mylifeinspain

end in sight

When the pups and I left for our early morning fitness walk, we found the village streets littered with spent candy and almond cookie wrappers. A la Hansel and Gretel, we could easily trace the route of the pickup truck that carried the Three Kings through the squares last night, ending in the main plaza, where there was a mass scrabble for gifts.

Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy the holidays, but I also am ready to get back to Real Life (and I suspect the parents of the neighbor children are looking forward to school resuming next week!); thus, the arrival of Caspar and Co. brings relief to many of us. 

Almendena has had a full house of family since last night, and I saw her yesterday morning carefully balancing a large box that contained a roscon de reyes, like the one pictured above (courtesy of Wikipedia). 

There has been much media attention surrounding the round fruitcakes the past few days. In case you missed the news bulletin, there apparently is a bit a global economic crisis going on at the moment. And Spain, which heavily relies on tourists and construction to spur their economy, has been hard hit. Sales of this traditional cake fell in many areas, as the price rose to 25 euros, and outraged citizens shouted that the bakeries were being greedy, charging so much for a confection whose ingredients could not have cost more than 2 or 3 euros. 

However, there was no pandemonium outside our favorite panaderia as I passed this morning. Just the belly-warming smell of baking baguettes and Big Jim's favorite, the ciabatta grande, coming from the open door of the tiny shop. A handmade sign announced there were still roscones to be had, at a bargain price of 10 euros!

But after Big Jim's Christmas cake, not to mention the chocolate sponge he made just me, or the tins of cookies, AND plates of shortbread from the English neighbor, the thought of yet another sugary torta---even one deeply discounted---had little allure.

So the dogs and I did not stop, and carried on along the steep path that leads out of the village, thus turning over the last page of this holiday season chapter, one that---because of the death of my grandmother---was at times emotionally very difficult but also contained many joyful surprises. And oh so much cake!

hasta pronto, 

mylifeinspain

what to do...

with all those holiday cards you've been saving for years and years? Same for stacks of used old birthday, thank-you, and get well cards? Send them all to St. Jude's Ranch for Children, where they will be recycled into new cards for the coming season. Complete information about the program can be found here. Card donations will be accepted up to February 28th, 2009, so purge those desk drawers now! (Sets of card can also be purchased from the web site; a set of 10 costs $8.00.)

hasta pronto,
mylifeinspain

4 years ago: No entry.
3 years ago: No entry.
2 years ago: Happy new year/foto Friday
1 year ago: Foto Saturday

the boys/homemade dog biscuits

Yesterday the cold rains drove most of the day, so I spent the morning in the kitchen keeping warm by the stove and oven. Oh, and using them to make various things for the animals. For a myriad of reasons, I started making food for the mascotas, geez, more than seven years ago. One of the easiest recipes I use is this one for dog biscuits, which I adapted slightly from the Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates cookbook (one of my favorites, by the way, when looking for different vegetarian menus for holidays and other special occasions---two big thumbs up). 

While the precious Boo kept me company in the kitchen (and of course being rather optimistic that I might give her a sample of the biscuits), the boys were upstairs in the office keeping warm with the love. Seriously, is this not ridiculous or what?

And, of course, the Beeb man, aka "Jealous Boy", is not going to let some little kitty get all the sugar:

And no, their sweaters don't match. Almost though....

But back to the recipe. Here's what you need:

2/3 cup whole wheat flour

1 2/3 cups unbleached white flour

1/2 cup brewers' yeast

1/2 cup wheat germ

3 T olive oil

2 cloves garlic, pressed

2 T soy sauce

1 cup water

Also, for the topping you'll need an additional 1 T soy sauce and 1 T olive oil.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl first, and then the garlic and wet ingredients in a smaller bowl. Add the wet to the dry ingredients, and mix until combined .

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 3 minutes, and after reflouring the work area, roll the dough until about 3/8-inch thick. Because we are very classy, I use the rim of a shot glass to cut out the biscuits. But you could use any sort of proper cookie cutter. 

Place the cutouts closely together on a prepared baking sheet (either spray with a little oil or use parchment paper). Whisk the extra soy sauce and olive oil together, and then lightly brush onto the biscuit tops. Bake for 20 minutes in a 400F-degree oven (or if you have a primitive setup like ours, on the medium flame). For added crunchiness, leave the biscuits cool in the turned-off oven for another hour or so. Because there is no preservative nonsense in these, be sure to store in an airtight container---we also keep ours in the refrigerator. 

"HA, take that, Cat! I get the love AND the biscuits!"

hasta pronto,

mylifeinspain

P.S. Go Iggles!!! (who'd have thought we'd be saying THAT in the postseason:-)

4 years ago: omaopa

3 years ago: No entry.

2 years ago: No entry.

1 year ago: No entry.

foto saturday

From the foto archives....

hasta pronto,
mylifeinspain

4 years ago: No entry.
3 years ago: Packing.
2 years ago: No entry.
1 year ago: No entry.

beau

So Big Jim and I have been having a two-week-long holiday movie marathon, and the other night we watched "It's A Wonderful Life". Which if you can imagine, I had never seen from start to finish in one go. Afterward, I told Big Jim that my first real memory of Jimmy Stewart was not as an actor, but rather from his poems, which he would read on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. And of all the poems, the one I remembered particularly was this one, about his dog Beau.

Dare I say there were more tears from the two of us after watching this old video than from his turn as George Bailey!

hasta pronto,

mylifeinspain

4 years ago:  No entry.

3 years ago: No entry.

2 years ago: No entry.

1 year ago: New Year Philly style

bienvenido 2009!

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope that everyone chose wisely and did not overindulge last night, thusly awaking enthusiastically ready to embrace a new day, a new year---after a nice, long lie-in, of course. :-)

But before we place 2008 into the annals of "a year that I really don't care to remember", mylifeinspain looks back at, indeed, the many happy days that blessed us during a rather difficult year.

