La Comida, YUM

I have finally settled in and started my intensive Spanish class this week. With only two and a half hours of class a day I have had plenty of time to explore the city, get to know other kids in my program and eat some delicious Spanish meals!

The food here has been superb so far and I wanted to dedicate this blog to Spanish food as tonight my program is going to have a Spanish cooking lesson (here is the link http://www.cookandtaste.net/who.html). I have never been really 'taught' how to cook, well besides for some of my mom's recipes, so I am really excited to learn a little bit of the art of Spanish cooking tonight.

Well firstly, the Spanish meal times are very different than what they are in the US. Spanish breakfast (or 'el desayuno') is eaten around 10am and is usually very light and can consist of toast with jam or a croissant (I have had plenty of these since I have been here!). Next follows a snack/coffee break around 10:30-noon time. There are so many nice cafes and bakeries here that is very easy to find that afternoon coffee pick-me-up. A few hours later, around 2pm-4pm, is the Spanish lunchtime which is called 'la comida' (which literally translates as 'the food' in Spanish). This lunch time is much later than the noon time American lunch. However, you quickly adjust to this later lunch time as many restaurants are not open before 1pm for lunch.

'La comida' is the biggest meal of the day here and usually has three main courses, including a dessert. Many restaurants have 'el menu del dia' which is similar to the special of the day in the US. These menus are posted outside of the restaurants on chalk boards and are great deals as you get an appetizer, main meal, and a dessert for usually about 10 euro. Delicious! And afterwards you can't help to take a 'siesta,' a mid-day nap. However the eating does not stop then, around 5pm-7pm is the late afternoon snack, 'la merienda', and yet again it consists of a light snack or a coffee break. Finally, typically between 9pm-10pm is the Spanish dinner, 'la cena.' The Spanish dinner is much lighter when compared to lunch and can lasts hours at a time, that you might find yourself leaving a re

staurant at midnight!

Okay on to the fun part - the types of food! I am just going to list a few food items that I have personally seen as popular here since I've been here:

JAMON (HAM) - is SO popular here. It is practically on almost everything you might order. It comes in bikinis which are just a melted ham and cheese sandwiches, alone in tapas (small meal snacks), and even hamburgers here are literally HAMburgers.

PAELLA- is a delicious Spanish dish made of rice with a mix of vegetables, meat and even seafood. You will see signs for paellas everywhere you go.

CHORIZO - a spicy Spanish sausage

PA AMB TOMAQUET - is an appetizer of tomato and olive oil on toasted bread. It is cheap, easy to make and a great food to have before your main course arrives.

GAZPACHO- cold tomato soup

Well, I hope I helped you learn a little bit more about Spanish meal times and food! I must start getting ready for my cooking lesson! I will write back soon!