73 ~ The German Bakery

Cinnamon Stars (Zimtsterne)

A favourite treat in our house, Cinnamon Stars appear in the German bakeries around Christmas time. I have never tried to make them myself but here is a recipe from the web, if you would like to look it over. I think there are many ways to make them and I imagine that German cooks will use the recipe they know best, perhaps one passed down in their family.

But I was out this morning and after visiting the German deli, I stopped at the German bakery. I know this is Spain.....but there are many retired people from Germany living here and many more who come to this area for winter holidays, thus one finds shops specializing in imported or locally made German foods.
I bought a piece of Poppyseed cake (Mohnkuchen) for my husband.

Poppyseed cake (Mohnkuchen)

Lucky man. I'm not eating sweets at present and trying to lose some kilos which I've put on after enjoying those Canary salted potatoes, crusty bread with ali oli and my own homemade pesto on pasta. So now I'm paying the price and buying these treats only one at a time.

A piece of apple pie caught my eye and so I bought that for him as well. It has a thickly glazed topping sprinkled with toasted almond slivers. He'll be happy to see what I've brought home today!

German Apple Pie

The bakery is really a small place with only a window to serve the public, since the ovens are located elsewhere on the island.


It seems to be always busy, also serving coffee, cakes and ice creams outside on the patio. Many people come in the morning to buy their baguette, rye bread rolls, pastries and cakes. Their bread is very tasty, is mostly brown, dinkle, rye and whole grain and smells wonderful.


Well now I think I've talked enough about food today, and I've made myself thoroughly hungry! I hope you are able to nibble on sweets like this with no guilt about calories. And if you are American and still finishing your Thanksgiving turkey and pumpkin pie, I send best wishes for a continued Happy Thanksgiving holiday with your families!
¡Hasta La Vista!

72 ~ German Delicatessen

Daniella

Out walking this morning I stopped in Gourmeteria Botanico, a German delicatessen in the La Paz district of our town and bought a few pieces of wurst and salad for my husband.


I don't advertise on my blog but do like to take photos and mention the shops where I find good products and friendly service here in the north of Tenerife. In this case, Daniella served me while her husband sat outside reading the daily football (soccer) newspaper. He is sitting at one of the tables in their outdoor snack area where coffee and tapas from the deli are served. They are both fluent in speaking German and Spanish.


It's the same paper as my husband also reads every day. Soccer in Spain is so popular that there are two daily national newspapers devoted to just that sport.

But here are photos I took of the fresh sausages while Daniella prepared my package.




And now it's time for buying the Christmas stollen and these look like they have marzipan centers. Mmmm...how I love marzipan, especially when it's inside a piece of stollen!

A pretty Christmas centerpiece is on the counter.


Here you can also order and reserve ahead to be sure your favourite deli meats and salads aren't sold out in what is now the busy high season for tourists visiting the island. Gourmeteria Botanico can be found in the Canary Center shopping complex near the Hotel Botanico in Puerto de la Cruz, next to the shoe repair shop and the Benetton childrens' outlet store. It's a nice place to stop for a coffee under the enormous frangipani tree there.
And when I came out, I headed for the bakery nearby! So follow me there!

71 ~ Frangipani and Poinsettias

Frangipani (Plumeria Alba)

Poinsettia (Euphorbia Pulcherrima)

It's the time of the year when poinsettias are blooming here in the Canary Islands. You will find them planted along roads and in public as well as private gardens, heralding the approaching Christmas season. They are quite spectacular to see when in long rows bordering a street. Here poinsettias are growing together with bougainvillae and flame vine (Pyrostegia ignea) along a country road. Daylilies are in the foreground.




Also in bloom are the exotic creamy blossoms of frangipani. The white flowers are of the variety Plumeria Alba and the pink ones, less prevalent, are Plumeria Rubra.

Frangipani (Plumeria Alba)

My friend Anne and I went out for a drive a couple of days ago and stopped at a little public garden in an urbanization near La Orotava. These photos of flowers, shrubs and trees were all taken there.


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Anne in the garden

We were quite impressed with the beauty of the Cassia tree (Cassia Spectabilis) which stood framed against a blue sky and in a carpet of its own yellow petals.