• January kicked off rather festively with the Mummers, visits with good friends in Philadelphia, and a quick trip to New York. I also stopped eating meat, which means today I celebrate my vegetarian birthday. :-) However, I did have one last final AMAZING steak December 31, 2007:

 

• In February, the local schoolchildren celebrated Carnaval.
• March came in like a lion (kidney infection, yuck), and my doctor discovered I had high blood pressure. Six months after restricting my already-meager salt intake and adding a 40-minute morning hike to my daily routine four days a week (not to mention stressing about having hypertension), I bought a home BP monitor and found out my blood pressure is perfectly fine---I just have white coat syndrome. However, I have kept up the walking because I found I have tons more energy after the morning exercise. :-)
• I turned 40 in April and was treated to a fabulous vacation in a country I had always wanted to visit, Italy. You can read about our trip to Venice here, here, here, here, HERE, and here.  

• Our attention in May turned to our roof-top garden, and soaring produce prices forced us to rethink the types of plants we were to grow this year.
• June---SPAIN WON THE EURO CUP!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
• Oh, and there might have been a little trip to Paris (here, here, here, AND, here) 

• July in the village is ALWAYS a party.
• A promising start to August ends on a down note. 
• So in September we tried to laugh it off.
• We traveled to the US in October for my baby brother's wedding. 

 

• November---OBAMA BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
• And then a very sad Thanksgiving. 
• Which resulted in an unplanned trip to the US in December. And although difficult and very sad, my days there also allowed me to spend some extra time with my family. 
• In the end, Big Jim and I relaxed, enjoyed the holidays and our time together.  

Which brings us to January 1 and a new set of 365 days for living, loving, and learning. Feliz ano nuevo!

hasta pronto,

mylifeinspain

4 years ago: No entry.

3 years ago: No entry.

2 years ago: No entry.

1 year ago: 2007 in review.

foto monday

More fotos from Big Jim's trip to Switzerland a couple weeks ago.....

 

Pretty, eh? And very Christmasy looking to boot!

hasta pronto,

mylifeinspain

4 years ago: Culture shock

3 years ago: No entry.

2 years ago: No entry.

1 year ago: No entry.

holiday recap

Big Jim and I have spent several relaxing, very low-key days---it has been glorious! I have been sleeping until forbidden hours and making a sizable dent into the chocolate cake that Big Jim made just for me (as I am not a huge fan of the traditional English Christmas cake). If not for the daily morning hike with the dogs, I would feel a complete and utter slug. :-)

We did venture out Boxing Day to visit with our friend M.A. Although it was two in the afternoon when we arrived, she was still dressed in her bathrobe, but no matter. She had made her always-delicious waffles, which we enjoyed with raspberry jam, and fresh coffee. Before we left, she broke out a particularly nice bottle of the single-malt "medicine", which delayed our departure some but warmed our bellies. :-)

This weekend I did catch up on some e-mail and reading, and last night Big Jim and I surely watched the WORST holiday movie, and possibly a contender for the most-awful movie ever made. We stuck with it to the bitter end, however, just to be able to say we were the true survivors of such suckitude. 

The farmers must be having a bumper crop of avocados this harvest because our Christmas packages from the neighbors all included a large sack of them (and lemons, too!). Not that I am complaining because I am an absolute avocado fiend. The question is what to do with them all while at their peak of ripeness, and as Big Jim does not share my enthusiasm of their goodness, I am left to come up with a new daily avocado recipe for myself until the stash runs out in a couple weeks. Suggestions?

It is back to work for me tomorrow, which is fine. This time of year is always rather laid-back in my publishing world; plus my editor is on vacation until the 5th of January, which means no last-minute deadline-crunching frantic e-mails for at least another week. :-)

Which means there is time for just one more piece of cake and perhaps another nap......

hasta pronto,

mylifeinspain

merry christmas!

Big Jim's Christmas cake---he even made the marzipan from scratch! Now to check out how it tastes.... :-)

Happy Christmas wishes to everyone; may the coming year be filled with much joy and peace. 

xoxo,

mylifeinspain

good grief

It has not been an easy road to Christmas Eve this year. I arrived back from my unexpected trip to the US with two weeks to try to fit in all the card-writing, gift-wrapping, cookie-baking, good cheer-spreading, hall-decking that I normally would take three times as long preparing. Not to mention the reality and grief of my grandmother's death had not had the chance to properly sink in.

So for the past ten days I have tried to go through the motions, managed to mail the cards out by a semi-respectable date, made sure gifts were ordered for my niece and nephew, and went shopping for special foodstuffs for Big Jim and I as we spend the holiday at home with the fur bundles and a huge stack of Christmas DVDs.

But the baking---Big Jim took over that department this year. We have Christmas cake, a chocolate sponge (just for me!), and tins full of sand tarts. And the rest of the gifts for my family, well, I had to force myself to sit in front of the computer Sunday night and at least make sure people had gift cards to open Christmas Day. Thankfully, Big Jim also decorated the house while I was away, so that was one less thing on my very long "to do" list.

My only task today was to put on a pretty skirt and help deliver gifts to our neighbors. And in a few minutes, the spinach dip (no comment, you know who! ;-) goes in the oven, and I must decide which of the holiday DVDs we should watch tonight. That is about all the work and decision-making I can handle this year.

I have read the literature on grieving and the holidays, and much of it is helpful. But in the end, I am most grateful for the time and space and support my husband and friends have given me to work through and process all that has happened in the past six weeks. And for not noticing if the cards arrived a few days later this year.

Now es la hora for a little Rudolph-watching and to sneak a taste of that chocolate cake!!

hasta pronto,
mylifeinspain