Today is my soul brother´s birthday and he doesn’t like cheese. I still love him even though he doesn’t like cheese. One time I had a boss who didn’t drink coffee or alcohol. But, I really didn’t like him. I have never understood how one can live without cheese. I guess I did when I was a vegan for a few years but I didn’t know anything about life back then. My soul brother knows a lot about life and he still won’t eat cheese. Who orders a ham and cheese omelet without the cheese? My soul brother does. If it were someone else, I would definitely question this or find it extremely annoying. How do they possibly live without cheese? Did something happen to them at birth? Maybe the anti-cheese midwives delivered them. But, I would never question my soul brother. Because he has so many other redeeming qualities. Like dipping a banana in yogurt at breakfast, EVERYDAY! Wanting to always know the “plan” but then just rolling with it without question. Getting random piercings with me just because we feel like it. We have fun just walking down the street, doesn’t matter what the weather is like. We are happy with a snowfall in Philadelphia, the blazing heat in Sevilla, huddling in a cold wind storm in Madrid, or with the perfect breeze of the seashore in Southern France. He won’t eat cheese in France. But, I still love him. We have a lot of photos that document our friendship. I look at some of them and think, we were just babies! We have photos under castles, next to windmills, in plazas and in bars, lots of bars. We even have a photo together riding a camel. The funny thing is that we have a photo of one of our favourite bars in Sevilla and it is a photo of cheese. There is also one in that bar with olives. But, the one that I remember the most is with cheese. Did you eat that cheese? Why can’t I remember if you like that cheese? I am getting old. Today you have added one more trip around the sun, but you always look the same. Luna always used to say, “Alex never changes.” Don’t ever change, dear soul brother. I love you just the way you are, even if you don’t like cheese.
I have grown to love the Minho river on the northern border of Spain and Portugal. Maybe it is strange to love a river but I really don’t care about that. I also love the Genil river in Granada which runs down from the Sierra Nevada mountains and passes right next to my home. It is my sanctuary and where I find, as my Nana would say, peace of mind. My relationship with the Minho is different. Working, I have crossed it many times on the bus. I have never lost that excitement of seeing this beautiful river that naturally marks the border between Spain and Portugal. Two countries that share a very small peninsula but are so contrasting in food, culture and people. I have also crossed on foot via the historic iron bridge that was built in 1878. If you hike up into the mountains on the Portuguese side of the river you have a view of a small yet beautiful island called Ilha dos Amores that has the shape of a heart. The sunset where the Minho river flows into the Atlantic Ocean is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen, along with Cadiz in Southern Spain. Enjoying a glass of vinho verde which is produced in the region while watching the sunset should be a must in life.
I had never, however, crossed the Minho river by boat. Even though it was July of the year that more pilgrims had ever completed the Camino de Santiago, we were the only two to meet the gentleman who would take us across the river that morning. Another reason I was so happy we had chosen this route. Crossing the river you have a great view of Mount Santa Trega. On this small mountain you will find an archaeological site from the Castro Culture which came about in this area during the 1st millennium BCE. They were known for their large fortified towns and settlements (oppida) across Northern and Central Portugal, Galicia, Asturias and parts of Leon.
On the other side of the Minho river you step off the boat in the town of A Guarda, now with a foot in Galicia! A town of not quite 10,000 inhabitants that is rich in history and gastronomy. Three of the yearly festivals here are centred around food. The lobster, the swordfish, and one dedicated to a sweet egg based bread with anise seed called “Rosca de Yema” which is very similar to my Nana´s easter bread. Speaking of bread, on the rural houses in this area you will find a box for bread delivery just below or next to the mailbox. Very convenient and important since the bread in Galicia is fantastic!
Considering this is a route less traveled, or at least a bit more peaceful than others, there are some great details for pilgrims along the path. We found free scallop shells, areas for resting and picnics and even a meditation garden. When we stumbled upon the lovely bar at a look out point, it couldn’t have been at a better time. Breakfast seemed miles behind us now.
