Kitchen Fiasco

I found a recipe on the internet that I wanted to try.  It was a dish from Spain called "tortilla de pisto"  

In Spain, a tortilla has no relation to the Mexican tortilla made from corn dough.  It is a kind of omelet very similar to the Italian "frittata".  The most famous Spanish tortilla is "tortilla española" which is made with eggs, potatoes and onions.  It is a dish that I have made numerous times. This "pisto" variation contains bell peppers, onion, zucchini, garlic and a can of drained diced tomatoes.  ("Pisto" is a Spanish vegetable stew similar to the French "ratatouille".)

I sauteed all the vegetable in a large frying pan.

It seemed that there were a lot of vegetables in relation to the number of eggs called for in the recipe.  So, I whisked ten eggs instead of six.

When the vegetables were cooked I added them to the bowl of eggs.

The mixture was put back in the frying pan and cooked over medium heat.

 This is where things get tricky.  Traditionally, you are supposed to flip the tortilla onto a plate and then slide it back into the pan to cook the other side.  Back in Ohio, instead of flipping the tortilla, I would put it in the oven under the broiler to cook the top.  (The recipe even mentioned this as an alternative to flipping,)  The problem is that ovens in Mexico (at least the ones that I have seen) do not have a broiler.  So I had to do the flip.  What a disaster.  I had uncooked egg running all over the counter.  Furthermore, even though I had cooked it for four minutes per the recipe, the bottom was almost burnt, and much of it was stuck to the pan.  I was ready to throw it all in the garbage, but I scraped the stuck portion onto the plate.

As my mother would have said, "It looked like slop."

To make it look better, I covered it with slices of Manchego cheese and put it in the microwave just long enough to melt the cheese.

I tried a slice, and it tasted good.  However, I must say that without the cheese it would have been rather bland.  I served it to Alejandro for supper.

I don't think I will be making this recipe again.

The King's Ring

As I mentioned previously, the Christmas season here ends on January 6th, the Day of the Kings or Epiphany.  On this day children receive gifts from the Three Wise Men.  Another tradition of the day is the "Rosca de Reyes", a ring-shaped sweet bread decorated with candied fruit.  In the days leading up to January 6th, the bakeries are well stocked with boxes of "roscas".  On the street you often see people heading home with the boxed "ring of the Kings" which they have just purchased.  Just as nearly every other family in Mexico, we went out to buy our "rosca".  Actually we bought two... one for supper on January 5th and another one for the 6th.

Baked inside the "rosca" is a figure of the Baby Jesus.  Whoever gets the figure in their slice is supposed to prepare tamales on February 2nd, the Feast of Candelaria.  Nowadays it seems that most bakeries put several Babies inside.  To me, that seems to defeat the purpose.  The "ring" that we bought on January 5th, however, was traditional in that it only contained one figure.  Alejandro's father got it in his slice.  However, I don't think that he will be making tamales! 😆

I did not know that the custom originated in Spain, and was brought to Mexico in colonial times.  Alejandro told me that in Spain the pastry is called a "roscón".  Inside the "ring" there is a dry bean.  Whoever gets the bean is supposed to buy the "roscón" the following year.  There is also a figure of a king inside the bread.  Whoever gets that is the King (or Queen) of the evening, and gets to wear a paper crown which is usually included in the box.   

Eating at the Supermarket

Many people think that the cuisines of Spain and Mexico are the same, when in fact that are very different.  Spain's contributions to the culinary world include paella, a rice dish; gazpacho, a cold tomato soup; and tapas, appetizers traditionally served at bars in Spain.  

We have not had luck finding good Spanish food in the neighborhood of the apartment.  There was a take-out place nearby that sold paella and tapas.  I ordered vegetarian paella (I don't care for shellfish) and an order of ham croquettes once to take back to the apartment for our supper.  The price was rather expensive, the portions were small, and the quality of the food was underwhelming.  That place has since gone out of business.  A few weeks ago I found a tapas bar not far from the apartment.  We went there one evening, and ordered a selection of tapas.  We will not be making a return visit.

If we are in the mood for Spanish food, we have found that our best bet is to go to "City Market", an upscale supermarket that is about a half hour walk away from the apartment.  Last weekend we went there a second time to eat.  I thought that I had already written about eating there, but I couldn't find any blog post about it.  So, here is our dining experience at "City Market", and I hope I am not repeating myself.

