Posted by susanvida

Puchero con Paquita

Marty and I find ourselves most fortunate as we have met some wonderful people in Valencia who share their homes and family with us. Saturday was just such a day.  Pepe had invited us to spend the afternoon in the home of his mother in Pedreguer.  Pedreguer is a small town about an hour south of Valencia.  We had a very pleasant drive through the countryside as we made our way with Sara at the wheel.  When we arrived, Paquita,  Pepe’s mom, was busy putting the final touches on the puchero.  (More about that later).  Pepe’s sister, brother, son Jaime,  and nieces soon arrived.  The teenage cousins teasing each other brought back memories of many occasions shared in my own mom’s home as my 3 brothers, cousins and I were growing up.  We sat around visiting for a while sharing a glass of champagne in honor of Pepe’s birthday.  Conversation around the table was loud and animated, and to make matters even more confusing, in both castellano and valenciano.  We ate far too much puchero but it was impossible to resist. We finished our meal with  ice cream birthday cake with candle, turrón and chocolates.  And in the style of Thanksgiving Day,  we retired to the sofas with many of us taking a little nap.

The Kaplans with Pepe's family

Sara with the family

So what is puchero.  It is a dish very traditional to Valencia and particularly popular in the winter as it is very hearty.  Paquita’s puchero is absolutely fabulous and you can taste the care and pride that goes into the preparation.    It is a slow simmered dish that contained the following:  ham, veal, lamb, chicken, large chunks of bacon, very large meatballs studded with pine nuts and wrapped in cabbage leaves,  chickpeas, pencas (thistle  looking like large celery but not of the celery family), cabbage, potato and boniato (a type of light sweet potato).  When all is cooked,  the broth is then separated and rice is added to make the first course.  Paquita added lemon zest to each bowl to give it just a little something extra.  Lemons were also placed on the table for those who wanted more.  Once we had devoured the soup,  the meat and vegetables were placed on the table.  I was so busy eating I forgot to take a picture until Marty reminded me.  But by then we had pretty much taken care of the meat platter.  The boniato was saved for last to be eaten with red wine.  It was wonderful.

 

Paquita adding handsfull of rice

Paquita serving the soup

Soup with rice and zest of lemon

 

Vegetables from the puchero

 

The meatball with potato and some bacon

 

The patio

Early evening we headed back to Valencia.  It was a lovely night and a full moon crowned the lights of small towns we passed along the way.

Happy Holidays

I always find that period between Thanksgiving and New Years one filled with angst.    Too much shopping, too many unhappy-looking people buying things they can’t afford, and just too much tension.  There are often high expectations all too often resulting in considerable disappointments.  The exception to that being the few days I spend with my family in Nevada City at the home of my sister-in-law, Mary.  That is the calm in the midst of the madness.

The Family at Christmas

An uninvited guest

Nevada City

Nevada City in the Spring

So,  finding myself in Valencia Spain this year and quite far from family,  I wasn’t sure what kind of holiday season I was going to experience.  To my great delight,  it has been wonderful.

It started with Thanksgiving , shared with friends at our apartment.   It was relaxed and easy going.  Somehow the preparations seemed less complex this year.  Maybe the fact that Brian made two fabulous pies had something to do with it.

Chanukah was celebrated with Zahava and Claus with the traditional  lighting of candles and not-so-traditional “latkes del siglo 21”.

Christmas Eve was spent with Brian, Ofelia, Olivia and Olivia’s mother.  It was a warm and comfortable evening as we sat by the loveliest of Christmas Trees, one with ornaments reflecting the many counties in which they have lived, childhood and family.   As usual the meal was wonderful.  Conversation was filled with laughter and sharing.  Marty entertained us all with a bit of magic.  It was a perfect evening.

