What Does Adventure Mean To You?

There are many things I consider to be an adventure when travelling .....

Meeting people from different countries and customs; seeing all the sights from the mountains, jungles, beaches and cities; but what adventure means to me is the culinary journey.

Every country has a culinary journey to take you on with foods to taste and drinks to enjoy, each telling a unique story with your taste buds.

Here are some of the tastes of adventure I've experienced on a plate and while these memories can't always be photographed they will always be remembered with a smile ...

1. Picking fresh figs off the trees at our holiday villa for breakfast in Ibiza

2. Asking a local for the recipe for Paella so I could make it at home on my return from Spain

3. Feasting on fritz (hot chips!) on the walk back to the hotel after a big night out in Amsterdam

4. The must try biggest and most succulent steaks barbecued on an open flame in Brazil

5. Drinking a pint of beer poured from ancient taps in an old English pub in London

6. Eating the best ice cream I've ever tasted while cruising down the river in beautiful Copenhagen

7. Trying the traditional snails escargot in a fancy restaurant in Paris

8. Starting dinner with a shot of Ouzo at a BBQ in Greece

9. Indulging in an abundance of varieties of fresh fruits from tropical island Indonesia

10. Drinking coconut milk straight from the coconut on a beach in New Caledonia

11. All the weird and wonderful foods seen on a walk through China Town in Vancouver

12. Wine tour and tastings at vineyards on beautiful Waiheke Island in New Zealand

13. Eating fresh seafood every night while on a road trip around coastal Tasmania

14. Buying home grown pineapples from the road side in Queensland

15. Barramundi burgers and beers while watching the sunset over Cable Beach in Broome

All of the above is the taste of adventure on a plate and in a glass for me!

What does adventure mean to you?

Southern Cross Travel Insurance are running an awesome competition, to enter all you need to do is write a blog post about what adventure means to you with a photo collage. The winner will receive $2000 towards their next travel adventure with other prizes up for grabs. You can find all the details on how to enter here.

I would also like to nominate 2 bloggers with a love for travel for this competition -
Anna of Seasons of Lust and Sarah of My First Little Place

Competition closes on 30 November 2013 - good luck everyone! 

To go on your own travel adventure around Australia check out the great deals on Travel Factory here

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[All images my own]

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How To Be An Organised Traveller

Whenever I travel - whether its for a short break, weekend away or a long awaited overseas trip, I pride myself on being an organised traveller.

I find being organised means I can relax and get the most out of my time away.

Kissing a crocodile at Australia Zoo, Queensland



The first thing I organise (after where I'm going of course!) is what to do - for this I check Trip Advisor to see what the top things to do in that City are.

When your travelling you want to not just do the tourist things but find out what makes that place unique - this could be where the perfect view can be seen from, where the best cocktails are served, and where to shop til you drop.

You will be so disappointed if you travel all that way and don't discover what the place has to offer - so it's well worth your time to organise and plan what to do.

Cockelbay Wharf in Darling Harbour, Sydney

I'm a big fan of creating my own itinerary, I'll research the different places to visit, what to see and do.

I'll create a list of these ideas so I have some options. If being your own tour guide is a bit daunting you can always join a tour which will no doubt show the best things to do and depending on how easy transport links are and the language barriers of places visited this might be the better option.

Either way if you're organised and plan or book ahead you know you won't miss out.



Cruising around the Whitsundays, Queensland



Food is a big highlight of travelling for me, I love to try out the local foods they are always the best quality in the countries they originate from.

Checking out a few must eat places and the local drinking places. Mixing food with a view is always a winner. A wine or food tour is a lot of fun too and killing two birds with one stone, having an adventure while getting fed!

Tapas in Madrid, Spain

I'm also a bit of a master at organising the suitcase and packing as I've shown you before.

I do this for both long and short trips I type up a list of my packing items to take including my outfits from day to night and anything else I can't live without on my travels.

This saves me carrying around clothes I'm not going to wear so I'm only burdened with what I'll use and that leaves plenty of room for buying souvenirs and things to bring home.

Winery in Pemberton, Western Australia

I find when I'm organised I'm less of a stress head, I'm not worried about what to do, where to eat, what to wear because I've worked it all before the holiday so all that's left to do is relax and enjoy it!

What are your tips for being an organised traveller?

