It's Decembarah...

Goodbye and Keep Cold

A poem by Robert Frost

This saying good-bye on the edge of the dark
And cold to an orchard so young in the bark
Reminds me of all that can happen to harm
An orchard away at the end of the farm
All winter, cut off by a hill from the house.
I don't want it girdled by rabbit and mouse,
I don't want it dreamily nibbled for browse
By deer, and I don't want it budded by grouse.
(If certain it wouldn't be idle to call
I'd summon grouse, rabbit, and deer to the wall
And warn them away with a stick for a gun.)
I don't want it stirred by the heat of the sun.
(We made it secure against being, I hope,
By setting it out on a northerly slope.)
No orchard's the worse for the wintriest storm;
But one thing about it, it mustn't get warm.
"How often already you've had to be told,
Keep cold, young orchard. Good-bye and keep cold.
Dread fifty above more than fifty below."
I have to be gone for a season or so.
My business awhile is with different trees,
Less carefully nourished, less fruitful than these,
And such as is done to their wood with an axe--
Maples and birches and tamaracks.
I wish I could promise to lie in the night
And think of an orchard's arboreal plight
When slowly (and nobody comes with a light)
Its heart sinks lower under the sod.
But something has to be left to God.

Lesson #41: Endorse Hibernation

Valencia: What to Eat, Where ?

When in Valencia, from Monday to Friday you can pay much less for lunch than on the weekends. Everywhere there is a "menu del dia" (daily specials) with prices starting at 8 euros up to 11 euros per person. It may include wine, taxes and dessert. Spaniards go for a decent meal during lunch and some tapas on the evening - just the opposite of the Dutch. Cloggies get satisfied with a simple sandwich and are prepared for the warm meal very early in the evening.

Just two blocks from our hotel we found a bar serving lunch (starter, main course, dessert and a glass of  wine at 8,50 euros). Our starters: gazpacho manchego (above) for me and paella for hubby (bellow). I thought I was going to get a chilled tomato soup, the famous gazpacho andaluz,  but instead I got a broth with chicken (and rabbit maybe?) and pasta - or another sort of dough. Exquisite. A typical autumn dish !  I do not recommend you have a paella for one person though- probably they make a big dish and re-heat it during the day or maybe is even from the night before.

The first evening we opted for tapas at a restaurant downtown called Baldo, in a contemporary decor. Must try: croquetas.  Just like it is made in Brazil: golden outside, soft inside - so different from the brown-almost-black-hard-outside Dutch kroketten.  Another delicacy is calamares a la plancha: squid lightly baked and served with garlic and parsley. The fried anchovies were also great. We spotted a couple of Dutch tourists who were in the airplane with us eating hamburgers with French fries also at Baldo. Oh My !

On the same street of the Mercado Central there were lots of paella pans and clay pots. I think I have enough clays pots but I started to caress some paella pans... My husband is my conscience and started to whisper "C'mon, you have a very good one at home".

How can use use gian paella p in aconventional stove ? Here is the answer (below).

Whoah ! This is what I call a giant paella. Spotted at the harbour area. It was noon and two men were already throwing pieces of frozen meat into the pan in order to make a huuuuge paella for the evening.
Downtown Valencia we had excellent paellas at two traditional, small places: Gres de Sabra (or Gris de Sabre ? just near the souvenir shops and where the bus turistic departs). A wonderful (and a bit too salty) paella with lobsters.  And paella de mariscos - my ever favourite - at Tasca located on Calle Corona 7, parallel to Quart Caballeros street. Just go there for lunch and ask to the owner behind the counter a paella dish for two (around 18 euros per person). At both such small restaurants the paellas were fresh - the cooks started the preparation the moment we had ordered them. Toasted on the borders and bottom, creamy in the middle of the pan, very aromatic...

Mediterranean food is wonderful, but my husband's taste buds ask now and then for something oriental. When we were at lunch time checking the menus and prices on the streets he started to talk to me about this oriental restaurant well recommended on his pocket guide: Feng. During the week, for just 8 euros something you can choose from 80 dishes - including desserts, a sweet liquor and taxes, excluding drinks. Really, you could pick as many cold dishes and salads from the belt as you wanted and also order warm dishes to the waitresses. They were Japanese and could communicate in a broken Spanish - but had a very good will and patience.

Wanna go for a change while in Valencia ? Feng is quite reasonable, calm and has elegant decor: dark wall with delicate Japanese decorative pieces. Calle Conde Altea 19, L'Eixample district. Metro stop: Colon.

Gourmet souvenirs ? I suggest you search for some turrones. A turron is a sweet bar with roasted nuts. It can be hard and crunchy (a chocolate one with almonds, for example) or soft, with or without egg yolk. Downtown Valencia, just near the bus turistic it was 13,50 euros. I refused to buy any. In a shop on the way to Plaza de Toros we  saw a shop with sweets and a turron was 3,50 euros. My husband exclaimed: "It cannot be ! I think she said trece and not tres. Go ask again.". I asked the girl behind the counter and she repeated: "Tres. Tres euros coma cinquenta".  Incredible ! I have bought five different ones, and back at home I gave soft ones to a friend of us and my parents-in-law (I prefer the hard ones cause I am a wild person - my mother-in-law even calls me barbarian, hahaha! But the soft one with walnuts surprised me and maybe became my favourite). In Holland you can find smaller, soft and chewy version of turrones at HEMA - they use rather the French name of it...  nougat.

