Loquats are not quite ripe.The fruits on the loquat tree have turned from green to yellow. They’re not quite ripe, though. They need to be as orange as an apricot to be really sweet. Besides the color of their skins, I’ll know they’re ripe because the birds will beat me to them! Loquats (Eriobotry japonica) are called nísperos in Spanish. The egg-shaped fruit ripens in the spring, much ..read more

 What’s the occasion? I received a gorgeous gift this week—a 3 ½-pound chuletón, rib steak, of Retinto beef. No occasion, except to celebrate fine food.Thick-cut, bone-in rib steak of Retinto beef. Cause for celebration.Retinto cattle are an autochthonous breed native to southwestern Spain, ranging from Extremadura in the north to the beaches of Cádiz in the south. Literally the beach. The ..read more

 Hot almond soup, quick to make with almond milk.Last summer when I was sweltering I got the cool idea to make ajo blanco—white gazpacho with garlic and almonds—using store-bought almond milk. Never mind shelling a pile of almonds. The mood passed and I never tried it. Today I see that the expiry date on that carton of almond milk is a week away. I certainly don’t want it to go ..read more

Mushrooms are almost 3 inches across!Having already enjoyed my annual Holy Week bacalao day, I am finishing the week with vegetarian meals. Today’s was inspired by a lucky find at the market—huge mushrooms. I couldn’t bear to slice them up. These beauties were meant for stuffing.   The stuffing is chopped spinach mixed with beaten egg that bakes with a cheesy topping. Baking the ..read more

 Hello, springtime! Welcome to spring flowers and rain showers, to orange blossoms and artichokes. Oh, hello Holy Week too. Let’s bring them all together in a bowl—salt cod for a Lenten meal and spring’s fresh vegetables, artichokes, fava beans, and green onions. This recipe combines salt cod and spring vegetables with fideos, a kind of pasta. The dish comes from Albacete and Murcia ..read more

 The sprightly blue flowers of rosemary blooming by the steps give off a faint resinous scent. A few bees lazily graze the bush. I reach out and pluck a sprig of the rosemary wherever I find it. I put it to my nose and may pocket it to sniff again later. The blooming rosemary reminds me of the old saying in Spanish: Quien va al monte y no coge romero, no tiene amor verdadero. Who goes ..read more

 From espetones to pinchitos, kebabs to brochettes, satay to kefta, foods cooked on skewers are favorite fare right around the world. They may have been invented for easy cooking over a wood fire, but brochettes are especially adaptable to pan-grilling in the kitchen. This makes them perfect for winter when the gas barbecue on the patio has been stored for the season.Marinated swordfish ..read more

 Salt-cured sardines, three for one Euro in today's market.One million eight hundred thousand (1,800,000) kippered sardines were purchased in a single day, February 8, 1434, the beginning of Lent, in the city of Barcelona, according to tax records*. These were salt-cured sardines shipped overland from Galicia. Over the centuries the Catholic Church, with its many days of abstinence when ..read more

 “It’s all about the light,” Joanna said. “Watch, when I move the whiteboard, how the shadows on the meatballs change,” She shifted the board so the reflected light brightened the dark side of the meatballs.  “Can you see it?” When I started blogging about Spanish food (November 2009) I took snapshots of the food I was writing about to illustrate the posts. Photographer friends ..read more

The Spanish have a name for it, la comida de cuchara, “spoon food,” that genre of comfort food that’s soupy, stewy, saucy, slow-cooked deliciousness. It’s heart-warming food that also warms up the kitchen. These include potajes and cocidos, pots of legumes plus veggies plus meat, but also estofados and guisos, two words for stews, these usually without legumes.While slow-cooked stews are perfect ..read more