on the rocks

we've found our perfect dessert wine! its an Italian sweet almond-flavoured liquer with traces of apricot :) nightcap anyone?

i've been published!

after the hullabaloo of being one of the winners of The Rock Writer's Group Short-Story Competition last January, i was prepared to go back to my quiet life as an unemployed immigrant bride (HA! and also i've already found work since then and loving it!). but an unexpected email from the local paper apparently changed my fate again. so much for a quiet life. They wanted to publish my story (woohoo!). in a small nation of only 30,000 people and so far away from home, to me, this is quite a feat. where i come from, i was a fledgling wanna-be writer in a sea of fledgling wanna-be writers sharing 7,100 islands. so i was quite proud when they said they wanted to publish my story.
what they didnt tell me though was WHEN it will be published! (so much for small-town living) since i am too stingy to buy the local paper, i just read them in the grocery store right next to our building (yes, in a minute or less!). i had to do this for some time as they obviously can't be bothered with replying to my email! at some point, i gave up and as luck would have it , a friend came across it and told me it was published a few weeks back. SOOO off i go to the paper's office and bought said paper with said story :)

flea market finds: green goblet, candle holders and an angel

the weather hasnt been nice to Gib the last two weeks. rain and strong winds made the cold unbearable and for a tropical chick like me, this is a recipe for total madness. first, i wanted out. out of the house and out of my mind. and of course the best place to de-stress me is a flea ;)
love the green hue on this lovely little number. potentially could be used as a vase, as a bon-bon container or just an accent.
this is a find. the mark is Kaiser of W. Germany which have been making these babies since the 1800's! (bought this two for only a pound)
been looking for an angel for our Christmas tree last year but just couldnt seem to find the right one. but here she is now, a lightweight plastic angel that could look after our tree this year ;)

patatas ala Riojana

found the recipe in a local magazine so gave it a try since we already had the ingredients. when i first tasted it, i was instantly hooked :) yes, that good!
here's the recipe:
ingredients:
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped roughly
1 small onion, finely sliced
2-3 links chorizo, sliced into rounds (bite-size pieces) (substitute!)
1/2 pound floury potatoes (about 3 medium-sized ones) peeled and cubed
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 liter cold tap water

procedure:
(1) warm olive oil over medium heat and add garlic. cook for abt a minute until golden.
(2) add onions and sautee until light brown.
(3) add chorizo and cook until this is also brown.
(4) place the potaoes in the pan and stir to coat with oil. cook for 10 minutes.
(5) sprinkle over the sweet paprika and pour in enough water to almost cover potatoes and chorizo. put lid on pan and bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half.
(6) serve immediately with lots of crusty bread (and red Rioja wine hehe)