Marty with his new friend Dickie the Duck

Marty and Ofelia

Instead of our usual,  “what are we going to do on New Years Eve” dilemma and then choosing to stay home and a try to say awake to watch the ball drop in Time Square on TV,  we are going to one of our favorite restaurants, La Fórcola.  The special menu looksgreat and it is one block from the house.  Perfect!  No drama.

You might notice that there is no mention of shopping or shopping malls.  This has been a mall-free holiday for us.  How fabulous!  Instead it has been a season of enjoying the company of friends  over glasses of wine and good food, as it should be.   I do miss my friends and family  back home, but I am happy to discover how delightful it is to be here.

A Happy New Year to  you all.  May your year be filled with health, happiness, friendship and plenty of laughter.

 

 

Mercatbar

Having sufficiently recovered from a head cold, I decided to start my day with a bit of exercise.  Thanks to Dynamic Strength Training, of Eagle Rock, California, we have equipped ourselves with a very effective home gym and know how to use it.  It is highly effective and takes very little storage room.

Home Gym

With that done Marty and I decided a good walk was in order.  But like most long walks, this one ended at an absolutely delightful restaurant.  Pepe had recommended Mercatbar, and it was indeed a fabulous recommendation.  It is a very informal restaurant decorated with a “market-like” theme.  We opted to order a number of tapas so we could taste a variety of dishes. On one level, the dishes were traditional.  However, the presentation and the preparation were anything but traditional.  Each was a delicious small work of art.  We started with a small loaf of crusty bread served with a small bowl of grated tomato.   My favorite was the fried eggplant with honey that was the perfect blend of sweet, crispy and salty stacked “log-cabin” style.  The croquet dish was a sampling of 4 different fillings – my favorite being the blue cheese with walnut.  The pulpitos were served on a mound of wonderfully flavored potatoes.  The boquerones were simple and succulent.  The papas brava were sitting in the most flavorful sauce with just the right amount of heat.  Of course, I couldn’t resist the “espuma de naranja.  Good thing we had a good walk home to work off a bit of what we had consumed.

Pan con Tomate

Croquetas

Boquerones

Beregena con Miel

Pulpito

Patatas Bravas

Espuma de Naranja

A Creative Way to Present the Bill

While Santa is not such a big deal in Spain,  Los Reyes Magos are.  As we passed a shop on the way to the restaurant,  we spotted them making their approach to the window via a rope ladder.

Los Reyes Magos

So, Just how did we get here?

So I ask you, “  How do an ordinary  LA couple like Susan and Martin Kaplan end up at a “Cata de chocolate” at La Cuchara Mágica in Valencia, Spain?”  I guess that’s a long story that shows you never know just what will happen next.  In 1965, Marty and I got married in Salem, Massachusetts.  He was a graduate student at the University of Maryland and I took a job teaching Spanish at Hine Junior High School in Washington, DC.  As the completion of his studies neared, Marty received 2 job offers, one from Mount Holyoke College and one from Boston University.  While Mount Holyoke was the more prestigious school, we had both graduated from Boston University and both our families lived nearby.  Marty accepted the offer from Boston University.  To our dismay several weeks later the offer was withdrawn and the job search began anew.   We ended up in what I can only call “the armpit of the universe”, Buffalo, New York.

A typical Buffalo Winter Day

Marty accepted a position at the State College of New York at Buffalo and I began my graduate studies at the University of Buffalo.  After the birth of our daughter, Rachel, and a stay-at-home year, I was itching to get back to work, if only part time.  I accepted a job at Buffalo Seminary for girls.  (Yes, this all really does lead us to where we are today.)  At the end of 6 years with far too much snow and no tenure at the State College in sight, Marty was again looking for a position.  On the bulletin board at the Buffalo Seminary there was a listing of openings at private school.  We saw an opening at Foxcroft School for Girls in Virginia and Marty applied.  To our delight, 2 months later, we packed our bags and moved to 800 acres of Virginia heaven.