Thankful

Sometimes I worry about the future. Life can be so unfamiliar. When I start to get scared, I think about my brother, and then I remember, he's the funniest kid I know. He will tell you what he likes, we have normal conversations, he isn't afraid to hug real tight, and he isn't always well behaved. When he was born we all went silent. Those seemed some of our darkest days.I didn't know anything about Downs Syndrome. I was sure people would avoid us, that I would say something wrong, that people would whisper retarded, and that he would be loud, and scary. What if his only emotion was happy go lucky? Joel was just an innocent baby, born with all our fears to bear. Before the age of one he put us at ease. At six he provides comedic relief. You would think that with all his accomplishments, my worries would cease to exist. These days, I think about his future. I selfishly feel glad that Josh knows what to do, that he reminds of us of the possibilities. Joel challenged all my stereotypical ideals. Turns out he isn't one dimensional. He can be a total rebel, his favorite music is the blues, he isn't always agreeable, and don't even think about making fun of him. After all the worry wears off, I think about my little brother, I can't imagine life without him. He is the glue that keeps us together, if he knows it, he'll never let on.

Lesson #40: Challenge all the stereotypes

Valencia, Spain: What to Drink ?

Above: Agua de Valencia. We had it at a really cool bar at the harbour area called La Vida Sin Dormir (VSD). A bit too sweet for both of us and not so alcoholic. Ingredients ? Cava, orange juice, sugar, wodka and gin. Some bars add Cointreau instead of wodka and gin.
For approximately 1 litre/1¾ pints:

- 1 bottle of Cava – Spanish champagne
- Orange Juice – freshly squeezed if possible but a carton works almost as well
- Cointreau
- Ice

Preparation:
Put a good amount of ice (a couple of handfuls) into a large jug or punch bowl. Add the bottle of Cava, plenty of fresh orange and some Cointreau (play it safe with the Cointreau as this can become a very potent drink). Obviously you can experiment with the quantities of each liquid to get it just the way you prefer. Salud !

Above, tiled corridor entrance at Horchateria de Santa Catalina.

Super tired bloggirl having a very cold horxata (orxata) de Valencia, a delightful nut drink. Valencian style horchata has an unmatched exquisite taste. The horchata recipe is simple, you just have to take into account that you have to soak some tiger nuts overnight in order to make an almod milk. Add cynammon and sugar.

When at Ciudad de las Ciencias I spotted this woman selling orxatas. I parked my bike and ordered two. She informed me she made it herself, on a daily basis. She was also selling the nuts, chufas (or xufas in the local Valencian language -  see below). I regret very much now the fact I didn't buy it.

Horchata is a home made drink. When in Valencia (or Barcelona too ?) do not forget to try this exquisite Mediterranean drink.

Valencia: Mercado Central

Lets pay a visit to Valencia most important market, the Mercado Central or in Valenciano simply Mercat Central. Above, the principal entrance. The building dates from 1914 and has a structure in iron and impressive artnouveau details. Address: Baron de Carcer, center. Very near Plaza de la Virgen, there are boards on the streets indicating the way. www.mercadocentalvalencia.es (history, photos, restaurants and recipes). Do not mistake it by another market, situated in another part of the city:  Mercado de Colon - very beautiful but it has rather chic, modern restaurants and cafes than a place for fresh, raw produce.

Truly amazing central section, with an equally amazing dome. The photo cannot give you an idea how truly impressive and beautiful it is. Below: another angle of the market.

Let's start visiting the fish stalls, shall we ? Everything super fresh and clean - but hold your breath anyway.

Above: this is called in Dutch something like "shaving knives". I had seen a lot of such shells when I visited the Dutch islands of Texel and Terschelling. They are not native from (European) Northern Atlantic waters. It seems this sort of shells were first brought to Europe in the beginning of last centry when an American cruise ship which had departed from N.Y. arrived in France. After that, they rapidly spreaded around European waters - and the Mediterranean. The idea that you can eat such thing... bleargh ! I do eat octupus, squid (yum!) though... go figure.

THIS SECTION of the market is avegetarian's worst nightnare. Believe me: it is a fantastic market, far different from anything I have seen in Europe and in other parts of the world - and have seen a lot of food markets around the world.  I am not that shocked anymore. I have spared the readers of this blog from the most shocking photos.  And I am against humiliating food.

Ham !

OF COURSE you can also find herbs and spices in this market.

I was happy to quickly find a stall displaying spices called "La Parada de las Especias". I started a conversation with the vendor, who was a bit uncertain to do it in English - therefore I quickly shifted it into Spanish. He told me the difference of first quality saffron and a second quality one (he sold both) and to always pay attention to the expiry date. I bought a little box with 0,8g of superior quality saffron - enough for preparing three big paellas. He told me how to prepare a basic paella (duh! as if I had never done it before) and how to crush the saffran into powder  (ahn!? I had never done that), using a mortar or placing it inside of a folded paper and rolling a pen in order to crush it.
"Ah, si ? Not dissolving it in hot water ?" I argued.
"No !" - he replied.
"Muy bien. And where does your saffran come from ?" I asked.
"Toledo" - he answered.
"Oh, I am used to saffran from the Middle East, Egypt, Iran..." a silly comment of mine that made his wife turn her face away making a disgusting face as if the air was suddenly stinking. "
This is excellent Spanish superior saffran !" - he crossed his arms seriously and started to nod heavily.
At this point more clients - chic ladies in their 60's with lots of make up - were gathering around me and guaranteeing that it was the best saffron ever and that from other parts of the world were just crap.
"Bueno ! I have the best saffran to make the best paella in Holland ! Muchas gracias señor. Adios y un buen dia a todos!" -  and I exit just in time cause my husband coudn't understand a thing and was getting preocupied with so much talking.

Above: I have also bought this type of rice for paella, called Bomba.
The vendor advised me to add more water than usally needed for other types of rice. I wanna be the paella queen !