These upcoming weeks of ValeCooks will be a bit of an adventure as I embrace being away from my kitchen! 🌍 I’ll keep ValeCooks going wherever I am, with minimal ingredients and my trusty travel set of measuring cups. 🥄

I left for Barcelona on Tuesday, so I knew it would be tricky to make recipes during the week. I whipped up four quick recipes at home before heading out on Monday. Knowing I’d be away from home for a while, I had saved simple-ingredient recipes from Pinterest and TikTok months ago, planning to make some of these in Barcelona. One day, while walking back to the Airbnb with H, I noticed a cooking studio just a block away. I rushed back, looked up their schedule, and found a class that night—jackpot! 🎉

I was a bit nervous about attending a class alone in a different country, especially one that might be conducted in Catalan, but I couldn’t pass up the chance. And it was a Thai cooking class—perfect! 🇹🇭 The chef made sure we were all hands-on, doing everything ourselves, which is exactly how I like to learn. I want to leave a cooking class feeling like I actually know how to cook the recipes, not just watch someone else make them. Even better, I loved all the recipes, and I can’t wait to make them for friends and family! 💛 If you’re interested in the recipes, just respond to this email, and I’ll send them to you. 📧

I’ve tried making Thai food before, but it never matched what I found in Los Angeles or San Diego, so I was stoked to walk away with four solid recipes. I completed my seven recipes for the week—and a few extra! 🎉🍜

The following week, we embarked on a 7-day road trip from Germany to Austria, Slovenia, Italy, and back with our friends Chris and Kayla. 🚗 With no kitchen access all week, I took a break from recipe testing. Shoutout to Chris and Kayla for an incredible trip and all the delicious food we enjoyed together. They have an amazing talent for finding great places to eat anywhere on the road! Some of the highlights included trying Afghan food for the first time, enjoying Vietnamese food from a small stand in Ljubljana, tasting doner in a quaint German town, eating Slovenian fried chicken (honestly, the best fried chicken I’ve had! 🍗), and, of course, the beautiful hikes and chilly lake swims. 🏞️

Chris and Kayla suggested I try recreating some of the dishes from our trip once I’m back home, so that will be my next cooking challenge!

Recipes Made So Far This Year:

Goal: To try seven new recipes each week 🗓️, aiming for 365 this year!

 Number of Recipes Made this Week: 10 (Week 39) ✅ & 0 (Week 40)❌

Number of New Recipes Tested as of 10/6: 343

Weeks Achieving Seven or More New Recipes: 38 out of 40

This Week’s Recipe Test Summary

Impress Someone🌟

Tom Ka Sopa de setas y leche de coco (Tom Ka Mushroom Soup with Coconut Milk) from La Patente Barcelona 🍄🥥

Wow! This was my favorite dish from the cooking class. So savory and comforting!

Dipping Hot Chocolate from America’s Test Kitchen 🍫

I was looking for a quick recipe to make with limited ingredients, and I found a gem! I’ll be making this over and over as a quick dip for hosting. Pair it with marshmallows, strawberries, pretzels, and more! 🍫🍓🥨

Would Make Again 👍

Glowy Skin Chia Pudding by Laura Stevens | NATUROPATH | TikTok Post

A keeper chia pudding! Raspberries and Greek yogurt are already one of my favorite combos, and adding chia seeds just makes it even better.

Pan con Tomate (Bread with Tomato) by Jose Andres | Instagram Reel 🥖

This is going to become an essential in our household! A Spanish classic—simple but so delicious. I love the strong garlic flavor. 🧄

Panag Neua, curry de ternera (Beef Curry) from La Patente Barcelona 🥩🍛

I learned so many techniques from this recipe; beef can easily be swapped for shrimp, chicken, or potatoes.

Pudding de tapioca, coco, y mango (Tapioca, coconut, and mango pudding) from La Patente Barcelona 🥥🥭

My first time using agar, and it gave a great consistency! A perfect, easy dessert after making all three Thai dishes from scratch.

Ensalada Tailandesa (Thai Salad) from La Patente Barcelona 🥗🌈

A fresh salad that covers the whole rainbow of veggies!

Would Not Make Again 👎

These recipes didn’t live up to expectations or weren’t to my taste

Cookie Butter Truffles by Siri Daly 🍪🍬

I thought this would be a hit, but the cookie butter and confectioners’ sugar together just tasted too artificial.

Pumpkin Spice Overnight Oats by Benji Xavier | TikTok Post 🎃

These pumpkin oats just didn’t work for me.

Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats by Nicole Hoskens, MS, RD | TikTok Post 🎃

I’d love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, or any recipe requests you might have. Just respond directly to this email.

See you next week. Keep cooking! 👋 

Vale from ValeCooks