I can not stop thinking about food - it is actually cracking me up. I have never been a big fan of food and have actually always had issues with food, both mentally and physically. I am having this HUGE urge for all of these things I can't eat! I think it is because I keep getting asked for gluten-free recipes, as if I cook! I am intolerant to almost everything: all lactose products, all carbohydrates except corn and potatoes, sugar, chocolate, lamb, celery, citric fruits, the list goes on, etc - so what exactly would I cook in the first place? (NO COMMENTS about the macaroons, please - I shouldn't eat them but......)
These would be the top ten things I would eat:
Thin-crust Pizza
Sushi
Lemon Cake with extra lemon-glaze frosting
Pad Thai Noodles with Shrimp
Big bowl of non-gluten free pasta with bolognese sauce & parmesiano
Curried rice with chicken or shrimp
Stuffing (from the turkey)
Chocolate cake - the one that bleeds hot chocolate when you cut it
Peanut butter sandwich
I can't seem to think of a tenth food at the moment because I am suddenly STARVING! I think it would be basically anything with a sauce on it or breaded, like calamari or an egg roll. Or perhaps a caiparihna or a mojito - drinks count for food, right?
Spaniards love food. They can base their days around it. Every Spaniard will claim that her/his mother makes the best tortilla de patata, paella, cocido, fabada, etc. I personally think that my husband makes the best paella (I used to eat it) and the best fabada with gluten-free meats. The Spaniards eat for hours at a given sitting, weekdays or weekends which I love because there is never any rush. There is always too much food. The whole idea of gluten-free is relatively new here and unfortunately, they really have no idea how to make food without wheat, barley, rye, etc which leaves me to eat grilled veggies and salmon more often than my liking. Fortunately, there are places that have specialty foods like the supermarket, Mercadona (their child is a celiac so the majority of the products are gluten-free at a reasonable price), el Corte Inglés, herbolerias, etc.
I would think that after being on a special diet for a year that I would be used to it by now. I just have to keep reminding myself that even though food can make you feel so wonderful that it can also make you feel so awful (like my situation last year when I blew up like a puffer fish and was just sick, sick, sick).
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Lovely Fall Day thanks to Ladurée Macaroons
My day started off rather horrendous - a feisty Spaniard pushed me on the metro and when I looked at her and said, "¡Perdón!" as if it was me who had pushed her, she barks back at me, "¡Quítate del medio!" - mind you I was leaning on the wall of the train and definitely not in the way of anybody.
I arrive to work and one of my bosses who had been in Paris on business yesterday yells for me to come to his office. I was thinking, "Oh goodness, a bit early for everything without another coffee." He tells me with a bright smile that he brought a mint green box of the most delightful, French delicacy; MACAROONS! This is the second time he has brought these precious little treats (I asked him once and I guess it is like the saying, "Ask and you shall receive!"). I have also received these treats from the investor in France three times. I think that they are secretly having a contest to see who can bring Sarah more of these gluten-free lovely treats! (note: we will pretend that they are on my special diet which consist of no gluten, no sugar, etc. etc.).
It's funny because sometimes I think that my husband reads my mind. The day after I had asked my boss to bring me back the macaroons in the lovely mint green box with the silk ribbon, my husband happen to buy some at the gourmet section of the Corte Inglés. It was tasty, especially on a Saturday afternoon where I could eat it with my feet up!
The macaroons have definitely been the highlight of my day. As I just swallowed a piece of gum accidentally (gag, gag, gag!), had to deal with ridiculous phone calls, emails, do two office "pedidos" (really hate ordering paper, pens, toner, etc as I think it is a waste of money - buy me more Manolos!!) and prior to being pushed on the metro, CNN+ only covered a story about some boy who wasn't in this silver balloon but rather her was hiding in the garage - makes me believe that the world has stopped.
If you ever go to Paris or happen upon a macaroon wherever you are, you have go to try one! They are a heavenly delight and make any day that much better.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Asunto: EVACUACION DEL EDIFICIO
The concierge, Frederico who smells like dirty BO, of the building I work in just gave all the tenants of the building a circular about the evacuation of the building yesterday. It is essentially thanking us for exiting the building so quickly. I can not take credit for going down 15 flights of stairs quickly as I felt rather arthritic yesterday and being that they had just painted the handrails; I couldn’t assist myself or avoid the vertigo in the slightest. Then you get to the first bullet point of the circular which reads “Se ha debido a una amenaza de bomba recibida en las oficinas de Barclays”. So, the real fire drill was really a bomb threat that the bank on the bottom floor had received.
My office is on the 15th and 16th floors of the Torres de Colón. The two towers, according to Wikipedia, are 102 meters high and have 23 floors. They were designed by Antonio Lamela, an architect from Madrid, and built in 1976. Wikipedia makes the buildings out to be marvelous with their “granate” colored windows and its modern design with the green structure on top. I think that the Torres are probably one/two of the FUGLIEST buildings in Madrid – they look like a green plug with a brown cord – they stick out like a sore thumb, a total eye sore. I must give the building their fairness as they offer great views which as you walk around our floor, you can almost see all of Madrid, they are in the best neighborhood in Madrid - the neighborhood has the best shopping where I have seen famous people (ok, so it was just one, Vic
toria Beckham who looked like a walking stick), is centrally located, has a cute flower stand across the street, I have my own office overlooking the Hard Rock café and best of all it takes me 17 minutes to get from my door to the 15th floor.
