Mercado de San Miguel

One of my favorite places in Madrid: mercado de San Miguel

What: a market in Madrid for all who share a love of socializing and snacking

Where: a few steps away from Plaza Mayor

When: around 6pm when it’s not too crowded with both locals and tourists

Why: affordable and exceptionally delicious tapas, fresh seafood, fruit, great wine, pastries and best of all: FRESH CUT MEAT

My Favorite: the bite-size chorizo and the salmon tostada

Food For Thought

"Food... opens other worlds. As the American appetite has become over the past half century more adventuresome, the enthusiasm for reading about the food of disparate cultures has grown - and so has the body of literature that opens doors to the tastes and habits of far-flung worlds. Cooking has always been a necessity; today it is also a pastime, an obsession, an entertainment a spectator sport. Food is what we think about when we worry [about] the future. What will we eat? asks Eric Schlosser in Fast Food Nation. What indeed? asks Michael Pollen in the Omnivore's Dilemma. The subject is infinitely elastic, and so it seems, is the appetite for reading about food in America today. Why? Perhaps because reading about food reminds us that we are human and alive and a tangle of contradictions, some of which can be caused by a meal and some of which can be resolved by remembering and imagining what it feels like to bite off a piece of the world, to pull it across the tongue, to swallow it. Perhaps we read about food to recall the meals we've already eaten and to picture the ones we'd like to tuck into at some later date. Or maybe we read about food to avoid eating, a nation of armchair gourmets protecting our waistlines and arteries, eating nothing but words. But at the deepest level I think we Americans read about food to remember what it feels like to be hungry and to deserve a meal, to imagine being windswept and exhausted, shivering and lonely; to fell, as the early explorers did, wracked by the appetite born of long odds and great hope. We read about food to feel the things that thoughts of food can fix. Which is just about everything. Every meal, after all, is a new beginning."

From American Food Writing: An Anthology with Classic Recipes, Molly O'Neill (ed.), The Library of America, 2007.

Cupcake Showdown

Who doesn't like cupcakes? No one. Though everyone may not LOVE cupcakes, one can still appreciate the simple pleasures in this miniature, cup-sized cake. Now, I've never had a bad cupcake, and personally, I don't think a cupcake can really ever be bad (unless by some chance you confused sugar with salt), but I do believe some cupcakes far surpass others. Whether it's the cake or the frosting you prefer these are a few of my favorites:

Party Favors - Brookline, MA

The best in the Boston area and arguably the best on the East

Coast. Party favors is located in the Brookline/Coolidge Corner Area of Boston and specializes in party supplies, costumes (Halloween only), specialty cakes, and cupcakes. There are two doors with the first door opening to the favors side and the second opening to the cakes, cupcakes, and other confections. My advice? Skip the first door.

There are assorted sizes and flavors of both cake and frosting, and they even make custom orders:

• Tea (mini) cupcakes
• Swirl Frosted Regular size cupcakes
• Floral or custom design frosted Regular size cupcakes
• Floral or custom Jumbo size cupcakes
• Specialty Grande size cupcakes

They even devote an entire page to their "Cupcake Catalog" and specialty cupcakes on their website. Though their fancy decorations are all well and good, I prefer the swirl frosted regular size: vanilla on vanilla. MY VOTE: BEST CUPCAKE OVERALL

Kickass Cupcakes - Davis Square, MA

What more can anyone say? The name says it all. Their cupcakes "really kick ass!" Located in Somerville-Davis Square area, Kickass Cupcakes bakes every batch from scratch every day using only natural ingredients - no hydrogenated oils, no trans fats, no artificial flavors, or preservatives.

Kickass offers 7 flavors on their regular menu, with usually 5-6 limited edition flavors an

d even flavors of the day. This does not include their specialty menu: Cupcake Towers, Cupcake Crisps, Cupcakes-A-Go-Go(parfaits in a go cup), Pupcakes and Kittycakes (for pets), and the ultimate Deep Fried Cupcakes (served only on the weekends).

The first time I tried the Deep Fried Cake, I admit, even I was a little hesitant. The cupcake itself is vanilla flavored stuffed with a cream vanilla frosting and dipped in a sweet batter. After being fried, it's thrown in a cone and served with chocolate syrup and whipped cream on top. For $1 extra, you can even add a scoop of vanilla. Worth it? Oh yeah.

Word to the wise, when eating a deep fried cupcake, grab a handful of napkins. It was ooey, it was gooey, it was oh so good. The best part of eating this was finally getting to the creamy stuffed center and having all flavors in my mouth at once. As Rachel Ray says "YUM-O".