In the middle of the supermarket there is a counter where you can sit down and order Spanish food.

 "Pintxo" is the Basque word for tapas.  The menu, however, includes a lot more than just the little, appetizer-size snacks that we know as tapas. 

To drink, we ordered "tinto de verano", a traditional summer beverage in Spain.

"Tinto de verano" is very similar to sangría.  It is made with red wine, lemon soda, and chunks of fruit.  Outside of the southern province of Andalucía, Spaniards look upon sangría as something for tourists.  Since I really don't care for the taste of alcohol, I usually prefer sweet drinks.  However, in my experience in Spain, sangría is sometimes TOO sweet, whereas "tinto de verano" has always been very refreshing.  The "tinto de verano" at "City Market" is very good.

Next we ordered gazpacho, the delicious cold soup that comes from Andalucía.

So many places outside of Spain serve a sorry excuse for gazpacho that is bright red and simply tastes like cold tomato soup.  Real "gazpacho andaluz" must have bread ground in to give it a thick consistency.  This tasted just like what I would have in Spain.  The only thing missing were little bowls of chopped onions, bell pepper, cucumber and tomato to spoon in as a garnish.  They served it with slices of cucumber.

As a main course we both ordered a casserole made with eggs and "serrano" ham.  It was served in little cast iron skillets.  It was very good.  Although the serving looked small, by the time we were finished, we were very full.

It was an excellent meal that brought back memories of Spain.

  

Hello, June

It's time to turn the page on the calendar.  My calendar is one that I had custom-made.  It features photos that I have taken on my travels of parks and gardens from around the world.  June's picture is a photo of the Jardín del Príncipe (Prince's Garden) in Aranjuez, Spain.  

Aranjuez is a city located about thirty minutes to the south of Madrid.  On one of my trips to Spain I took a day's excursion there.  Aranjuez is the site of a royal palace that was built in the 16th century and extensively redesigned in the 18th century.  There are numerous gardens which are open to the public, but which originally were for the exclusive enjoyment of royalty.  The Prince's Garden is one of those.  It was begun in 1789 when Charles IV was still the crown prince.  

Classical music lovers might be familiar with the "Concierto de Aranjuez", a guitar concerto by Joaquín Rodrigo.  It is probably the best-known classical guitar piece ever written.  The composition was inspired by the gardens of Aranjuez.  The exquisitely beautiful second movement is one of my favorite works of Spanish music.  You can enjoy a performance of it HERE.

A Photographic Journey to Cataluña

When I was walking down Mexico City's Paseo de la Reforma, there was a photographic exhibition sponsored by the government of Cataluña, Spain's region along the Mediterranean next to the border of France.  (Cataluña, whose language is Catalán, has a long history of independence going back to medieval times, and there are those who would still wish to see the region separate Spain.)

Here are a few of the photos...

A view of the ruins of the ancient Greek city of Empúries

This trading port on the Mediterranean coast was founded in 580 B.C.  Its name gave us the English word "emporium".

The town of Besalú

This town is noted for its Roman bridge.  It was a regional capital in the days of Charlemagne.

Home of Salvador Dalí in Port Lligat

The famous painter bought a number of houses along the coast and consolidated them into a mansion filled with his surrealistic art.  His home is now a museum.

Tossa del Mar

A castle was built in the 11th century to fortify this coastal town.  The castle is gone, but the medieval walls and towers still remain.

The distinctive rock formations of Montserrat, a mountain range to the west of Barcelona.

Barcelona, the capital and largest city of Cataluña

You can make out, just above the center of the photo, the famous Church of the Holy Family, designed by the architect Antoní Gaudí.  It was begun in 1882 and is still under construction.

The delta of the Ebro River

The mouth of Spain's largest river includes a wildlife sanctuary where flock of flamingos nest.

The snow-covered peaks of the Pyrenees

The Pyrenees form the border between Spain and France.

I have been to Barcelona four times, but this photo exhibit makes me want to return and see more of Cataluña beyond its capital city.

  

It's March

Today is the first of March, and I am writing this at Houston airport while I wait for my flight home to Cleveland. 

As you may recall, each year I create a calendar which features photographs that I have taken on my travels.  The theme for 2022's calendar is "Parks and Gardens".

