About maggie0405

My life revolves around raising my four year old daughter, Luna. I am a North American woman living in Spain for the past too many years. My work as a Tour Director has allowed me to share my adopted country with many other North Americans of all ages. Being a yoga teacher helps to keep me grounded in my constant struggle of wanting to stay and wanting to go. Om. Much of my energy goes to food; cooking, eating, discovering, searching for and enjoying. Here I plan to share my 16 years of life experience in this beautiful and complex country.

Time Out!!!

Posted on March 3, 2020 by maggie0405

The sun came out for a bit! Streetcar in Lisbon.

We have been eating 100 percent vegetarian at home for the past couple of months. I was a vegetarian for so many years that it is easy to slip back into this way of life. We are usually pretty veggie centered but going 100 percent has brought me back to some great recipes like Tofu Tikka Masala, Vegetable chili with TVP and an amazing Creamy Braised White Bean recipe that I found in the New York Times. It has also reminded me of a few of the last great meat and seafood dishes that I enjoyed. Not craving, just reminiscing. Some of these were on our last trip to Portugal. I’ve been missing Lisbon a bit these days knowing that I won’t be there every few weeks this Spring like I have been for the past 10 years or more so I’m reminded of this awesome meal we had a few months ago at the Time Out Market.

Quiet street in Lisbon, only in late November.

We love going to the Time Out market when we have some “us” time to enjoy the city. The Ribeira Velha market was the original market in Lisbon dating back to 1100. It was located at the foot of the Alfama neighborhood. The market was rebuilt and moved a couple of times. One of these times being after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. The structure we find today located in the Cais do Sodré district was inaugurated in 1882. It functioned as a fresh foods market for many years. The newly restored Time Out Market opened here in 2014. It is now home to the original fresh food market along with kiosks and shops selling regional specialties with some owned by a few of Lisbon’s most famous chefs. It’s a gastronomical festa in a lively and enjoyable space. I’ve enjoyed many great meals here. For a few years I was addicted to the Tuna “prego” Sandwich at SeaMe, an excellent seafood restaurant. I still highly recommend it!

On our last visit to Lisbon in late November it was cold and raining when we arrived. The streets were empty and dark. I hadn’t seen Lisbon like this for quite a long time and it reminded me of a novel I had read recently, The Day of Atonement by David Lis. The warm market was quiet and welcoming and we found a romantic spot at Balcão da Esquina. I’ve always loved Tasca da Esquina, one of the great restaurants by Chef Vítor Sobral, and Balcão is his place here in the Time Out Market. To start with, we went for some amazing Sautéed Prawns with Rosemary and Red Chilis (the malagueta chili). Forget about not eating bread as this sauce begs for the dipping.

We followed the prawns by one of the best dishes I have been served in a very long time. Bísaro Pork with Clams and a Cilantro Sauce. The clams were absolutely perfect and the sauce was earthy and light. But, the pork!! Oh dear, that pork was so darn good that we could have ordered one more plate. The whole dish was fantastically cohesive. And, we also learned something new. The Bísaro pigs are Indigeneous Portuguese pigs. They were actually close to going extinct because of the African plague as because the Iberian pigs were being favored. They come from a Celtic origin and reside mostly in the province of Tras-Os-Montes (see post New Years Eve in Tras-Os-Montes) where they are used in traditional dishes and to make many types of sausages in order to keep their meat year round. If you go to Lisbon and you are a meat eater and cilantro lover please go try this dish.

Oh, and the wine!! We ordered, of course, the wine with the chef’s name. First, a glass of white with the shrimp and then a red from the Alentejo region made with Touriga Nacional, Aragonez, and Trinacdeira grape varieties. Both went perfectly with our selected dishes.

Obviously we could not get out the door without a Pasteis de Nata, (egg custard) and a glass of port wine. I prefer my pastel de nata with only cinnamon but the traditional way to eat the custard is with cinnamon and powdered sugar. Everything about this evening was worth the walk in the rain. Like many cities, Lisboa has a special charm in the winter, and for me it feels more authentic during the quieter months. The grey skies make a perfect backdrop to this colorful city.

