Let me interrupt the Spain posts to say...it's finally here! At long last, my box has arrived! Oh joy!
Ok, I guess this happy occasion actually is related to my Spain posts because all the goodies in this box were lovingly packed away by C and I in Barcelona, to be shipped back to our little home in Manila. We wrapped all our treasures in a ton of bubble wrap, secured everything in place with a bunch of old Hola magazines, and sent them off on a wing and a prayer...and much finger crossing that nothing would be broken on the way.
After much debating about purchases and weight limits, we decided to just ship a box home. So we procured a box at our friendly neighborhood LBC office and proceeded in our mission to fill it up (we wouldn't want the contents to jiggle around in there now, would we?). As you can see in the picture above we stuffed it with all manners of things. Among which are (from what can be seen in the picture):
- Cola Cao for C - Along with much of Spain's kids, C fell in love with this chocolate energy drink.
- Cuajada mix fo me - As I mentioned before, I adore this! The best, of course, would be made fresh and not from a mix, but beggars can't be choosers, and with the lack of actual cuajo (the substance used to curdle the milk) here, I will have to settle for this. You can also find ready made cuajada in the groceries in Barcelona (and believe me, I had more than my share when we were there). The best I've tried, barring homemade, are the ones that come in the clay crocks that say "de leche de oveja" (sheep's milk). When I try to make this I'm going to try doing it with carabao's milk...
- Small clay crocks - From our trip to La Bisbal, in the Costa Brava. This is the place to go for pottery! These little ones would be perfect for individual dessert servings...and for my cuajada. The green pitcher you see is also from La Bisbal.
- Arroz Bomba - Said to be the best rice for cooking paella. Am I fixing my self up to attempt this finally? Hmmm...I am still convincing C that this should be his forte, as he is the lover of paella between us.
- Our booty from Zara Home - Now you can dress your house in Zara! Beddings, funky towels, serving utensils, adorable kitchen towels...suddenly you feel like your little flat can also aspire to be a tall, thin, Spanish (or otherwise) model.
- Chocolate Muesli - This may seem a little off, but for some reason, I cannot find chocolate muesli here. And I mean chocolate, not "mocha" or "chococcino". Chocolate muesli (the crunchy type!) and frosted flakes have been a guilty pleasure ever since I discovered the combination one cold morning in Zurich. Now I buy boxes whenever I can.
- Toothpicks or palillos - So help me...we had a box! Why not? I love these toothpicks that you find in a lot of the tapas bars in Spain. They are shaped like an elongated oval and will be great for a cocktail party spread.
These are water bottles we got at Vinçons, an amazing home store along the Paseo de Gracia. These are glass versions of a popular mineral water bottle. We discovered them through my godmother, who has a couple of them, and immediately went to get ourselves some...aren't they hip? Much like Vinçons itself. Their selection is great...just the right note between functional and cool. The window displays are awesome! Behind the bottles you can see a cute argyle print towel we got at Zara Home.
My kitchen towels! I couldn't resist...we could all use a little inspiration to do the dishes :) That is why I'm always on the lookout for nice "tools" for whatever task is usually considered a "chore".
This is what we were hoping and praying would survive the trip (along with the glass bottles above). The clay pot! We got this beauty at La Bisbal. I can't wait to get started using it! What to make? Beans (Fabada!), stews, adobo, chicken in a clay pot, maybe some cornish hens (thank you S&R!)...any suggestions?
Don't you love getting things in the mail? :)