Here is the photo for March, a picture that I took some years ago on a trip to Spain.  The "Parque del Buen Retiro" is one of the largest parks in Madrid.  It was originally a royal retreat, but became a public park in the late 19th century.

I have spent seven weeks in Mexico, and hopefully I have missed most of Ohio's winter.  The temperature when I land in Cleveland at 6:00 P.M. is forecast to be a relatively mild 43 F, and by Sunday the high temperature is supposed to go up 66 F.  But I know very well that winter is not over, and the chances are very good that I will see snow, even after spring officially arrives.  However, each day above freezing is another day closer to spring weather.

Another Holiday Tradition

This poster advertising a theatrical production is a reminder of another tradition that is a part of Day of the Dead in both Spain and Mexico.

Because its final scene takes place in a cemetery, the 19th century drama, "Don Juan Tenorio" by the Spanish writer José Zorrilla, has become a staple of this season.

The story of the legendary libertine Don Juan was first dramatized in the 1600s by the  dramatist Tirso de Molina.  In that version, Don Juan deflowers the young noblewoman Doña Ana.  When her father, Don Gonzalo, comes to her aid, Don Juan draws his sword and kills  him.  Later, Don Juan visits the cemetery where the father is buried.  There, the statue of Gonzalo grabs Don Juan and hurls him down to hell. 

However, in Zorrilla's romanticized version, Don Juan at last finds true love with Doña Inés.  When Juan begs her father (also named Gonzalo) to allow them to marry, he refuses.  Juan then shoots Gonzalo and flees the country.  Doña Inés later dies of a broken heart.  Years later, Don Juan returns to the cemetery where Gonzalo and Inés are buried.  The statue of Gonzalo grabs Juan by the arm to drag him to hell.   But Juan looks to heaven for mercy.  Doña Inés appears, redeems him, and the two of them go to heaven together.

The original version is considered a far superior work of literature, but Zorrilla's sappy ending pulls on the heartstrings of the audience.  Women see themselves as the redeeming Doña Inés, and men identify with the womanizing Don Juan who in spite of his sins achieves salvation.  

And so, more than 170 years after its premiere, "Don Juan Tenorio" continues to be performed.

More from the Baroque Era

After visiting the special exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Art, I proceeded to a gallery with which I am very familiar.  It contains paintings by Baroque artists from Flanders and France... as well as a number of works by Spanish masters from the 1600s.  Back when I was teaching I used to do a unit on Spanish art in my advanced class, and we would go to the art museum on a field trip.  This gallery is where we would begin.

I was surprised to see a Spanish painting that I had never seen before, and I had never heard of the artist either.  I had to do a bit of research on him.  Juan van der Hamen y León was the son of a Flemish courtier in Madrid and a Spanish noblewomen.  He is best known for his still lifes.  This painting is called "Still Life with Sweets" and was done in 1622.  The sweets in the picture are "turrones", a typical Spanish treat made with nuts and honey.

 

José de Ribera did this painting of St. Jerome around 1640.  He spent most of his career in Naples which at that time was ruled by the Spanish.  The Italians often called him "Lo Spagnoletto"... the Little Spaniard.

Bartolomé Murilllo, a native of Seville, is best known for his paintings of the Virgin.  "The Immaculate Conception" was painted around 1680.

 This enormous canvas by Murillo portrays the Old Testament story of Laban searching for his stolen household gods.

Francisco de Zurbarán is sometimes called the Spanish Caravaggio because of his use of dramatic lighting.  This painting, entitled "Christ and the Virgin in the House of Nazareth", was done in 1640.  Mary watches sadly while the young Jesus pricks himself while weaving a crown of thorns... a premonition of his crucifixion.

Some would argue that the greatest of the painters of Spain's Golden Age was Diego Veláquez.  He served as the court painter to King Felipe IV.  In addition to portraits of the royal family, he also painted the mentally and physically handicapped who were kept for the court's amusement.  Velázquez portrayed them as human beings rather than oddities.  This is his painting of "The Jester Calabazas" done in 1681.  The jester holds a pinwheel in one hand and a miniature portrait of a lady in the other.

