved into a pet friendly building just so we could get one. Enter: Buddy Bandit, our sweet little terrier mix pup who we love so much and picked up on Halloween of 2020. My husband works from home half the time and the other half of the time Buddy can spend here at TC, so it works out quite well during this pandemic life. However, since we love our road trips and little bursts of travel, we wonder how to bring little Bud on our getaways once everything goes back to normal. He loves the outdoors and hiking adventures so we do think he will love it, but we know there must be a lot of logistics that go into camping and travelling with a dog. While looking online for advice I found this blog by Bearfoot Theory about how to prep and ensure a safe and fun road trip with your pup! So, if you’re in the same boat as my husband and I, I’d definitely recommend taking a look. Have you ever brought your pet on a trip? We would love to hear your experiences in the comments below!
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HOW TO: Up Your Popcorn Game
Matt C. With this seemingly eternal lockdown my movie nights seem to be getting closer and closer together. To me, that also means I have had to amp up my popcorn game. For me, this translates to three simple steps: popping the kernels stove top, lining the popped kernels on a baking sheet, and finally 'dressing' the popcorn according to how my buds of taste are leaning that day. Ingredients/assembly required? Each of the three flavours listed below can be achieved with any basic setups of an apartment-style kitchen + pantry: basic spice rack, 1 pot, 1 baking sheet, olive/coconut or cooking oil of your choosing and some organic popcorn kernels. Ingredients (3 Seasonings Below) A Little Spicy:1 tea spoon sea salt2 teaspoons black ground peppercrushed red pepper flakes to taste1/2 cup popcorn kernels¼ cup olive oil A Little 'Cheesy':1 tea spoon sea salt2 tablespoons ground nutritional yeast1/2 cup popcorn kernels¼ cup olive oil A Little Garlicy + 'Cheesy':1 tea spoon sea salt2 teaspoons ground garlic2 teaspoons ground onion2 tablespoons nutritional yeast1/2 cup popcorn kernels¼ cup olive oil Step 1 If you're grinding fresh spices, you will need a mortar and pestle to finely grind your popcorn seasoning of choice. Alternatively, you can grab the same ingredients from your spice rack, I call this Matt-Style. Step 2Heat the oil in a saucepan on medium high heat with 3-4 kernels.Once the few have popped, line in the rest at the bottom of the pot and cover until the popping is continuous. Covering and uncovering the pot and moving the pot around slightly on the burner - rinse and repeat until all your kernels are popped. Step 3Remove from heat and arrange popcorn on baking sheet. Drizzle with a little more oil, and toss to coat. Step 4Sprinkle on spices to taste and toss. Pour into a bowl once everything is spiced, relax and hit play. Lights, camera, POPCORN.
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Broken Wrist? No Problem
Rebecca L. So last week I had a little snowboarding accident whilst enjoying beautiful Mount Seymour, and ended up with a broken wrist. As painful as it was, I found myself more concerned with how i was going to exercise, then how much it hurt. 6 weeks in a cast is a log time! Since the pandemic closed the local fitness studios in my area, I’ve been practicing yoga from home. I have a few favourite YouTubers, Instagrams and studio streams that I follow, but I was stuck with how to perform these classes with one arm rendered useless. If you practice yoga online you’re probably very familiar with YouTube sensation, Adriene. Here is a new favourite video of hers that focuses on lower body, with no strain on the arms or wrists:https://youtu.be/9JVXKtIfDFs Have you ever broke a bone? What’s your favourite yoga stream? Let us know in the comments!
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Have You Watched Seaspiricy Yet?
Rebecca L. Lots of chatter about this documentary recently, so I thought I’d give it a go. After watching this new Netflix show it opened my eyes to what we are doing to our seas. I wrote a blog about Poke recently, but now I’ll be a lot more aware of the produce I choose. Check out the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q5CXN7soQg At Traveller Collective we donate 5% of our profits to Plastic Change as an attempt to help change the effects plastic is having on our oceans. Check out our mission here: https://travellercollective.com/pages/mission Have you watched Seaspiracy? Let us know how it made you feel in the comments.
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