Distraction Needed

It's funny how the littlest things sometimes make the biggest impacts on our lives. Small, inconspicuous but always there when you need them.

I don't think you can really understand this post if you are not a dog lover, or an animal lover. It's like people don't really understand the film "Marley and Me" if they've never had a dog.

Last Friday was a very tough day in the Burt household. Our little baby Candy had been the 5th member of the family for the last 16 years and we had to let her go.

She was always there to greet you at the door, wake you up in the mornings and put on a smile on your face when you were feeling down.

She still loved every single one of us, regardless of our faults because she didn't know any different. She was a very BIG chapter in our lives, but to her we were her whole life and I'm glad to say she had a bloody good life.

I think its one of the toughest things I've had to do. Say goodbye to my little furry companion, knowing I will never see her again but also knowing that its best to let her go rather than seeing her suffer.

The house is too quiet without you, Candy. I keep opening the door for you so you can go run around the garden and bark at the cars, or calling your name when I drop some food on the floor for you to vacuum it up, or finding your old doggie bowls and know I will never get to see you wag your tail because it was feeding time.

It's sad.

There is a hole in our house and a hole in our hearts.

The hardest bit is coming home to an empty silent house.

I might have hidden it well but I was a bit of a mess.

I felt even worse that I had a boy to entertain.

I couldn't quite believe this all went down during his visit. Just my luck!

To be honest he was a blessing in disguise. (Remember him from my date weekend?)

A fellow dog and animal lover, he completely understood what I was going through and was there to offer his shoulder so I could cry on.

I didn't want to think about it.

I needed to be distracted, and that he did.

So we headed to the beach.

I took him to Triana, my favourite little beach hideaway. I didn't really want to be around too many people and this place is never too busy. 

We ate and we drank but most importantly we spoke.

We spoke for ages and ages, but I'm not really sure about what.

Sometimes about silly stuff, sometimes about important stuff but conversation just flowed, as did the drinks...

I kept getting lost in his words.

We shared a Gambas al alajillo (garlic prawns).

Hot, spicy prawns loaded with garlic and soaked in olive oil which you have to mop up with bread. It's the rule. 

I stuck to my seafood diet and ordered Mussels for my muscles

which I ended up eating cold because I was chatting too much

Whilst he ordered the peppered steak  

It was kind of a perfect afternoon amidst all the sadness, which makes me wonder is it possible to feel happy and sad at the same time?

I forgot to mention Jobro "surprised" me with a visit today too but more on that on my next blog post! 

La Ola on the Beach

On day 2 of my "holiday" I headed straight to the beach.

If you saw me you really wouldn't think I lived in Spain. It was embarrassing enough my guest was browner than I was (okay he had been holidaying in Portugal before coming to see me though) so I really needed to get rid of this paleness!

It was also lunch time...

After a beautiful sunny stroll down the Paseo Marítimo de Marbella we stumbled across a whole new avenue of beach restaurants I´d never seen before!

I felt so cheated! How had I never seen these chiringuitos hidden below the boulevard, right under my nose?

We settled on one called 'La Ola' which was perfect as the waves today were big and loud creating a beachy soundtrack to our afternoon. 

We freshened up with a couple of cañas and some olives and indulged in our beautiful surrounding.

I still have to pinch myself sometimes that I live here. I actually live here.

We were offered an aperitif with our beers

 which I had to test twice to make sure there was no pineapple in it (for him)

As we were at the beach it seemed only fair to order seafood, seafood and more seafood. It also went nicely with my new seafood diet. I see food and I eat it.

We ordered calamares, which were big and crispy just as they should be

Calamares are great for those of you who aren't too keen on seafood and fish. They sound and look exotic but are actually quite mild in taste and flavour. 

So go on, next time give them a try!