Afterwards, I definitely got a major sugar-rush. Unlike any sugar-rush I ever felt before. I had to lay down and take nap when I got home because this really threw me for a loop. Nevertheless, still absolutely delicious but should probably come with a warning label.

MY VOTE: MOST ORIGINAL CUPCAKE

Hey Cupcake! - Austin, TX

Hey Cupcake! is located in Austin, Texas. The best part about eating from here is the atmosphere: Walking up to that old school silver Airstream trailer with a big pink cupcake on top fills you with anticipation and excitement reminiscent of ordering from your neighborhood ice cream truck in the summertime.

When you step up onto the step-stool to the ordering window, you get a whiff of fresh sugary goodness. Their menu features creatively named cupcakes including: The Snowcap(chocolate bottom, vanilla top), 24 Carrot(carrot cake bottom, cream cheese top), and Michael Jackson (chocolate bottom, cream cheese top).

Not good enough? Add a Cupcake Whipper Snapper! The geniuses at Hey Cupcake! will inject fresh whipped cream into the cupcake and spiral it out onto the top.

If you love good old fashioned cupcakes and you aren't afraid to get a little frosting on your face, this is the place for you.

MY VOTE: BEST CUPCAKE EXPERIENCE

Foreside Tavern and Side Bar - Falmouth, ME

Tonight we decided to switch things up and go out to a nice dinner. Adam was craving red meat so I suggested Foreside Tavern and Side Bar. We had been there once before and he had completely devoured his hunk of meat. We got there at about 5 p.m.- right before the locals started pouring in. We had the restaurant to ourselves for about 20 minutes until it suddenly came alive with the sound of Maine accents ordering "just a glass of watah".

The menu had an array of entrees ranging from steak to an interesting sounding "vegetable sausage". However, what caught my eye was on the appetizer menu: SAVORY CHEESECAKE.

Now, I had never heard of savory cheesecake but if there can be savory crepes, why not cheesecake. The menu described it as "roasted shallots, thyme, rosemary, chives, mixed greens & vanilla gastrique." Our lovely waitress described it as "cream cheesy on the bottom with with all the stuff on top of it but definitely delicious and filling."

"What the Hell," I thought to myself. "I doubt I will ever see this on another menu again." Done and done.

Now, I'm still new at this so I did forget to take a picture before digging in... But I was just so hungry and I wanted to try it. I'll do my best to describe..

My first thought... why the heck is this cold!? It looks like a square piece of quiche with mixed greens on top and honey drizzled on the side of this oblong plate that was surrounded by crostini. Now, I don't know what I was thinking because I normally am not a cheesecake fan. I go to the Cheesecake Factory for the appetizers and the large menu... NOT for cheesecake. But like I said, "What the Hell," so I dive in. It is definitely cream cheesy but definitely delicious. Just like she said.

It took some getting used to and the mixed greens on the top of the plate were the best flavor to compliment all the cream cheese. By the end, I got adventurous and started mixing all the items on the plate together, testing different combinations of food: cheesecake, greens, crostini, honey; then crostini, honey, greens, cheesecake, etc. All delicious.

It was one of those meals where you look around the restaurant to make sure no one is staring while you slyly try to scrape any piece of food you didn't get a chance to savor.

Now next time I order this I will take pictures; yes there will be a next time. For now, time to put on some comfy clothes and slowly slip into a cheesecake coma

Til next time- Eat Well,

C

So what... I have a gut!

Who are we?

We are three sisters who share a love of food. C is the eldest sister currently residing in Portland, Maine. A and N, the twins, are studying abroad in Madrid, Spain.

How did our obsession start?

Well, our mother is a phenomenal cook and our father is a master griller and a whiz at hor d'oeuvres. In fact, our entire extended family shares a love of food- whether it be their careers as successful chefs or bakers or cooking just for their families. The term "I could eat" does not just signify the fact that we are hungry. When this phrase is uttered it means that we are craving something substantial- not from a drive thru or frozen food aisle- we mean REAL FOOD.

Why the name?

Now we are not overweight by any means... we exercise but we always eat well. However, while Skype-ing with A and discussing the number of crepes she had for dessert this evening (two and a half) she said, "I couldn't help myself. They were just so good. I know I'm not fat but so what...I have a gut!" Thus, this blog was born.

Now, we've been taking pictures of food for as long as we've owned digital cameras. Follow us as we document and discuss our favorite foods, current cravings, and even our favorite eating attire.

And remember- Eat Well.

C