Tuesday, July 31, 2012

What I enjoyed this month: July 2012

July has been an eventful month.

My grandfather died. Mel allowed me to experience the delights of liquid smoke and 'real' tofu bacon (still enjoying it!). We went outdoor ice skating and cycled 30km. The Olympics started. I discovered celeriac (still in love) and went on a lemon kick.

As July ends, the dawn of August also brings us rather close to our wedding date. One. month. tomorrow.

!

Here are some memories and experiences from July (mostly food-related it would seem) that I haven't yet spoken about...

Baby spinach, strawberries and (raw) tofu. Surprisingly, amazingly good.



I made these vegan chocolate cupcakes and added sprinkles to some and frozen berries to others. Both additions worked very well indeed. I now want to add sprinkles to everything.



I don't like brussels sprouts, but for some inexplicable reason they were calling to me this month. I roasted them in salt and vinegar, and may now be an occasional brussels sprout eater.



Can you guess what is in this smoothie?


Or more specifically, what is giving the smoothie its colour?


Hint: It's not strawberries.

In addition to wedding plans, our travel plans for September are coming together rather nicely. You may remember that one of my (our) 2012 aspirations was a trip to Europe, around a conference I hoped to attend in Portugal in late September.



As it turns out, this trip will now be our honeymoon, which is as nice an outcome as I could ever have hoped for.

We will have a week in Spain, based in Madrid; just over a week in Portugal, with 3 days in Lisbon and 5 days in Porto (the latter being for my work conference); and 10 days in England, where we will spend 4 nights in London and then make a trip north that encompasses York, Durham and Birmingham. We had originally hoped to see Morocco, but security concerns mean that we have put that idea aside for now.

All in all, it is rather exciting - and I suspect that August will pass very quickly indeed!

What has your July involved? And do you have any recommendations for us in Madrid, Lisbon or Porto?

28 comments:

  1. my guess for the smoothie is roasted carrots (is that too obvious given the proximity of the photos)

    Glad you are enjoying sprouts - esp if you live in the uk - I have found it is one of the easiest winter style green foods to find there - and they are so cute when sold on the branch

    As for Madrid if you can see guernica it is amazing in the full size. But my main recommendation is to take a short trip to segovia - though I hope you enjoy madrid far more than I did (which was the reason I went to segovia)

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    1. Aha! Not roasted carrots, but you're not far off :-)

      I was interested to read your thoughts on Madrid recently. I, too, hope we enjoy it more than you did! Segovia is on the 'to visit' list and I will prepare myself for the food approach I think.

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  2. i gotta ask, how awesome does it feel to get to throw down the word 'honeymoon'?? ;) hehe...so cool!! while i'm sooo very sorry for the loss u've suffered this month, i believe u were able to channel that sadness into a productive means and eloquently wrote about ur grandfather on ur blog. and u'll forever have ur memories. in other regards July has rocked for u...but i'm still floored u made it over half a year sans chocolate! :P

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    1. Aw, thanks Cait! And don't worry, I think chocolate is just too 'usual' to throw in my monthly recaps ;)

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  3. sorry about your grandfather. hope everything is doing good... take care!

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  4. Woooooooo! Wedding, honeymoon, travel!! Bliss ahead for you, my girl!

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    1. It's still rather hard to grasp. One more month of work and then one month of glorious pleasure (hopefully!) :)

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  5. Sounds like another exciting month coming up for you then with wedding and travel plans! I'm happy to hear that you tried and enjoyed roasted sprouts, it's definitely my favourite way to eat them.

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    1. Your roasting method was on of my inspirations actually :-)

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  6. I didn't realise your wedding was so soon. How exciting. Just four weeks to go! And what an incredible honeymoon. That's a great way to start marital bliss xx

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    1. Thank you Charlie - it really has crept up very quickly indeed! I can't quite believe it's so soon either.

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  7. How exciting with your wedding and honeymoon so close. Your travel plans sound amazing.

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  8. I hated brussel sprouts also, but I'm so glad I gave it another chance in the recent years. This is why it's so impt to have an open mind!! Never say never! I like to toast them in garlic (more the better), salt, and pepper.
    hmm..did you add peaches? tofu? I actually started adding tofu to my smoothies..quite delicious I must say.

    Oh, Kari!! How exciting!! I didn't know about your wedding!! I actually did a search so that I can read about all the details..yes, I'm nosy like that ;). Mr. Bite is da man! Coral Bay seems like the PERFECT, most DREAMY place for a proposal! Hope everything's coming together beautifully and smoothly!
    I wish I can offer some suggestions, but I've never stepped foot in Europe ;(. I know...Hopefully that will change soon! Have fun planning!

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    1. Ooh, it wasn't peaches or tofu, but now I'm keen to try those things in a smoothie! I imagine tofu would really thicken things up.

      Thanks so much for your enthusiasm and kind words regarding the wedding :) We have had a rather speedy engagement but it is all coming together (I think...) and getting very exciting!

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  9. hope you enjoy your last month before the wedding (we just celebrated our 5th anniversary and in my opinion, it just keeps getting better :) I lived in Madrid and traveled to Lisbon & Morocco - all great places and I'm sure you'll find plenty to do and enjoy!!! We did a cave boat tour in Lisbon and it was soooo fun! :)

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    1. A cave boat tour sounds wonderful! I will definitely look that up. And happy 5 year anniversary - what a wonderful milestone.

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  10. One month- how exciting! The next couple of weeks will fly by, but try to enjoy it. :-)

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    1. Thank you! I think they are going to disappear rather quickly :P

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  11. Hi,
    Have a wonderful honeymoon and wish you all the best!
    All the food looks great but I love the fresh strawberry salad. Looks so yum!

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  12. Seems like July was jam packed with good food and I bet August will just fly by as your wedding approaches! Your honeymoon sounds like its going to be awesome!

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  13. My goodness I can't believe your wedding is so soon! Your honeymoon sounds amazing. The thing I learnt on my last trip was to slow down. My friend describes it as coffee shop holidays. Get up, find a coffee shop, sit for a bit. Do something (museum etc) find another coffee shop, sit for a bit. Go for a wander in a park. Maybe do something else touristy. It so works, a holiday is actually relaxing. You don't see EVERYTHING, but you see what you want and you enjoy it more.

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    1. I can't believe it's so soon either! :P

      Your travel advice is very wise - we have a tendency to squeeze lots in and walk around for ridiculous periods of time, and it can take its toll. Sitting in cafes to recuperate sounds lovely.

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  14. Oh wow your honeymoon trip is going to be AMAZING! Um, I cheated, that's roasted purple carrots in your smoothie. ;P

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    1. Teehee - I wonder how on earth you guessed?! :)

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