{ The Crabtree in London } ****

020-7385-3929

Rainville Road, London

W6 9HA

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I arrived in London around 11 am on a Sunday morning after a long 10-hour traveling experience without eating any food. Needless to say, I arrived in London hungry and ready to begin my food chronicles. My first meal was a proper Sunday Roast from The Crabtree in Fulham, which is a quaint and cozy little spot with a traditional English menu. The three roast options included: chicken, beef, and pork belly. I went for the beef with horseradish sauce, while my friend opted for the heavier pork belly with applesauce. Each was served with a Yorkshire pudding and gravy, roasted root vegetables, a stewed red cabbaged, and pureed butternut squash.

Unfortunately, I was so hungry that I devoured mine without actually taking the time to process all of the flavors, so there isn’t much to say other than the fact that it was delicious. I cleared the plate within a few short minutes, excited to cross Yorkshire pudding off the “to-eat” list for London. One down, and twenty or so to go!

I did love the atmosphere of the place though, especially as it was fitted out for Christmas with a beautiful tree and all sorts of lighted Holiday decorations. The bar seemed like a cozy place to grab a drink in the winter and during the summer months, they have a gorgeous outdoor patio equipped with grills for barbequing.

{ Moroccan Mint Tea & Kendall’s Bikini-Body Elixir }

Over the past year and a half, I have spent more time living in hostels than my own home. And for those of your familiar with backpacking culture, you know that means a lot of free “bread and butter” breakfasts with bottomless cups of instant coffee. But hostels aiming to achieve a more “boutique feel” (a.k.a. a 5 star review on HostelWorld) use breakfast time as an opportunity to distinguish themselves by offering an occasional egg, crepe, and/or specialty beverage, which I shall refer to as the national elixir. By my third destination, I quickly realized that every country has their own sort of elixir—a natural liquid remedy (often taking the form of tea) intended to solve the problems that hostel owner’s perceive travelers may experience while visiting their country.

For example:

•   In Portugal, we were served hot water that had been boiled with fresh lemon peels, which was intended to reduce the bloat and swelling from a late night out in Lisbon. Kudos to Portugal for creating a successful remedy that shrunk my belly and my hangover headache.
• In Peru, it was mugs of hot water steeped with coca leaves to help combat the altitude sickness. I drank this stuff around the clock and still struggled to carry my own body weight around, but I like to think it helped.
• In Colombia, they served us every kind of tropical fruit juice you could possibly imagine (my favorite being the coconut-lime combination). I don’t think it’s supposed to “cure” anything though, because there aren’t too many ailments one can suffer while on the beautiful beaches of Colombia!
• In Spain, I was still drinking Sangria around breakfast time so lets just say that’s the national elixir.

And lastly, there is Morocco, which is rather well-known for it’s Moroccan Mint Tea! Although after visiting, I am convinced they just drink so much of it because the regular tap water is unsafe. I mean, why not boil out the bacteria and add some mint and sugar to disguise the funny taste, right?! Anyways, I loved it! In fact, I loved it so much that I have continued to make it on a daily basis since my return home.

And, in addition to their beautiful aroma and flavor, mint leaves also have incredible health benefits (which Dr. Oz touched on in his tv show that aired yesterday: http://watchingdroz.blogspot.com/2012/05/watching-dr-oz-51412-swimsuit-slimdown.html). Some of the key benefits of the leafy green are:

• Helps stimulate bile production, which helps you digest fat better
• Soothes the stomach in cases of indigestion and inflammation
• Relieves nausea and headaches
• Helps with respiratory disorders, coughs, and asthma
• Helps eliminate toxins from the bloodstream

Traditional Moroccan mint tea (as I was shown to prepare by an indigenous Berber woman), has a little too much sugar to be consumed on a regular basis so I have modified the recipe to enjoy it more frequently. I will provide both recipes though, and you can choose which to make! I will say that my modified version is great for reducing bloat, which is very helpful with swimsuit season upon us!

