madrid

And so from Holland we head back to Madrid.

Anyone heard of a country Angora?Well it seems that's where I am from.?????????

We complain about service etc in south africa but believe me , they aint so bright on this side either.This was a 4 star hotel in Madrid and the staff were a bit thick.

Sorry if that sounds nasty but I think if you work in a 4 star you should be a bit clued up.

Anyway enough of that,back to food.

We travelled to the old town of Segovia where we bought traditional cookies.Thought they were different flavours but it seems like "one size fits all ".They all had the same flavour just different toppings.

My dear husband thought mine were much better so here is the recipe:

250 gr soft unsalted butter , 1/3 cup castor sugar ,1 egg yolk ,2 cups flour,1 cup corn flour ,1/2 cup chopped almonds,5ml almond essence (optional )

Method:

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.Add egg yolk and beat well.If using almond essence add now and stir.

Lastly add flours and mix to form a firm dough.

Roll into balls roughly the size of a ping pong ball.Place on a lined baking sheet and spike each ball with a clove.

Bake at 180 deg for about 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and sift a generous layer of icing sugar over the hot biscuits.

Leave to cool.

Enjoy

The following day it was off to the magnificent city of Toledo.Wow amazing.Well known for its marzipan.Loads of creations.( can seem to post all my wonderful pics ??/??/)

Anyway enjoyed seeing all the different culinary delights.Think it is snail season as alot of the bars have signs posted outside "hoy carecoles ".Will wait until we are up in the north to hopefully feast on "tia Celias carecoles ".She used to make the most delicious snails in tomato.

From Madrid we boarded the rapid train and headed to Seville.For me ,the city of Flamenco Dancers.Walked past a dry cleaning shop and hanging in the window were all the dresses.Obviously taken for cleaning in preparation for the up coming fiestas.

Met up with our dear friends Carlos and Aurora.

As with many kitchens here in spain,there is a corner where the hams are sitting on their special cutting "boards ".Lunched on jamon ,chicken cooked with amongst other things,whisky, and more.So very delicious.

Went off to buy pork form a place called "MONTESIERRA ".Here the animals roam freely and feast on acorns which give them their distinctive flavour. They slaughter the animals (so no long trips to the abbatoir causing the animals a huge amount of stress ) and you have access to the freshest,most beautiful pork ever.A fine marbling of fat all over which adds so much flavour to the meat.And then there were the hams.Oh my gosh,absolute heaven for me.Wish I could take them all home.Disguised maybe as tennis rackets,guitars whatever?????????.Just want to get them back.I can dream ,cant i?

The south is well known for all its wonderful what I call ,"little fish".Things that look like soles but are small .I thought they were baby soles but they aren't.Boquerones are my favourite and I WILL eat them before i leave here.

Just love Europe for its vast variety of foods.