A place to return to someday……part 1.

Posted on February 8, 2020 by maggie0405

Just a bit less than half way to North America when leaving Lisbon you will find one of the most beautiful archipelagoes in the Atlantic. The Azores or Os Açores in Portuguese consist of 9 volcanic islands and is one of two autonomous regions of Portugal. The other being Madeira. Most people choose to visit the islands between April and November when the weather is at its best and you can enjoy the numerous beaches and hiking on the islands. Our favorite time to travel is the off season when the crowds are less and you can easily distinguish the locals from travelers so we went to the Azores for New Years and the first week of January a couple of years ago.

It tends to rain in January but the sun came out quite a bit and allowed us to hike and have some beautiful views as we discovered the island of São Miguel. This is one of the first three islands that were initially sighted and discovered in the 14th and 15th centuries. The first inhabitants to the islands were actually sheep who were placed there to eventually feed the first settlers who included the Portuguese mostly from the Algarve and the Minho, the Flemish, the French, and Sephardic Jews amongst others. When the Spaniards temporarily took over Portugal in 1580 they also wanted the Azores. It is said that cattle were released by the Azoreans to confuse and scatter the invaders. Still today we found more cows than humans on the Ilha Sao Miguel which for me is just perfect! They filled our photos at every scenic outlook and blocked the roads.

One of my favorite places on the island was Sete Cidades , which is the name of a town and also a spectacular nature area. It is probably one of the most beautiful panoramas I have ever seen. There is a viewpoint where you can look down on the two lakes that fill in the center of a volcanic crater. Lagoa Azul reflects the blue color of the sky and Lagoa Verde reflects the rich green color of the earth. Hiking in this area is greatly rewarded by a local lunch in the town.

Everything we ate during our stay was excellent. All diary products were superb from the milk to every cheese that we tasted, especially the fresh cheese served at the hotel breakfast and the Queijo São MIguel which is easily found throughout the mainland as well. Beef was aplenty and we had a few amazing dishes from simple to fancy. They also produce great wines to accompany the local food. Wine production has nearly doubled here in the past years, most of it being produced on the Island of Pico.

I had never tasted a “limpet” before the Azores. It is like an aquatic snail with a cone shape. We tried the limpets at a restaurant right on the beach. They were grilled and served with lemon. Simple and plentiful. Maybe not my favorite dish but it was fun to taste them. I definitely need a second try on our next visit.

After lunch we walked through the small and obviously poor town of Rabo de Peixe. We stumbled upon a solemn funeral procession of a young man from the town. The air was heavy with humidity and grief. Everyone was dressed in what must have been their best clothes, paying their regrets to the loss of a young life. I remember the feeling in this town more than I remember the taste of the limpets. The obvious poverty and solemness was very different from what we had experienced up until this moment on the island. Real life and death. To be continued……

History, music, tension and ham…

Posted on January 3, 2020 by maggie0405

Every January 2nd, the celebration of “La Toma” takes place in the plaza of the city hall in Granada. January second marks a historical moment for Granada and for the entire country of Spain. January 2nd, 1492 marks the day that Boabdil, the last Moorish King of Granada, handed the keys of the city to the Catholic Monarchs Isabel and Fernando. A couple days later after Boabdil had gone into exile they entered the city through the Elvira Gate and made their way up to the palaces and compound of the Alhambra. This moment in history marked the end of the last Moorish dynasty on the Iberian Peninsula and also the uniting of Spain as a country. A few months later on March 31st the Alhambra Decree was passed demanding the expulsion of all practicing Jews from the country. They were given 3 months to leave.

To commemorate this yearly act they bring in “La Legión” to the city of Granada. Francisco Franco was the founding deputy commander of La Legión in 1920 and they served an important role in the Spanish Civil War serving the Nationalist side. Since then, they have been deployed to different areas such as Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Presently they participate mostly in NATO peace-keeping missions. They are also known for their extraordinary band playing its well known anthem and marches. The commemoration includes a parade, Holy Mass and visitation of the tombs of the Catholic Monarchs in the Royal Chapel. In all of my years living in Granada I had never attended this celebration. I luckily miscalculated time yesterday and found myself caught in the middle of this on my way up to the Alhambra. Just in time to watch La Legión departing the gates of the Royal Chapel and listen to their marches.

