The heated political tension that hit the streets of Barcelona these past few days (and now seems ubiquitous) was what finally encouraged me to spend a rare, sunny Friday morning at home alone coming back to myself through the space that is this blog on Sobremesa. And I knew I had to make an effort to recover the mood that Sifnos left me with after our week there this summer, the most relaxing and enjoyable, real vacation time I’ve spent in many years.
Read MoreWhen I started Desayuno con guisantes, my Spanish blog, many years ago, I wrote about the zen of shelling peas and the beauty of simple things. For favas you need twice the patience, as they need to be shelled first, and then blanched and peeled. Some people eat the outer skin to avoid that tedious second shelling, but I assure you it’s well worth the effort.
Read MoreConnecting people, connecting with people and creating solid, enduring memories and relationships is without a doubt the most important possible outcome of the effort of putting food on a table, and people around it.
Read MoreNo matter how long I do this, I am still in awe of the magical effects of sitting down to share a meal: deep bonds are almost immediately established. Mutual understanding and the sharing of a pleasant meal seem to go hand in hand.
Read MoreLast Monday October 1 was Sake Day, which in Japan traditionally marks the beginning of sake production in the country. Due to our mutual admiration and love for Japanese culture and cuisine, my friend Chiara decided it was the best day possible to inaugurate Slow Food Kitchen Barcelona.
Read MoreOur unpredictable human lives don't play out like a neat, well-composed work of fiction. Though we may attempt to read events as good or bad for us, the path will teach us otherwise, as things just don't stop twisting and turning. Awareness and acceptance of the transitional nature of everything around and within us is the only way to make peace with our place in the world.
Read MoreTotally unexpected. After 6 months living in the Bay Area, lately I find myself day-dreaming less about the sunny Mediterranean bustling streets of my Barcelona, but more about the hilly green landscape of the Basque Country.
Read MoreEveryone around here knows gazpacho, the (originally tomato-based) cold soup with has infinite variations. Is it fair to even call them gazpacho, though? I've heard of many sweet versions: melon gazpacho, strawberry gazpacho, peach gazpacho, etc. It's as if the term were being used to describe almost any fruit-based (or watery vegetable: there's also a cucumber gazpacho out there) cold soup.
Read MoreCalçots are a mild, sweet type of onion (though they look a lot like leeks) grown in Valls, the south of Catalunya.
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