The tortilla española in northern Spain is always fantastic but there is something about the way it is prepared in Galicia that always makes me happy. They seem to take it a step above no matter where I order it. Our plate of Iberian ham and the tortilla with onion was the best move we made that day considering we would not run into much more until dinner.
Just outside of the town of Oia we took a peek into a small chapel dedicated to San Sebastián. San Sebastián was known as the protector from plagues in Spanish history. Mass is only celebrated once a year in this chapel but it is open year round and also serves as a shelter for pilgrims during rough Atlantic storms.
If you are in a small town like Oria and hungry at a time when restaurants are closed you can always find a bar with a small snack that seems to be waiting just for you. A beer named peregrino (pilgrim) and the ham flavored ruffles that are beyond addicting will definitely keep you fueled until dinner. My first hangover cure in Granada was ruffles ham flavored chips and Fanta naranja! It’s a snack that just keeps on giving.
The pool at our hotel when we finally arrived that evening was a very welcome site due to the historically rising temperatures in Galicia. These moments always take me back to my first and second caminos when I slept in monasteries with hundreds of beds in one large room. Forgive me for my little luxuries, Saint James. The pool stood in second place after we found our perfect restaurant. The sunset over the Atlantic blessed us with its fading light as we enjoyed a bottle of Albariño wine. The camino and Albariño are closely tied together. One legend says that the monks from Cluny, France brought the Albariño grape to Galicia when doing the pilgrimage in the 12th century but other studies show that albariño seeds were also found in a salt mine from Roman times. Either way, the albariño wine goes perfectly with the local food.
Zamburiñas, are a small type of scallop in Galicia. In the world of scallops, they are by far my favorite. This simple preparation which is to lightly grill them with olive oil and maybe a bit of parsley and garlic is the way I most like to enjoy them. That night, after our zamburiñas we also had a perfectly grilled piece of turbot and a Galician steak.
The perfect end to a perfect day. We decided this might be a romantic place for a special celebration one day!
My first semester in Granada 30 years ago I had a friend with whom I would spend time speaking a mixture of Spanish and English and wandering about the streets stopping here and there for a caña and tapa or two, or ten. MariAngeles was her name, Mary of the Angels. In retrospect she was anything but an angel. She could have been named Maritraviesa* or Marimarchosa*. She loved to party and flirt and take life to the limit. MariAngeles explained to me that she was from a town unlike any other in Andalucia. Úbeda, somewhere up in the mountains of the province of Jaen. She told me that from her town you could see only olive groves for kilometres and kilometres. “Es diferente, no sé como explicarte.” Since she couldn’t find the words to explain why her town was so different than anywhere I had seen until then in Andalucia, she decided to take me there during the town’s fiestas. One thing I have learned since is that if you want to really see a town, don’t go during its fiestas. Not because you won’t have a fantastic time, but because you won’t actually SEE the town or city itself. Especially if you are a young student. The streets are filled with people drinking and dancing, the bars are packed to the gills and any type of normalcy is completely put on hold. Needless to say, Úbeda was a blur of beer, wine, copas and loud music. Besides a fat hangover, I did take back to Granada a memory of the unique architecture. Different than anything I had seen, just like Mariangeles had promised.
Fast forward 12 years and I find myself in Úbeda to give birth to my beautiful daughter. Who the heck goes to Úbeda to have a baby? Especially if you are living just outside of Madrid at the time. Well, there happens to be a small club of now 18 year olds in Granada who were all born in Úbeda. There was a short time when an amazing group of midwives ran the birthing centre at the public hospital, San Juan de la Cruz. Natural births, no actual obgyn´s unless an emergency required one. All inclusive with our public health care. Homemade food included. So, my little Luna was born with a view of olive groves from the window. Many times I have thought that I should have named her Oliva. Needless to say, Úbeda will always be a synonym to Luna.
