I {heart} Madrid

Favorite architecture

 plaza at 10:30 pm

Yeah, it's been awhile... What can I say, my trip to Madrid inspired me to write again. Four days of seeing as much as possible of the city and a few nearby towns gave me plenty to think about and so much that I want to remember. There is so much to love about Spain... Our visit to Andaluza in March was fantastic and I figured that the laid-back feeling of the area was partly due to its reputation as a vacation spot-- or the other way around? But Madrid is a huge city, with lots of residents and tourists, and yet it is still as laid-back as the south! I don't know if there's one specific thing that makes the city so great, it's the combination of the people, culture, architecture, and how easy it is to get around. I can easily relate to the Spanish lifestyle, you know how some people feel like they've been born into the wrong gender? I feel like I was born into the wrong nationality. I don't understand 'morning people,' it's a concept so difficult for me actually that I've been struggling with it ever since I can remember and more recently have had issues at almost every single job I've had, and those who can go right to sleep at 9 or 10 each night, just the idea of it gives me anxiety. It's because I should have been a Spaniard! The streets and plazas are actually busier later at night, it seems like the place is just getting going at 10:30-11:00 when most other places would be shutdown. And the language is so lovely. To think how different my life could have been if I'd been born in Spain...

Erdbeeren! at Pauls Bauernhof

My first time picking my own berries! I think the last time I had German strawberries I was pretty disappointed and figured that no one could beat California's heirloom varieties, but these proved me wrong! I ended up with about 5 lbs of berries for under 4 euro (so a little over $4)! I can't wait to get more to try out some new recipes. This time around I made strawberry crumb bars (with only one variation: I added 1/2 cup more berries and only used 1/2 cup sugar), and a strawberry balsamic salad.

For the salad, I combined two different recipes: strawberry balsamic salad and Martha Stewart's arugula salad with strawberries. I added a generous tablespoon of balsamic vinegar to the chopped strawberries and let them sit while I made the rest of the salad. For the salad dressing, I used the first recipe but cut the quantity by half because I knew we wouldn't use it all. Also, I didn't want to use up my last 1/2 cup of olive oil! It worked out well—the dressing would work on any kind of salad or even as a marinade.



So here's my recipe (for 2 servings):

Dressing:
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 small shallot, peeled and chopped*
1 small clove of garlic, peeled
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

*I used a green onion, which was what I had on hand. I think red onion would work also.
Combine all ingredients in a blender until oil is emulsified. 

Strawberries:
1 pint (2 cups) chopped berries
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary (optional)



In a medium sized bowl, mix 1 pint (2 cups) of chopped strawberries with 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp rosemary, and let sit. (I actually had enough strawberries leftover for lunch the next day—don't skimp on it like I did, it's better with a generous helping.)

Salad:

2-3 cups of arugula
1 handful of chopped almonds
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese

Tear or roughly chop arugula and add to salad bowls. Add a teaspoon or two of salad dressing to each bowl. Spoon strawberry mixture on top and add crumbled goat cheese. Finally, sprinkle chopped almonds on top. (It's pretty easy to chop almonds with a very sharp knife. Cup your hand over the nuts while chopping to prevent almonds from flying all over your counter.)

Remembering...

I was just thinking about Memorial day stuff... I was going to post some photos on facebook but didn't want to get all sappy and in everyone's face about this stuff.

Usually it's a day to hang out with friends, have a cookout, have fun. Usually people don't spend a lot of time at cemeteries remembering those we've lost. For some reason this year I'm thinking about my grandfather. Well, actually it's because my great-uncle (my grandfather's brother) recently and unexpectedly passed away. I realized too late that we never talked about my grandfather, I never heard any of their stories growing up and all.

When people talk about freedom and sacrifice and war, I never realized how much this affected me personally until recently. My grandfather's choice to join the Army and serve in WWII had a huge impact on three generations. My grandmother became a widow at 28 years old, while pregnant with my mom. My mom grew up never having met her father. I'm living in Germany, probably not far from where he was killed, not knowing too much about him at all. 

So I guess when people talk about the cost of war, I know a little about what that means. This Memorial Day I'm remembering my grandfather and thinking about all those other children around the world growing up without a father, and all those young widows raising children on their own.