Recovering from a Birthday....

So yesterday was my birthday. It was my number swap birthday, where the digits in my age are the opposite of my birth year.

My parents came down and even though it was really hot we went to the Racine Zoo to try and see the new Lion Cubs. They were smarter than us, sleeping in the shade inside their den.

For dinner we went to Olde Madrid for Tapas and Paella where my wife and I went for Valentine's Day in 2009. This time we tried the Gazpacho, Seville Crab Cakes, Roasted Chicken and Cherries, Almond Crusted Cod, Empanadas, Baked Goat Cheese, Spanish Meatballs, Don Quixote Paella "A legendary combination of garlic, sautéed chicken, and pork tenderloin, baked in a garlic lemon broth." We ended with the Plantana al Carmaleo "Sautéed banana with caramel sauce and ice cream."

I have not been that full in a long time :)

Today I got up early and checked the Weather Channel, more hot and muggy weather all week so went out started mowing the lawn **again**. I wish it would quit raining so the grass would go to sleep! I have two cordless electric lawnmowers which are nice and quiet but one of them stopped working - the ignition switch broke so it's a trip to the repair shop. But that's not the worst thing! "Me Ole Bamboo" from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang got stuck in my head! So here it is because the best way to get rid of an "Ear Worm" is to share it!

A Night in Olde Madrid

So last night for St. Valentine's Day we went out to eat at a restaurant called Olde Madrid here in Racine that we had never been to before.

It is a Spanish restaurant featuring Tapas and Paella.

Michelle had a glass of Abrazo Garnacha while I had Sprite.

To start with we were served a basket of small breads with a orangey spread which turned out to be a mild red pepper hummus.
Our first Tapas to arrive was Baked Goat Cheese in a homemade tomato basil sauce served with toasted baguettes.
The second course was Totilla Espanola, a Spanish style quiche with bacon, potatoes and onions.
Our final Tapas was Almond Crusted Cod, tender cod filets rolled in slivered almonds and herbs, served with a dill sauce.

Paella is a traditional Spanish dish containing an assortment of vegetables and saffron rice plus whatever extra ingredients you would like. This is mixed and then needs to simmer over a low heat for 25 minutes. We figure the restaurant must have 12-18 burners in the back to handle to amount of pans we saw come out.
We tried the Salmon Paella which includes fresh grilled salmon and shrimp, tossed with a white wine and Spanish Seasonings.

To finish the evening off Michelle had the Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake and I had Plantana al Carmaleo, a sauteed banana with caramel sauce and ice cream. It even had thin slices of grapes on the banana!

Discussing the meal today we can't decide which Tapas was best so have determined that a follow-up visit will be necessary, especially because they did not have any Gazpacho and we need to try the Seville Crab Cakes and Spanish Meatballs and Pork Scallopini and Serrano Ham Wrapped Potatoes and the Empanada's and at *least* two other kinds of the Paella.