My homemade quince paste went perfectly with a sharp Manchego cheese and a bottle of Protos from Ribera del Duero. We added a light salad with pomegranate seeds and walnuts to round off this perfect snack.
Tag: Fall
introducing the croqueta…………
Sundays invite adventure and escaping from the city center. Even though we all laugh and criticize the “domingueros” or “Sunday drivers”, we end up being one many times during the year. So, today we went up just a bit into the mountains to breathe some fresh air and see what the day would bring. Basically it is hard to go wrong around here on a weekend. As long as you have good company and some open space for the kids to play, the day is pretty much set. Lucky for me I have friends who also have a damn good sense of humor which makes the day just that much brighter. Even with the clouds. We ordered some food to share and then just as I was mourning the lack of homemade croquetas on the menu, this tapa appeared on the table. It was as if they had read my mind. My friend Annette and I both have a bit of an obsession with ordering homemade croquetas when available. I think we are trying to find the best. There is a lot to know about the “croqueta” in Spain. Croquetas can be real crap sometimes. Frozen and produced by a machine. Or just plain bland, boring, and disgusting. But, when you find a good croqueta, it is like a delicious bit of fried love.
I was truly blessed to live with an amazing woman here in Granada. Carmen taught me a great part of what I know about this city. She hated to cook. But her croquetas were seriously the best I have ever had. I would hang over her as she made the bechamel, added the leftover meat from the stew cooked the day before and toss them in the egg and flour. I watched the patience and love she put into those delicious rolls. When they were ready we would all line up to taste as she fried them one by one. I would always get back in line for seconds. And with that bit of energy we would be off to go out for the night.
The croquetas today were homemade and fresh. They weren’t as good as Carmen’s, nor where they as good as the one I will put in my next post, but they did hit the spot. The company was even better…….a bit crazy……..but good.
tastes like a kiss
One of my favorite sayings in Spanish is “uvas con queso saben a beso” or “grapes with cheese taste like a kiss”. My daughter even learned this in her Pre-school at snack time. The combination of grapes and cheese really do bring to the mouth the taste of a (nice) kiss. But in reality, here in Spain there is another flavor that is most typically combined with a nice cured Manchego cheese. Dulce de Membrillo. Quince turned into a firm jelly brick. Sounds strange I know, and even I thought it was pretty odd the first timed I was offered a piece. The truth is that a chunk of quince paste with a slice of cured cheese accompanied by a glass of Ribera del Duero is an absolute delicacy.
I was just finishing my Part 2 on Toledo when I was completely distracted by gifts of fall fruits. Luna and I helped an older gentleman, Miguel, with his car the other day and so he showed us his gratitude with a bag of walnuts and pomegranates. Then, my friend Ofelia handed me a huge bag of quince last night as I left her house. Luna sat happily at the table and attempted to crack nuts while I cleaned and cored the quince hoping for some possible chance of producing “dulce de membrillo”. And so I cut and I peeled without losing a finger and then I boiled and cooled and rinsed and boiled again forever and ever with sugar, lemon, and vanilla. And now it is supposed to harden a bit. I left it chunkier than it is supposed to be because I thought it might be nice that way. We will see. Tomorrow I will have a bit with some cheese and wine. It hasn’t hardened quite yet but the flavor is amazing!!!!
wise friends along the river…………
Ten years ago my sister Georgianna came to live with me for four months. We had many wonderful moments that included sleeping on the beach, dancing on top of bars and enjoying lots of wonderful food. We also took dance classes and did tai chi and yoga together. But every once in a while my sister would wander off for a walk and adventures on her own. My sister is one of those people who will talk to anyone and would always come home with wonderful stories to tell. One day she came back from a walk along the river with a bag full of quince. A big bag. She had met an older man along the river who invited her to look at his beautiful orchard and vegetable garden. We had no idea what to do with the quince but we did go back and visit him several times. He would offer us homemade wine with slices of ham as he told us his life story. Pepe I believe his name was. Pepe from the river we called him.
