Fresh fish on ice at La Brexta Market, San Sebastian, Spain

I was recently tagged to participate in Travel Supermarket’s “Capture the Colour” photo contest by the lovely Lola DiMarco from Where in the World is Lola. The object of the contest is to post five travel photos that feature the colors red, yellow, blue, green and white. I love a good challenge, so I decided to throw my hat in the ring and post some of my favorite food photos from my recent culinary adventures around the world.

I soon realized two things. 1. I don’t eat blue food. 2. What about orange? I eat a LOT of orange food – rich sea urchin and bottarga pasta on the beach in Sicily, sweet whole scampi in Croatia and fresh salmon sashimi at Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market. I could write an entire book on orange food.

Back to the task at hand; colorful, culinary travel inspirations:

RED

Red is my favorite food color. It makes me think of giant bowls of borscht in Ukraine, buccatini all’Amatriciana in Rome, steaming beef smothered in red hot peppers from Beijing. Rare roast beef in a London hideaway. Thick-cut tomatoes straight out of the garden. My grandmother’s homemade cherry pie. Swedish Fish. The ubiquitous airplane Bloody Mary.

Photo: Pizza “Il Botteghino” – the house specialty, and my favorite pizza – with fresh tomatoes, anchovies, onions, garlic and grated parmesan. From Trattoria Il Botteghino, Osteria dei Noci, Italy

YELLOW

Neon yellow Rasmalai at a wedding in Bangalore. Saffron-infused pasta topped with zucchini flowers in a Tuscan hill town. Croquetas a la Huancaina – potato croquettes smothered in self-dubbed “sauce of the gods” in Lima, Peru. The golden hue of breakfast beer in Berlin. Macaroni and cheese. Plantain chips. Peeps.

Photo: Fire-toasted bruschetta with home-harvested, days old olive oil and fresh garlic cloves. Autumn flavors from a farmhouse in Castelmuzio, Tuscany.

GREEN

Giant avocados sliced onto a paper plate in Granada, Nicaragua. Scallions heaped on okonomiyaki, savory pancakes cooked on the tabletop in Osaka, Japan. Homemade pesto with garden basil at an Italian mamma’s house in Florence. New York pickles. Arugula salad. Mojitos.

Photo: Asparagus and Pine. Noma Restaurant, Copenhagen, Denmark.

BLUE

The color of the jacket I was wearing in Istanbul as I hovered over a streetside cart selling flash-fried anchovies. The color of the ocean from the restaurant in Zanzibar as I sampled the sweet local curries. The silvery hue of sardines on the counter of a pinxtos bar in San Sebastian. Blue mussels.

Photo: Street corner. Antigua, Guatemala (Yes, I totally cheated but it’s my favorite blue photo and much better than a blurry shot of a movie theater “icee.”)

WHITE

Hunks of white cheese with Raki in Istanbul, plump dumplings filled with boiling soup in Shanghai. Herring with onions. A sliver of raw scallop. Buffalo mozzarella. Sour cream. Daikon. Pina coladas.

Photo: Pork Jelly, Black Truffles, Tofu. From Tiandi Yi Jia Restaurant, Beijing, China.

For the final part of the contest, we’re asked to “tag” five more bloggers. I’d love to throw this one over to A Cook Not Mad, because they dropped by my home in Tuscany with all their foodie goodness and pizza making skillz this summer.  Next, I’m leaving it up to Alexa from it’s about argent-time to dazzle us with her travel photos.

As far as the other three..Let me know if you want to play and I’ll add you to the list!

Buon Appetito from Tuscany!