Sandwich Project: #7 – jamon Serrano and basil pesto sandwich!

The true Italian styled sandwich with

wholegrain ciabatta bread
jamon Serrano
mozzarella
basil pesto
dried tomato

Jamon Serrano is much cheaper than Iberico and it is sold everywhere, so we use it often.

Fresh hams are trimmed and cleaned, then stacked and covered with salt for about two weeks in order to draw off excess moisture and preserve the meat from spoiling. The salt is then washed off and the hams are hung to dry for about six months. Finally, the hams are hung in a cool, dry place for six to eighteen months, depending on the climate, as well as the size and type of ham being cured. The drying sheds (secaderos) are usually built at higher elevations, which is why the ham is called “mountain ham”.

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And for cheering up Italian spirit on this post I will show you some of the pictures with me and my very tiny daughter seven years ago.

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Sandwich Project: #6 – Lomo meat sandwich with grilled zucchini.

I would say this one is more Italian than Spanish, but as far as we have Spanish meat here I should explain.

“Lomo” is the Spanish word for tenderloin. It can be bought cured or uncured.
Lomo embuchado is an air-dried loin of pork that is considered to be a delicacy. The loin of pork is between 19 and 27 inches in length and has all the fat removed. It is marinated in a variety of fine seasonings. The marinated loin is stuffed into a beef skin and then lightly smoked. Thereafter it is air dried for up to four months to maintain its tenderness. You will often see it served as a tapa.

 And we love grilled zucchini. They are amazing even only with Italian bread and olive oil. You can’t feel Italian spirit until you eat like Italians do. Soak a piece of ciabata in fresh olive oil and eat it with wine and meat.

Ingredients for Lomo meat sandwich

wholegrain bread
grilled zucchini
grilled sweet onion
lomo meat
cheddar
dried tomato salsa
beetroot leaves

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Sandwich Project: #4 – Gluten Free Vegetarian Sandwich

This is my sandwich. its not perfect but its mine (c)

I lie. It is just perfect!

This one was actually mine. And it was not inspired by any country but our grill and veggies we had in the fridge. So one morning grill season has begun.

I like gluten free focaccia bread from Schar. I love veggies and cheese and that’s it.

I feel hunger when I see it again and again.
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Am I a pescatarian? New life without meat, new recipes.

I was looking for a reason to stop eating meat again, remembering I had to reject this idea during my second pregnancy, because I started gaining weight too rapidly shoveling up pastas and rice. That wasn’t my plan indeed. Meat partially helped with the situation, but as far as I was not pregnant anymore, I had so many reasons going on with eating meat further. To tell the truth, I was not happy about that, but at least, it was tasty.

And now I am again a pescatarian. This word is used to describe those who abstain from eating all meat and animal flesh with the exception of fish. In other words, a pescatarian maintains a vegetarian diet with the addition of fish and other seafood such as shrimps and lobsters.

The first week was agonizing. I often found myself picking meat from a soup or anywhere else, luckily for me, always on time before I started gobbling it. I even gained half a kilo unaccustomed eating without meat. Maybe, either that happened because I was sick and did not work out at all, eating the same way, as I did train.

Now during the second, I am calm and happy living without hunger agonies. However, vegetarian or pescaterian diet can be a hell if you are eating gluten free like I do. Usually people who are vegetarians eat bread and pasta, but I cannot. So I have a lack of choice almost in all kinds of restaurants.

If you live in France or in Czech, people consider you are crazy, if you say “I do not eat meat”. But last couple of years even here, in Prague, you can find vegetarian restaurants, many of which are quite new.

_DSC0599-25Feb2015Preparing tom yum ingredients. My hubby learned how to cook tom yam and that was in our top #3 tom yam’s we had ever tried. Tom yam is not my favorite Thai soup, as far as I prefer coconut note in Tom Kha, but I added coconut in it and it was just perfect._DSC0863-02Mar2015 Continue reading