Lobster Stock, and a Grand Birthday Party
Some days I fantasize about my sister Susana and brother-in-law Jaime’s arroz con bogavante, soupy lobster rice. It usually happens around this time of year, after I’ve come back from my summer in Spain, while their vacation is only starting. The photos they send of their fun times at the beach, or the meals they enjoy, make me hunger for more. I followed Susana’s recipe for the lobster stock recipe I’m sharing today, which can be used as the base in the preparation of many delicate seafood stews and soups. Of course Susana and Jaime’s arroz con bogavante comes to mind, but very soon I’ll post a wonderful recipe of a seafood stew that I’m sure you’ll love, using lobster stock.
A few weeks ago I attended one of my best friends’ birthday party. It wasn’t just any party. It was a lobster bake party for a good number of guests, hosted by other good friends, at their farm house. I am not going to go into describing the beauty of this place, the manicured gardens and farmland and barns themselves, or the attention to detail that went into organizing the event —that would almost require another post.
You’ve probably had sangría before, maybe even one of the modern versions of it. Sangría is considered Spain’s un-official national beverage. Since it can be made ahead of time, it’s usually served when entertaining. Traditional sangría in Spain includes red wine, soda, some hard liquor, citrus and other fruit, usually stonefruit like peaches, in season in the summer, when sangría is most consumed.
I 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?
With the higher temperatures, which seem to have come now to stay, lemonade is my drink of choice. I like to make mine, because I can control the amount of sugar I add. And I particularly like lavender lemonade, because lavender is one of my favorite aromas, and I like lemon on just about everything, so putting the two together seems very logical to me. The lavender comes from my garden; the lemons —I wish.
I don’t know in which category exactly to place esgarraet, salads or appetizers/tapas. Esgarraet is a dish typical of the Valencian community, and very often it is served as a 
As mother’s day approached, and I was thinking more of my mom, and how we’ve been separated by an ocean for the past 22 years, many memories of when she was the mom and I was just a daughter danced through my head. Many of those memories involved oranges, and orange trees, and an orange orchard where 
If you subscribe to this blog, or follow it regularly, you’ve noticed it has taken me a few extra days to post. I have not been procrastinating! In fact, this is the third recipe that I cooked and photographed for this week’s post. I kept changing my mind about it, and suddenly, I realized this Sunday is Mother’s Day in Spain, and I will 
I have a section in the Mama Ía blog called IDIOSYNCRASIES (click 
The farmers markets haven’t opened in Fort Wayne, and yet, I can find almost every fruit that I can think of at the store. They are obviously not local, but I’m having a hard time staying away from them. And plums have a sweet spot in my heart (check