Friday, January 31, 2014
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Science
The kids and I have been doing science experiments at home: baking soda, vinegar, pH indicators. It's all very fun

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Zoe wins a prize!
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Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Thursday, January 02, 2014
Oil, and the drive back
Chloe, Vero and I went to an amazing Olive Oil specialist called "olisal" just down the road, in Gracia (again -- such great shopping!). The store was recommended by Alex, and is totally amazing. I was only sorry that mom had left earlier in the morning, because they are also specialists in sea salt, which she loves.

I bought a big can of oil for cooking called "Oli d'Arbeca", with the following description:
"Oil from the Arbeca Cooperative, Lleida. This cooperative brings together 700 members, producing all the oil under the same standards, with three basic clues: artisan collection and production, rigorous quality control test under the supervision of the PDO Regulatory Control Les Garrigues, only made from Arbequina olives, not using any kind of chemicals, preservatives or dyes."
as well as two for salads, dipping in bread etc: A southern oil with stronger flavor called "Cortijo de Suerte"
"Eological oil, natural blend, from a grove planted in 1924 in which are intermingled the three varieties typical of the DO Baena: picudo, hojiblanca and Picual. Prepared by natural decantation, a procedure that preserves the most polyphenols, beneficial antioxidants that preventcellular aging and cancer cell degeneration. The pest control trappingoccurs encouraging natural predators of insect pests. The packaging is made by order, meanwhile the oil is conserved in stainless steel tanks to ensure their high quality."
The second was a milder oil from the North, called Terrall, without a description. Finally, I bought a beautiful hand blown glass olive oil cruet (decanter) from the Galo Mercade factory.
Next, clean up the house and find food! I was hoping to repeat the "buy the seafood, walk a few feet, have it cooked, eat it" experience, but sadly all the fish sellers were closed (maybe on all thursdays?). Instead, we bought some decent Bellota and Chorizo and bread. Finally, we hopped in the car and made the six hour drive back home.
This was my first time in Spain, amazingly, and I really loved it. My neighbor tells me that Easyjet has a lot of flights from Lyon to other places in Spain, so that might be the way to go for more Southern cities.
I bought a big can of oil for cooking called "Oli d'Arbeca", with the following description:
"Oil from the Arbeca Cooperative, Lleida. This cooperative brings together 700 members, producing all the oil under the same standards, with three basic clues: artisan collection and production, rigorous quality control test under the supervision of the PDO Regulatory Control Les Garrigues, only made from Arbequina olives, not using any kind of chemicals, preservatives or dyes."
as well as two for salads, dipping in bread etc: A southern oil with stronger flavor called "Cortijo de Suerte"
"Eological oil, natural blend, from a grove planted in 1924 in which are intermingled the three varieties typical of the DO Baena: picudo, hojiblanca and Picual. Prepared by natural decantation, a procedure that preserves the most polyphenols, beneficial antioxidants that preventcellular aging and cancer cell degeneration. The pest control trappingoccurs encouraging natural predators of insect pests. The packaging is made by order, meanwhile the oil is conserved in stainless steel tanks to ensure their high quality."
The second was a milder oil from the North, called Terrall, without a description. Finally, I bought a beautiful hand blown glass olive oil cruet (decanter) from the Galo Mercade factory.
Next, clean up the house and find food! I was hoping to repeat the "buy the seafood, walk a few feet, have it cooked, eat it" experience, but sadly all the fish sellers were closed (maybe on all thursdays?). Instead, we bought some decent Bellota and Chorizo and bread. Finally, we hopped in the car and made the six hour drive back home.
This was my first time in Spain, amazingly, and I really loved it. My neighbor tells me that Easyjet has a lot of flights from Lyon to other places in Spain, so that might be the way to go for more Southern cities.
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Wednesday, January 01, 2014
Paella
We took advantage of our Parclick parking passes and went down to the beach. Lolo found a place for lunch and I followe his lead and ordered a black paella, which I had never had before. When it arrived, it looked intimidatingly … black. It was, however delicious. I was worried that it would not be, since it was in a touristy area, but it was fantastic, and the first time I have had a black paella. Intrigued by the almost magical depth of flavor, I looked into what flavor the quid ink imparts, and discovered two interesting things: First, that most people actually cook with the less bitter cuttlefish ink, and second, that squid ink is loaded with glutamate, possibly acting as natural Ajinomoto/MSG substitute. Sadly, I did not take a picture. Later on, chloe and I walked down la Rambla without kids and explored the Barri Gòtic, which was really cool. La Rambla, however was utterly uninteresting and thronged with people. By the end of the trip it became obvious that we really lucked out with the location of the rented apartment Gracia seems like a culinary and shopping mecca of the city. Next time I'd like to explore it and the Barri Gòtic further.
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