FOOD.

Gazpacho y Berenjenas con Miel

I've been craving tapas lately, especially gazpacho, so I decided to make some.  I also got some sausages that I intended on making, but the problem is that I didn't make them.  So whatever.

For the gazpacho I used this recipe.  It turned out great!  I was worried because I'd seen a lot of pictures of gazpacho where it looked too watery or had weird chunks, but the consistency on this one came out perfectly.  I just loaded up the blender to maximum capacity and used the food processor mode until it seemed ready.  The recipe had the perfect amount of spice (the crushed red pepper was nice), I used balsamic vinegar in it, and I served it with a loaf of jalapeno cheese bread I got at Vons and sliced up.

For the eggplant fritters I used this recipe.  Apparently they're a specialty of Cordoba and they're called "berenjenas con miel," which sounds a whole lot sexier than "fritters."  I want to end arguments by shouting "BERENJENAS CON MIEL," pointing at something (I'm thinking either down or maybe the upper right corner of the room... just feel like one should be pointing at something very heatedly when uttering such statements), maybe taking a shot (it'll be sitting on the table... like, a messy cluttered table where you'd look and go, "oh, wait, is that a shot there? sweet, I'll take it"), and storming out.  I might even throw a "bombero!" or "basura!" in there if I'm feeling really feisty.  Anyway, these were also fairly delicious.  They need to be served right away otherwise they'll get a bit soggy.  And I had to switch to a new pot and use fresh oil after doing about 10 slices.  And one thing I'd recommend for both of these recipes is to slowly drink half a bottle of Malbec while you're making them.  That's about it.

Bon appetit.