14th century Losal Gate
My relationship with Úbeda has continued and grown since then. I am blessed to have spent many nights in the parador and to have shared this very special town with many travelers through the years. The main square named Vazquez de Molina is an architectural goldmine. Here you will find the parador which is a 16th century palace built as a private home, the Chapel of San Salvador, the Basilica of Santa Maria and the Palace of the Chains which is one of the best examples of Renaissance architecture in all of Spain. Andres de Valdemira was the architect for the parador and the Palace of Chains. The architect of San Salvador, Diego de Siloé, was also responsible for the Cathedral in Granada. But, while enjoying the beauty of Renaissance in Úbeda we must not forget that the history of the town dates back to pre-Roman times and was a stronghold during the glory of Al-Andalus, the time of Muslim rule on the Iberian Peninsula.
San Salvador Chapel and Dome San Salvador
Parador
You will also find symbols representing the Jewish people who helped this town flourish financially and socially until their expulsion in 1492. Hidden down a side street in the center of town you will find the great discovery of Úbeda, The Synagogue of Water. This is a pre-14th century synagogue that was discovered while converting the building from a hair salon to touristic apartments in 2007. They discovered the arches of the synagogue, the Women’s Gallery and the Micveh. Every year during the summer solstice the sunlight shines through a small window directly onto the Micveh. You can look this up on YouTube to experience this magic.
Mikveh
Sephardic Surnames
Hand of FátimaWater Well
Another of my favorite areas in Úbeda is San Millán, a medieval quarter on the outskirts of the town, where you will find the Alfareros or the pottery artisans. The pottery shops, museum and workshops are filled with cooking utensils, pots, pitchers for wine and water and the traditional Andalusian alcuza used to serve the olive oil, or liquid gold as we called it here. The most common colors you will find here are the glazed green and blue.
If you are a person who is moved by music you will usually have soundtracks that take you back to the different stages in your life. I can trace my soundtracks clearly from childhood up until now. One that carried me through a certain and fairly long period of my life was the music of Spanish singer/ songwriter/poet, Joaquin Sabina. Sabina was born in Úbeda, studied at the university in Granada, spent time in exile in London during the years of the dictatorship and resides in Madrid. In Úbeda you will find a bar called Taberna Calle Melancolía dedicated 100 percent to Sabina. Here you can munch on a tapa or two accompanied by a wine and Sabina´s voice which plays through every opening hour.
It is easy to get wrapped up in the beauty and history of Úbeda but one always needs to eat! Usually food and wine is the focal point of my travels so I do not want to forget one of my favorite places to tapear in this town. Located near the Plaza de Andalucia you will find a tiny placed called, “Al Fondo hay Sitio”. “There is Room in the Back”. The base of this bar´s tapas are what we call in Spain, conservas. Canned goods if you will. Nowadays the whole world is talking about tinned seafood products from both Spain and Portugal. As my friend Jorge says, the shops look almost like Disneylandia. Canned goods have always been an important food source in the world for many reasons throughout history. At this beautiful bar you will find only the best and maybe not things you would imagine. Albacore tuna, chickpeas with salt cod and spinach, piquillo peppers stuffed with foie and beef with a grape sauce, 3 different types of pork loin, white bean stew from Asturias, ox tail, or pickled partridge. Order a glass of great wine and take your pick.
There are also typical dishes from this area of Spain. One of them is called Andrajos. Andrajos date back to the Middle Ages when the people who worked out in the country used whatever that had on hand to elaborate dishes that would help them survive the cold winters in this mountainous area. They are irregular cut flat pieces of pasta made into a stew with pepper, tomato and usually rabbit. We have had them many times in Cazorla but also enjoyed them in the Parador here in Úbeda. It is a nice dish to prepare during these winter months!
Andrajos de Úbeda at the Parador
At the Parador both in Úbeda and Cazorla we have had great dishes prepared with local deer and lamb. Here are a couple plates from Úbeda and you can also read about Cazorla in my other post. Buen provecho!
We really don’t need to leave our neighbourhood for great tapas. We have “La Noticia” which is always the perfect choice when we want to keep it local. I will write about them one day soon! But, when we are downtown we always go to “Los Diamantes”. I have been having tapas at Los Diamantes since I moved to Granada. Thirty years ago there was only one location on Calle Navas and the people would overflow into the back and side alleys with beers and small plates in hand. They would close when they ran out of fresh fish. Now, there are seven locations in Granada and in a small adjoining town. They are all equally delicious and will never fail to serve up the best fried fish and other delicacies.