Cassia Spectabilis

And near finished blooming were several bushes of tibouchina with their velvety leaves and purple flowers:

Tibouchina Heteromalla

Another eye catching bush was this Acalypha Musaica with its giant multi coloured leaves:

Acalypha Musaica

And here's a majestic Schefflera, native to tropical rainforests.

Schefflera Actinophylla

We recently cut the top from one of these trees in our garden as it was growing too tall. Amazingly we never did plant this tree. It came from a seed dropped by a bird or the wind. But we do love it as many birds come for its shade in summer, when we will again have new leaves and branches.

Here's a slideshow of our day which started off with a little drive down the coast to Las Aguas, near San Juan de la Rambla where we watched the waves and went inside a little restaurant where we had been before "El Sotano" and had a look at their fish, which included a small barracuda.
Here's a Google street view of Las Aguas. Scroll to the left to see the restaurant.
Full screen option in top right corner of picture.


View Larger Map

However as it was too early for lunch, we drove to another village where we had chicken breast and chips in a little cafe bar. I hope you've enjoyed today's outing! So until the next time...¡Hasta la Vista!

70 ~ Mallorcan Straw Baskets

I'm so pleased that I found this little market stall last Sunday where Beatriz, who is from Andraitx in Mallorca, was selling Mallorcan straw baskets. I used to live in Mallorca and I carried one of these baskets everywhere.

Called cesto de esparto in Spanish it was one of the first items I bought when I arrived in Spain so many years ago.

It was then the custom to have this carryall filled with life support items such as the local English newspaper (The Mallorca Daily Bulletin) , a bocadillo de queso (a cheese sandwich) in case you were hungry, your bathing suit, towel, a bottle of Trinaranjus (a non-carbonated orange drink), sunglasses and whatever else you felt you needed to survive an afternoon on the beach, a day of shopping or driving around the island.

In another lifetime, in Mallorca with my basket.

The only inconvenience was that the rope handles were scratchy and left red marks on sunburned shoulders when one wore a sleeveless blouse.

But the new models now have soft leather straps as well as short grip handles so you can fill your basket at the market if you wish without ending up with sore shoulders. Other models were lined with plastic.




How they looked way back then, full of fruit and vegetables from Palma market. (photo below)


Next year plastic bags will no longer be given out in supermarkets and I think it's a good and long overdue measure, given the statistics on the fish and marine animals who are being killed by tons of plastic floating in our oceans.

So now is a good time to find your alternatives. I know from experience how useful these big straw baskets can be. I chose the one on the right in the photo below, with both the long and short handles which Beatriz models in the first photo above.


So if you are in Tenerife and visit the El Medano market on a Saturday or are in Puerto de la Cruz on a Sunday, look for Beatriz in the flea market at the Spar parking lot in La Paz, and say 'Bon Dia' (Catalan/Mallorquin for Buenos Dias) to her from the lady who used to live in Mallorca. And have a good look at these baskets which never seem to wear out.


Link to my post about these baskets on my other blog about Mallorca.

So that's all for today. Thanks for the visit and ¡Hasta la Vista!

69 ~ A Tenerife Beach - Playa San Marcos

Restaurant at Playa San Marcos

Come join me and my English friend Anne for a drive down the north west coast of Tenerife to a little black sand beach where there are some fish restaurants where we have been going for many years.

Let's stop here along the way and take some photos of the picturesque coastline. In the foreground you can see fields of banana plantations with the occasional palm or drago tree.

You see here one of the many tunnels in the road to the south of the island.

Anne and I both love to visit garden centres so let's make a stop to browse around at this one near the base of the mountain.

This side of the island is greener than the south due to the prevailing north east trade winds which cause clouds to form on the north side of the Teide volcano, keeping the area cool and more spring-like.

After passing through the town of Icod, we take a turn and soon arrive at San Marcos Beach, where there is natural black volcanic sand.


We are heading for Casa Maria which years ago used to be one of the little chiringuitos or open air restaurants at the far side of the beach. Maria was a little lady who ran one of the simple beach restaurants which are so popular in Spain. We used to sit there in damp bathing suits with our feet in the sand and order local fish dinners or paella after an afternoon of swimming and sun bathing.

But now it has been relocated and modernized. The bamboo and grass roofs have been torn down and there is no sand underfoot in these new constructions.
Let's go inside. Can you smell the delicious aromas coming from the kitchen? There is a scent of garlic and fresh fish with lemon. Look at this one ready from the kitchen for someone's dinner.

