Summer and Spain

Hey.

It's been a great summer so far.  I've been enjoying the sunshine while it's here and taking lunches to bike ride and evenings to garden.  That right, the sun is up and my garden is reproducing.  So far I've plucked three squashes, one cucumber, and one zucchini.  There is also a shit load of tomatoes about to turn red, just waiting for those suckers.  And like always, with happiness comes a tear, my pepper plants are dying.  I don't know what to do with them.  I water them, I care for them, and even sometimes sing outside, but they just won't grow up.  Little stubborn punks.


Lately, I've been obsessed with Spain.

Been reading up on it's culture, some of its history, but mostly its cooking.  A good Spanish dish is an amazing and simple creation.  It lives without too much complication or spices unlike it westbound neighbor Portugal.  I've only reached the middle of the country, by the Castiles and the oh-so-well-know La Mancha, home of the Don Quixote.  It's been a pleasant trip, and enjoying it in Arkansas allows me to not endure the noxious weather luring in its homeland.  You see, while we enjoy a nice well-rounded four seasons, Spain sits through a nine month winter and a hell-like three month summer.  The lands of Castile, both north and south, are also surrounded by large mountain ranges and many meagre, almost baron communities, unlike its famous Madrid.  Madrid is the screwball virgin in the whore house.  (Not really sure why I used that analogy; maybe it's the fact that I've been watching a lot of Game of Thones where whore houses are very popular). Anyways, the crossroads of Madrid is a cultural gangbang of culinary pleasures.  A fancy hotdog.  Ok Bob, enough with the comparisons.  For the rest of central Spain, food is not about eccentric plating or something to talk about, it's about keeping the common warm through the harsh winter or cooling him during the summertime. It's about a nascent tomorrow, making dreams for it and pursuing them again and again because you are alive and can do it.  Here's a little taste of that realization with soup.

Sopa de Ajo (Spicy Garlic Soup)
Ingredients:
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 1/2 tbs of chopped garlic
1 1/2 cup of coarsely crumbled bread
1/2 tsp of paprika
3 cups of water
1/2 tsp of salt
1/8 tsp of cayenne
1 egg, beaten (or not)

Instructions:
Get a small sauce pan, add olive oil, and warm it up on the stove on medium low heat.  After a couple of minutes, add garlic and cook until it starts turning a light brown in color.  Next add bread crumbs and mix with wooden spoon.  (You don't have to mix with a wooden spoon, but it does feel more authentic).  Make sure you don't burn the bread, constantly play with it.  Once it looks toasty, add paprika and mix it with the breadcrumbs.  A minute or less later, add the water, cayenne, and salt.  Mix it up and bring soup to a boil.  Once at boil lower temperature and simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes.  When the time goes off, swirl the soup around with your mixing utensil of choice, making sure all the bread is broken up.  Take pot off heat and slowly mix in beaten egg, stirring constantly to ensure it does not curdle.  (An alternative option is to add a full egg to the pot and poaching the egg).  Now pour the soup in a serving bowl and present to hungry people!


Question of the day:
What is your favorite type of firework?