Spanish Meals: A Crash Course by Eva la Cocinera

As I've mentioned in a few different posts, my host mom is the BEST COOK IN THE WORLD. Food was one of the things I was looking forward to most about living in a home-stay, but there was no guarantee that my host mom was going to be a good cook. Boy, did I luck out! Not only is she a wonderful cook, but she loves doing it. She buys fresh ingredients almost every day, and most things she makes are entirely from scratch. I call her "Eva la cocinera" (Eva the cook).

I did a lot of reading about Spanish culture before I came to Spain, so I was fairly prepared in terms of the difference in meal times and sizes. The adjustment hasn't been too hard, and it's been so exciting to try different dishes and learn about Spanish cooking.

Don't worry- I won't keep taking pictures of every meal. I just wanted to explain some of the differences I've experienced in my time here.

Breakfast is a typically smaller and different in Spain than it is in the US. A typical breakfast (even at restaurants) consists of some toast with something on it and coffee- NEVER eggs. (You do however eat eggs with lunch or dinner.) I usually have a piece of fruit or yogurt, as well, but I'm not sure if that's as "Spanish." Orange juice seems to be pretty popular for breakfast at restaurants, but we don't have it at my house. Like in the U.S., breakfast times vary and it is common for family members to eat their meal quickly and not all together.

Blueberry jam, strawberry yogurt, black tea (instead of coffee)

Lunch is the Spaniard's biggest meal of the day. It is served between 2:30-3:30, and is very comparable to an American dinner. The meals are usually pretty hearty and have multiple parts. Some common lunch items: soup, really any kind of meat (ham is very big here), LOTS of bread, things fried with olive oil, fish, pasta, and MORE! Everyone usually eats together for lunch. Adults return home from work, and it is late enough that kids are usually already home from school. It is very common for everyone to stay at the table for a while as well. This after-lunch chat is known as "sobremesa."

Squash soup with olive oil, cheese, and other delicious ingredients

Soup with sausage and vegetables

Ham croquettes, fried in a pan with olive oil

Lentil soup is very typical in Spanish houses- especially mine!

Another soup with garbanzo beans, bread with tortilla de patata (Spanish tortilla, which is kind of like a potato omelet)

My lunch on our hike, packed by Eva: a bocadillo (sandwich) with chorizo and sharp cheese on a soft baguette

This one was sooo good! She made the pasta with some spicy pepper and garlic. There is also chicken and carrots. I have started to love chicken with the bone in it- it's so tender and amazing!

...And, finally, a healthy lunch of green beans & potatoes with olive oil,  served with hard boiled eggs and bananas

Dinner is usually smaller than lunch. It is served very late- rarely before 9:30 pm, but we've had dinner as late as 10:45! For some reason, I haven't taken as many pictures of dinner. It's been very good, though.

Spanish tortilla

Pork, olive-oil fried potato, ham & crackers

Pasta with vegetables, homemade pizza with ham

**Weekend dinners are sometimes a bit bigger, because people are out and about and often don't have both breakfast and lunch.**

I've loved everything I've eaten here at Eva's kitchen. Her friends tell her she should write a cookbook, and I agree! Everything she makes is so delicious and authentically Spanish. I have loved learning about the culture through her food. 

On another note, I officially am booked to travel to Portugal next weekend and Florence in November to visit my lovely BFF Cara! I will also be visiting some more places in Spain, Granada, and Paris with my student group, API, and Ben, my boyfriend, and I will be going to Rome for a weekend when he visits the first week of November! I can't wait to explore this incredible continent!

¡Buenas noches!

Ailie