The museum also has two works by El Greco, the painter who was born in Greece but who spent most of his life painting his mystical, other-worldly paintings in Toledo, Spain.  For some reason they were not hanging here where they usually are.  I looked at the museum's website and saw that in 2019 they were traveling in a special exhibition in Paris and Chicago.  Perhaps they are being given a cleaning before they are returned to their usual spots.  Here are pictures of them which I took from the museum's on-line collection... "The Holy Family" and "The Crucifixion".

A recent acquisition of the museum is this mid-seventeenth century, wooden statue from Spain which portrays St. Peter of Alcántara.

It was done by a team of craftsmen under the direction of one of Spain's leading sculptors of the era, Pedro de la Mena.  The painted painted carving is extremely realistic, right down to the texture of the saint's cloak and the wrinkles on his face.  The eyes are made of glass imported from Venice.

Moving on from the Spanish art, here is a painting by the Flemish artist, Anthony van Dyck.  "Portrait of a Woman and Child" was done around 1625.  Van Dyck did most of his work in Genoa, Italy, and in England where he specialized in full length portraits of his wealthy clients.  His works created a sensation because he not only painted with skill the elegant clothing of his sitters, but also captured their warmth, vitality and personality.

One of the most famous painters of the Baroque era was the Flemish master, Peter Paul Rubens.  His paintings of curvaceous women gave us the word "rubenesque"  for a pleasingly plumb lady.  This painting, "Diana and her Nymphs Leaving for the Hunt" was done in 1615.  As was the case with many successful artists, Rubens did the important parts of the picture himself, and left the minor details to the assistants in his workshop.  The nymph to the right is a portrait of his first wife, Isabella.

Next to it is another painting by Rubens, one of his portraits of his wife, Isabella Brandt.

Rubens portrays a woman with a vivacious personality, perhaps a mischievous sense of humor.  She looks like someone you would like to meet.  Sadly, a few years after this was painted, Isabella died at the age of 34 from the plague. 

Claude Lorrain, from France was one of the first painters outside of the Netherlands, to specialize in landscapes.  However since paintings of Biblical or mythological scenes fetched a higher price, he often added some small figures to his paintings.

This work, "Rest on the Flight to Egypt" from the early 1640s, is mainly a beautiful, idealized landscape.

  

But at the bottom he places the Holy Family, attended by angels, resting on their way to Egypt.

Nicolas Poussin is considered the most important French painter of the Baroque era.  He did most of his work in Rome, but he briefly served as the court painter for Louis XIII.

His 1648 painting, "The Holy Family on the Steps" is done with clear colors, precise forms and a geometric organization.

In my next report from the Cleveland Museum of Art we shall go to France during the reign of the "Sun King" Louis XIV.

Wintry Europe

 After two heavy snowstorms in December, here in Ohio, January so far has been dry and snowless, in spite of all the clouds.  

It's a different story in Europe however.  You may have read about the freak blizzard in Spain which dumped 20 inches in Madrid, a place that rarely sees much snow.  

This weekend I talked with my Swiss cousin Brigitta who lives near Zurich.  You associate Switzerland with snow and skiing, and that is true up in the Alps.  But I did a bit of research on the climate in Zurich, and their average high temperature in January (37F) is higher than here in Cleveland.  They get less than one half the amount of snow that we get on the west side of Cleveland (and much, much less than in the "snow belt" on the east side of my city).  However, Brigitta told me that they have had a stretch of colder than normal weather, that there is a bit of snow, and that there are a couple inches of ice in the pond in her garden.  

I also talked with another one of my Swiss cousins, Hans Peter, who lives in Bergen, Norway.  Now you would really expect extreme winter weather that far north.  But in spite of the fact that it is nearly as far north as Fairbanks, Alaska, its location along the Atlantic coast moderates the temperature.  The average high temperature in January is 39F.   Hans Peter told me that February is usually their snowiest month, but they started the year with a fairly heavy snowfall.  All of this discussion is simply an excuse to show you this picture which Hans Peter sent me of his daughter Angelina enjoying the snow in Norway.

Hanging on the Wall

I have shown you a number of the paintings that I have done, especially my annual Christmas cards.  Here are a couple of much larger, more ambitious paintings that are hanging in my home.

I painted this view of Toledo, Spain, in 2008.  It measures 30 inches by 24 inches, and is hanging in living room.  It is based on a photo which I took on a trip to Spain a short time before.  I had climbed to the top of a church bell tower, and it provided an excellent view of the Cathedral  of Toledo with its soaring Gothic spire.  This is probably the most complex painting I have ever done.  I remember that each day I would set a goal of completing just a few square inches.