If we look back on history appropriately we will easily see that the culture we enjoy today is thanks to the important different civilizations that have lived on the Iberian Peninsula and in Granada. Accordingly, there is also a counter celebration of our democratic and plural society in which we live today. This act includes the reading of a manifest about coexistence and a tribute to Mariana Pineda, a 19th century heroine who fought for liberal rights. I have attended different celebrations throughout the years. Concerts, multicultural parades and talks given by history professors.

The tension in this years celebration was accelerated by the attendance of our new extreme right wing political party, VOX. Comments made by their Secretary General such as, “the reconquest of Spain is not over yet and will continue” provokes more altercations than usual on this conflictive day. However, this is not a political blog so we will continue on with history.

Once the crowds dispersed I was able to continue on with my original plan for the afternoon which was to make it up to the Alhambra. It was a gorgeous sunny day and on January 2nd they open the doors to the alter in the Gate of Justice. It is only opened once a year for a few hours and I had never made it up until yesterday. The altar was constructed in 1588 and was placed where the first Catholic mass was supposedly held in the Alhambra. On the upper and lower sides we find images of Saint Francis, Michael the Archangel, Isabel and Fernando. In the center we find an image of the Virgin Mary and below her an image of St.James represented as a warrior in the Battle of Clavijo. which is a mythical battle between the Christians and the Moors.

On January 2nd the entrance to the Alcazaba (fortress) of the Alhambra is free for those who want to make it up to touch the bell in the highest tower, La Torre de la Vela. The legend here says that all single women who touch the bell will be assured to find a partner during the coming year. I chose to take advantage of the free entrance to the Alcazaba and climb up a couple of towers to enjoy the beautiful views that they allow. The line was growing for people wanting to touch the bell and enjoy the highest tower so I just enjoyed the sunshine and the fantastic views of two of my old neighborhoods. I later found out that the line was longer than usual because one of the bell ropes had broken and needed to be mended, oops!

As I walked back down into the city I found the normal holiday atmosphere that fills the streets of Granada at this time of year. Families and tourists wandering about and flooding the outdoor terraces to enjoy some free tapas and lunch. Today however, I saw some rolled up flags leaning against the tables, obviously used for the celebration. The city center during the holidays can be quite full, especially with this sunny weather. However, neighborhoods like mine provide a more relaxed atmosphere and some of the best tapas. Our favorite is just on the corner by our house at La Noticia. Roasted ham on a rotisserie served with tiny pickles and bread. It doesn’t get much better that that!

In line for lottery, churros, cod………

Posted on December 31, 2019 by maggie0405

Line for Bocadillo de Calamares at La Campana, just off Plaza Mayor.

We always find ourselves in Madrid during the holiday season. Whether it is to take a plane somewhere or to take Luna to her Grandmother’s town we always spend a couple of nights here to enjoy the lights and holiday madness. I usually avoid crowds at all costs and I get to spend plenty of time in Madrid throughout the year to enjoy the city but Luna and I still love being here at the holidays. We wander around to see all the lights and decorations at night, enjoy our favorite Chinese restaurant for lunch and our usual breakfast each morning. Exhausted from the wave of humans we usually have dinner quietly in our room with a movie or Masterchef Junior which airs during the holidays.

dispenser for numbers to buy lottery tickets at Doña Manolita

One thing you will find in Madrid at the holiday season are thousands of people standing in lines and near to them, many tourists standing about wondering why these people would be spending hours in each line. To the foreign eye some might be fairly obvious but many are not at all. After 25 years I’m still completely entertained with these lines. Luna and I made it a game this year to find the most interesting ones.

