Oranges

So you’re tripping along the street in, say, Murcia – and you’re sort of hungry/thirsty.  Wouldn’t a nice ripe juicy orange go down well about now?  Lucky you; there’s a few hanging right there on the tree at the edge of the sidewalk.

I wonder what the rules are about when/if you can take an orange from a tree on a public street.  And what if there’s an orange just lying on the ground under the tree; or after a big windstorm?

There’s hundreds of these trees (oranges, lemons) all over the place; streets, parks, roundabouts, wherever.

Bus Station

Another week, another bus station, another glass of wine.

Generally I try to travel using the ecologically friendly means of … public transit.  In Spain the bus system is as (or more) used than trains and planes.  Frequent, clean, comfortable – and go a whole lot more places than planes and trains.

This is a modest village café at the local station that serves very good unbranded Rioja and Ribera de Duero as their house wines.  Good stuff and remarkably inexpensive.  Maybe bought off a freelance bottler who’s got access to wine outside of the regular quota system and the big labels.

Mashed Potatoes

This is simple enough – but done very well.  Mashed potatoes; but cooked in a chicken consumé (just barely enough – or a little less), mashed (with the consumé), and served with smoked bacon (big chunks. not slices).

That takes an ordinary dish and turns it into something special.   It was the 1st course at the local café for lunch yesterday.

Working the Pizza Oven

Not so very many years ago I wrangled a pizza oven.

A real,  wood-burning oven from Italy; artisanal pizzas.

Bass

Many years ago, many, many, I used to go bass fishing.

Sometimes I even caught one.

I wonder if I still have that shirt.

New Years Day Lunch

For some reason the first meal of the new year carries some importance – internally.

Although simple, this was a delicious meal.

Clockwise from the asparaguses: scalloped potatoes, homemade mayonnaise,  salt-baked dorada [bream].  Note: Dorado (with and “o” means ‘golden’).

The fish is baked for 45  minutes or so, oven at 175C [350F] on a bed of rock/kosher salt and covered completely with more salt; until the salt starts to brown.  It’s a common enough dish here that all the grocery stores sell big bags of coarse salt in the fish section.

Not As Impressive As What Vancouver Had

But, still… it is, after all, snow

In Madrid.  And it might last until the late afternoon.