Had to get out of town to escape the mad crowds for st George’s day…
So went and sat on one of the many beaches in Sitges, a small town about 40 mins by train from Barcelona
Ate various very small fish and tiny squid deep fried and crispy - with a bowl of aliolli and a bottle of chilled cava.
Back in town continued grazing with Catalan sausages with white beans , salt cod salad, various cheeses, hams and salami’s washed down with a few cold beers.
Back home tomorrow
Fry the onions and garlic for a few minutes and then bung in the rest of the spices, after a few more minutes add the rest and simmer for 90 minutes.
Leave the back door open as it will stink the house out
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups ketchup
1 can cola
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon english mustard
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chipotle chilis
3x star anise
1 tablespoon tamarind paste
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
That sounds brilliant I love anise flavour stuff
It was a sweet cola BBQ sauce someone posted on the WAM and I removed the molasses the yanks like (as the coke adds enough sugar) and for shits and giggles added star anise, tamarind and chipotle. The tamarind helps cancel the sweetness a bit and the anise works well with the chilli.
Sitges - playground of the gay Catalonian if you didn’t know.
I didn’t - it felt like a family oriented place if anything
That was my impression until I went out to the clubs at night. A couple of friends who are gay smirked when I said I’d had a few nights in Sitges 
We had a holiday a few years back just a few k further down the coast at Cambrils. We were talking about visiting Sitges and one of our fellow holidaymakers warned us not to go there at night because “it’s the gay capital of the Costa Dorada”
We went anyway, it was a nice place with good restaurants - didn’t encounter anything out of the ordinary…
In a moment of dangerous but daring thread crossover, I want to cockpunch Americans for devising the ‘Cup’ measurement.
I’m trying to find a recipe for Italian torrone that I can follow, and most of them involve cups. Utter morons.
And to keep things on topic, I bought some soft hazelnut torrone from a market the other day. Now addicted.
Well aware of the conversions, which are different for every food. Mental.
I eventually gave in and bought a set of cup measures
Lunch today overlooking the River Cherwell at the Victoria Arms in Marston, Oxford.
To start, I had Slow cooked ox cheek served with black pudding, topped with a crispy soft boiled egg. Yummy.
Narelle had Ham hock terrine with crostini, pickles & piccalilli. Not nearly enough pickle. A SMEAR IS INSUFFICIENT !
For mains, we both had Pan-fried fillet of Newlyn hake with roasted cauliflower florets & wilted spinach, dressed with Sandeman sherry soured sultanas & flaked almonds with a lemon butter sauce. Sounds wanky but it was beautiful.
No room for deserts, so had another pint on the way home instead.
Aren’t US and UK cups different measurements as well??
Although probably safe to presume most recipes using cups these days are US
Yes. US cup is 8fl oz, and UK cup is 10fl oz, I believe.
Wrong. Here is the answer.
There is a very slight difference between UK/European/Australian cups and US cups. The UK cups are 250mls and US cups are 240mls, so UK half cups are 125mls whereas US half cups are 120mls (quarter cups tend to be the same at 60mls). However for most recipes the difference is small and won’t affect the finished dish.
For liquids…
Doesn’t matter. Whatever you put in the cup, is measured in those terms.
A cup is also good for other things besides liquids
Beef Rendang with black “sticky” rice.
poached salmon, new potatoes and pea shoots - homemade mayonnaise