Iceland Volcano Travel Resources

Iceland Volcano Travel Resources

Nothing puts you in your place quite like an erupting volcano. It's pretty amazing how effective Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano has been at disrupting European air travel. It's had a ripple effect for travelers around the world. Though flights have resumed, I've heard that the volcano, should it erupt again, could continue to disrupt travel for the next 13 months. Johnny Jet has put a resource page together covering all things volcano. You might want to check out should you be planning to fly to Europe this summer.

Tea with Tracey

When we were in Bermuda on holiday a couple years ago, Tracey Caswell's book, Tea with Tracey seemed to be in every shop we popped into. I was working my way through a massive, but satisfying book on Winston Churchill at the time, so I never got around to picking it up. I finally ordered it a couple weeks ago when we started talking about going to Bermuda for another visit.

Tracey, an ex-pat Canadian, relocated to Bermuda with her Bermudian husband, Paul and her two children. Her book chronicles the challenges she faced after moving to the islands and how she adjusted to island living. Tracey recounts her battles with mold, cockroaches, humidity, and chickens in a down to earth and entertaining style. The book is filled with practical advice and pearls of wisdom that she picked up over the years. It's a great book to read if you're planning a visit to Bermuda. I wish I had picked it up while we were there. It would've provided answers to many of the questions we had. For instance, I was fascinated by the politeness of everyone. Who says 'thank you' to the bus driver? Why are there chickens everywhere? Why isn't anybody in the ocean besides us and that Canadian couple? Why is everything in pastel? Why do the schoolkids look so neat and tidy? If I'd read Tracey's book some of these little mysteries might've made more anthropoligical sense to me. I'm sure Winston Churchill wouldn't have minded if we'd picked up where we left off on the flight back home.

Sicilian Bean and Potato Salad

I've made this potato salad for years. It's always popular with our friends and family. It's quick and easy to prepare. I've made it for so long now, it just wouldn't seem like summer without it. Since we were lucky enough to have a one of those unseasonably warm spring days a couple weeks ago I thought I'd make it for a friend of ours who was visiting from out of town.

1 pound of new potatoes, unpeeled.
1 pound of fresh green beans, steamed and cut into 1-inch lengths
1 cup of cooked cannellini beans
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup black olives, pitted and sliced. (I always used small nicoise.)
1-2 tablespoons capers
Classic Vinaigrette (see below)
2 tablespoons freshly chopped Italian parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Vinaigrette
1-2 teaspoons of fine or grainy mustard
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, or 2 tablespoons wine, balsamic, or cider vinegar
6 tablespoons olive oil
crushed garlic to taste
sea salt and black pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, cook the potatoes in salted boiling water until they are tender. Allow them to cool slightly and cut them in half.

Mix the potatoes, beans, onion, black olives, and capers in a large bowl.

Pour sufficient vinaigrette over the salad to moisten it and toss well. Sprinkle with parsley and grated parmesan cheese and serve

Hot Broccoli Tartlets

These are some super easy tarts you can make for Easter or for whatever gathering you have planned.

1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 leek finely sliced
6 oz broccoli, broken into florets
1/2 oz butter
1/2 oz all-purpose flour
2/3 cup milk
2 oz Cheddar cheese

For the pastry
6 oz all purpose flour
3 oz butter
1 egg or egg substitute
pinch of salt

Make the pastry by combining the flour, salt and butter with the egg to make a dough.
Add a little cold water if necessary, knead lightly and cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for an hour.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Allow the dough to return to room temperature and roll out on a lightly floured surface. Line 8-10 deep muffin pans. Prick the base with a fork and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the pastry is firm and lightly grolden. Increase the temperature to 400 degrees.

Heat the oil in a saucepan and saute the leek for 4-5 minutes. Add the broccoli, stir fry for about 1 minute. Cover and steam for 3-4 minutes, until the broccoli is just tender.

For your sauce, melt butter in a separate saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for about a minute, stirring all the time. Slowly add the milk and stir to a smooth sauce. Add half of the cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Spoon a little broccoli and leek into each tartlet case and then spoon over the sauce. Sprinkle each tartlet with the remaining cheese and then bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until golden.

Serve the tartlets as part of buffet or serve as a starter.

Annie Chun

As a vegetarian and a bit of a foodie I prefer preparing as much of our food from scratch as I have time. And I do. But between my work and Jenni's, not to mention the boy's busy schedules; it's hard to always plan ahead, or find the time to get it all done. I try to grab as much on the go healthy food as I can; some almonds, fruit, a Clif bar. But sometimes I need something a little more substantial. Lately,  I've been stashing these quick little Pan-Asian meals from Annie Chun in my pantry and desk. Many of them, like the Korean Kimchi soup bowl I had for lunch today are vegan/vegetarian. The noodles are delicious and they taste surprisingly fresh. The Miso soup was also very tasty. They've started carrying these products in Bloomington, so I'm sure they're available just about everywhere.

No Reservations

I find it hard not to enjoy Anthony Bourdain. He's become an institution all to himself. A writer/traveler/ex-chef with a successful Travel Channel show and numerous bestselling books. In the age of the celebrity chef and the reality TV star, why shouldn't we have a celebrity ex-chef and travel host/author? People who aren't fans of food or travel seem to enjoy Tony Bourdain. His appeal owes as much to his intelligence, frankness and underlying humanity as to his ability to skewer people and places like a roving Simon Cowell. Sure, he's not a fan of vegetarians, or Rachael Ray, but nobody's perfect.

The Travel Detective Bible

I picked up this well-regarded Peter Greenberg book from 2007 over the weekend. At 600 pages, it covers a lot of ground, quite heavy too. But I'm a sucker for reference materials. One of the great things about travel is that it is ever changing and always expanding. Looking through the book this morning, I noticed quite a few things that have changed just since the book was published. But such is the world these days. Who knew there was such a thing as 'Medical Tourism, Spiritual Travel, Educational Travel?' Well, I knew about the last one. Nevertheless, Peter had a few links to some vegetarian resources that I thought I would pass along:
 

 

Happycow.com: A guide to raw-food restaurants, with 6,000 listings in 96 countries. 

Vegdining.com: A worldwide guide to vegetarian restaurants, with more than 1,000 listings and 2,000 reviews.

Vegtravel.com: An online travel agency specializing in packages for vegetarian/vegan/eco travelers.

 

Irish Fireside | Ireland Travel and Heritage

Irish Fireside | Ireland Travel and Heritage

Here's a great podcast for those of you looking for some Ireland information.

Warwick Castle Grounds

Warwick Castle Tower