After my last blog entry, Marina, my French ex flatmate asked me to explain the reasons why I stopped being an emo. I think it is time for me to write about that...
It all started when my beloved sister and Victor, her husband, had a romantic night last December, then, some months later, little Victoria was already one of the 6,8 billion inhabitants of this planet.
Victoria is a small warrior with only one goal in her mind (and in her name): to win! She is strong, sometimes stubborn and above all: beautiful! She looks a lot like my sister, and I am still not sure who has the biggest cheeks, the daughter or the mother.
Until now, I only know Victoria digitally, in the form of JPEGs and MP4s, but this December I will meet her in Chihuahua...I cannot wait to watch her, hug her and talk to her.
Another reason for my happiness is that my lovely girlfriend (she is indeed lovely) is living her dream. She got a job last June to work for Médecins sans Frontiers as a midwife. Andrea left last week and will be on the field for the next six months. It is incredible to be the boyfriend of a happy girl.
Recently, I started being even more happy because I am planning a piano project. I love the idea and with some luck, we will get the money and then hundreds, or even thousands, of people will be happy...because the project is about making people happy.
...and I am also happy because it stopped raining in Innsbruck! On Friday and Monday it was rainy as hell, and even though I rode my bike to work wearing my rain-trousers, waterproof gloves, raincoat and leather shoes, when I got to the office, I was totally soaked...but today, everythign was different, I even had to wear my sunglasses...nice :-)
martes, 11 de octubre de 2011
martes, 20 de septiembre de 2011
my emo-side is on vacations
A working colleague was the first to note that my blog is now lacking of sad themes.
No more melancholic, depressive or sarcastic events. If you like these stories, I am
sorry, but the happenings of the last six months have provided me with a more
positive way to see daily life and not to focus on nostalgic thougts...yes, my
emo-side is on vacations, and I'm not sure if emo-scar is coming back!
Today I will simply share with you a nice recipe which you can cook in 15
minutes, and it is a dish to place it in the middle of a table and enjoy it your best friends.
This recipe is perfect to prepare for in autumn: it has less fat, it gives you energy and is full of proteins.
Here is what you will need:
6-8 dates without stone - I know many people don't like dates and raisins, but trust
me, you will like the dish
1 medium red onion cut in slices
2 garlic cloves finely chopped - please don't use a garlic press and after that,
wash your hands carefully rubbing your finger tips with the knife blade, this will
take off the garlic and onion smell!
100 grams of feta cheese - ground it with your bare hands...you will love doing this!
700 grams of fresh spinach OR a package of frozen spinach (usually, they weight 400-500 gramms)
Olive oil and some salt
Cook in a large pan the onions and garlic at low flame for some 5 minutes in plenty of olive oil, then add the dates, then the washed and rinsed spinach and on top the feta. Cover the pan and cook it for 8 minutes at medium flame - stir every now and then. Finally, uncover the pan and cook it for 2 more minutes at high flame so the spinach loss humidity. Taste it and add salt if needed.
Serve on a nice big plate. Give your guests crepes, toasted baguette slices or
warm tortillas to eat it straight from the plate.
This serving is for 4-5 pax as a starter or for two as a main dish
Have a nice day :)
No more melancholic, depressive or sarcastic events. If you like these stories, I am
sorry, but the happenings of the last six months have provided me with a more
positive way to see daily life and not to focus on nostalgic thougts...yes, my
emo-side is on vacations, and I'm not sure if emo-scar is coming back!
Today I will simply share with you a nice recipe which you can cook in 15
minutes, and it is a dish to place it in the middle of a table and enjoy it your best friends.
This recipe is perfect to prepare for in autumn: it has less fat, it gives you energy and is full of proteins.
Here is what you will need:
6-8 dates without stone - I know many people don't like dates and raisins, but trust
me, you will like the dish
1 medium red onion cut in slices
2 garlic cloves finely chopped - please don't use a garlic press and after that,
wash your hands carefully rubbing your finger tips with the knife blade, this will
take off the garlic and onion smell!
100 grams of feta cheese - ground it with your bare hands...you will love doing this!
700 grams of fresh spinach OR a package of frozen spinach (usually, they weight 400-500 gramms)
Olive oil and some salt
Cook in a large pan the onions and garlic at low flame for some 5 minutes in plenty of olive oil, then add the dates, then the washed and rinsed spinach and on top the feta. Cover the pan and cook it for 8 minutes at medium flame - stir every now and then. Finally, uncover the pan and cook it for 2 more minutes at high flame so the spinach loss humidity. Taste it and add salt if needed.
