Venice and Vivaldi

Mi amore Venezia......          

Yes I have fallen in love again, there really are few things (if any at all) that you cannot love about Venice.  The winding waterways filled with couples in beautiful shiny gondolas, the romantic old buildings stacked upon each other, the music and oh yes, the food. Pasta to be precise seems to be everyone's enemy these days and there is no way to avoid it in Italy.

After a rather long journey on the water taxi to the hotel in the heart of San Marco, I was famished and have to say the smell and thought of pasta was definitely on my mind.  Bypassing the Antipasti and going straight for a '1st' course, I am glad to say I asked for the two large plates of pasta delivered to be halved!  We opted for a dish of little sauce or cream, a very simple pesto tagliatelle.  When eating heavy carbohydrate based foods it is always best to serve it with sauces such as tomatoes or little olive oil and fresh hot vegetables such as broccoli or spinach with chopped fresh herbs.  So try to look out for these options on the menu next time, and there is never any harm in asking if they have brown pasta or rice, you never know!
Talking of sauces and my second course is about to be served, I chose a fillet steak and it was served with a very beautiful side of peas and raspberry sauce. I was glad to have asked for it on the side as this is where hidden extra calories can be hidden.

My favourite memory of eating in Venice has to be my vegetable soup 'zuppe de veduri'.  Yes as 'The Man' declared - 'oh how boring!' , it really was the tastiest and healthiest soup I have ordered in my entire life.  I passed an array of fresh, vibrant vegetables and knew this was the place I wanted to eat.

A hearty, healthy winter vegetable soup, with little salt or stock will help ward off any of those winter coughs and colds.  After a long, windy, chilly, rainy day and an hour in a cold Venetian church listening to Vivaldi, it really was my finest hour! CIAO.

HALLOWEEN HORRORS TO FOLLOW......

GRAN CANARIA - A Better Breakfast

I have just returned from the most wonderful relaxing break in Gran Canaria, staying in a rather remote hotel on top of a mountain overlooking the sea almost 300m above sea level.  The food has to be in my view the best on the island.  With Champagne and caviar on offer for breakfast, this really is the place to overindulge !

Breakfast in hotels can be a meagre affair to say the least but on this occasion, I got lucky.  No, I didn't partake in bubbles, I walked right passed to a huge bar of fruit and a wonderful little lady making any juice you asked for.  It was beautiful,  I ordered the vitamin packed Carrot, Apple and Orange juice.  A perfect way to boost my immune system before those winter coughs and colds with all that vitamin C and Beta Carotene.  Not to mention one of my '5 a day'

I always try to start the day with a good energy packed breakfast.  When staying in hotels I go for the fresh  fruit, yoghurt and nuts option if they have it so I was delighted with the choice of fresh fruits here.  As you can see my plate is full of melons, a natural yoghurt and I found some walnuts and hazelnuts.  If you like you can add a little honey to sweeten things up but I find the melon to be just enough.

I was equally delighted to see my friend's choice of breakfast was scrambled eggs on toasted wholegrain bread.  This is a fantastic breakfast, lunch or light supper.  Eggs are full of protein and omega 3 and low in calories when scrambled or poached.  Served on wholegrain bread fills you up with fibre, good starch and essential fats. It takes two mintues to make scrambled eggs and when I am running late I make it into a toasted sandwich, wrap it up in foil and eat it on the go, easy!

NEXT WEEK VENICE..........