I dived straight in, no time for photos

 Then came the chipirones (tiny baby squid tentacles)

I adore these. Munching on these crispy tentacles is better than crisps!

 which we dipped in alioli (garlic mayonnaise)

And these were media raciones (half portion sizes)! I could have happily munched my way through a full portion because they are so addictive!

It was quite sad that these frontline beach restaurants were empty on a glorious Thursday afternoon, with waiters pining after to you to sit down in their establishment. 

I think they are too hidden for the average passerby to notice. 

We were practically the only ones in the restaurant

Except for this little birdie who tried very hard at getting in on the seafood action

None for you Mr Pigeon!

Then came the main event: the magnificent paella

The glorious combination of rice, seafood and meat.

Everything you could dream of in one big dish.

You can only really order paellas to share, which was perfect for our cheeky little lunch date

Topped with langostinos (giant prawns, soft shell) and cigalas (langoustine, hard shell)

and mussels and clams and crab legs

I couldn't wait to get my claws in

These are the crown jewels of the paella and I always wait until last to peel them

You will undoubtedly pile your plate up until you can eat no more. Then carry on picking at the leftovers in the big dish because you just can´t resist it.

Don't worry, it's all allowed on the see-food diet!

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach and had dessert for dinner. Yup. That's right. Ice cream for dinner. And what?! I'm on me 'olidays!

Dinner with you, a Dinner for Two

I've been a little distracted lately from my university work.

My classes at Malaga are coming to an end but the work just seems to be piling up.

Some days I just want to scream and hide under a rock and hope my deadlines won't find me there; go sit outside and sunbathe with a cocktail in my hand and forget all about it.

But no, I can't. I'm a postgraduate now, I have to be more responsible!

I did maybe kinda give myself a week off though...

It was for a good reason! I had a new visitor come stay at Casa Burt and obviously I couldn't be so rude as to abandon him with my parents! I'm not that cruel.

On his first night, he cooked for me

Hold your horses!

I know what you are thinking... What kind of hostess lets their guest cook for them? 

But look what he made...

And this...

He was very insistent, but I was also very quick to let him. 

He's a very good cook and I was secretly hoping to steal a couple of tricks off him too...

So we took a trip to Mercadona to buy all the ingredients. 

Then he got to work in the kitchen

For the starter, 'Spaghetti Carbonara with Salmon':

Chop up your fillet of salmon in to dices

Melt a big ole chunk of butter in a pan (can you tell he's English? None of this Olive Oil stuff!) and cook the salmon with salt and pepper for a couple of minutes. 

Then leave it off the heat for 5 minutes. You don't want to cook it all the way through. 

Whilst that is cooking, boil your spaghetti in a saucepan

I must confess we used shop bought carbonara sauce (*GASP*). So heat that in a pan too

Then comes the important combining of the ingredients.

Drain your spaghetti and put it back into the pan on a low heat

Now add your pasta sauce and finally the salmon. The salmon will finish cooking with the heat of the pasta and the sauce.

Give it a couple of stirs and serve!

Remember: 'Presentation is everything'

Candles are a necessity too

It was absolutely scrumptious!

We were both pretty full after our starter, but we couldn't really turn down the fillet steak and prawns!

Especially as I'd peeled them all and I really really wanted some

The steak was done on the grill with (lots of) butter, seasoned with sea salt and pepper and a sprinkle of sugar to make the top layers go crispy.

He cooked the prawns in the remainder of the steak juices for a minute or so and arranged it all beautifully on our Royal Worcester plates

Fillet steak. Nom nom nom

Topped with prawns. Nom nom nom

And a side of Pepper Sauce (from a packet *GASP*). Still very nom nom nom

There was definitely no room for dessert!

I will say this though, the fish and seafood from Mercadona was very fresh and tasty but the fillet steak was a bit tough. Mamma B recommends fish from Mercadona and steak from SuperSol, so now we all know for next time (you're cooking in Spain). 

Next day we completely forgot about the chips we had left cooking in the oven.Whoops! I've not done that one before...