Palma, Mallorca, Spain

 When I lived in the UK, I knew a lot of people who went to Mallorca for their holidays. It always sounded so exotic and beachy to me.  With so many amazing places to visit in this world, I wondered if I would ever get the chance to visit. Fast forward, 40 plus years, We took a transatlantic cruise not that long ago, and the last stop before Barcelona departure was Palma, Mallorca. 

We were a little "excursioned" out and wanted to have a low key day wandering Palma. We did take a taxi from the port docks to the city park below the Gaudi "Arc" cathedral. Let's be clear, the cathedral existed onsite for hundreds of years before Gaudi was commissioned to help with the restoration.  Having been to Sagruda Familia a couple of times, I expected so much.  It did not disappoint... but so very different from Sagruda Familia.  He wanted to infuse the worship space with light, and as you can see from the photo below, it was stunning in the early morning that we arrived.  I would recommend buying tickets in advance and getting there at opening.  You only need an hour or so to see the cathedral.  Be sure to check out the huge Gaudi chandelier, it was so unusual and beautiful.  

Photo tip, move way back from the altar and show someone holding the ball of light. See below... 

Next we walked through the city, looking for the Arab baths.  The old town is truly a labyrinth of crooked little streets. Go ahead!  Try to get lost... but it was easy enough to find it using your phone to walk you there.  We had the gardens to ourselves that morning, not bad for a town with a couple cruise ships in port that day.

Beautiful parks everywhere in the city!

Hard to see the beautiful mosaic details on the top floor, but it was amazing.

After two weeks on a cruise ship, you'd think you'd never be hungry again... haha, fat chance of that!  We stopped for a coffee and a pastry and sat outside watching the shoppers on the shopping street, and the pigeons at our feet looking for a handout. 

We continued to walk, running out of the fancy high street and into a more local neighborhood.  So many of the people on the street we're on their way to a low building that looked like some sort of shopping mall.  On a whim, I said "let's go over there"!  I am so glad that we did, it was a wonderful, unexpected surprise with shopping for fruits, veggies, meats, seafood, cheese- - you name it, if it was food, they were selling it!  They even had foods to go and an oyster bar!  Knowing my guy will always say yes to oysters, I suggested we stop and have some with a cold glass of white wine. 

It's not that I look happy, I AM happy!  These guys were so nice and took turns making little bites of goodness for us to try. It was so much fun. 

Paella to go, if you wanted it!

 

As we left the port, we scored the corner hot tub with views of the city.  Great shots of the Cathedral as we sailed away.  I would love to go back to Palma someday.

Mexican Red Lentil Soup

Yummy!

Healthy!

Easy to make!

What else do you want?

This soup was easy and came together in under an hour.  We will definitely make this one again. We had dinner for two with this recipe, plus another 6-8 servings ready to go in the freezer, perfect for a lunch or a starter on a cold night.

A word about the canned tomatoes, you could easily used diced tomatoes with green chilies, or just regular diced. I only had an Italian spiced diced tomato, so I used that.  If you had people that don't like bigger chunks of tomatoes, used either crushed tomatoes or petite diced instead.

If you don't want it too spicy, you can omit the jalapenos and the hot sauce! I like everything kind of spicy though.

Makes about 8-12 servings (Freezes well)

Ingredients:

2 cup dry red lentils

4 cups water

1 T olive oil

3/4 cup onion, finely chopped

3/4 cup finely chopped celery

3/4 cup red bell pepper, finely chopped

1/4 cup jalapeno, finely chopped (optional)

1 1/2 T minced garlic

1/2 tsp. ground turmeric

2 tsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. chili powder

1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes

4 cups vegetable broth (or chicken if not doing a vegan soup)

1 T. hot sauce (optional)

salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

1/2 – 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Serve with additional lime wedges, sour cream and a sprinkling of cilantro

Put red lentils in a small pot, rinse and drain if needed, then add 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, turn off heat and cover. Let lentils sit in the hot water 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, finely chop onions and celery and mince garlic. Heat olive oil in heavy soup pot, add onion and celery and saute for 3-4 minutes, just long enough that vegetables are starting to soften. Add garlic and cook a few minutes more. Add ground turmeric, ground cumin, and chili powder, stir, and cook 1-2 minutes more.

Add diced canned tomatoes, vegetable broth, and hot sauce. Add lentils after they have soaked for 30 minutes.