We'll order one filleted with head and tail removed shall we. And how about some of those Canary salted wrinkled potatoes with green mojo sauce: Papas arrugadas con mojo verde. But first let's order a mixed salad as a starter with some red wine, local bread and ali oli garlic mayonnaise. Sounds good doesn't it! And now let's go to the kitchen to pick out our fish. Here are some the local fish: Vieja (parrotfish), Dorado (Mahi Mahi), Cherne (Sea Bass).

How about this one? I think it's a Vieja.

Anne's gone outside to pick out a table for us.

Here's the wine, salad, bread, and ali oli.

I hope you like the green mojo on your potatoes, as well as the fish. Here's your plate.

Now for dessert let's try their homemade lemon soufflé!

Too bad we have to leave now. I hope you enjoyed your lunch and will come back here again with us!


Click here for a slideshow of where we've been with some more images!
Goodbye for now and ¡Hasta la Vista!

And now the RECIPES:

PAPAS ARRUGADAS (Canary wrinkled, salt potatoes)

There are many ways to make these potatoes. Here is the manner which is the easiest and most used:

1. Cover the unpeeled potatoes with water (if it is seawater, even better). For every kilo (2.2 lbs) of potato,
add a bit more than a half pound of salt. It doesn't matter if we add even more as the potatoes will take only the salt
they need.

2. Put the pot on the stove and cover it well with a cloth or tin foil and place the lid on top of that.
Cook for twenty minutes to half an hour, until the potatoes are done.

3. Tip off the water and drain potatoes well.

4. Without removing the potatoes from the pot, pour a handful of salt over them, and place them
back on the stove, shaking the pot for a while until they are covered in salt.

5. Serve in their skins with two mojo sauces.

Source: translated from:
Cinquenta Recetas Fundamentales de la Cocina Canaria,
Cabildo de Tenerife

MOJO VERDE (GREEN MOJO SAUCE)

3 or 4 hot green peppers
1 small head garlic
cumin
flat-leaf parsley
oil
vinegar
salt

1. Put the following ingredients into a mortar and pound together:
1 teasp cumin, the garlic and salt to taste.

2. Remove the seeds and veins from the peppers and add with some chopped parsley to the mortar.
Pound the contents thoroughly.

3. Finally, combine with some oil, vinegar to taste and water.

MOJO DE CILANTRO (CORIANDER SAUCE)

1 head garlic
1/2 hot red or green pepper
1 bunch fresh coriander
cumin
oil
vinegar
salt

1. Lightly toast a teaspoon of cumin and pound in a mortar. Add the garlic, coriander, seeded pepper and a little salt, blending all these ingredients thoroughly.

2. Pour in half a cup of oil, vinegar to taste, a little cold water, and mix well.

MOJO COLORADO (RED MOJO SAUCE)

3 or 4 hot red peppers
1 small head garlic
cumin
oil
vinegar
paprika
salt

1. Lightly toast 1/2 teaspoon of cumin and pound in a mortar.

2. Soften the peppers by soaking for a while in hot water. Remove the seeds and veins.
Add to the mortar and pound with the cumin.

3. Put the garlic and salt into the mortar and crush with the contents, adding a small glass of oil, vinegar to taste and a little cold water. Blend well and serve.

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68 ~ Autumn Garden

Just a few more photos from today. It was overcast all morning, but when the sun came out sporadically in the afternoon I was out with Bibi wandering around the garden in search of colour.

Acalypha Wilkesiana


Rosa Gold Medal


We don't have those splendid displays of autumn leaves seen in higher latitudes but we do have a year long show of bright and exotic flowers, with roses blooming throughout the winter until we prune them anywhere from end of December to beginning of March.

Rosa La Minuette

Epiphyllum

And I have to add in my favourite little bush of which I never tire....the Dama de Noche, Cestrum Nocturnum, whose evening scent is the sweetest and most exotic perfume I have ever encountered, so I wrote a poem and dedicated a post to her, the Lady of the Night.

In the next days we'll go on a short drive down the island to a black sand beach where we'll have a fish lunch with papas arrugadas (Canary Island wrinkled salt potatoes) with mojo sauce, and I'll write down both recipes for you.

¡Hasta la Vista!