Serve on a nice big plate. Give your guests crepes, toasted baguette slices or
warm tortillas to eat it straight from the plate.
This serving is for 4-5 pax as a starter or for two as a main dish
Have a nice day :)
domingo, 28 de agosto de 2011
food
I have experienced so many things this weekend that summarizing them for a blog would take me ages - and it would not be interesting at all; instead of writing you something, I will just place a link.
I started dating And F some months ago, and since April we are a couple. One of the things we have in common is that we both enjoy cooking...and eating. With this link you can see things we hace eaten. We also plepared almost all dishes, with two exeptions: A magnificient kebab we got at Kent in Vienna and Georgian food we had at Karmelitermarkt, also in Vienna. The Photos from the Georgian food can be easily indetified: two pictures in which a glass with a green liquid appear (toothpaste-green). That was an estragon-flavoured soda from Georgia...looked from outer space, tasted weird and smelled like hell.
Here the pics, enjoy!
I started dating And F some months ago, and since April we are a couple. One of the things we have in common is that we both enjoy cooking...and eating. With this link you can see things we hace eaten. We also plepared almost all dishes, with two exeptions: A magnificient kebab we got at Kent in Vienna and Georgian food we had at Karmelitermarkt, also in Vienna. The Photos from the Georgian food can be easily indetified: two pictures in which a glass with a green liquid appear (toothpaste-green). That was an estragon-flavoured soda from Georgia...looked from outer space, tasted weird and smelled like hell.
Here the pics, enjoy!
viernes, 12 de agosto de 2011
I want to be like mamá Bertha
On Tuesday, I was on the phone with my good colleague Sarah, with whom I have “the food conspiracy” project, and she suggested me to have dinner at Amacord, an typical Austrian restaurant. The restaurant was not far away, so I decided to give it a try.
The place was traditional Viennese (dark wood furniture, beiges walls, no music) and packed with people. I hesitated a while whether to stay or to have sushi at Kujiro instead. Kujiro is an excellent sushi bar, very small (7 seats) and the cooks and owners are Japanese.
I ordered the lamb osso buco with chanterelles and mashed potatoes. The last time I ate osso buco was about 6-7 years ago, and it was cooked especially for me by my lovely grandmother. She cooked the veal (not lamb) osso bucco in a soup with cabbage, carrots, zucchini, potatoes and cilantro. As she always does specially for me, she separated the bone’s marrow on a separate plate, so I could eat it with lime juice on a corn-tortilla.
I still remember the first time I had osso buco (called chamberete in Chihuahua) cooked by my granny. My sister and me had friends who stayed overnight and she made us osso buco tacos for dinner…it was delicious.
The lamb osso buco I had was heavy (I had to order two glasses of red wine - an excellent Zweigelt - and decided to walk home to support my digestion), but tasty. The portion was maybe too big for me, but the mashed potatoes were simply fantastic! I remembered that by mixing boiled potatoes, salt and butter you can get one of the best culinary inventions ever.
The best about Amacord were the memories that my meal triggered. Mamá Bertha, my grandmother, is a second mom for me, for my sister and for my brother…and also for all my cousins. She is always smiling and telling all of us how much she loves us.
Since I can remember, she takes medicated pills to control her blood pressure and her pain (arthritis), nevertheless she is never complaining. She is simply full of love. When I get old, I don’t want to be like the old people from my last blog, I want to be like mamá Bertha.
The place was traditional Viennese (dark wood furniture, beiges walls, no music) and packed with people. I hesitated a while whether to stay or to have sushi at Kujiro instead. Kujiro is an excellent sushi bar, very small (7 seats) and the cooks and owners are Japanese.
I ordered the lamb osso buco with chanterelles and mashed potatoes. The last time I ate osso buco was about 6-7 years ago, and it was cooked especially for me by my lovely grandmother. She cooked the veal (not lamb) osso bucco in a soup with cabbage, carrots, zucchini, potatoes and cilantro. As she always does specially for me, she separated the bone’s marrow on a separate plate, so I could eat it with lime juice on a corn-tortilla.
I still remember the first time I had osso buco (called chamberete in Chihuahua) cooked by my granny. My sister and me had friends who stayed overnight and she made us osso buco tacos for dinner…it was delicious.
