It is not easy to celebrate Thanksgiving in Spain. You won’t find whole turkeys — fresh nor frozen — in a supermarket. So when Michael and I host Thanksgiving in this country, our first mission is to go to the butcher shop and order a turkey. We have to specify that we don’t want the…
Category: Food
Signs of Spring
On our terrace, the first poppy has bloomed and the irises are only days away from bursting open. The afternoon sun makes our living room so warm that Michael has to pull down the shades. But my favorite sign of spring’s impending arrival? The local artisanal ice cream shop has opened. When I walked in…
Saturday Lunch (Random Roadside Restaurant in Spain version)
After taking our drink orders, the waiter returned with a Coca-cola Zero, a flask of wine, and two tall glasses, scratched from years of use. I wondered why he didn’t bring a wine glass as I pulled the cork from the flask. “How does that work again?” Michael asked me, eyeing the flask. “How do…
Best Moments of 2023
As usual, they are in no particular order. . . As usual, I’m sure there are many more that I missed. If that was you, I’m sorry. Know that I love each and every one of you and any moment shared with you is a moment I treasure. Much love to you all, Rebecca
Lunches, Liquor and Other Rabbit Holes
“I just finished my small lunch,” Ricardo said. I knew what he meant. He had just finished his almeurzo. If you look up the English translation, it will say, “lunch.” But in Valencia, Spain (where Ricardo lives), it is definitely not lunch. Almuerzo consists of a small sandwich accompanied by a glass of wine or…
Best Moments of 2015
I did this last year, and had such a good time doing it, I thought I’d do it again. So voila: the best moment of 2015 (in no particular order). With apologies for everything I forgot. It was an eventful year! The moment I booked my flight to Nicaragua. (That was a Monday. I left three…
Chopped: Rebecca Style
With five weeks left before our departure, I have become just a wee bit obsessed with using up things. Why? Because I don’t want to pack them away for three months and have to deal with them upon my return. Travel-size bottles of lotions swiped from hotels sit upside down on my bathroom shelf. The…
Grandma’s Cafeteria
(Note: This story holds a special place in my heart — not just for its subject, but also because it was one of the first stories I wrote during my first-ever writing class in 2008. I came across it the other day, and felt it had to be shared.) “This is not a cafeteria.” That was…
Adventures in Cooking: The Black Bean
I became a vegetarian just over a year ago and one unexpected benefit is a renewed interest in trying new recipes. A month ago I bought dried black beans. I had no idea what the difference was between the canned version I usually bought versus soaking and cooking them myself, but I thought it time…
Learning New Things
They literally stopped me on my morning walk – the yellow daffodil blooms vibrant against a deep green hillside. I pulled my cell phone out of my jacket pocket to take a picture. I’ve wanted to take a photography class but haven’t made it a priority yet. In the meantime, I’ve been playing with the…
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