The Holiday:
Dia De la Toma is primarily
celebrated in Granada, Spain on January 2. Granada was the last Muslim
stronghold in the Spanish Peninsula, and was recaptured by the Catholic Monarch
in 1492.
As many of you know, recently,
Arvind and I went to Spain and one of our stops was in Granada. While I regret
that we did not get to see the celebration of Dia de la Toma we did get to see
many wonderful sights. I have posted some of our pictures here and on facebook.
I wanted to take some of Spain back
with me, but my husband and I only had backpacks that had already been full
when we got there. This means that all we were able to bring back with us is
pictures and ideas.
Sports:
We were not able to visit Valencia when while were in Spain,
but Valancia is the birthplace of one of favorite dishes, Paella. It is also
one of the places where they play one of their favorite sports, Soccer
(Futbol). Since soccer is one a very popular sport in Spain, I took some time
out of my afternoon to kick around a soccer ball.
Movie:
I also watched the movie
“Butterfly” which follows a young boys experience leading up to the Spanish
civil war. This is a somewhat sad film that shows how ideals can divide even
the best people when war breaks out. This is not a violent film by any means,
and with the exception of one sex scene, it is fairly suitable for children to
watch.
Food:
I wanted to recreate my trip
through the food that I ate while there. The Spanish omelet is something that
is available in any café or restaurant, no matter how few things are on the menu.
Brunch: Omelet (knows in Spain as a
Tortilla de Española), Cheese under the broiler (sheep cheese from Spain on
whole wheat bread), tomato compote
Dinner: Crawfish Quinoa Paella
Drink: White Spanish Wine- Marques Riscal, Rueda.
Recipes:
Tortilla de Española:
Ingredients:
1 potato
½ small onion
¼ oil (mix of vegetable oil and olive oil)2 eggs
Dash of milk
Salt to taste
Water
This dish serves 1-3 people. I modified it from a recipe
that served 8-10 people. The recipe that was my base can be found here:
1.
Peel the potato, and thinly slice cross wise.
Place the potato slices in a small bowl. Fill the bowl with water to cover the potato.
Add a pinch of salt. Let the potato soak for 5 minutes or so.
2.
Heat oil on lower medium in an 8” non-stick pan.
(heating oil too hot will burn the oil or potatoes)
3.
Thinly slice the half onion.
4.
Line the pan evenly with the potato and onion.
The oil should almost be covering the potato and onion. Flip everything in the
mixture once. Once the potato can easily be cut with a spatula, it is done.
5.
Remove the potato and onion mix from the oil
with a slotted spatula. Let the oil drain off a little, and place aside in a
bowl.
6.
Pour all but about 2 tbs. of the oil out of the
pan; if the oil is really hot, you may want to turn down the stovetop temperature.
7.
Beat together the egg. Add a dash of milk and a
pinch of salt. Mix in the potato and onion.
8.
Pour the egg and potato mix into the heated pan.
Let fry for about 5 minutes. Check to see if the bottom has browned. Once the
bottom has browned take the pan to the sink.
9.
Flip the omelet by flipping it on a plate first
and then sliding it back into the pan. Place pan back on stove and let cook for
a few more minutes until the other side has browned.
The rest of my posts are as follows:
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