{ Traditional Moroccan Mint Tea }

Boil out 3-4 cups of water, and pour over green tea leaves in a teapot (you can also use tea bags if you don’t have loose leaf tea available).

Immediately add about 15-20 fresh mint leaves and stir in 3-4 tablespoons of sugar.

Mix with spoon to combine and cover with lid. Allow the tea to steep for 5 minutes.

To ensure proper mixing of the ingredients, fill each of the glasses with tea and then return liquid to the pot (this prevents the sugar from settling at the bottom of the pot!).

Then pour a glade for each person, holding the teapot from a very high point (this helps the liquid to cool as it fills the glass).

Then sip and enjoy!

{ Kendall’s Bikini Slim Down Elixir }

Boil out 3 cups of water and pour over 3 green tea bags in a ceramic teapot. I like to use Chinese Green Tea from the Asian Market (Assi Market located in North Wales is great for those of you who live in Bucks County!)

Immediately add 10-15 fresh mint leaves, which I like to get straight from the garden!

Then add 1 tablespoon of agave nectar or honey to the pot and stir.

Cover pot with lid and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Garnish a glade with a sprig of mint, pour, and enjoy.

NOTE: If you don’t finish the whole pot of tea, put the leftover in the refrigerator and enjoy it chilled the following day. It makes a delicious and refreshing iced tea too!

b-Blue Natural Bar & Deli ****

Armenia 1692

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Palermo SOHO

(+54) 4831.7024

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There are an infinite number of cute sidewalk cafes and restuarants in Buenos Aires. There are little vegetarian spots, tea houses, ice cream parlors, and even places strictly devoted to the sale of coffee and chocolates. The task of choosing just which one to spend your afternoon at can be quite overwhelming, especially in the crowded Palermo area. As I was walking to the gym the other day, I passed by at least 18 adorable cafes, each one begging me to abandon my work out plans and indulge in something delicious and homemade. I tried to fight the urge, but finally caved when I passed by bBlue Natural foods. I could see the salads being served in enormous porclain bowls and almost every table had a brightly colored fruit smoothie on it. I couldn’t resist.

I took a seat and ordered the b-Pollo Salad, which is a bed of mixed greens with shredded chicken marinated in honey, soy sauce, and dijon mustard, topped with sundried tomatoes, portobello mushrooms, carmaleized onions, and croutons, and tossed with your choice of dressing (39 pesos). Personally, I like the bBlue house dressing with olive oil, vinegar, blueberries, lemon, honey, and mustard. It adds a sweet fruity flavor to the salad, which is a nice contrast with the sundried tomatoes. So far, this place serves the best salad in Buenos Aires (in my opinion, of course!). The portions are huge and they aren’t stingy with the meats or the cheeses. Also, the ingredients are incredibly fresh and absolutely everything is homemade. Ohh and finally a place that serves a non-mayonnaise dressing!! Major brownie points for that!

Since my first time at bBlue, I have become a regular and I have yet to have a bad meal. Another favorite salad of mine is the b-Deli Salad, which is a bed of baby spinach, lemon-marinated mushrooms, cubes of brie cheese, and toasted almonds, tossed with your choice of dressing (39 pesos) (I like to put the homemade pear dressing on this salad).

In addition to the salads, bBlue also makes incredible gourmet sandwiches!! They have all sorts of spreadable cheeses and aiolis, so the sandwich isn’t dry. My personal favorite so far is the Pollo Sandwich served on French bread with chicken marinated in honey and soy sauce, sliced tomatoes, caramelized onions, portobello mushrooms, melted gruyere cheese, with dijon and mayo (38 pesos). The sandwich is then served with side of incredible herb roasted potatoes and a ramekin of ketchup. The picture really doesn’t do it justice, but imagine a gourmet chicken cheesesteak, and that’s this sandwich.

Ohh, and I almost forgot….the POMEDLADO!!!! It’s like a lemonade, but one hundred times better becasue it is made with grapefruit juice, honey, fresh ginger, and a hint of mint (13 pesos). Seriously? It redefines refreshment.