The longest line you will find is for the Doña Manolita lottery sales. Lottery is a big deal in Spain and at the holiday season it takes on a completely different dimension. In December we have “el gordo” which refers to the largest prize that is given out in the Christmas lottery. That would mean the “fat one” in Castellano. Every December 22nd in every bar, on every television and radio you hear the school children from San Ildelfonso in Madrid singing out the winning numbers and prizes. This Christmas lottery started in 1812. Doña Manolita is where the most winning tickets have been sold and so each year people try to get a ticket from here. It is located on one of the busiest pedestrian streets in the city. The line for Dona Manolita goes all the way around a city block and you can either choose to stand in line or try to get a numbered ticket from the machine and be advised by a text message when it is your turn however these tickets run out very early each morning. They even have security guards to make sure that people can still enter the local businesses and hotels that cross with the line. On January 6th we have the lottery “el Nino” since it is held on the day of the epiphany, the arrival of the three kings to visit baby Jesus. This is also the most important day of the holiday season in Spain. On the night of January 5th the Three Wise Men arrive to every city and even smallest town in Spain with artistic parades, tossing hard candies and bearing gifts for all, especially the little ones.

With your hope of winning the lottery now in hand it is time to get some traditional Madrileño snacks. But, don’t be in a hurry because you are sure to find a couple more lines. The “bocadillo de calamares” is the most famous sandwich in Madrid. There are many favorite places and each person has their preferred choice. “El Brillante” near the Reina Sofia Museum is a popular place but if you are up near the Plaza Mayor you have quite a few options where you can enjoy these perfectly fried squid rings on a baguette with a squeeze of lemon or mayonaise, ALWAYS accompanied by a cold beer. Stand in line to grab your sandwich and then find a bench or simply stand around at an outside high table to enjoy your snack.

You are not even closed to finished after that sandwich. You must get in line at Casa Labra just off Calle Preciados near Puerta del Sol. Casa Labra has been here since 1860 and is known to be the place where the Spanish Socialist party (PSOE) was first formed in 1870 by Pablo Iglesias Posse. Nowadays everybody stops by here to stand in line for the excellent fried cod (called tajada de bacalao), cod croquetas or marinated tuna accompanied by a nice vermouth. It also has a gorgeous restaurant serving a great variety bacalao, such as the one with oyster mushrooms and capers. In Spain don’t ever be turned away by all the crunched up napkins on the ground. This is a sign of a great place to eat. Things have changed a bit in past years but all good bars used to have a layer of dirty napkins on the floor.

You are not even close to full enough! Once the sun starts going down and the air gets colder in Madrid it is time for the best treat of all, churros y chocolate from San Ginés. To make the time in the lines a tiny bit shorter, the Chocolatería San Ginés has different places all in the same tiny pedestrian street, including one in part of the major discotec that is next door. This chocolatería was opened in 1894 and is visited by thousands of people each day. So, get in line and prepare your stomach for some more fried Spanish goodness. You can choose the long thinner churros but our preference are the porras which are a bit fatter and lighter, dipped in the thick chocolate of course!

Line for churros and doors to the Joy Eslava discotec next door, open for churros as well.

Once you have your lottery tickets and your stomach nice and full from sandwiches, fried cod and churros you can move on to other lines if you wish. One extremely long line is for the Cortylandia which is the holiday musical presentation outside the Cortés Inglés department store. You can also visit the messengers for the Three Wise Men waiting for your gift requests. And, if you are feeling like some ramen you can now wait in line at one of the Japanese noodle shops here in the center of the city as well. There are lines for all types here in Madrid at the holidays. Like we say in Castellano, “Para gustos, colores”.

More pieces of my “Granada”….

