La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
Above is a photo of pestinos. Typically available during Christmas and Easter, San Geraldo found these perfect specimens in the bakery last month. Dough deep-fried (in olive oil) and glazed with honey and cinammon.
I was out walking on the beach and Paseo before we went to London and spotted a group of Great Cormorants (well, they think they’re great and I won’t argue) in the midst of a feeding frenzy. I understand the feeling. You can watch the cormorants after you see what’s been tempting me.
Arriba hay una foto de pestinos. Normalmente disponibles durante Navidad y Semana Santa, San Geraldo encontró estos ejemplares perfectos en la panadería el mes pasado. Masa frita (en aceite de oliva) y glaseada con miel y canela.
Estaba caminando por la playa y el Paseo antes de ir a Londres y vi un grupo de grandes cormoranes (bueno, ellos piensan que son geniales y no lo discutiré) en medio de un frenesí de alimentación. Entiendo el sentimiento. Podrás observar a los cormoranes después de ver lo que me ha estado tentando.
• Supercor (supermercado). Ha sido Navidad desde antes de Halloween.
• En Casa Simón. No tenía idea de que había tantos tipos de garbanzos.
• No recuerdo cuáles eran pero eran muy buenos. No demasiado dulce, pero sí demasiada azúcar para un capricho diario.
• Jengibre seco en chocolate amargo. Sucumbí.
• San Geraldo tomando un poco de pan con su mermelada de melocotón en Mesón Salvador.
• Un almuerzo sorprendentemente delicioso en la Torre de Londres: croqueta de pescado, ensalada de repollo, y patatas fritas. Me contuve y simplemente admiré los postres.
• Mi galán en un pub londinense elegante (también conocido como caro) cerca de nuestro hotel. Les gustaba mucho el bistec. El más barato fue £38. Teníamos hamburguesas de £20.
Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Haz clic en las miniaturas para ampliar.
So many delights to temp us at this time of the year. Dive bombing fishing.
David:
There’s a pop-up shop in town filled with Christmas delights. I haven’t succumbed yet, but there’s time. And they have an entire sugar-free section!
This is the season of temptation, no doubt about it!
Debra:
Every season is a season of temptation!
Luckily for me, I have no sweet tooth so the cakes and pastries are lost on me; though, as usual, Carlos made pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving and I had my fair share.
Bob:
Ooh, pumpkin cheesecake. Sounds so good. Not something we’ll find here. I might have to make a side trip to Smallville.
Something must have been ‘running’ to get those cormorants diving like that…….
I always wanted to try a Victoria Sponge…..looks delicious.
This is me above/anon
Jim:
The cormorants were feasting for as long as I could see them on my walk, following something big.
The cakes! The other sweets don’t tempt me, but cakes…. yes.
The cole slaw looked unusual, so I’m glad to know that it was good.
Judy C:
I’m sure SG could tell you what was in the cole slaw. I know there were beets (and I actually liked them). It was delicious.
All those desserts look wonderful! I would like one of everything, please!
I do take issue with the “coleslaw” served with the fish cake. That doesn’t look like any coleslaw I’ve ever seen! In fact, I won’t mention what it DOES look like to me. LOL. Did it taste good, at least? 🙂
Jennifer
(who still can’t log in to WordPress these days)
I’m salivating at the sight of those pestinos (and I adore dark chocolate gingers)!
That coleslaw seems to have more than just cabbage and carrot (looks like beetroot and/or red onion and herbs, which it’s why it’s slightly pink) – delicious! Who would ever have thought a “tourist trap” like the Tower would actually have a cafe serving anything that well-crafted?
Food porn, as always… Jx
PS Those rocket-fast diving birds have always fascinated me when we’ve been sat staring at the Med. I always thought those were shearwaters rather than cormorants, though? The cormorants are always around, but dive from the rocks rather than the air.
PS not sure why my comment has appeared as a reply to Jennifer, rather than a comment on the blog post itself, but hey ho
Jon:
The pestinos and gingers were as good as they get. The cole slaw did in fact have beet root and I, yet again, like it. Shearwaters are built very differently from the long-necked, angular cormorants. There were some birds intermixed that were built more like gulls, which could have been shearwaters. We were very surprised by the quality and appearance of the food at the tower cafeteria.
Jennier:
The cole slaw was exceptional. Great mix of textures and flavors and perfect with the fish cake.
Incredible video of the cormorants!! We get a variety here on our pond, but I’ve never seen them dive like that. (only the occasional Osprey)
Kelly:
My other camera would have done a better job with that zoomed video but you get the idea. It was wonderful to watch.
Those cormorants really know how to dive. They’re like little missiles. Fish-seeking missiles.
(I couldn’t help but listen to the woman’s intriguing conversation in the background — what was that all about?!?!)
All the food looks yummy. I am perplexed by those red things.
Steve:
I’ve seen videos of the cormorants underwater and that’s equally impressive. I was embarrassed to pick up that conversation but she was in a popular spot for photos and sitting, so I did what I needed. Her younger sister apparently fell in love on Tinder and was planning to quit her job, and move her life and dog to Abu Dhabi. She didn’t know what the guy did but he was “independently wealthy.” Big sister was being excruciatingly supportive while trying to convince her to slow things down. She was encouraging her to have Mr. Right come meet Big Sister or even Dad, and to tell him she couldn’t just pack up and move without her family even meeting him. It was painful.
Since I often travel alone, I usually stay at places where I have my own kitchen(ette). In London, I can go down to Waitrose or M&S and bring back food for most of my meals at significantly less cost than eating out every time. However, had you gone a bit deeper into a residential Kensington back street (less than a mile from your hotel) there is a lovely, unpretentious pub called The Builder’s Arm (off Gloucester Rd and up Victoria Grove where it then becomes St Alban’s Grove); they offer a delicious Sunday roast with Yorkshire Pudding, a plate of fish and chips and other good meals. Maybe next time!
Mary
Mary:
My own kitchenette would be a waste on me… as is my own kitchen. Good to know about The Builder’s Arm. We did go several times to a pub called The Gloucester Arms which we really enjoyed.
Hello Mitchell! It is me, Mary Moon. And why have I never visited your blog? What is wrong with me? Well, too much to go into here but…
Lovely! Food porn is one of my favorite things. I always wish Steve posted more pictures of the meals they eat. I, too, would have had some of the chocolate-covered ginger. I wish I had some right now.
Those cormorants were definitely diving for some fish moving through. Water birds are much the same the world over, aren’t they?
I love it when my blog friends “meet”! You’re going to love Mitchell, Mary! 🙂
Jennifer
Jennifer:
That’s what Steve said. And I found Steve thanks to Susan who said I would love him.
Mary Moon:
We can spend the next year learning what’s wrong with each other! As you’ll see, I enjoy food porn, too. The cormorants worked they way back and forth over a large area following those fish.
Your food porn gets me hot and bothered…and I like it!
Sassybear:
Well, my cooking would probably get you feverish and annoyed.
Pestinos! I learned something.
Urspo:
They are SO good.