Culture is food. One of the things that I was most excited for ( and the main thing that I am usually most excited for wherever I go) was to try the local
comida (
food) en Granada.
Tengo suerte ( I'm lucky) porque mi madre aqui is una Reina de la Cocina ( a queen of the kitchen). She puts in so much effort to make each lunch (
almuerzo) balanced and fulfilling to all crowd around the mini-table in the kitchen or at the larger table in
la salon ( in the family room). It's always a joy around lunch time and when Carmen is preparing lunch usually the night before because it gives me a chance to show my appreciation and curiosity about a big part of her daily life. Carmen's favorite dish when she was little, and
ahora her favorite dish to both enjoy and cook are
Lentejas (
lentils). She makes this dish with
cebollas, patatas, y por supuesto lentejas ( onion, potatoes, and of course lentils).
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| Lentejas en progresso |
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| The workshop |
It is a thick stew that reminds me of the consistency of baked beans, but they taste much richer. Her mother taught her how to cook, and she has a little purple notebook of the recipes that she receives from friends and family. Usualmente, because we live about 5 minutes walking distance from
Mercadona, a neighborhood and large market chain, she does most of her shopping there, but she enjoys local markets and
tiendas del barrios as well, and does her shopping at local
tiendas when they are staying in her parents
pueblo (village). Almost every day Carmen prepares the food the night before, sets it in the fridge over night, and places it on the stove so it is ready when Ricardo and I return from school around 2:15. When Carmen heads to Mercadona, she always has an action plan. This past weekend I was lucky to accompany her and Ricardo pequeño grocery shopping for una fiesta with friends and family for a
barbacoa ( BBQ) at their
casa del campo ( cabin in a field) by the feet of the Sierra Nevadas. She had a list, and apart from some chuches for Ricardo we were in and out of there. While she does her shopping two times a week, my family often buys fresh bread almost every day, something that is very different than my lifestyle back in
los EEUU. As well, eating out for dinner or lunch is very very rare, cooking meals at home is the norm however baking is not,
la opuesta in
los EEUU. Something else that is interesting is that the price of essentials and cooking supplies has gone up in the past few years. When I asked if the prices have changes, Carmen gave a quick
" Oh, Si" with no hesitation. Por ejemplo,
una carta de leche ( a small liter of milk) used to be less than
uno euro, pero ahora it is much more. Milk is an essential item in our household, used for cafe
con leche, Cola-Cao, cereal, and cooking en general.
All in all, food in Spain, while I feel like I am consistently eating, it a much higher quality and lacks GMOs, making the amount of jamon and pan a little less daunting. All well, something I found very very interesting, it the lack of spice here in Spain. A stereotype that holds quite the opposite from the truth, espanolas en general do not like spice or pepper, and instead lean toward
aceite ( olive oil),
pan ( bread),
jamon ( a looottt of ham), and
mayonesa ( mayo). En fin, estoy emocionada para nuestra ultimo semana. Vaminos!
Hasta domingo,
Grettie
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