Posted on December 17, 2019 by maggie0405

It’s amazing what we do throughout our life to move forward and keep on top of our game. I’ve always felt fortunate that I was obligated to become self-sufficient at a young age and although I’ve crashed a few times and came out with some bruises I won’t ever regret all the experiences I’ve had. When I was working on my Master’s degree here in Granada I did some extra odd jobs to keep myself afloat besides my regular job as a Tour Director. I taught English like everyone does at some point when they first live abroad and I disliked just about every minute. I also took care of my friends little girls and prepared their weekly meals for lunch and dinner. They were quite lucky because at the same time I was working on my fresh pasta business, so they enjoyed homemade ravioli, tortellini, linguini and spaghetti in all variants. A great friend came to live in Granada at this time and we worked on this business together. Using my large living room as our factory, rolling out kilos and kilos of fresh pasta to sell the next day and collapsing at 2 am in front of a bowl of some awesome pasta and sauce that we had created ourselves. It wasn’t easy work. There was a wonderful woman Paquita, who had a fruit store down the street from my apartment. As a small business owner herself she took me under her wing and sold the pasta from her shop in exchange for some free bags for her own family. My business eventually faded because of my regular job and studies but Paquita and I remained friends. I remember her dearly each fall when I prepare a recipe that she taught me.

Granada in Spanish is the word for pomegranate and this fruit is the symbol of the city of Granada. We are surrounded by pomegranate trees here, especially up on the hills of the Alhambra and in the surrounding areas. The symbol is displayed on fountains, ceramic tiles, street signs and of course, the Spanish Coat of Arms. When we think of the history in Granada we are reminded that the pomegranate is also an important Jewish symbol for different reasons. One is that a pomegranate is said to have 613 seeds which coincides with the number of commandments in the Torah. They are also eaten on Rosh Hashanah as a symbol of fruitfulness. The pomegranate reminds me of one of my favorite historical novels that I read about the same time that I met Paquita many years ago. The name is Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree by Tariq Ali and it tells the story of a family trying to survive after the fall of Granada to the Catholic Monarchs.

I prepared Paquita’s salad the other day along with another dish that I learned how to prepare during that stage in my life. It was a nice meal to represent the history of this beautiful city where I am blessed to live. The salad is prepared with raw escarole, pomegranate seeds, fried garlic cloves, olive oil, vinegar and salt. I served it with a second course of Moroccan Chicken Tagine prepared with preserved lemons, olives and onions garnished with cilantro and spicy malagueta peppers from Portugal.

Seafood at the biggest market in Portugal and at home….

Posted on November 23, 2019 by maggie0405

When we drive south from Lisbon on our way to the Costa Vicentina we usually find ourselves in the city of Setúbal at the the mouth of the Sado river and just across from the Troia Peninsula. It also borders the Arraibida Natural Park. Sétubal used to be the center of the canned sardine industry in Portugal and you can visit a museum that is housed in one of the old canning factories. However, there is nothing better than shopping for fresh seafood at the local market. This vibrant space decorated with beautiful tiles and statues is the largest covered market in all of Portugal.

The seafood in the market is beautiful, especially the black scabbardfish. But, you will find all of the ingredients for the local seafood dishes like cuttlefish, clams, cockles, sea snails, and of course sardines. Fresh vegetables, breads, cured sausages and my favorite local cheese called Azeitão are plentiful and sold by local vendors.

A visit to any market in Portugal is not complete without a light snack. Whether you are at one of the large flea markets or a local fresh food market you always have a great choice of Portuguese dishes to choose from. Grilled chicken with a glass of local wine, sautéed liver with onions (iscas con elas), or a sandwich with fried chicken breast. Our go to market snack is always a bifana, a simple sandwich made from marinated pork cutlets served on a fresh roll with condiment options of mustard and hot sauce. With a mini Sagres beer or a glass of local sparkling wine it’s the perfect “pre-lunch” meal. You can easily have a full meal with the dishes that are offered but when in Setúbal it’s best to save room for some fried cuttlefish served with a fresh salad and roasted green peppers in a nearby restaurant.

The last time we were in Setúbal we decided to take the ferry across to the Troia Peninsula. What is now an area for luxury hotels and beautiful beaches used to be home to one of the largest fish salting and preserving workshops during the Roman Empire. These pastes and sauces, like Garum, were produced here and then exported in Amphorae by sea to the different provinces. You can visit the roman ruins here that include the fish salting area, baths and some dwellings dating that were occupied up until the 6th century.