The lamb osso buco I had was heavy (I had to order two glasses of red wine - an excellent Zweigelt - and decided to walk home to support my digestion), but tasty. The portion was maybe too big for me, but the mashed potatoes were simply fantastic! I remembered that by mixing boiled potatoes, salt and butter you can get one of the best culinary inventions ever.
The best about Amacord were the memories that my meal triggered. Mamá Bertha, my grandmother, is a second mom for me, for my sister and for my brother…and also for all my cousins. She is always smiling and telling all of us how much she loves us.
Since I can remember, she takes medicated pills to control her blood pressure and her pain (arthritis), nevertheless she is never complaining. She is simply full of love. When I get old, I don’t want to be like the old people from my last blog, I want to be like mamá Bertha.
viernes, 5 de agosto de 2011
two old stubborn and intolerable ruffians
Last week I read an interview with Julia Fischer, a young German top violinist. She played and recorded several times under the direction of Russian/U.S. American conductor Yakov Kreizberg (who died recently this year at the age young age of 51).
In the interview Julia Fischer mentions that Kreizberg was stubborn, perfectionist and challenging person...just as Julia herself. Apparently, when both artists worked together, the sessions were hard, stressful and tense. Reason for this was the similitude in their rigid personalities.
Ms Fischer mentioned that Kreizberg's illness had a positive impact on his personality: Knowing he was going to die soon it made him softer. Kreizberg valued each time he could still conduct. Julia recalls that in his last days as a conductor, he turned more "flexible" and even tolerated mistakes when playing a concert.
Enough superstars, now back to my daily life in Innsbruck:
I cycle daily to work and each time I do something illegal: I ride my bike on the sidewalk for approximately 8 meters (from my house door until the corner). Those are like 5 seconds of illegal activity.
Two days ago, I cycled back home and when I reached the “illegal” corner an old man shouted at me because I was using the sidewalk. As a good Latino, I yelled him back.
Yesterday in the morning before going to work, I went to the postal office to drop a letter, and once more, I committed a traffic felony, but this time I was completely amazed by the angriness of an old lady. I never in my life saw an old woman swearing so loud on the street. She shouted Verdammt noch einmal which can translated as "damn it!", I yelled back saying that I only carefully drove 3 meters from the postal office til the corner, then, I continued cycling, but behind me, I could still hear the old woman barking.
It seemed like those two old people have been waiting days or weeks to explode, and yell and be offensive.
Julia Fischer said in her interview that giving birth to her son made her a more relaxed and tolerable human being, just as happened with Kreizberg by knowing he was going to die soon.
But really, what kind of bastard you have to be all your life, so that even if you have experienced the love of a child and years later, know that you will die, you are still an old stubborn and intolerable ruffian?
In the interview Julia Fischer mentions that Kreizberg was stubborn, perfectionist and challenging person...just as Julia herself. Apparently, when both artists worked together, the sessions were hard, stressful and tense. Reason for this was the similitude in their rigid personalities.
Ms Fischer mentioned that Kreizberg's illness had a positive impact on his personality: Knowing he was going to die soon it made him softer. Kreizberg valued each time he could still conduct. Julia recalls that in his last days as a conductor, he turned more "flexible" and even tolerated mistakes when playing a concert.
Enough superstars, now back to my daily life in Innsbruck:
I cycle daily to work and each time I do something illegal: I ride my bike on the sidewalk for approximately 8 meters (from my house door until the corner). Those are like 5 seconds of illegal activity.
Two days ago, I cycled back home and when I reached the “illegal” corner an old man shouted at me because I was using the sidewalk. As a good Latino, I yelled him back.
Yesterday in the morning before going to work, I went to the postal office to drop a letter, and once more, I committed a traffic felony, but this time I was completely amazed by the angriness of an old lady. I never in my life saw an old woman swearing so loud on the street. She shouted Verdammt noch einmal which can translated as "damn it!", I yelled back saying that I only carefully drove 3 meters from the postal office til the corner, then, I continued cycling, but behind me, I could still hear the old woman barking.
It seemed like those two old people have been waiting days or weeks to explode, and yell and be offensive.
Julia Fischer said in her interview that giving birth to her son made her a more relaxed and tolerable human being, just as happened with Kreizberg by knowing he was going to die soon.