This landscape was done in 2010 and is even a bit larger.  It hangs in my computer room.  It is a painting of Misol Ha, a beautiful waterfall located in the tropical rainforest of the Mexican state of Chiapas, about twelve miles from the Mayan ruins of Palenque.  The cascade is about 185 feet high.  (You can see that I painted in the small figure of a human next to the falls to give some perspective of its height.)  It is possible to walk behind the waterfall and enter a cave.

I used to do much more painting than I do now.  I was a member of the Berea Fine Arts Club and participated in their art shows, and I sold a number of my paintings.  Then as traveling took up more of my time... up to five month of the year... painting took a back seat.  Now my yearly Christmas card is about all I do.

The Book Was Better

Quite a few years ago, I received as a Christmas present an English language translation of the novel "Cathedral of the Sea" by contemporary Spanish author Ildefonso Falcones.  It was just the kind of book I like... a big, fat, meticulously researched, historical novel.  It takes place in the 14th century, when Barcelona was at its height as a commercial and military power in the medieval Mediterranean.  The story begins with a downtrodden serf who, carrying his infant son in his arms, escapes the brutal, feudal lord and seeks freedom in Barcelona.  After  the father's death, the young boy eventually works as a porter hauling stones for the construction of the Church of Santa María del Mar.  His entire life will be inextricably connected with that church.  Critics compared Falcones and his novel to the British author Ken Follett whose best-seller "Pillars of the Earth" dealt with the building of a medieval English cathedral.

I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, and the next time that I visited Barcelona, I made it a point to visit the Church of Santa María del Mar.  

It was built in the space of only 54 years, an unusual accomplishment in that era, and it displays a unity of style that is unique for medieval buildings.  It is considered the purest example of Gothic architecture in that region of Spain.  It is also unusual in that it was built with the contributions of the common people, rather than the nobility.

I was quite excited when I learned that Netflix was streaming a TV adaptation of the novel.  The miniseries was originally broadcast by "Antena 3", one of Spain's major broadcasting networks in 2918,

(image taken from the web)

The first episode was promising enough, but after watching the second and third episodes, I gave up on the series.  I thought the acting was mediocre and the script was even worse.  It felt like a low-quality soap opera trying to be an epic historical drama.  It is definitely one of those frequent cases where the book is much better.

I did not know that Falcones had written a sequel to his novel, entitled "The Heirs of the Earth".   Apparently there are plans to adapt that novel as a second season of the miniseries.  I think I will simply seek out the book rather than wait for Netflix to release the adaptation.

From My Kitchen

I was looking through my recipes one day, and I found one that I thought that I had lost.  Some years ago I had printed off a recipe that I had found on the internet...  one of my favorite Spanish tapas, "ensalada rusa"... Spain's version of potato salad.

"Ensalada rusa" translates as "Russian salad".  I never knew where the name came from, so I did a bit of research.  In the late 1800s a French chef opened a luxurious restaurant in Moscow.  Drawing upon earlier recipes which were called "Russian salad", he created an elegant dish which added caviar, venison or partridge, veal tongue and crabmeat to the potato salad.  It became a favorite with the Russian upper class.  After the Russian Revolution, aristocrats took the recipe with them into exile throughout Europe.  In Spain the dish evolved into a salad made with inexpensive ingredients and it is served today as a "tapa" in bars throughout the country.

This recipe tastes just like the "ensalada rusa" that I have eaten in Spain.

1. Boil two pounds of Idaho potatoes in salted water until fully cooked.  Cool to room temperature and skin.

2.  Blanch 1/2 cup of diced carrots, 1/2 cup of frozen peas, 3/4 cup of diced red bell pepper until tender crisp.  Drain and refrigerate.

3. Drain one pound of canned tuna.  Place on a clean towel and wring out the excess water.

4. In a large bowel mash the potatoes with a fork until large pieces are gone.  Add the tuna, the vegetables, 1/4 cup of shredded hard boiled egg, 1 1/2 cups of mayonnaise, and 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper, and mix thoroughly.  Salt to taste.  Refrigerate.

By the way, they have "ensalada rusa" in Mexico but they make it without the tuna.