Troia Peninsula which was the Acala Island under the Romans.

Sometimes when we are home for too long we start to miss some of the amazing seafood dishes that we have enjoyed so many times in Portugal. After watching a travel show a couple of weeks ago we decided that it was necessary to replicate one of the dishes that had been prepared on the show. We bought some excellent prawns and clams and made this amazing dish with butter and cilantro. After a seafood meal in Portugal the most common dessert is a “prego”, a grilled beef sandwich with lots of garlic. We couldn’t leave out the dessert! With these blazing hot malagueta peppers it was the perfect meal.

Places in my heart……Burgos

Posted on November 4, 2019 by maggie0405

Certain cities will always make me feel like I’m home and Burgos is one of those. Maybe it is because the first time I visited I was a young and tired pilgrim looking for a simple bed and some decent food. The albuergue or pilgrim’s refuge used to be in a park on the outskirts of the city. It was quite rustic but I have fond memories of the communal sleeping area, the outdoor picnic tables and ice cold shower and I had returned with student groups many times to share the experience with them before it closed. There is a scene in the movie “The Way” where they walk up to the gates of this park and I am always rushed with emotion every time I see it. The municipal albuergue is now in a lovely building close to the Cathedral.

Burgos is elegance and humility in one. The people are kind yet not exuberant, the pedestrian areas and parks are classy and filled with statues representing the historical and cultural importance that the city holds. The local gastronomy is a mixture of comforting and hearty food with the elegance and detail of modern cuisine. It is a friendly city where one feels comfortable as a visitor or a pilgrim.

The statue of Santo Domingo de la Calzada near the roman bridge in Burgos represents this man known for the construction of bridges, a hospital, roads and a church to help the pilgrims whom he had observed from where he lived as a hermit in the 12th century. There is a town named after him in the same place where he passed away and it continues to be a sacred place for all who walk the French route of the pilgrimage.

The Santa Maria of Burgos Cathedral rises high over the city center. It’s poise and beauty honors hundreds of years of architectural geniuses from its groundbreaking in 1221 up until the 18th century. The main architect of the Cathedral in Granada , Diego de Siloé, was born in Burgos and is responsible for the gilded staircase in the Cathedral of Santa Maria in Burgos. We will also find here the remains of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, otherwise known as El Cid, along with his wife Jimena.

Last summer I was in Burgos with a group of students. I have been working with this school as long as I can remember. It was the Spanish day of sign language and the gate of Santa Maria was reflecting the color for this once the sun went down. One of the students in my group was losing her hearing due to an illness and had been learning sign language. We spent this amazing moment sharing with this lovely group of people from Burgos. They loved being with the students and teaching us new signs. It was one of those moments of gold that you never forget.

I’ve slept many times at a hotel that looks right out onto the Cathedral. The name is Meson del Cid and I loved waking up in the morning atnd having my first view be of this amazing Cathedral. I plan on sleeping there again very soon with a lucky group! It’s amazing how life is a circle.

young me at Meson del Cid, my favorite hotel in Burgos….

Burgos has an amazing gastronomical scene. There are certain things you need to eat when you are visiting such as Morcilla de Burgos (blood sausage with rice), Burgos fresh cheese, river crabs, trout, suckling pig and so much more! All washed down with amazing wine.

An albacore tuna with olives, anchovy and a vinaigrette that I ordered was out of this world. It ranked next to some of the best pintxos I’ve had in the Basque Country. We also had some grilled ribs with potatoes that were humble and flavorful at the same time. Followed by a martini glass layered with egg yolk, pork cheeks and spicy potatoes, we were good to go!

Everything we ate in Burgos this summer was absolutely amazing but one of my favorite memories was from this small bar next to the Cathedral. The tapa came with our wine and we enjoyed it thoroughly along with the great ambience of the bar on a summer evening. Thank you Burgos for reminding me how much I adore being close to you and that I need to bring people there very soon!! I have so many memories here and cannot wait to make more.

Best simple tapa of cured cheese, chorizo and salchichón.

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Food, wine, and history in Spain and Portugal

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