Granada

One of the reasons for my recent absence was a holiday to Spain. Many moons ago, I studied Spanish and had the joy of living in Granada in Andalucia for a year. During this time, I became fluent in Spanish, learnt to dance Sevillanas, visited the Alhambra on a weekly basis, became obsessed with Spanish food (tapas in particular), developed more than a liking for vino tinto and hence managed to put on at least a stone before coming home to finish my degree...

I hadn't been back to Granada for over 20 years and unfortunately had no imminent plans to, until getting back in touch with a very good friend last year. Suzanne and I went to the same school and college, and spent our year in Granada together. After nearly 20 years of no contact, last year we discovered we were living in the same town and a revisit to Granada was one of the first things we talked about. The holiday became a bit of a road trip, with six like-minded girls driving from Alicante to Granada for Las Cruces festival. Suzanne had booked fantastic apartments in the Albaicin, which had views of the Alhambra and the snow-capped Sierra Nevada. We revisited old haunts, enjoyed delicious tapas, danced Sevillanas and decided that we would definitely be back next year.

Whilst much of the juerga* has moved on, one of the mainstays of the traditional tapas scene is the Trastienda. This gorgeous place looks like typical shop from the front, with legs of ham hanging in front of the counter, but behind the scenes is the cutest little tapas bar with tiled walls and low tables. Nice to see it mentioned here. We enjoyed a plate of aged pata negra ham and some tapas, before heading here for lunch, where we had traditional Moroccan food and the most beautiful views of the Alhambra.

Photos to follow...

* juerga = the good time (ir de juerga = to go out on the town)

Eldertini

Firstly, i must apologise for another absence. I have so much i want to mention, i don't really know where to start... so, i thought i would put together a little cocktail while i think.

I picked up a gorgeous looking bottle of St Germain elderflower liqueur from Waitrose recently (currently on introductory offer) so here goes my version of an elderflower martini:

Eldertini - serves 1 (in a martini glass with enough for a second helping)

50ml vodka
15ml elderflower liqueur
10ml extra dry martini
100ml organic apple juice

Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes.
Add above ingredients and shake.
Strain into a martini glass and enjoy.