Cooking on the road is not as easy as it is in your own kitchen. There's limited cooking utensils and you don't have all your usual spices, sauces and other ingredients at your fingertips. I've managed to crank out a few decent meals. I kind of surprised myself with what I can do with just 1 pot, 1 steak knife, a wooden spoon, salt, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegarette, soy sauce, ginger and garlic.
1. Baguette with two types of cheeses - gouda and a random unpasteurized cow cheese. It was really important that I knew the word for "cow" and "goat" in both French and Spanish because I only eat cow cheese. I didn't know cheeses made from a blend of cow and goat milk were so popular.
2. Chicken curry on rice. Rice, chicken, potatoes, carrots and onions are universal ingredients that can be found anywhere. I found S&B Golden Curry in Asian markets in both Paris and Barcelona. Drop in a few blocks of the curry and you get a delicious Asian meal. We've had this 4 times so far.
3. Baguette with sliced chorizo, cheese and pears with a dipping sauce of balsamic vinegarette and extra virgin olive oil. This has been the easiest meal to make because it required no cooking!
4. Pan-fried fish (dorado), small clams sauteed in ginger, garlic and leftover white wine, and a random vegetable sauteed in garlic. The clams and the dorado were two local, in-season foods of Barcelona that escaped me in restaurants. I got to order clams, but not the little ones, which are my favorite. As for the fish, I saw other patrons eating it as I was waiting for a seat and I knew I wanted it. However, by the time I finally sat down the waiter told me that it was already sold out. HA! They thought they could get away!
5. Dumplings in chicken soup. Chicken, ginger, salt and water are such plain ingredients, yet together, they make the only kind of chicken soup I eat. The frozen dumplings were just OK.
6. Ground sausage meat with pasta sauce on top of spaghetti, field of greens dressed with balsamic vinegarette and extra virgin olive oil, and a glass of red wine. The supermarket (Monoprix) near our apartment in Paris has a nice selection of 3/8 bottles of French wine for under 3 Euros! Since J doesn't drink wine it's great for me to sample a couple while I'm here!
7. Pork chops marinated in garlic, soy sauce and leftover white wine with a side of spinach sauteed in garlic. HIMYM Seasons II and III has been keeping us entertained during dinner time.
8. Rice with peppers and beef sauteed in sha-cha sauce, and stir-fried tomatoes with eggs. I was excited to find Niu Tou Pai Sha-Cha Jiang at the Asian market in Paris's Chinatown.
9. Beef steak served with garlic chips, bread, and field of greens salad with tomatoes dressed with balsamic vinegarette and extra virgin olive oil. OMG, the tomatoes are beautiful and so cheap!