One of my favourites is the half tomato and half “cogollos” salad. Perfectly seasoned with olive oil and salt (more salt, more beer ordered) and the baby lettuce hearts are also topped with crispy fried garlic. Fantastic! It reminds me of the escarole and pomegranate salad I prepare every fall.
The other day we decided to order the grilled tuna to cut down on our fried food intake. The simple grilled tuna is served along with some “pimientos de padrón” which helped kill some my longing for Galicia. We say, ¨pimientos de padrón, unos pican, otros no.¨ Some are spicy and some are not. The padrón peppers were supposedly brought from South America to Galicia by Franciscan monks. The monks began to harvest these peppers at their monastery in the Hebrón, a neighbourhood in the town of Padrón in Galicia. Since 1978 there is a yearly festival dedicated to the pepper and its farmers.
Remember that when you visit Los Diamantes you can survive on tapas alone. With each drink you will be served one of their specialties of fried shrimp, eggplant, anchovies, marinated dogfish or their special rice. But, it is fun to order something extra to share with your group of friends. Belly up to the bar and enjoy the nonstop entertainment and interaction between the servers and customers.
Last August we had a 50th birthday celebration for one of my dearest friends in Granada. It was very special on many levels. We celebrated her 50 years on earth and also celebrated being together for the first time in so long! Darn Covid . My close friends, Javier and Charo, made the trip from Reus in Catalunya to be here for the occasion! Javier greeted me with his huge smile and hug as always and he also held two bottles of golden Vermouth in his hands! He had brought the best of the best. Vermouth from the town of Reus, where this beverage was introduced by the Italians in the 19th century. Reus is only two hours south of Barcelona and at one point it held at least 30 Vermouth distilleries. With time, the beverage began to spread further into Spain and has become an important aperitif in many cities and towns.
When we feel like enjoying a vermouth here in Granada, we have a few places that we head to immediately. Our favourite is Bar Albergue. It is a classic in the center of Granada, just perfectly located outside of the main tourist area. I went to this bar for the first time over 26 years ago as an innocent and probably clueless student. At the time, in my mind, vermouth was an ingredient in the many martinis that I served working in restaurants and bars in the US. Who knew that I would learn to enjoy vermouth as an aperitif in so many different bars and cities?
Frituta `Mixta with shrimp, anchovies, calamar, hake, and marinated dogfish
Many people go the Bar Albergue for the vermouth and their fried salt cod. Bacalao frito. As I’ve written before, my Italian Nana would use the word bacalao when she joked about giving us a “spanking”. I’m going to give you a “bacalao” she would laughingly say as we imagined a huge dried fish in her hand. In Granada, neither of these words are a laughing matter. We take our vermouth and fried cod very seriously and in Bar Albergue you can enjoy the best. Luis is always behind the bar ready to serve you. Each tapa here is different. You might be served fried hake or fried cod, fresh fried anchovies, or “callos”, a traditional tripe stew. They also serve some of the best “fritura mixtas” in Granada just in case the tapas aren’t enough for you!
Fun fact. The word vermouth comes from the German word wermut which means wormwood, the important ingredient that gives vermouth its bitterness. Salud!
“Food Tastes Better with Sand Between Your Toes”. Anthony Bourdain
I was raised between Chicago and Arizona so beach was not really a part of my life growing up unless you count shivering with blue lips in Lake Michigan or tubing down the Salt River. So, when I first moved to Granada (25 years ago) and was able to be on the Mediterranean in 45 minutes I found a whole new world. Not like I had not been to a beach before, I had been to many. But, the coast of Granada is a big swimming pool. Most beaches are pebbly or rocky for that matter but in three steps you can no longer stand and are free to swim for as long and as far as your body will take you. I’m pretty sure the only reason I ever got out of the water my first year in Granada was that I realized I could have a cold beer and a free tapa and jump back in. And then repeat. Thank you to whoever opened that first beach bar in Sitges, Catalonia. The Chringuito is a way of life in Spain. The word comes from Cuba, a place where people who worked on the sugar plantations would rest in the shade to have their café.