If you're keen to go on an Australian adventure check out the great travel deals on Travel Factory here

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Spanish Tapas Party & Recipe

In ode to our trip to Spain with friends nearly 2 years ago, Pete and I threw a Spanish tapas party this weekend with these great mates, each couple bought 3-4 tapas each and a Spanish drink for everyone to enjoy

8 people + 16 dishes  + countless jugs of sangria, vermouth and Spanish beer = A great night!

We started at 4pm in the afternoon and the last dish was bought out at midnight. The dishes I made were Spanish Gazpacho Soup Shooters (recipe below), Potato Tortilla, Fried Whitebait with Aioli and Salsa and Crema Catalana. Lucky the dessert Crema Catalana was served at midnight because true to form I stuffed it up! I used 1 lemon instead of 1/2 so it was a bit too bitter and I couldn't melt the sugar enough to caramelize under the grill without the crema melting .... oh well hopefully everyone was enjoying the sangria too much to notice!

My Spanish Gazpacho Soup Shooters With Salsa

My Crema Catalana

Seriously though, doesn't everything look so much  better in miniature! I'm sharing with you the recipe I liked the most (and turned out edible!). This chilled soup was a perfect tapas for a hot night the sweet cool tomato soup with the spicy vodka infused salsa was a great combo. An easy one to make the night before and then whip up the salsa a few hours beforehand, and assemble before serving.

Spanish Gazpacho Soup Shooters With Salsa
(Women's Weekly Soup Cookbook)

Ingredients:
3 cups tomato juice (750ml)
8 medium egg tomatoes (600g), chopped coarsely
1 medium red onion (170g), chopped coarsely
1 clove garlic, quartered
1 Lebanese cucumber (130g), chopped coarsely
1 small red capsicum (150g), chopped coarsely
2 tsp Tabasco
4 green onions, chopped finely
1/2 Lebanese cucumber (65g), seeded, chopped finely
1/2 small yellow capsicum (75g), chopped finely
2 tsp olive oil
1 tbs vodka
2 tbs finely chopped coriander

Method:

1. Blend in food processor the juice, tomatoes, red onion, garlic, coarsely chopped cucumber and red capsicum until pureed. Strain through sieve into a jug, cover and refrigerate 3 hours (or overnight for better flavour).

2. Combine remaining ingredients in small bowl.

3.  Pour tomato mix into shot glass and top with 1-2 tsp of salsa.

4. Salute (that's cheers in Spanish!)

NB: As the soup is strained it leaves behind a delicious vegetable salsa and there was no way I was throwing it out - I used it as a dip on the table to go with tapas of fried whitebait, I spread it on toast and melted cheese on top, and I plan to use the last of it tossed through some fresh pasta mmmm yum!

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Point and Shoot: Rockingham Foreshore

When: Sunday, 8 May 2011 @ 12.30pm

Where: Rockingham Foreshore

I had a pretty busy weekend with equal amounts of work and play! 

The ceiling and all the skirting in the man cave got painted so it is finally ready for some colour to go on the walls. The hallway cupboards got a coat of paint around the frame and as I was a bit eager to wallpaper the doors without painting the cupboard frame first it meant we had to remove the doors so I could take them outside and sand the back of them ready for painting. I'm a bit worried I'll get paint on the gorgeous wallpaper will have to be pretty careful. 

After working all day we partied all night ... one of my best mates and her hubby have been travelling the globe for the past year (and in the midst of it we joined them in Ibiza for a Spanish style wedding!) and have just come home so we had a welcome back dinner for them at Maya Masala in Northridge absolutely delicious Indian and lots of wine, then onto a friends party until the wee hours of the morning.

Sunday was Mother's Day and I spent the day with my Mum and Dad, Aunt and Uncle and Nanna down on the Rockingham foreshore. Mum loved her silver necklace and earrings. Everywhere you looked there were Mums with huge bunches of flowers next to them it was such a sweet sight. I'd had a huge Saturday night so being a bit worse for wear, spending the day down by the beach having fish and chips was a perfect hangover suppressant! The weather has been surprisingly sunny still, it's meant to be Autumn but as you can see the sun is still shining, there is no rain in sight and people are still walking around in their bikinis and laying about in the sun.

Hope all the Mums had a lovely Mothers Day!

I'm off to Sunny + Scout to catch up on your weekends now.

