Paella

It's a quintessential Spanish dish - Paella.  The dish originated around Valencia (where I took the picture in the header), a fabulous city on the Mediterranean that we visited last year.  I know I shouldn't use Wikipedia so much, but I like this quote: 

"Many non-Spaniards view paella as Spain's national dish, but most Spaniards consider it to be a regional Valencian dish. Valencians, in turn, regard paella as one of their identifying symbols."

Yesterday I was invited to go to a "cooking class" to learn how to make paella.  I don't know about you, but I don't picture too many cooking classes in someone's backyard, sitting near a pool, enjoying amazing weather, and mostly chatting with new friends to be too tough of a cooking class.  I met a lot of really fantastic women (there were almost 20 of us!) and Richard, our chef, did a fabulous job.

Enjoy!

Richard was kind enough to share his recipe - I'm not sure when I'll be attempting it, so let me know if you try to make it!!

Paella Ciego (Blind Paella) For 15 people!

1 cup onions finely chopped

1 clove garlic finely cut

1 red pepper cut into small cubes

1 cup green beans

1 cup small peas

1 spicy chorizo cut into small cubes

I package of mushrooms (remove stalks and cut stalks into small pieces)

Juice from a lemon/or 2 limes

1 package of Paella spices (4-5 sachets)

1-2 small packages of tomato frito

500 grams of Langostino Crudo (fresh prawns)

6 Mussels

Lots of olive oil

5 cups of rice

6 stock cubes

Stock (always use 2 parts stock to 1 part rice):

• Peel prawns
• Wash/clean shells
• Fry shells in olive oil with clove garlic and 4 bay leaves until red (2 mins)
• Add 11 cups of water
• Add 5-6 stock cubes
• Boil for 60 mins
• Strain out shells and keep the stock

(A good stock is one of the most important means to a good paella)

Making the Paella (in a large levelled paella pan)

• Add plenty of olive oil
• Fry onions and garlic 2-3 mins
• Add chicken and brown well on both sides
• As chicken is browning…

-         Add red pepper

-         Add mushrooms and cut up stalks

-         Add beans

• When chicken is well browned and vegetables are cooked move to the edge
• Put rice in the middle
• Pour on lemon/lime juice
• Pour on tomato frito
• Add paella spices (mainly for colouring)
• Mix together (the lemon/lime juice stops rice sticking)
• Mix with paella pan contents and allow rice to be well coated in oil
• Spread out evenly in the pan
• Add stock (note time, paella needs 20 mins from this point to cook!)
• Sprinkle peas on top
• Lay out prawns on top
• Lay out mussels on top
• Sprinkle chorizo on top
• Keep heat well up (some burning of the rice is desired)
• When stock is absorbed (after 20 mins) turn off heat
• Let it sit for 10 mins then enjoy

(On a side note, I attempted to load these images as one large, long collage, but I could never get it to be the full width of the post.  Does anyone know why this would happen?  So, I ended up loading it in 4 chunks, which I don't like the look of as much, but everything would be full size then, though it didn't have the spacing I wanted.  Any suggestions?)

Read more...

so long insecurity

I stole this from my good friend Katie's Blog... hopefully she doesn't mind continuing to share these awesome words:


Something to ponder ...

Here is the commissioning statement from Beth Moore's simulcast for her new book So Long Insecurity

My Dear Sister

If Christ is Your Savior

You are the dwelling place

Of His own Spirit

You have it IN YOU

to be secure.

Every day of your life

You have a choice to make

You can live in your old defeat

Or you can turn from your unbelief

And choose life

Make up your mind

To put off the old you

And put on the new you.

Never, ever, ever forget

That the Lord is your security.

He will keep your foot

From being caught in a trap.

He will take care of you

To your very last breath.

Now, leave this place

And go out into the world

And act like a person

Who knows she’s dearly loved.

You were born to be exceptional.

So, Girlfriend, go forth

And walk worthy of your calling.

You are clothed in strength and dignity!

Now unto Him

Who can keep you from falling

Be glory and majesty

Power and authority

Through Jesus Christ our Lord

Now and forever more

Amen.

So Long, Insecurity!

Wouldn't it be sweet if we lived like we really believed this?!?

Read more...

Madrid 10K

A couple of weeks ago, we were walking in Retiro and noticed that a bunch of tents, barricades, and inflatable gates had been installed in the park.  At first we had no idea what these things were for, but then we noticed that there were signs up for the Madrid Half-Marathon.  Being the inquisitive people we are, we went home and saw that the half-marathon was in conjunction with a 5k, but that it was too late to register for either.  Brian started doing some more research on possible running events he could take part in, and saw that the Madrid Marathon and 10k were coming up in two weeks.  He promptly signed up for the 10k, and started working hard on his training regimen.  (Ok, he didn't really because the weather was so bad, but he got a few runs in)  As you can see below, the weather was nasty, and one day we were surprised to see and hear hail outside!