Fresh, local shrimp on the coast of Granada
I remember thinking to myself how absolutely delicious every tapa tasted to me with my feet buried in the sand, my hair and skin salty from the sea. I couldn’t imagine enjoying food more than at a Chiringuito. Tired from swimming and looking out at the sea. As a student, I could easily survive on the tapas. Fresh shrimp or some fried fish. It was all perfect, and still is.
Mussels with Pipirrana
Every once in a while you might get a tapa of ham or cheese or russian potato salad. But, for the most part the tapas go with the atmosphere. Clams lightly sauteed in a parsley sauce or mussels fresh from the sea. Sometimes they serve the mussels with pipiranna which is a light salad of tomato, onion, cucumber and bell pepper. We also eat a lot of fried fish in Southern Spain. It was never common for people to have ovens in their homes so frying was an easy and quick way to prepare certain proteins and vegetables. Some might even say it is healthy! In Granada, fried fish is commonly served with a raw cabbage salad marinated with olive oil, vinegar and garlic. Anchovies are one of the best fried fish you can find!
Fried anchovies with cabbage salad
The Phoenicians founded the city of Cádíz in 1104 BC and established small towns such as Almuñecar along the Mediterranean coast of Spain. They elaborated Mojama, a salt dried tuna. Although the name comes from Arabic, the process began under the Phoenicians. Mojama is still prepared and consumed all along the Atlantic Coast of Spain as well as along the Mediterranean Coast. This tecnique is also used in Portugal, Morocco and Italy. Mojama is served like a slice of ham; alone, on a piece of toast, in a salad or to flavor other dishes.
A simple tapa of Mojama, salt cured tuna.
The coast of Granada is full of surprises and history. These are just the “tapas” which will open your palate for the rest of a wonderful meal on the coast. Buen Provecho!!
Papas con Huevo from Bar Pedro with a nice view of a some local graffiti in the background
On Monday the province of Granada entered “phase 3” of Spain’s de-escalation plan, or so we call it around here. We are slowly moving into some type of normalcy and the weather invites us to sit down at a local bar for a tapa. Since supporting local business in our neighborhood is important these days, we did just that. Unemployed as I am, I thought to myself “what goes around will surely come around”, right? This thought turned out to be a great coincidence in retrospect. (keep reading) Either way, I’ve been cooking for almost 3 months straight: breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was finally time for a tapa.
We are lucky that our neighborhood bars serve great tapas. They are simple and traditional. I need to remind you that in Granada you get a free tapa with each drink ordered. At most local places you get to choose from a list of their special tapas. I don’t know what it is about the papas con huevo at Pedro’s bar on our street that makes me feel like everything is going to be alright. It is always the same, never fails. Perfectly sautéed potatoes and onions with a fried egg on top. Pedro also has Victoria Beer from Málaga which I happen to love. It is basically sacrilegious to not drink Alhambra Beer in Granada but we can make just this one exception.
Bacalao Ajoarriero in La Croqueta, Granada
There is a another tapas bar around the corner from Pedro called La Croqueta. I have a few ties with the woman who owns it. Our children went to the same nursery school and her father is one of my most beloved yoga students, sweet Manuel. Bea has a long menu with different types of croquetas (I explain these to my guests as fried bits of love) made with bechamel and different fillings. Read more here https://mooninspain.com/2011/10/30/introducing-the-croqueta. She also has a great variety of other tapas to choose from and serves an extremely cheap plato del día. The other day I felt the need to try her plate of the day, Bacalao Ajoarriero. I have to be extremely compelled to order bacalao anywhere unless I already know it is excellent. The last and quite possibly the only time I had Ajoarriero was in Cuenca, with my friend Miguel, where it is also called Atascaburras (to trap a donkey). The original recipe in that area of Cuenca is made of potatoes, garlic, egg and bacalao originating from a dish eaten by the Sephardic Jews. There are many variations of the recipe throughout the Northern and Central part of Spain.
