May 2, 2022

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

Natacha Sanz Caballero Fish, Events & Travel Lent and Holy Week, mediterranean diet, seafood, Semana Santa, Semana Santa Marinera, Spanish traditions, Valencia

The 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.

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

What 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…)

October 11, 2021

Ajoblanco —and the Healthiest City in the World 2021

Natacha Sanz Caballero Soups and Stews almonds, comida española, healthiest city in the world, healthiest country in the world, Valencia

I heard on the radio recently that again, Spain was ranked as the healthiest country in the world in 2021. When I started digging some more, trying to find out if there were other factors added to the ones that had ranked it in the same position when I first wrote about it in 2019 (you can check it here), I came across another ranking, that of the Healthiest CITY in the World.

Plaza del Arzobispo, Valencia, Mama Ía blog

Puerta Barroca de la Catedral, Plaza del Arzobispo

I was curious, and then happily surprised (or rather, validated) to see at the top of the list Valencia, my hometown! What a great way to accompany (more…)

Blackberry lavender ice cream, Mama ía blog

September 25, 2018

Blackberry Lavender Ice Cream, Saying Farewell to Summer

Natacha Sanz Caballero Desserts and Sweets Brihuega, campos de lavanda, comunidad valenciana, helado de lavanda, helado de moras, ice cream bar, lavanda, lavender fields in Spain, Onteniente, polos mora, summer, Valencia, verano

Lavender fields in Brihuega, Spain

I am drawn to lavender. If I have to choose between scents, that will be the one I choose, whether it be hand soap or dish soap, laundry detergent or air freshener, lavender is my scent. I don’t know why, I think it is its freshness, but it could be its color, too (you just have to have a look at my closet!). But most of all, (more…)

February 27, 2018

Brascada, back at University

Natacha Sanz Caballero Breads, Meat and Poultry, Tapas beef sandwich, bocadillo, jamón serrano, Spanish cuisine, tapas, university, University of Miami, University of Notre Dame, Valencia

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.

Library at the Old University, Valencia

Old University, XVI century, Valencia

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March 22, 2017

Soupy Seafood Rice, and thinking of Las Fallas

Natacha Sanz Caballero Soups and Stews, Rice, Grains and Pasta, Fish Fallas, fish soup, Las Fallas, mussels, rice, seafood, seafood rice, seafood stock, soup, soupy rice, Valencia

If you subscribe to Mama Ía blog, or if you’ve been following it, by now you’re probably familiar with Spain’s dry rice dishes, like paella in all it’s varieties, or arroz al horno (click here and here and here). But there’s a different category of rice dish in Spain, which is not as familiar outside of the country as paella is. In Spanish we call it (more…)

November 6, 2016

Cod in Salsa Verde, and Valencia’s Ciutat Vella

Natacha Sanz Caballero Fish bacalao, cod, green sauce, Mercado Central de Valencia, salsa verde, salt cod, Valencia, Valencia Ciutat Vella

It is the season, I know, for pumpkins and squashes, for persimmons and stews, and soups, of course. It is autumn, after all. And yet, I’m thinking fish, and had to make bacalao en salsa verde, cod in salsa verde, green sauce —cod, as you know, is one of my favorite kinds of fish. When I’m in Spain, I buy it in salt, then soak it for hours, changing (more…)

March 17, 2016

Thick Hot Chocolate for “Las Fallas”, Valencia’s Festival

Natacha Sanz Caballero Desserts and Sweets, Drinks, Events & Travel chocolaste con churros, chocolate, Fallas, hot chocolate, hot drink, Las Fallas Festival, thick hot chocolate, Valencia

This is a very special week in my home city of Valencia, Spain, where every March, Spring and Fallas seem to arrive together. From March 12 to March 19, the city stops its daily business to celebrate this festival. In a ceremony called la plantà, the setting, 700 colorful statues are mounted throughout the city, in every square and street crossing. Fallas is the name of the festival, but it’s also the name of these statues, real works of art, built each year for the occasion. There are 368 children’s fallas and 370 full-scale fallas. These can stand as tall as 90 feet, and they portray popular characters, like celebrities and politicians. The children’s fallas represent cartoon characters. With the unusual political situation that Spain is living at present, many fallas this year portray our most popular politicians, in very humorous situations. Thick hot chocolate for La Fallas is the drink of choice, particularly when accompanying it with buñuelos, sweet fritters (click here for the recipe for apple fritters).

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