when life hands you lemons. make lemon meringue. Part 1.

*Pre posting note: learning spanish has made me lazy with English. So bare with me with the many grammar/spelling errors that fill (and have filled up) my blog. 

This blog begins with a story... At the end of October we had a week off of school. As all my friends from my program were making their exciting plans to travel around Italy, I was at a loss of what to do. Being that I am traveling to Itlay  later (with some amazing people from the CO). I knew that I was going to travel this week long trip SOLO. I've always been curious as how a trip solo would go... so I took the opportunity. I scoured the internet for an inexpensive flight from madrid and was drawn into a town called fuertaventura. After a bit of research I booked a ticket to none other than an island in the canary islands...

These islands are located off the coast of Africa.!!!  The temperate weather, unique location and lure of an adventure waiting to happen I booked a flight. I spent three days amongst the beaches and other northern travelers (this is a hot spot for when northern Europeans want to escape the cold). It seriously was a bunch of Nordic families and me. :) I would read next to a Swedish person, a Norwegian family, some Irish travelers and the English. Sitting by the pool was a cultural experience. 

Real Madrid

GGGGGOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL!
GGGGGGGGOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!

What would a trip to Europe be without going to a fútbol game? One day after class, I ran into some friends who were purchasing tickets to a Real Madrid game. In all honesty: I know little, maybe nothing (at least before this game) about soccer. Regardless, I eagerly joined in on the ticket purchasing festivities.  No matter the depth of knowledge for the game, experiencing a game like the one I went to will turn anyone into a fan. The game we randomly singed up for was against none other than against their rivals... Milan. These two have been competing for years to be the best and most well known teams of Europe. Quite the experience.

My friends, Hannah, Kathleen, and I went to the stadium early to check out the pre-game festivities. The media loves to portray such games as near riot status... but all we found were regular fans simply gun-hoe for their teams. Songs cheering on each team washed down the streets. Italian and spanish words were flying in every direction. Real Madrid scored twice in the first two minuets creating a surreal vibrant atmosphere.    During the game we were constantly standing up, sitting down, shouting, laughing and trying to learn the spanish cheers. Amazing. 

Pre game streaker

Fish in Salsa Verde

DELISH.

Spain Dish #2: Fish in Salsa Verde

I was initially drawn to this dish because there aren't that many ingredients, at least ones hard to find. Wine is ridiculously cheap around here and now I know why. Spaniards love their wine but they also love to cook with it. With wine almost as cheap as bottled water, why not?

The best part of this experience was talking to the fish man at the supermarket. I had no idea what cod was in Spanish, so I just pointed to a white fish and he smiled at me. He looked at my blond hair as if he understood and acted the rest of the fish related questions
out (my fish/supermarket vocabulary isn't quite up to par).I really enjoyed this recipe, although I am not sure why it is called salsa verde?!. If you try it out let me know!

FISH IN SALSA VERDE.

Basic ingredients 3 kg hake or cod 5 tbsp olive oil 1 medium onion 1 leek 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped fresh parsley 4 or 5 potatoes thinly sliced 100 ml water salt flour 150 ml white wine

Steps: 1. Chop the onion and leek. 2. Heat the olive oil in a strong earthenware casserole dish - add the onion and leek and fry on a low heat until they are a golden brown color (about 10 mins). 3. Add the garlic, parsley, sliced potatoes and a couple of pinches of salt - cover with the water and simmer until the potatoes are nearly cooked (this takes about 20 mins depending on thickness of potato slices) 4. After covering the fish pieces in flour add them to the casserole dish 5. Pour the white wine over the fish and cook for about 10 mins over a low heat until the fish is done

http://www.euroresidentes.com/euroresiuk/Recipies/fish-salsa-verde.htm

Besos.