SHOOTS FROM LA ALPUJARRA

Hi friends, we visited the beautiful villages of the Alpujarra area, situated on the south side on the Sierra Nevada mountains. We where not very lucky with the weather, cloudy, even foggy when we reached the 1400 meters, and it was cold. There are a lot of small villages most with less than 500 inhabitants, before living of the agriculture, but now most live of the turism. We visited the most known Pampaneira, where many of the moors retired when they had to leave Granada, Capileira the last village on the road going over to Granada though Sierra Nevada, now closed for motor traffic, but with many hiking routs, even up to the Mulhacen peak, at 3482meters.
Trevelez, the origen of the Serrano Ham, here called Jamon de Trevelez, there are many possibilities to visit the bodegas where the hams are hanging to dry in the fresh mountain air. Try the chorizos as well, you can buy all their products, you can even get it sent home.
Tha gastronomy is mostly pork products, trouts from the rivers, their local vine, and the typical bread and moorish recipes of sweets.
Dry figs, and sweets made of figs, almonds and local honey, you must try them, and the famous Soplillos, see the recipe on my blog.
There are many posibilities to stay a night or two, have a look at these sites :                                      Turismo Pampaneira     
Turismo Capileira   
                                                                                                                                                          Hotels, Casas Rurales, Apartments and I can recomend a very nice hotel we stayed in, Hotel La Alcazaba de Busquistar ( their web site is under construction) Tel.958 858 687 , very nice staff, fine food, indoor pool and spa, good value for the money. 

I hope you liked my small photo book of this special Spanish place.

Have a good week, lots of love;

Hilde

FRENCH TOAST, TORRIJA IS THE SPANISH EASTER TREAT

Hello, hello, the coming week is one of the most important catholic celebrations in Spain, 1 week of holy prossession through streets and squares in every village and every town.

The Holy Bible, the Easter is the culmination of the Passon of Christ, and in Spain it's told by figures richly dressed, and decorated, and transported by humans along the streets, so everybody can see and venerate the holy imagery.
se more of the Easter Week in Granada here

Be prepared for the crowdes of people until late night hours, in Seville the Madruga, starting Thursday late afternoon may finish at 10 am on Friday.
In your hotel or the Turist Informaton Office you can have the program for the week.

And this typical Torrija you can buy in many cake shops, and try in restaurants or make it yourself at home.

Easy shopping list this time.

Shoppinglist

1 pan ( de torrijas).              1 white bread ( some places you can buy a special bread for torrijas)

1/2 litro de leche.                 1/2 liter of milk

Granos de cardamomo.       Cardamomo grains

3 huevos.                             3 eggs

200 ml.de azucar.                 2 deciliter of white sugar

2 cucharitas de canela.          2 teaspoons of cinnamon

1/2 liter of AOVE.                1/2 liter of extra virgen olive oil

Start peelng the seeds of the cardamomo and  use a mortar to grind, add to the milk, alt let the milk boil for a couple of min. Transfer to a couple of plates to cool , and cut the bread, the bread must be at least 24 hours old. Beat the eggs in another plate, and mix the sugar and the cinnamon in a third plate.Now heat the olive oil in a small frying pan to medium , high temperature.

Soak the bread in the milk on both sides, then transfer it to the beaten egg, turn again, and transfer to the frying pan. Fry until golden on each side, I use a small pan, and only put 3 slices of bread in, then it's easier to control the heat.

Have a plate with some kitchen paper ready, and let them drain and cool a little before you turn them round in the sugar/cinnamon mix, and then arrange nicely on a serving platter. 

We like to eat them before they get cold, but they are are nice both ways, put them in an air thight container if there are any left, for the next day.

Soft &creamy inside, and a little crunchy outsde.

If you toss the sugar/cinnamon mix too early ( the torrijas are very hot) the sugar will melt
and they will be stcky, some people like that too.

If you are not used to stir frying, you can do them caramelized, just add a little butter with sugar and cinnamon to the fryngpan, when the sugar is melted add the bread (after the egg in the recipe), and let fry until golden.

At home we often do this for Sunday breakfast, my girls always loves them.

Do you want to leave me a comment, what do you think aboat  the Easter in Spain?