But really, what kind of bastard you have to be all your life, so that even if you have experienced the love of a child and years later, know that you will die, you are still an old stubborn and intolerable ruffian?
jueves, 21 de julio de 2011
an easy, tasty and healthy summer dish
Its been a long time since I wrote a recipe, here is one I invented last Thursday:
You fry for 2-3 minutes one and a half cup of red lentils (they are actually orange) with 3 or 4 spring onions and one courgette/zuchinni chopped in cubes. Add water and salt and cook it for 15 minutes at low heat without covering (let the lentils become a dried paste).
While the lentils cook, prepare a tzatziki-like sauce with half a cup of yoghurt, half a cucumber (shredded or finely chopped), juice of half a lemon, olive oil and chopped fresh mint.
Taste the lentils, if they are cooked, you may turn off the fire.
On a separate small saucepan, toast chopped walnuts (or pecan nuts if you are a lucky bastard) at medium fire, for 1-3 minutes, add fresh rosemary and when this mixture starts to smell lovely, add two spoons of butter, two spoons of olive oil and some salt. Take the saucepan away from fire as soon as the mix begins to turn dark brow.
Now, you take a plate, place some lettuce leaves, pour a big scoop of the lentils, then add the yoghurt sauce and top with the brown butter-nut-rosemary sauce.
I really enjoyed this meal, I cooked in Höchst, a quite little town at the constance lake. It borders to Switzerland and it is the birth place of Andi F.
This lentil dish has everything a good summer meal should have: It is served not very hot, it has lots of proteins, it refreshes through the use of yoghurt, cucumber, lemon and mint and the rosemary and nut sauce provides a herb, strong body.
I cooked this dish for Andi F and her mom...by the way, Andi F is my girlfriend.
P.S. I took no photo of the dish since it would have been weird to do that in front of Andi F's mom
You fry for 2-3 minutes one and a half cup of red lentils (they are actually orange) with 3 or 4 spring onions and one courgette/zuchinni chopped in cubes. Add water and salt and cook it for 15 minutes at low heat without covering (let the lentils become a dried paste).
While the lentils cook, prepare a tzatziki-like sauce with half a cup of yoghurt, half a cucumber (shredded or finely chopped), juice of half a lemon, olive oil and chopped fresh mint.
Taste the lentils, if they are cooked, you may turn off the fire.
On a separate small saucepan, toast chopped walnuts (or pecan nuts if you are a lucky bastard) at medium fire, for 1-3 minutes, add fresh rosemary and when this mixture starts to smell lovely, add two spoons of butter, two spoons of olive oil and some salt. Take the saucepan away from fire as soon as the mix begins to turn dark brow.
Now, you take a plate, place some lettuce leaves, pour a big scoop of the lentils, then add the yoghurt sauce and top with the brown butter-nut-rosemary sauce.
I really enjoyed this meal, I cooked in Höchst, a quite little town at the constance lake. It borders to Switzerland and it is the birth place of Andi F.
This lentil dish has everything a good summer meal should have: It is served not very hot, it has lots of proteins, it refreshes through the use of yoghurt, cucumber, lemon and mint and the rosemary and nut sauce provides a herb, strong body.
I cooked this dish for Andi F and her mom...by the way, Andi F is my girlfriend.
P.S. I took no photo of the dish since it would have been weird to do that in front of Andi F's mom
miércoles, 6 de julio de 2011
Alpine, urban and tacky
Some weeks ago, I wrote about the „oh-shit-we-live-in-a-small-town“ complex from which many politicians in Innsbruck suffer. On that same entry, I also wrote about the „cosmopolitan city“ marketing-campaign, and now, new shit has come to light!
Months ago, the marketing and tourism department of Innsbruck launched a design competition (which not many people heard of) to design a city logo and corporate identity for Innsbruck. The costs for this entire process were around EUR 250,000, but for the logo, only EUR 35,000 we paid, this means that the marketing and tourism department spent EUR 215,000 in something...
The problem with this logo is that it represents the identity of the entire city, and has a direct influence on all cultural and touristic venues...and these cultural and touristic venues were not involved in this process at all, even though they pay taxes to the marketing and tourism department.
After being strongly criticised in the media and by many cultural associations, the marketing and tourism department decided to invite all cultural associations to a presentation of this new logo/corporate identity. Somehow, I was among the invited, but it was impossible for me to assist. However, Evelin, a friend of mine, did attend. Evelin told me yesterday that Innsbruck's new corporate identity is based under the slogan „alpin urban“ and this is was my inspiraton for today's blog.