As the day of the race neared, Brian was looking at the website for the packet pick up information, and saw that there was a PASTA PARTY on the day before the race for all the runners!  So, of course we went and participated :)  The pick-up site also had a mini-convention going on inside, so we went to get some free swag.  There were 10,000+ people signed up between the two races (I think), so there were people everywhere, but we were really impressed by the organization of the whole thing.

Brian left before I did this morning to get to the starting line in time.  I followed behind on my bike, hoping that I'd get to see him at least once during the race.  Once I got to the starting line, I was amazed at how many people were there, and I pretty much gave up all hope of seeing him.  He HAD worn a bright yellow t-shirt, thinking he would stand out, but didn't realize that the race t-shirts were the exact same color - thus making him impossible to stand out (I'm thinking about getting a hot pink jersey for him if he does another race...)  Crazily enough, I saw 2 guys we had met the previous week at church getting ready to run!  Think about it - we probably know a total of 30 people in this city, and I see two of them in the midst of at least 10,000+ people... and then as I'm taking a picture of them, Brian walks up!  I guess I stuck out with my bright orange bike and baby blue helmet.

I had hoped to catch Brian in front of this major landmark and then quickly bike to the finish line to get his photo as he crossed the line, but somehow, I lost him and didn't get either of those photos.  So, here's the photo that will have to do.

Brian did a fantastic job running, and I was so proud to see him several times on the course with a huge smile on his face.  He's pretty fantastic, and I'm glad I have such an adventuresome, determined, and fun-loving guy around.

Read more...

I'm visually stimulated...

...so when it comes to making up this blog, I have spent entirely too many hours creating, deleting, editing, re-editing, adding, subtracting, etc, etc.  But, I think I'm finally starting to settle on a layout and a design I'm happy with.

Even when it is just little tweaks to make the page look better, I get pretty excited!

I owe much of my new attempts at blog design to Nealy and her blog.  She also went to Iowa State, and though we never met, I know several of her friends and her sister from our church's college group.  She now lives in Minnesota, the best state ever, and has fabulous design taste, and adventuresome tastebuds!  I have been stalking following her blog for a while now, and it's time to admit my admiration, and hopefully show some of my other blogger friends her resources.  I have loved reading her blog, as well as trying her recipes and admiring her fantastic photography and her trained eye for design.  Recently she has done a series on 10 Ways to Beautify Your Blog, and I've been a glad recipient of her tutorials!  I have a long way to go before my blog gets exactly where I want it to be visually, but I'm glad I have her blog as a resource.

Thanks Nealy!

Read more...

Asador Sagartoki

In the last couple of years, Brian & I have been developing into foodies. We like good food, good beer, good wine, and good company. We like to experiment with making new dishes (which hopefully we'll have a little more time to do while we're here), and with trying lots of new things when we go out to restaurants.

For Christmas this year, Brian's parents got us this fabulous book:

... from which you can probably expect several more references from as we explore Spain.

The basic premise of the book: a few years ago, Mario Batali partnered with PBS to create a mini-series on food and culture in Spain.  Mario spent his high school years in Spain, and the food of the country continues to entice him.  He brought along Gwyneth Paltrow (who also spent some of her younger years in Spain), as well as another well known food critic, Mark Bittman, and Claudia Bassols, a famous Spanish actress from Barcelona.  They drive around Spain in a couple of convertibles, filming their experiences for the show, and then they turned it into a book with photos and recipes from their excursions.  {there is also a website for those of you who may want to visit virtually}

When we went to the Basque country a couple of weeks ago, I paged through the book hoping to find some tasty restaurants to check out.  Lucky me, I found this page:

We didn't know if we'd be able to find the restaurant in Vitora, but we had some touring to do, so we just parked and started walking.  Amazingly, the first street we walked down happened to have the restaurant on it!  It was far too early to eat dinner (5 pm) so we checked out some of the other sights prior to going back.  Vitoria was a beautiful city, very historic, and very clean, and maybe I'll get some pictures up of that some time.  But this is a food post.  I have to focus.

We returned that night and proceeded to attempt to figure out how to order.  In Spain, there are still several languages spoken in different parts of the country, and in Basque country, they speak a crazy language called Euskara which sounds nothing like Spanish, and linguists really don't know where the language evolved from (Sanskrit? Japanese? Finnish?).  But thankfully, Spanish is also widely understood.  So, at the bar, after attempting Spanish and pointing and nodding a lot, we started getting our food.  We ordered Pinxtos - essentially something that is just meant to be a bite or two.  Usually you go out to a bar, order a couple of drinks and some pintxos, and then head to dinner afterwords (maybe around 9 or 10).  We ended up spending the whole night there trying a bunch of different things, as you can see from my menu list:

Quickly the bartenders figured out that we were foreigners, and as I stumbled through asking for a menu in Spanish, one of the bartenders came up and said, "Hello, Good evening, What do you need, I speak English?"  He was from Morocco, and became our friend for the rest of the evening - checking in on us frequently though the bar was packed full, and always helping us right away when we approached the bar to order something new.  We loved the bar, the food, and the experience so much that we returned a second night.  We got to know Jamal better, as well as the other bartenders.  They learned our names too, and when our food would come out from the kitchen, they would shout "Brian" or "Kate" (which they definitely didn't do for the other bar patrons!)  We were stuffed full both nights, and as we left the second night, Jamal came out and shook Brian's hand and gave me a hug.  We would go back there again in a heartbeat.