If you read Spanish, you can vist my Spansh Blog here, 

I wish all of you a nice easter week, take care and enjoy time with family and friends. Now the last weeks of 

skiing in Serra Nevada, lots of sun, snow and fun, and after the Easter Week it´s Low Season, really good prices too.

We have some vacant apartments.

Call Berit at 34 958 480 242

 skiservice@msn.com

Love

Hilde

TULIPS FROM AMSTERDAM

Today

Flower Marked in Amsterdam.

What colour do you like ??
Today is the Tulips day, the season for tulips starts and go on until april, my favorite flower.

January Amsterdam.

MALAGA AND CARMEN THYSSEN MUSEUM

Carmen  Cervera, called Tita popularly, born in Barcelona 23 of April 1943, was Miss Spain in 1961, after 3 broken marrages, she married  the Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemiza.

He inherited a buisness empire, and a major art collection with pictures of European masters from 14th to 19th century, and after his fathers death his business were limited to art. Prefering the German expressionism, he became a real expert in painting.

Tita was his 5th wife, in 1986 several European Cities competed about housing the Thyssen-Bornemisza art museum, and her influence was desicive persuading the Baron to decide on the future of his collection and cede the collection to Spain. Opened in May 2006, near  he Prado Museum, in what is called the"Golden Triangle of Art". More than 1600 paintings in the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection, the second largest in the world, after the British Royal Collection.

In 2011 the Baroness wanted to share her private collection, she comes from a art loving family, and her husband the Baron,  educated her to be an art collector herself.  The main focus is 19th century Spainish painting, predomantly Andalusian, and finally the16th century  Baroque Palacio de Villalon was partly reconstructed for this occation. In the more than 5000 sq. m. exhibition spaces,there  are three rooms for the permanent collection and two for temporary exhibitions. Situated in Calle Compañia number 10, to the left at the end of the main street Calle Larios in the old town of Malaga.

www.carmenthyssenmalaga.org

At the moment and until 23 of April 2014, Courbet, Van Gogh, Monet, Leger. From naturalist to Avant-gardes in the Carmen Thyssen Collection.

We had a wonderful morning at the museum, then a walk along the port to La Malagueta, and back through the park, and lunch in one of the bars in the buisy old town of Malaga.

And then some shopping, Malaga has really improved, from beeing a town the inhabitants was a sort of shamed of, to make a modern but traditional south Spanish city, much of this happend since the Picasso Museo was opened 10 years ago, Congratulation Malaga!!!!! ,

The museums coffe shop.

The patio.

Design.

Some of the pictures, we had a guided visit, you get to see the art from another perspective too.

Photographs can be taken, but without flash, sometimes difficult to get the right light, but  they give you an idea.

The new promenade Muelle Uno in the port of Malaga.

Beach of Malaga.

Town Hall of Malaga.

Alcazaba and the Roman Theatre

Some tapas in the old town.

Leaving Malaga at sunset.

Again Spain is not only sun and beach, we have a lot to offer.

Have a good sunday, my man is cooking a paella tomorrow, if he lets me I will share the recipe, jejeje.

Night, night to all of you.                                                                                                                                   

LA TRASTIENDA, THE BACK SHOP

Hi to you, I'm very happy about some of the photos taken with my new camera, we had some good walks around the little town, and along the sea.

In the afternoon the wind was stronger.

 The roscas became very popular in Almuñecar about 15 years ago, it's a round bread, filled with tomato, serrano ham and chese from the beginning, but now more sofisticated, I love the one whith chevere and caramelized onion, prepared by Yolanda at La Trastienda.

My man at the bar.

Now half the restaurants and bars in Almuñecar close for the month of November, and the owners go to relax in The Carinean, their holyday. We stay here in the cold, but at Plaza Kelibia, outdoor heaters, candles, good tapas, make us go ther in the evening for a glass of wine, a rosca, a cheese platter, or some iberico sausage and ham which are the spesialities of La Trastienda.

Yolanda makes the right athmosphere in her bar.

You can buy the half baked roscas at Mercadonna, to make at home, we use a greated tomato mixed with some drops of AOVE, serrano ham and several cheeses, such as roquefort, brie, ementhal, and toss a little oregano over, then put on a baking paper to grill in preheated oven at 150 degrees for 10 min.

Quick, but still I don't know anybody who doesn't like it, hope you like it too.

Night, night.

Los Peñones, The Masses of Rock.