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 I've heard it said that if you want to gain a few pounds, visit Spain. It's true! Spain is a Culinary King and Queen's delight! [Confession: I am not a "foodie" by any measure of the word--in all frankness, I really don't enjoy fine food. I am such a cereal or bowl of popcorn kinda gal. But that's besides the point....] Needless to say, I was indeed on a food mission when I went to Spain this summer. I was positively determined to take a big bite out of all the wonderful dishes I had read about for so long. And I must say that my mission to eat was the ultimate Success! 1) churros con chocolate (kinda like long warm donuts with hot chocolate for dipping): check! 2) paella de Valencia (shellfish and rice dish): check! 3) la tortilla española (Spanish "omelette" with potato): check! 4) jugo de naranja (freshly squeezed orange juice): check! 5) flan (kinda like a cold eggy custard): check! 6) tapas/pinchos (small appetizers): check! 7) jamón ibérico (Iberian ham): check! 8) banana de las Islas Canarias (Canary Island bananas have intense flavor!): check! 9) lots of aceite de oliva (olive, olive, and more olive oil): check! 10) queso manchego (goat cheese from Manchego region): check! 11) almendras (all things almond): check! 12) mariscos y pescados (all kinds of fish and shellfish): check! 13) gazpacho (cold tomato soup): check! My #1 favorite item hands-down? Churros con chocolate. I slipped into the famous MERCADO DE SAN MIGUEL en Madrid to try them. They were amazingly delicious, warm, sweet, and quite filling when you eat the entire serving. Smack. Smack. Coming in at #2 for me: Marzipan from Toledo........do you see my tendency for sugar here? I love almonds and this fresh almond paste certainly delivered a scrumptious punch! And #3:
Piping hot roasted corn on the cob, slathered in olive oil and lightly salted -- available on the beach in Valencia. I also really enjoyed the espresso coffee that was commonly served; although when I was handed my first cup, I looked at the server and kindly said, "Sir, I will take 5 of those, please." Oh, America! Our serving sizes are astronomically super-sized, to be sure. There really are very few heavy weight folks in Spain that I observed despite all of this tasty food; this is quite likely because folks walk so very much as a part of their daily routine. Plus their Mediterranean diet is also so healthy, I've heard! CONCLUSION ON MY FOOD MISSION: 5 Stars! Comments are closed.
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