Since the school year began a couple of friends and I have been walking along the river every morning before I go home to do my yoga practice. Yesterday as we admired the first snowfall on the Sierra Nevada, we were stopped by “Rafa”. Rafa wanted to know if we were tired and proceeded to give us handfuls of a small little black fruit called Almencinas. He told us to peel off the outer skin, eat the “meat” and spit out the rest. He said the fruit was sweet and would give us energy. So as we continued on with our walk we did as instructed. The miniscule amount of fruit that each tiny ball offered was sweet but I’m not sure how much extra energy it gave us. On our way back towards Granada we ran into Rafa again. He told us more about his life, how he used to play professional soccer and how much he enjoys the outdoors and the mountains. This morning as well we saw Rafa’s smiling face and he handed us more Almencinas to add to our piles. We asked him about the difference between Endrinas (sloe berries) and the Almencinas. He explained that the Almencinas are the fruit from a tree, the Almez and Endrinas are a berry. Endrinas are used to make Pacharán, which is for me one of the most delicious liqueurs ever made. It is originally from Navarra in Northeastern Spain. However, Rafa explained to us that the best Pacharán is made here in Granada in a mountain town called Monachíl. He told us the name, Espino Negro, and that we definitely needed a bottle to help celebrate Christmas. I think I will follow Rafa’s suggestion this year.
rainy weekend fun………..
The weather has finally changed in Granada. It seems like a bit of a miracle. This morning there was actually thunder and lightening. This called for some indoor activities. Decorating for Halloween was the first on our list. Cutting out and stringing up paper pumpkins and making bats out of egg cartons took up most of our Saturday morning. In my neighborhood the children actually trick or treat which is something that came to me by surprise on our first Halloween in this house. For the past two years I have been more prepared. Next Monday between 9 and 10 p.m. (this is Spain after all) we will have a small procession of masks and costumes passing by our door.
Then, this morning we made some really delicious cookies. I mixed two recipes. One that my neighbor Wendy gave to me a few months ago and another that I found on a great blog called fifteenspatulas. I was missing a few ingredients from both recipes so we added almond butter and some french cocoa powder to make up for them. I’m happy to say that most of these delectable discs will be devoured by a beautiful group of 5 year olds tomorrow while I am busy practicing yoga. 🙂
anguish, fall fruit, and a cake made for a virgin……..
Autumn entered with grace here in Granada as a nice cool rain cleansed the city on Friday afternoon. My daughter ran to put on the warmest clothes she could find along with her rain boots and we happily splashed and walked along the river. Fall in Granada tends to be a short period of time so we try to enjoy every bit of it. The blazing sun still shows its face each day, but the evenings and mornings are quite crisp and cold. Many people in the city vacation until mid-September so this is the first week that Granada feels back to full swing after the long summer. This last weekend in September is one of the biggest local celebrations in Granada. The day of the Virgin of Anguish, the patron Saint of Granada. La Virgin de las Angustias. The procession for the Virgin is held on Sunday evening (now) and the city is completely inundated by “Granainos” who come from all over the city and surrounding towns to honor the Virgin. Fifteen minutes of fireworks announced the beginning of the procession at the Basilica this evening.
The celebration of the Patron Saint is accompanied by the festival of fall fruits in the main plaza of the city.
For me the smell of the plaza brings back memories of being in an apple orchard when I was young. However, you won’t find a single apple in the plaza today. At the different posts you can find quince, beautiful yellow and black fresh dates, acerolas, and chirimoyas (custard apples). You can also taste an “azufaifa”, the fruit from a jujube tree. This reddish fruit is similar to a bitter, dry apple. Interesting. The flavors of autumn. On the other side of the plaza from the fruit stands are different associations selling various pastries and the famous “Torta de la Virgin” or Virgin’s Cake. This sweet bread made with olive oil can be found plain or filled with chocolate, cream or a unique filling made from squash. Thousands of virgin cakes are consumed by the people of Granada today.
Today we wandered back home early enough to avoid the crowds for the procession. But, we enjoyed the day in our own way by observing the Basilica and the vendors selling rosaries and long white candles. Tradition, culture and the smell of fruit filled the streets today.
MOONINSPAIN 