Arroz del senyoret, Mama Ía blog

Arroz del senyoret, gentleman’s rice —and my family’s link to Calpe and the dish

Arroz del senyoret, Mama Ía blog

The word “senyoret” means gentleman in the Valencian language. Arroz del senyoret (where the consonants ny combined are pronounced as a Spanish ñ in the Valencian language) is a seafood paella where all the seafood shells have been peeled off and therefore the person eating it will not have to bother removing the shells from the shrimp or the mussels —hence “del senyoret”, for the gentleman.

Parador de Ifach, Mama Ía blog

El Peñón de Ifach, Mama Ía blog

El Parador de Ifach, hoy: una torre de apartamentos y una zona común de recreo a imagen del antiguo parador

The story of this dish is peculiar and very familiar to me and my family, as it started out at the restaurant where we enjoyed many meals during my childhood. I’m talking (more…)

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…)

Mandarina stuffed salmon with thyme, Mama Ía blog

Mandarina stuffed Salmon with Thyme, and the countdown to Spring

Mandarina stuffed salmon, Mama Ía blog

It is safe to say that we can start counting down to spring. It’s just over two weeks away! And while the winter hasn’t been one of the coldest ones we remember in this part of the world, I am very much looking forward to the warmer temperatures, to walks outdoors and to the first flowers blooming in our garden.

Mandarinas, Mama Ía blogMiami, Mama Ía blogAt the same time, I am still enjoying orange season —and winter is orange season. The recipe I’m sharing today, mandarina stuffed salmon with thyme, takes (more…)

Lemon coconut mini tarts with passion fruit frosting, Mama Ía blog

Lemon coconut mini tarts with passion fruit frosting —and the Saint Valentines

Lemon coconut mini tarts with passion fruit frosting, Mama Ía blogValentine’s Day or, as it is called in Spain, el Día de los Enamorados or Día de San Valentín, is fast approaching, and as the feast demands, I like to make a beautiful dessert that will entice any sweet tooth. These lemon coconut mini tarts with passion fruit frosting spell love, even if they stray away from the customary red and pink. 

Saint Valentine, Mama Ía blog

German XV century Saint Valentine

Valentine’s Day is the first excuse for gift giving since Christmas. But in this case, and in most countries that celebrate the day, the gifts (more…)

Whole baked branzino, Mama Ía blog

Whole baked branzino, and coastal Alicante: Altea and Calpe

Whole baked branzino, Mama Ía blogIt has been a few weeks now, but we are still enjoying (and trying to finish) some of the sweets from the holidays. Is that your case? I’ve tried to balance  this sugar loaded end of meals with very healthy mains and sides, following the Mediterranean way of cooking I most enjoy, and whole baked branzino is one of those healthy, make-in-a-snap, delicious meals.

Whole baked branzino, Mama Ía blog

La Muralla Roja, Mama Ía blog

Ethan at La Muralla Roja (Calpe)

There’s quite a paradox in this part of the world where I live. On the one hand, lake living is a way of life. Many midwesterners and Hoosiers (the people of Indiana) own lake houses as second homes. Water sports and (more…)

Pears poached in wine, Mama Ía blog

Pears poached in red wine, the link to the Spice Islands and Miami 2022

Pears poached in wine, Mama Ía blog

If there was a dessert that my mom made very often when I was a young girl, that was peras al vino, pears poached in red wine. And I know what you’re thinking, and yes, drinking age is lower in Spain that it is in the US, but no, these pears have essentially no alcohol because all of it is evaporated in the making. 

Phew! Now that we have cleared that up, let’s move forward.

Pears poached in red wine, Mama Ía blogJuan Sebastián Elcano in Miami, Mama Ía blogPears poached in red wine are one of the easiest desserts to make, and now that I mention it, maybe that’s why (more…)

Blackberry tiramisu, Mama Ía blog

Blackberry tiramisu to celebrate the publication of my novel “I Was the First”

Blackberry tiramisu, Mama Ía blogIf you follow Mama Ía blog you may have noticed I’ve been away from this space for a while, but this post hopefully explains why. It’s a good reason, but to make up for my absence, I’ll treat you to a really sweet, beautiful recipe: blackberry tiramisu.

I Was the First, Mama Ía blogAnd I know, too, that this is not a Spanish dessert. But I was looking for a beautiful dessert, not only sweet and tasty but pleasing to the eyes, and this one checked all the boxes—and my current taste buds.

As you probably know —because I’ve posted about it before and it shows in my blog—, I have a second gig (or is that the first?) as a writer. Sure, I write for this blog, but (more…)

Chicken lemon and capers in a port sauce, Mama Ía blog

Chicken with lemon and capers in a port sauce —and splashing in Alcocebre and Onteniente, Summer 2022

Chicken lemon and capers in a port sauce, Mama Ía blogI hope you had or are having a wonderful summer. I have been in back-to-work mode for a while, and thought that chicken with lemon and capers in a port sauce was a recipe worth of being the first one of the new “school year “.

Pou Clar, Mama Ía blogAlcocebre, Mama Ía blog

If you have been a regular follower or subscriber of Mama Ía blog for a while, you know that in the summer, the blog takes a short hiatus. This is the time when, more than blogging, I am “researching“. Okay, okay, that’s (more…)

lemon tart with strawberry cream frosting, Mama Ía blog

Lemon tart with strawberry cream frosting, and Madrid’s Naval Museum

lemon tart with strawberry cream frosting, Mama Ía blogA layover of a few hours in Madrid can be very well invested, particularly if, as it happened to me, it was in April and not in June. News has it the wait time for passport control at Madrid airport this summer will not allow me to do this again. Or… it will have to be a shorter, but still sweet visit —just like the lemon tart with strawberry cream frosting (or more specifically, the mini tarts) that accompany this post: small and sweet. 

Museo Naval, Mama Ía blogStrawberries, Mama Ía blogI have been wanting to visit the Naval Museum in Madrid for a long time, and more so following the investigation that led me to write my novel Yo fui el primero, about the first circumnavigation of the world completed by Spanish navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano, and (more…)

Cod with asparagus, Mama Ía blog

Cod with asparagus and preserved lemons—and Valencia’s Maritime Holy Week

Cod with asparagus, Mama Ía blogThe recipe I’m sharing today, cod with asparagus and preserved lemons, is very appropriate for this time of year. Cod is a kind of fish long associated with Lent in Spain. Lent is now over, and you may not know that even though Easter Sunday has passed as well, we are still in the Easter season, which will last until the feast of the Pentecost, the Sunday about fifty days later.

Santa María del Mar, Mama Ía blog

Iglesia de Santa María del Mar, St Mary of the Sea Church, Valencia

Cod with asparagus, Mama Ía blog

Cod with asparagus, Mama Ía blogWhat you may know is that we are also in the season of asparagus, one of the first spring time vegetables, so cod with asparagus should be on the menu.

By now you also know that cod is (more…)