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It Was a Very Good Year

It is December 31, and I thought I’d take a moment or two to look back on the year 2012- and what a year it was!

We began the year with and intimate dinner at La Fórcola, one of our favorite restaurants.

This was followed a few days later with my birthday celebration, surround by friends and complete with an Arroz con Bogavante at Carosel.

Ofelia and ZahavaArroz con Bogavante

Then it was time to join the celebration of Pepe’s 50th birthday at La Cuchara Mágica.

And if that weren’t enough we ended our month in Pedreguer with Pepe’s family and a traditional puchero.

 

Pepe´s family

February we joined Ofelia at La Matandeta in celebration of her birthday.

We enjoyed the magic and antics of Jandro.

February brought bit sadness at the passing of my father at 94.  While we will miss him, how wonderful that we had so many years to enjoy him and that he was in good mental and physical health until end.

March, of course, was filled with Las Fallas and a wonderful visit by our daughter, Rachel.

 

The Ever Delightful Rachel

A quick trip to the beach to toival the pots and pan and we were set to cook for our kosher daughter.

The Mercado Central provided all the food items she needed. She loved Valencia and will be back for a visit.

April was the wedding of our good friends Ramon and Juan Diego.  We have known Ramon for nearly 20 years and were delighted to be able to attend this very special event.

Marty and Ramon

Virginia Sampere

We also got a chance to catch up with old friends from the Institute International Sampere.  I also did my first restaurant blog on our neighborhood restaurant A Nou.

In May we found ourselves giving serious thought as to where our  home would be.  Maintaining two homes seems silly in that we were spending most of the year in Valencia.  It was decided that in July we would return to Los Angeles and sell our condo, our cars and furniture.    I began the search for a larger apartment and we contacted our realtor in Los Angeles to begin the process of selling our home.  Marty celebrated his birthday among friends at Carosel as we sat on the terrace and had yet another great meal prepared by Jordi.

I interviewed Mike and Santi and wrote about their restaurant Ginger Loft.

Mike

June I did two restaurant interviews and photo shoots for the blog – Carosel and La Comisaria-Tapas y Copas Ilegales.

Jordi Morera of Carosel

 

Eddie of La Comisaria

My friends from Pilates Class introduced me to the Mercado de Jerusalén.

July we moved into our new apartment.  I fell in love with it on first sight.  The kitchen alone would have convinced me I had to live there.

We celebrated the 4th of July  at the home of Linda Casanovas.

Dressed in red, white and blue for the occasion

And,  with our very ample apartment we were able to entertain our friends from Westridge days.  Hillary and her son as well as Juliet spent several days with us.

Juilet

The month ended with Melanie and Andrew, also from Westridge, bringing a student group to Valencia.  We had several opportunities to visit with them and their adorable sons, Tommy and Robbie.  We ended our month with a great Jazz concert at Jimmy Glass.

Melanie and Robbie

August found us in LA, getting rid of things we could leave behind, packing things we couldn’t live without and trying to sell our house.  Sorry, no pictures, too busy packing.  I did continue with the Dynamic Advantage Strength Training and my frequent walks with Mary.  It was also a good time to catch up with friends.  At the end of August Rachel came to visit.

In September, Rachel and I drove back to Boulder together where I would help get a few things organized.

On the way to Boulder

Rachel making sure we had enough gas to make it to Boulder

I then went on to Nevada City to spend some time with my family.  It was a great way to relax before the final push before we returned to Spain.

Brother Bob enjoying a glorious day

 

The last week of September our worldly goods were picked up and shipped, we closed on the sale of our condo, and our furniture and two cars were sold.  We packed our few remaining belongings in our suitcases and checked into the Westin Pasadena for a couple days’ rest before starting our journey home to Valencia.

October we got settled in.  A few days after our arrival we hopped a train to Madrid to catch our friend Jorge Blass in his latest magic show.

We also got a chance to see Ramon and Juan Diego.   Back in Valencia, Nacho treated us to a homemade  Arroz al Horno.

Arroz al Horno

We began the month of November with an excursion to the Bodega Hoyas de Cadena in the Requena-Utiel area with Brian.

Marty and Brian

Klaus and Zahava invited us to join them on an excursion to Benisanó to the Restaurant Levante and a paella cooking class with Rafael Vidal.  What fun!

We celebrated Thanksgiving in our new home with 13 of us gathered around the table.

And so the year is coming to an end.  Klaus and Zahava invited us to their home for latkes and the lighting of the menorah.

I joined the ladies from Pilates for our annual Christmas lunch.

We caught up with Dani Daortiz, another magician and old friend of Marty´s.

Marty did his first school  magic show in Valencia .

Sofia and Marty

 

An enthusiastic audience

Ofelia and Brian shared their family Christmas Eve with us.

