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food & wine

recipe: gazpacho

recipe, gazpacho, Spain

After spending so much time cooking during quarantine, I’ve decided to post more recipes. Usually I’m on the road so I post about those experiences but this year has been, well, different. And every attempt to reproduce Spanish & Portuguese recipes gives me that much more insight into Iberian culture. Note: Every recipe I post works. I often try a few times to get flavors exactly how I like them. So consider these posts as a base to start exploring Iberian cooking… then you do you.

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recipe: bacalhau à bras

Portugal, recipe, receita, bacalhau à bras, cod, bacalao

Classic recipes from any country have at least two things in common: an intensely debated origin & of course, several variations… everyone’s grandmother obviously makes the best! Since my grandmother was not Portuguese, I draw on 20 years of travel to & eating in Portugal to make their classic comfort food at home. I promise this won’t turn into a food blog, but I love to eat & cook so I wanted to share some of the dishes we regularly make.

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recipe: sopa hervia

recipe, receta, sopa hervida, sopa hervía

My first recipe! Don’t worry, there’s no danger of this becoming a food blog. Although I love to cook & eat, I can’t seem to focus on one particular topic… or even a single country 😉 Sopa hervida (pronounced in andalú without the “d”) translates literally as “boiled soup”, but in reality it is more like what we would call a stuffing in the USA. Spain has invented a number of ways to use leftover bread, & these “soups” are some of the most traditional recipes in every family.

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usa: cedar rapids

USA, Iowa, Cedar Rapids, houses

Pretty much everything about this year has been unexpected, including major health problems for both my aunt & uncle… at the same time. We’re a family of three people only, so I went in February to Cedar Rapids to help however I could. Almost 25 years had passed since I’d last visited! Normally I would have looked forward to the trip, but I was in crisis mode with very few days available. Plus a wind chill of -25°F prevented me from exploring more. About the only memories that come to mind are yummy smells from the Quaker Oats factory plus a couple of beautiful, cold weather sunsets.

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portugal: how to eat bone-in fish

Portugal, sardinhas assadas, grelhadas, before, after, antes, depois

For years I joked about making a video on how to eat grilled fish with the bone in… now that I’m guiding groups for Rick Steves in Portugal, I’ve been convinced to do one. This example demonstrates sardinhas assadas or grelhadas which are a Portuguese staple, in season from the end of May to the end of October. Make no mistake; these are fresh, not canned. And because their season coincides with summer as well as Lisboa’s biggest party —the feast day of Santo António— just the smell of these yummy fish on the grill conjures up all kinds of great memories.

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