Foxcroft School

To be honest, almost anywhere would have been heaven after Buffalo.  However, Foxcroft in Middleburg, Virginia is really quite wonderful.  http://www.foxcroft.org/ Several years later Biff Smith, the new head of the English department arrived.  As it turned out Biff is an amazing pianist and magician.  Biff invited Marty to learn some magic. Marty, of course, was interested. I suspect you can see where this is going.

Ten years after our arrival at Foxcroft, we decided to move to California.  I came out first to do some job interviewing and look for a place to live.  One requirement, suggested in humor, was that we needed to live near a magic shop.  Well,  “Would You Believe” a costume and magic shop turned out to be a 10-minute walk from  our South Pasadena apartment.  Marty soon became a regular and met the local magicians.  Through them he was scheduled to audition for The Magic Castle membership.   magiccastle.com   Needless to say, the audition went well.  There he met a magician, Neil Lester, who produced magic cards.  Neil received an order from none other than our friend Pepe Monfort of Valencia.  Neil put Pepe in touch with Marty.  Thus a long friendship began.  Trips to Valencia became frequent and more extended. We eventually decided to apply for residency.   Marty is now an active participant in the magic scene of Valencia. This has given us the opportunity to enjoy several of the wonderful events at La Cuchara Mágica such as the Cata de Chocolate.

So I have two messages.  Thank you, Boston University for setting us on a different path.  And, enjoy each new event in your life.   You have no idea what unexpected experiences they may lead you to.

Waking Up Is Hard to Do

After a 2:00 AM bedtime, getting up for a Friday morning hair appointment was a bit of a challenge. Thursday evening we had a lovely dinner at the home of Brian and Ofelia and then made our way  to Café Mercedes to listen to some jazz.  www.cafemercedes.es .  The Jazzin Singers,featuring Teresa Luján, was excellent so we decided to stay for the 2nd set that started at midnight.  Are we nuts or what?

Teresa Luján

Ofelia, Susan, Brian and Marty

After a quick coffee, I took a 40-minute walk to Espai Imatge to get rid of my very noticeable gray roots.  I just love Jorge, and the Salon.  It is so totally relaxing.  When it is shampoo time you sink into a white chair that gently massage your back as your hair is being washed.  It is quite, soft music is playing and nobody is in a rush.  Not only did I leave the salon 2 hours later with not a hint of gray, I was revived.  I then took another 40-minute walk home to meet Marty for a lunch.

Espai Imatge

Jorge

As it was nearly 3:00 by time I got home, we decided to just go across the street for a quick lunch at la Forcola.  When we got there, we got the last available table.  As we ate, a number of people arrived only to be turned away.  As always, the food was good and the staff attentive and good-natured.  After appetizers of a faro salad and a melted cheese with chorizo dish, I opted for simple pasta and Marty choose fish garnished with mussels and small shrimp.  We both had tiramisu for dessert.   With the hope that I’d go back to our place and take a nap, I had a cupito of limoncello.  Marty ordered a Sambuca, which came with an interesting coffee bean dispenser.  Who knew such things existed?

Queso Fundido con Chorizo

Coffee Bean Dispenser

Well, as usual, I didn’t managed to nap but did rest and read.  I finished 1Q84.  Enjoyed it, still not sure what it was really about.  Would love to hear what other people think.

At 10:30 PM we headed off to the Cuchara Magica for a Cata de Chocolate (Chocolate Tasting). Ruben da Silva Garcia, an award-winning bonbonero, spoke to us about the making of chocolate and demonstrated how to temper chocolate.  While listening to classical music, we then tasted a chocolate with passion fruit that was paired with a sweet wine.  Next was a chocolate with saffron and a hint of pepper paired with a dry white wine.  This was followed by the best turrón I have ever had paired with champagne.  And if that was enough we then had a mouse with layers of passion fruit, pepper, cherry.  What fun.

There is no such thing as too much chocolate!

Ruben Da Silva Garcia - Bonbonero

Passion Fruit, Pepper and Cherry

Bonbones