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Biutiful Barcelona

I won tickets to the advance screening of the Spanish film Biutiful. It was a really good flick, intense with a strong storyline to keep you engaged. It was filmed in Barcelona and showed you the dark side that tourists don't see. I've been to Barcelona twice, it really is a beautiful place and the architecture and colours they use are full of personality. 

Oh Barcelona ... I'll go back one day three times is a lucky number afterall.

[Images my own]

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Travel Bug - Remembering Spain

I've really felt the travel bug starting to nibble at me lately ..... 

I always have to have a holiday planned for the year ahead so it's something for me to save for and gets me through the stress of my job and the hard work I put in to know that I'm working towards having a well deserved break.

Last year Mr P and I jetted off to Spain for a few weeks.

I keep coming back to the first few nights of our trip in Madrid where I stayed at my first 5 star hotel and sat on the rooftop with my love and sipped champagne while watching the sunset.

I wish I was here right now ... I'll be back one day very soon Spain!

How do you beat the travel bug?

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Recipe: Paella from Poh's Kitchen

I got this bright and bubbly cookbook - Poh's Kitchen for Christmas from my gorgeous man (along with some sparkly jewellery!). 

For those that don't know who Poh is, she was the runner up in last year's Masterchef and has her own cooking show. 

Poh cooks alongside other famous chefs and the book is full of her own and their recipes, her cute stories and humour and colourful illustrations and pictures. I just adore her mix match of tea sets and bowls too. Definitely a book for the girls in the kitchen!

I made the paella last night as I'm on a mission to find the perfect paella like the many we tasted on our Spanish holiday.

This would be a great dish to make with friends coming over, just put the pan on the table and everyone dishes out their own, together with a glass of Spanish red wine you'll have yourself a merry little evening in!

Paella

(By Ian Parmenter, Poh's Kitchen Cookbook)

Serves 10-12

Large pinch of saffron strands

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

250g chorizo or other spicy sausage in bite-size pieces
500g skinless chicken thigh fillets cut into 2-3 cm pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 capsicums (1 red, 1 green or yellow), cut into strips
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2-3 tsp smoked paprika (or ordinary paprika powder)
1 bay leaf

3 cups medium grain rice

4 cups chicken stock

12 green prawns in shells

12 mussells

400g white fish cut into bite size pieces

1 cup frozen peas (optional)

Immerse the saffron in a couple of tablespoons of boiling water for five minutes.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and partly cook the chirozo for a few minutes. Add the chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until browned. It doesn't need to be cooked right through at this stage. Add the onion, capsicum, garlic, tomatoes, paprika and bay leaf and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add the rice and stir for a couple of minutes. Pour in the stock and saffron liquid (discard the saffron strands) and add enough water to cover the rice by 1cm. Cover with foil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the liquid is almost absorbed.

Meanwhile rinse and drain the prawns in cold water. Scrub and de-beard the mussels in cold water, and discard any that have opened or are cracked.

Dot the prawns, mussels and fish over the rice mixture. The frozen peas may be added at this time. Cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the seafood is just cooked. Discard any mussels that have not opened.

PS: You need to use a large flat based pan so it cooks evenly, a frying pan works fine.

PPS: Once you remove the foil, don't stir it again, as a good paella should develop a crust on the bottom.

PPPS: This recipe would be delicious without the seafood, the chirozo and chicken are filling enough as the dish should be all about the rice.

PPPPS: For more colour be as generous as you can afford with the saffron.

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September in Spain

Ola! I'm back from a trip overseas we're Peter and I spent 3 exciting weeks jetting about and seeing the sights of Madrid, Ibiza, Barcelona and Amsterdam. I love to see the world and how different each country is and how the people live. Spent the most time in Ibiza as I was there for my dear friends wedding. A group of us stayed in a big 2 storey white stone villa in the countryside of Sant Carlos. I loved the look of the white walls, potted succulent and cactus gardens against the contrasting red stoned earth. I plan to bring a bit of the holiday home with us and put some of the Spanish design into our own house and garden.

This is the outside oven which we fired up and made pizzas



The villa at the back, outside oven to the right and laundry to the left

Had an amazing time but in the words of Dorothy there's no place like home and it's so good to be back in Aussie Land. Now to catch up on some blog reading, hope everyone is well and happy. Pin It Now!