Christmas day was spent with Pepe in Pedrguer enjoying yet another wonderful puchero.  This evening we will be heading out with Jordi and his wife Carol to end this year and begin our next.

I look forward to 2013 and wish all my friends and family a new year filled with health, joy and prosperity.

Someone’s in the kitchen with….Jordi of Carosel

 

We met Jordi Morera , Chef Owner of Carosel, in 2009.  He was teaching a cooking class called Arroces de tu abuela  ( your grandmother’s rice dishes) and we thought it would be great fun to attend.   It was and an after-class conversation with Jordi led to an invitation to eat at Seu Xerea where he was executive chef.  The following Monday Marty and I found ourselves seated in front of our first puchero.   Puchero, a very traditional Valencian dish, is a bountiful array of meats and vegetables and the stock they are cooked.  The stock is then served with chickpeas, and noodles and the meat and vegetables are served separately.

It was  wonderful.  We visited with Jordi as he shared his culinary point of view.  He is committed to using fresh, local and organic product.  He even cultivates some of the produce he uses.  His cooking is deeply rooted in traditional Spanish cooking and most particularly Valencian cooking.   However, Jordi does not stop there.  He is  highly innovative, finding ways to present the flavors of traditional dishes with  a new and fanciful flair.

When we returned to Valencia the next year we discovered Jordi was no longer at Seu Xerea.  In March of 2010, he had opened his own restaurant, Carosel,  near the Mercado Central.  Needless to say, we had to give it a try.  It is a modern and open space  with indoor seating for 50 and an ample terrace seating 48.

 

 

 

 

 

It has become one of our favorite places.   It has also become the place we choose to celebrate special occasions because we know we can count on Jordi to create just the right experience for the occasion.

Marty’s Birthday Feast

  

 

 

 

 

 

So, I was really delighted when Jordi said I could spend the day with him.   It was 8:30 in the morning,  the restaurant was dark, the doors  closed and the patio was quiet.

 

 

 

 

 

Jordi arrived and we crossed the street to the Mercado Central where he would do a little of the day’s shopping.  As we walked, Jordi gave me a bit of his history.  He started cooking at 16.  When I asked why he had chosen to be a chef, he thought for a moment and simply said, “ I like to eat.”  He learned to cook by working in restaurants, reading book,  taking cooking courses and ultimately  attending Bella Mar Escuela de Hostelería  (Bella Mar Hotel School) in Marbella.  Over the last 25 years he has cooked in Madrid, Barcelona, Venice, Milan, the Spanish Embassy in Rome and, of course, here in Valencia.

We arrived at the market and he led me to the stand that sells preserved fish.  He explained the ancient way of preserving fish was salting it  or putting it in olive oil.  It was clear from the variety in the case that preserved fish is very popular in Spain.

Jordi  made his vegetable purchases and we proceeded to the fish monger.

Clochinas Valencianas are very much in season and Jordi is featuring them  on his menu board.

With purchases complete we returned to the restaurant and Jordi began the preparations for the days .

 

 

 

 

 

First order of the day was making the bread. Jordi  took out a masa madre (sour dough starter) and went to work.

 

 

 

 

Next on t0 the estofada de rabo de toro(oxtail stew).

Pot number one makes its way to the stove just as the fish delivery arrives for the fish stock Jordi will soon be preparing.

 

 

 

Jordi salts the meat  and returns his attention to the bread, taking a few minutes to feed the  masa madre and shape the bread for the first rising.

 

 

 

 

 

He adds a generous amount of red wine  to the estofada.  Time to knead the bread for the second rising.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preparation of the fish stock for the paella is the next order of the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jordi’s assistant Eva arrives  and prepares the potatoes  and onions for what will become  tortilla de patata y jamón fría y caliente(Hot and cold potato and ham omlette ).  While tasting exactly like a tortilla de patata, it is a dance of textures and temperatures.

 

 

 

On to the preparation of the honey ice cream, but first a quick trip to the nearby honey shop.

The last rising of the bread  is complete and the dough ready for the oven.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Talk about your multi-tasking.

Eva begins to assemble the bote de escalibada, con puré de calabaza  y queso fresco texturizado y salsa de perejil ( jar of cooked vegetables, puré of pumpkin, creamy cheese and parsley sauce).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is nearing 1:30, the doors open and a few early customers are seated in the patio

 

The easy pace of the morning changes to a flurry of activity as the first orders come in and the “tabla de entrants” is assembled.

 

 

 

 

 

The vegetables are grilled and main courses are ready to be served.

By 2:30 I couldn’t resist the urge to call my husband and invite him to join me at Carosel for lunch.  He happily agreed and we again enjoyed an exceptional meal.

 

Carosel
Taula de Canvis 6, Valencia, 46003
In the Carmen, near the Mercado Central

961 132 873

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.

 

 

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