Breads

Coca de llanda, olive oil lemon cake, Mama Ía blog

Coca de llanda (olive oil lemon cake), a Valencian merienda, after-school snack

Coca de llanda, olive oil lemon cake, Mama Ía blogCoca de llanda is one of the most popular after-school snacks in the region of Valencia homes, what we call “la merienda”.

A walk after la merienda, Mama Ía blog

A walk in the neighborhood after la merienda

Coca de llanda, olive oil lemon cake, Mama Ía blogLa merienda —merendar— is that mid afternoon “tentenpié”, a bite to eat between lunch and dinner, sometimes sweet, sometimes savory, a simple but (more…)

Brascada, Mama ía blog

Brascada, back at University

Brascada, Mama ía blog

This recipe, for a bocadillo called brascada in Valencia, where I grew up and went to university, brings back memories. Bocadillo is what we call in Spain any sandwich made with baguette style bread. Baguette style bread, by the way, is the most common type of bread in Spain, and we call it simply pan, bread. Bocadillos are a common fare at all tapas bars and cafés in Spain, and they’re a popular midmorning snack for many. For us, students, bocadillos were an easy and nutritious lunch, or dinner. One of my favorites, brascada, was a typical and frequent meal in the evening (a few times a week) when I studied at the library of the Old University, a majestic building that, in the XVI century, housed Valencia’s University. After a few hours of studying, my friend and I would take a break at a tapas bar on the adjacent square, Plaza del Patriarca, that made the best brascadas in the city. I now make them at home, and my family loves them.

Universidad de Valencia, Mama ía blog (more…)

Banana nut bundt, Mama ía blog

Banana Nut Bundt, and a Christmas Family Reunion

Banana nut bundt, Mama ía blogI know what my children will say when they see this post: banana nut bread (in any of its forms, like the banana nut bundt recipe I’m sharing today) is not Spanish. I’ll have to remind them then that this blog includes the recipes that I make at home, most of which are Spanish, but some of which are not. If I make it often enough and is part of my repertoire, chances are, it’ll make it to Mama Ía blog. I’ve been living in North America for over two decades, after all!

Christmas 2017, Mama ía blogChristmas 2017, Mama ia blog

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Dinner rolls three ways, Mama ía blog

Dinner Rolls Three Ways, and an Autumnal Tablescape

Dinner rolls three ways, Mama ía blogI hope I get to your table in time for you to make these tasty dinner rolls three ways, because they should be on your Thanksgiving menu. I’m serious! They will be a hit. If you can’t fit them into your cooking and baking schedule for the day, plan on making them the day before, freeze them in freezer bags (I vacuum pack them) and defrost outside of the bags a couple of hours before your Thanksgiving dinner. That’s exactly what I am doing.

Autumn tablescape, Mama ía blog (more…)

Monjavina, Mama ía blog

Monjavina, for “La Merienda”

Monjavina, Mama ía blogMonjavina is a sweet of arab origin, typical of the region of Játiva and of La Vall d’Albaida, where Onteniente, my hometown, is located. You can find it by other names like almoixàvena or monxàvena, but you will very rarely find it in any other regions of Spain other than the ones I just mentioned. My mom, in fact, never made it, as she comes from Seville, and I grew up eating it at the homes of friends. You could say that every household in Onteniente makes it.

The recipe is simple, with few ingredients, and that can mislead as to its result, which is a delicious, light, sugary cake that is best eaten on the day it’s made. My favorite time to have it is mid afternoon, with a glass of horchata (*) if I am in Spain, or an espresso if I am in America. This mid-afternoon snack is usually referred to as la merienda in Spain, a meal that is meant to stave off hunger between lunch and the late Spanish dinner. La merienda is most often also referred to as this meal in the context of children: the meal they eat right after they get home from school.

La Vila, Onteniente, Mama ía blog

La Vila and Carmelites Convent, Onteniente

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Moorish soup, Mama ía blog

Moorish Soup with Tostones, and a Ladies Lunch

Moorish soup, Mama ía blogI don’t know why I don’t make this soup, sopa mora con tostones, Moorish soup with tostones, more often. I grew up eating it very often, as my mom made it regularly. It’s probably the healthiest soup, or as we call it in Spanish, puré (for a soup where all the ingredients are blended). It incorporates a wide variety of vegetables, some spices, and extra virgin olive oil. What could be better?

Ladies lunch, Mama ía blog (more…)

Torrijas de mona de Pascua, Mama Ía

Sugar and Cinnamon Baked Milk Sweet Bread, Oven Baked Torrijas de Mona de Pascua

Torrijas de mona de Pascua

If you read my previous post, with the recipe for Monas de Pascua, Easter Sweet Bread, you’ll remember I mentioned that the Easter sweet bread will last for a couple of days, pretty much like with any bread. And like it happens with bread that is not fresh, you’ll either have to toast it and eat it with jam and butter or your (more…)

Monas de Pascua, Mama ía

Mona de Pascua, Easter Sweet Bread, from Valencia

Monas de Pascua, Mama ÍaYou might be wondering why I would be posting a recipe for Mona de  Pascua now. In my defense, I will say that we ate the monas (also called panquemados) on Easter Monday, as it is tradition in Spain. And also in my defense I will say that Easter started on Sunday, but it hasn’t ended yet. In fact, it will not end until Pentecost, which this year (more…)

Turkey and Asparagus Tartlets

Turkey and Asparagus Tartlets, after Thanksgiving

Turkey and Asparagus Tartlets

Thanksgiving came and went, like every year —and just as fast as it does every year. Preparations for a big holiday always remind me of a climb up a mountain. You prepare, mentally and physically, you take your time, gather all you need, and start hiking. You keep looking up, the summit getting closer as you walk. The last few (more…)

White Sweet Potato Preserve Turnovers, Empanadillas de Dulce de Boniato, A Winter Delicacy on a Fall Day

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I find it interesting to see how this blog thing is working out. Take this week, for instance. I had a few ideas in my head as to what to make for this week’s post. I could choose from a number of recipes that included Fall vegetables —the beautiful pumpkins, or butternut squash, sweet potatoes, delicata or acorn squash. I hadn’t made up my mind yet, waiting to see what peaked my interest.   (more…)