As the Torres were built in the mid-seventies, the elevators have yet to be modernized. I have been trapped in them 3 times for about 35 minutes average trapping, if it were my choice, I would much rather takes the stairs. I have been called a “gafe” (jinx) by one boss who no longer takes the elevator with me. I have 3 main bosses who I call the three Musketeers (although sometimes they remind me of the Stooges) and then 2 other bosses. The hippy boss was insisting yesterday and this morning as we were riding up in the elevator together that we had to evacuate because of a bomb. A nice way to start your morning. Today is the day the judges decide where the 2016 Olympics are to be hosted, so this boss that made my morning elevator ride pleasant, mind you, he once asked an unknown elevator rider when she was due and she told him she wasn’t pregnant (oops!), seems to think that Madrid is going to have a couple of surprises, I hope his statement proves to be false and perhaps this is when being a “gafe” will come in handy and I can take the elevator up sola.
Most people know that Spain has the “Etarras”, the people who support the ETA, a Basque political party that started out as a pacifist university group and seems to have lost their real purpose, if there ever was a real purpose and are now known as terrorists. The Etarras are constantly on the most wanted list, found in Andorra, tend to do car bombings and usually target political figures or policemen. The US Embassy used to send us ex-pats warning emails about the Etarras and crowded places in Spain (in Israel, the government emails were kind of the same but it also warned to avoid public transportation) but lately, we haven’t received so many of those warning emails.
My point to this is that, no need to worry about me in the Torres as Annabel just reassured me in an email, “I also think they would be far more likely to target other buildings first – the towers aren’t exactly emblematic – they’re just plain Uuuuugleeeee”. It seems that bombings and terrorists threats are becoming an everyday thing. It is kind of sad and pathetic that people take to violence. My friend Kristen’s dad strongly believes in L-O-V-E, Leave Out Violence Entirely, wish that more people believed in L-O-V-E as well.
My office is on the 15th and 16th floors of the Torres de Colón. The two towers, according to Wikipedia, are 102 meters high and have 23 floors. They were designed by Antonio Lamela, an architect from Madrid, and built in 1976. Wikipedia makes the buildings out to be marvelous with their “granate” colored windows and its modern design with the green structure on top. I think that the Torres are probably one/two of the FUGLIEST buildings in Madrid – they look like a green plug with a brown cord – they stick out like a sore thumb, a total eye sore. I must give the building their fairness as they offer great views which as you walk around our floor, you can almost see all of Madrid, they are in the best neighborhood in Madrid - the neighborhood has the best shopping where I have seen famous people (ok, so it was just one, Vic
toria Beckham who looked like a walking stick), is centrally located, has a cute flower stand across the street, I have my own office overlooking the Hard Rock café and best of all it takes me 17 minutes to get from my door to the 15th floor.As the Torres were built in the mid-seventies, the elevators have yet to be modernized. I have been trapped in them 3 times for about 35 minutes average trapping, if it were my choice, I would much rather takes the stairs. I have been called a “gafe” (jinx) by one boss who no longer takes the elevator with me. I have 3 main bosses who I call the three Musketeers (although sometimes they remind me of the Stooges) and then 2 other bosses. The hippy boss was insisting yesterday and this morning as we were riding up in the elevator together that we had to evacuate because of a bomb. A nice way to start your morning. Today is the day the judges decide where the 2016 Olympics are to be hosted, so this boss that made my morning elevator ride pleasant, mind you, he once asked an unknown elevator rider when she was due and she told him she wasn’t pregnant (oops!), seems to think that Madrid is going to have a couple of surprises, I hope his statement proves to be false and perhaps this is when being a “gafe” will come in handy and I can take the elevator up sola.
Most people know that Spain has the “Etarras”, the people who support the ETA, a Basque political party that started out as a pacifist university group and seems to have lost their real purpose, if there ever was a real purpose and are now known as terrorists. The Etarras are constantly on the most wanted list, found in Andorra, tend to do car bombings and usually target political figures or policemen. The US Embassy used to send us ex-pats warning emails about the Etarras and crowded places in Spain (in Israel, the government emails were kind of the same but it also warned to avoid public transportation) but lately, we haven’t received so many of those warning emails.
My point to this is that, no need to worry about me in the Torres as Annabel just reassured me in an email, “I also think they would be far more likely to target other buildings first – the towers aren’t exactly emblematic – they’re just plain Uuuuugleeeee”. It seems that bombings and terrorists threats are becoming an everyday thing. It is kind of sad and pathetic that people take to violence. My friend Kristen’s dad strongly believes in L-O-V-E, Leave Out Violence Entirely, wish that more people believed in L-O-V-E as well.
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