Arriero on top of the Cathedral in Astorga, Margatería, Castilla y León
An arriero or mulero was somebody who traveled by muletransporting goods from one place to another. The Arrieros Maragatos are likely the most well-known in Spain. The Maragatería is located in a small pocket of Castilla y León where the town of Astorga is located. The Arrieros Maragatos would transport fish and other goods from Galicia in the Northwest to the areas of Castile. They were so well known in this area that on top of the Cathedral in Astorga you will find a statue of an arriero. The English writer Richard Ford commented on the Arrieros Maragatos in his book The Handbook for Travelers in Spain, “The Maragatos take precedence on the road: they are the lords of the highway, and channels of commerce in those parts where mules and asses represent railway luggage trains.” There were other arrieros who traveled from Bilbao to Zaragoza passing through most of the Basque Country on their way to Aragón carrying cod and other merchandise. It is is most likely on these roads where the recipe that I enjoyed in my neighborhood came about. This Basque recipe includes salt cod, tomato, garlic, two types of local red peppers (choriceros and piquillos), onion, egg and a bit of cayenne pepper. The Bacalao Ajoarriero prepared at La Croqueta was absolutely delicious. I plan on making it at home or for my mother in law very soon.
Though the arrieros that I have been writing about here worked in the 19th century, we still have arrieros today in Southern Spain and Portugal. One of my closest friends actually worked as an arriero in a small town in the province of Almería. He may be the only American arriero in Spanish history. There is a lovely Spanish proverb that says, Arrieros somos y en el camino nos encontrarémos. In English we can easily translate this to, “What goes around, comes around.”
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You can’t judge a book by it’s cover (tapa) but a bar you can.
Sometimes in the winter off season from tours I find myself “holing up” and reading books, doing yoga, and being a bit of a recluse in general. Yesterday was quite different being that I met with a friend for coffee, then went to my class and in the evening met up with another friend for tapas. Both of my friends that I met with yesterday are the type of people who spread positive energy, and time with them leaves me feeling much better about myself and life in general. With my morning friend we talked about how negative comments from others are so unnecessary and can really get one down. We definitely need to choose to surround ourselves with positive influences on our lives. This made me think about how much I have been through since I moved to Spain and how difficult it has been at times to filter through the falseness to find true friendships.
Not long ago we were served this tapa of potato chips and pickled anchovies which also took me on a time travel back through my experiences since I’ve lived here. I had been a vegetarian and then vegan for many years before moving here but when I arrived I decided to expand my food horizons for cultural reasons. This was the very first tapa I was ever served in Granada. Having been tortured as a young child by canned anchovies (the extra salty ones) hiding under the cheese on homemade pizzas, I basically loathed the smell and taste of them. One can imagine how I felt when this was set in front of me. However, like many other things I learned to love them. I remember everything about this moment and the bar where I was having tapas with friends. At Seis Peniques they would serve 3 free tapas instead of 1 with every drink, and it was where we took Sevillana dance lessons in the basement. It was also where a close friend of mine ended up working as a cook in the kitchen and he was taught the “secret” to the amazing Salsa Rosa. Ketchup and Mayonnaise. We laughed for hours about that one. Since that first tapa I’ve had many positive and negative experiences, both with people and with tapas. These two subjects can give you the same general feelings. They can be dissapointing and make you feel really awful or they can lift you up and make you want for more and more.
One of my favorite discoveries in Granada was taking the bus down to the beach and being able to enjoy a tapa at one of the chiringuitos in the sand. I felt like I was in heaven the first time I was served a cold beer with a tapa of fried fish and was able to jump into the sea between drinks. This is still one of my favorite ways to enjoy a day off. The best part is that if you are served a tapa that you don’t like you just might have a friend stop by to enjoy it for you as was the case for me one day. A small friend but very helpful.
Cheers to my uplifting encounters with dear friends yesterday and to my friend Melissa who lifts me up and encourages me from far away!!
MOONINSPAIN 