{you can click on the photo to enlarge it and see the photos better}

So, if you can't tell from the photos, the food was AMAZING.  And we had a GREAT time too!

The way the food was displayed was very modern and cool: under glass.  If you look back at the page I scanned from the book, it looks like the food is in a museum - which is really the opposite of what the vibe is like in the bar!  People talking loudly, smoking, drinking cider, yelling their orders to the bartenders, throwing their napkins on the floor - like any good bar.

One item in particular deserves translation: Helado de Esporas.  Mushroom ice cream.  Actually pretty tasty.

On a non-travel note, we have completely settled into our apartment, and I'm working on making it feel like home!  I took a trip to Ikea on Monday, making me a very happy woman, and I'm continuing to explore the city to try to find new places to shop and get the things we need.  Things have been going great for Brian and work, and he's learning and speaking a lot of spanish.  We have met a lot of really fantastic people thus far, from Spain & the international community, and we're loving life here.  Missing everyone back home, but so thankful to have the chance to do this at this point in our lives!

Read more...

Quick Apartment Photos

So, last week, we moved into our new place! It's great. Right across from Retiro, great natural light, a balcony, and a guest bedroom, waiting to be used! I've had some (wait, many) requests for photos of the place, and though I wanted to wait until we had gotten our shipment of more personal items, I've succumbed to the pressures from my demanding, whoops I mean loving friends and family. So, here’s the link to the photos – I just wanted to do it quick & dirty, FB style.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2376180&id=16914868&l=f6978f62ee

Read more...

Bilbao Guggenheim

Our second weekend in Spain, we were able to take advantage of a 3 day weekend, so we traveled to Vitoria and Bilbao, both in Basque Country to the north.

Bilbao was an industrial city 20 years ago, the most populated city in the Basque region, when they realized great potential in creating a cultural center on the Atlantic. Thus, a partnership began with Frank Gehry, a starchitect from LA, to construct a Guggenheim Museum. Built in 1997, several people have called it the singly most important building of modern architecture (which I think is a little overblown...) but it completely changed Bilbao overnight. A quick statistic from our travel book: In the building's first year, it attracted 1.4 million visitors - three times more than the number expected, and more than what the Guggenheim in New York received in the same time. The city has now become a magnet for high design, with projects by Calatrava, Lord Foster, and Zaha Hadid (in planning stages)

Most of the artwork inside is modern, with the entire second floor committed to Anish Kapoor, though there is a gallery with a collection from Guggenheim NY, including several works by important Impressionist, Abstract Expressionist, and Surrealist painters.

After years of studying architecture, and being critical of Gehry's work, seeing this was amazing.

This building was the first time that Gehry used titanium as a cladding structure in one of his buildings. He has done it several times since the Guggenheim, but after reading some guides on the building, he states that he has never been able to capture the same look and color of this building. On a bright day, the building is blue and silvery, on a cloudy day, it takes on grey tones, and when it rains, the building has a golden hue. We were able to see several of these colors throughout the day (in spring, the weather changes rapidly!), and I felt so lucky to get to experience that.

Where's Waldo, er... Kate? The atrium brings together limestone, plaster, glass, steel, and titanium in an elegant relationship.
Titanium and glass combine for dramatic forms.

There are several architectural gems in Bilbao. The Guggenheim by Gehry, this bridge by Santiago Calatrava (A world famous architect, and Spain's son - from Valencia. The pictures at the top of the blog are buildings of his that we visited last year in Valencia), as well as a tram system designed by Lord Foster are all in this industrial city. Unfortunately, there has been some drama between the city and Calatrava over this bridge. Glass tiles and a rainy region don't work together very well for safety in crossing the bridge, and an ADA addition was added by the city, creating suits and countersuits between architect and owner. You can see the graffiti on the structure, but it's still a very cool installation.

The biggest exhibit in the museum was a permanent piece by Richard Serra. He works with large pieces of steel to form space. We've seen his installations in Paris and Seattle as well. Brian says he likes his work a lot, with it's grandiosity and simplicity.

One cool thing in the museum is that near each of the exhibits, the curators would create an educational space to describe the work done by the artist. These were small versions of the sculptures, created by Serra to give himself an understanding of the space.



Gehry says that for many of his crazy buildings, he is inspired by fish, specifically carp. His grandmother used to buy them and put them in the bathtub before she would cook them. I guess the image of them swimming, smooth forms, stayed with him.


The lighting wasn't super, but I was pretty excited to get to get some great photos! Still, after looking around online at some other images, I'm wishing I had tried a few other angles, maybe we'll go back again? I hope so!

Read more...