In order to show you how „alpin“ and „urban“the city I live in is, I will describe you one of my favourite places in Innsbruck, the Landestheaterplatz, a wonderful square:
This square is located in front of the Hofburg (an imperial castle of the Habsburgs) on the Europaalle (Alley of Europe). This street got its name in the late 1990s, after the European Commission had a meeting in the city Congress, which is located in front of the theatre.
If you sit in the theatre steps (something I love to do on afternoons with a bottle of prosecco), you will instantly feel like ina big city: You can see the imperial castle, the congress, the Hofgarten (royal garden), the Pavillon (a Michelin-star awarded restaurant), a cable-car station designed by the world's most known architect woman, Zaha Hadid, and the cherry on top of this marvellous urban landscape are the Alps.
When you sit there, you have the feeling you have everything a real cosmopolitan city can offer: History, culture, award-winning gastronomy, modern architecture, beautiful huge trees, antique gardens and a contemporary water-fountain with an amazing acoustic effect. If you sit here anytime during the week you will see tourists, business people, punks, students, dancers from the theatre company and musicians with their instruments heading to the congress or to the theatre.
Last Saturday, Andi F and I passed by the Landestheatherplatz and saw something amazing, something I simply had to capture on video. If you hit the link at the end, you will see Innsbruck’s most cosmopolite square, where the two words „alpin“ and „urban“ melt into a perfect symbiosis of nature and mankind.
Politicians and board members of the tourism and marketing department, thank you for offering us, citizens of Innsbruck, this wonderful event!!!
Chick here to see the video - the building on the back is Pavillon, which holds one of the two Michelin-stars in Innsbruck. Great food, by the way!
and now...the link.
Months ago, the marketing and tourism department of Innsbruck launched a design competition (which not many people heard of) to design a city logo and corporate identity for Innsbruck. The costs for this entire process were around EUR 250,000, but for the logo, only EUR 35,000 we paid, this means that the marketing and tourism department spent EUR 215,000 in something...
The problem with this logo is that it represents the identity of the entire city, and has a direct influence on all cultural and touristic venues...and these cultural and touristic venues were not involved in this process at all, even though they pay taxes to the marketing and tourism department.
After being strongly criticised in the media and by many cultural associations, the marketing and tourism department decided to invite all cultural associations to a presentation of this new logo/corporate identity. Somehow, I was among the invited, but it was impossible for me to assist. However, Evelin, a friend of mine, did attend. Evelin told me yesterday that Innsbruck's new corporate identity is based under the slogan „alpin urban“ and this is was my inspiraton for today's blog.
In order to show you how „alpin“ and „urban“the city I live in is, I will describe you one of my favourite places in Innsbruck, the Landestheaterplatz, a wonderful square:
This square is located in front of the Hofburg (an imperial castle of the Habsburgs) on the Europaalle (Alley of Europe). This street got its name in the late 1990s, after the European Commission had a meeting in the city Congress, which is located in front of the theatre.
If you sit in the theatre steps (something I love to do on afternoons with a bottle of prosecco), you will instantly feel like ina big city: You can see the imperial castle, the congress, the Hofgarten (royal garden), the Pavillon (a Michelin-star awarded restaurant), a cable-car station designed by the world's most known architect woman, Zaha Hadid, and the cherry on top of this marvellous urban landscape are the Alps.
When you sit there, you have the feeling you have everything a real cosmopolitan city can offer: History, culture, award-winning gastronomy, modern architecture, beautiful huge trees, antique gardens and a contemporary water-fountain with an amazing acoustic effect. If you sit here anytime during the week you will see tourists, business people, punks, students, dancers from the theatre company and musicians with their instruments heading to the congress or to the theatre.
Last Saturday, Andi F and I passed by the Landestheatherplatz and saw something amazing, something I simply had to capture on video. If you hit the link at the end, you will see Innsbruck’s most cosmopolite square, where the two words „alpin“ and „urban“ melt into a perfect symbiosis of nature and mankind.
Politicians and board members of the tourism and marketing department, thank you for offering us, citizens of Innsbruck, this wonderful event!!!
Chick here to see the video - the building on the back is Pavillon, which holds one of the two Michelin-stars in Innsbruck. Great food, by the way!
and now...the link.
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