Let soup simmer for 15-30 minutes (or until lentils are as soft as you’d like them, about 25 minutes.) When the lentils are softened as much as you’d like, stir in chopped cilantro and lime juice and cook 5 minutes more. If it seems too thick for your liking, add a bit of water and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Serve hot, with additional cut limes to squeeze into the soup. Can top with sour cream or vegan substitute if desired.

It was a great soup to enjoy on a very snowy day!

Eggroll Bowl

Easy and satisfying, this mixture is low carb and very healthy.  I used ground turkey (7% fat), but have also made this with lean ground pork too. Be sure to customize the recipe to use up veggies you might have on hand.  Don't like mushrooms? Substitute broccoli florets, celery or even diagonal cut pieces of asparagus instead. You don't have to buy the pre-shredded cabbage mixture (usually I would not), but in this case, it was just easy.  You could also add shredded napa cabbage too.  Mung bean sprouts would be delicious too.

We happily ate this when it was snowing outside, the perfect cozy, and healthy, meal!

This meal reminds me a bit of Mo Shu Pork, so it would be great with Hoisin sauce on a thin Chinese pancake.  Just something to think about...

Serves 3-4
Ingredients:

1 lb ground pork (or Turkey or beef)
2 tsp fresh ground ginger
2 fresh garlic cloves, minced
2-3 tsp sesame oil
1-2 tbsp soy sauce

1/4 green onions
1 cup fresh mushrooms, diced
2 eggs
1 14oz bag of shredded cabbage
Salt and red pepper flakes,  if desired

First, in a well oiled sauce pan (use veg il and a couple drops of ssesame oil) over medium heat, add some well beaten eggs and swirl it about so it covers the large fry pan in a thin layer.  Cook until almost set and turn off heat.

Excuse the yucky looking cutting board below... I had chopped all the mushrooms on it before this egg "roll".

Roll the egg out of the pan into a roll shape, and cut into thin strips. 

In a dutch oven or a bigger saucepan, add the sesame oil and the turkey and cook over medium high heat.  Using a spatula chop up the turkey so that it cooks into small chunks as you cook it.  Add in the chopped ginger and the garlic, cook until the pink in the meat disappears.  Add in the chopped mushrooms and cook for another 1-2 minutes.  Add in the soy sauce, cabbage mix and the green onions.  Stir well, finally added the chopped cooked egg. Season with salt (or MSG- hey some people like it!).

Serve with sriracha and more soy sauce, as desired.

If you're not watching carbs, you could serve this over steamed rice.

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Manhattan Clam Chowder, Easy

 My picture isn't the greatest, so with my apologies for that, I wanted to share a very easy and delicious Manhattan Clam chowder.  I've never been a huge clam fan, but I do eat them on occasion. There's just something to the combination of clams with tomatoes that I love (check out my spaghetti with clam sauce here), while I really do not care for New England Clam chowder too much.  Too creamy, too thick, too much for me.

I made this on Christmas morning, and it was super easy to make.  I made a double batch and filled a 6 1/2 quart crockpot for my 18 guests to enjoy and serve themselves.  We served with spiral ham and a multitude of side dishes.   I did freeze one quart of the leftovers, but as it was in the crockpot most of the day, the potatoes were a bit too soft.  While you can freeze it, it might be best to cook and serve the same day.

Serves 6-8 

Ingredients

6-8 slices bacon chopped

1 cup onion, diced

1 cup carrots, peeled, quartered and sliced

1 cup celery sliced or diced

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup tomato paste (half a small can)

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, or 4-5 fresh thyme stocks

1 bay leaf

1 pound yellow potatoes, unpeeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes, about 4 cups

2 8 ounce bottles clam juice

4 cups chicken broth

15 ounce can crushed tomatoes (including liquid) OR 2 cups of marinara sauce (i used Rao's)

2 10 ounce can whole baby clams, do not drain, include liquid

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, remove and drain on paper towels.  

Leaving a bit of the bacon grease in the pan, use that to saute the onions, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Place the tomato paste, garlic powder, thyme, bay leaf, clam juice, broth, crushed tomatoes (or marinara) and potatoes in the pot. Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer.

Cook for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Stir in the baby clams. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.

Simmer for 5 more minutes.  Top with parsley.  Serve with sourdough bread.

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