Interlude: Musings in my Apartment - Kitchen Adventures
As many of you know, I don’t cook. Not home in the States and to date, not here in Spain. While I’ve been known to put together an edible meal or two (see the earliest blog posts) during the course of my life, I do my best to make sure that it doesn’t happen too frequently. And here in Spain, I’ve had even less need to actually cook something. I have generally been eating some fruit for breakfast, going out for the mid-day meal, and either eating some cheese and vegetables for dinner or just snacking on tapas while I am out at the bar (in Andalucía, tapas come free with a drink – I think it’s the bar’s way to make sure the patrons don’t get too unruly!). While we were traveling Europe, we ate out every meal, as there weren’t even any kitchens to cook in. In fact, prior to Friday night, the most I had done is heat up some gluten free rolls I picked up in Malaga.
And with good reason. Here’s what the controls on my oven look like:
As you can see, there is the dual consideration of dealing with degrees in Celsius (and yes, I’ve got a converter on my iPhone, so I can probably figure it out) and choosing the correct picture to go with your meal. Which is difficult unless you’re making pizza. And while we’re at it, do all meats (carne) really get cooked at the same temperature?
But on Friday, while I was looking for white vinegar (to clean out the water kettle that the tenants last week ruined by using tap water instead of bottled water – the water here is calcified and leaves deposits on everything), I came across a small international food store. AT first, I was just excited to have found the vinegar, but I was soon seduced by the cans of Strongbow Cider, the Thai offerings, and finding real tortilla chips (so far, I’ve seen potato chips in every flavor, but no corn tortilla chips). So I decided to put the funny stove to use and picked up the makings of some Thai green curry and a box of gluten free cheese bread (it was gluten free, so I figured why not). And some of the aforementioned cider, in case it didn’t end well.
Back on the ranch, I managed to prep chicken and vegetables, boil some rice noodles, and get the cheesy bread in the oven with relative ease. It turns out that the most complicated part of all of it was matching pans to lids. So twenty minutes later, I had a lovely, if a little too spicy, green curry with chicken and vegetables and some very tasty cheesy bread rolls. Okay, it’s not exactly a combination you’d see in a restaurant, but it worked. And it marks the first time that I actually cooked a meal here in Spain (and probably the last), so it should be commemorated. Go me!
And with good reason. Here’s what the controls on my oven look like:
As you can see, there is the dual consideration of dealing with degrees in Celsius (and yes, I’ve got a converter on my iPhone, so I can probably figure it out) and choosing the correct picture to go with your meal. Which is difficult unless you’re making pizza. And while we’re at it, do all meats (carne) really get cooked at the same temperature?
But on Friday, while I was looking for white vinegar (to clean out the water kettle that the tenants last week ruined by using tap water instead of bottled water – the water here is calcified and leaves deposits on everything), I came across a small international food store. AT first, I was just excited to have found the vinegar, but I was soon seduced by the cans of Strongbow Cider, the Thai offerings, and finding real tortilla chips (so far, I’ve seen potato chips in every flavor, but no corn tortilla chips). So I decided to put the funny stove to use and picked up the makings of some Thai green curry and a box of gluten free cheese bread (it was gluten free, so I figured why not). And some of the aforementioned cider, in case it didn’t end well.
Back on the ranch, I managed to prep chicken and vegetables, boil some rice noodles, and get the cheesy bread in the oven with relative ease. It turns out that the most complicated part of all of it was matching pans to lids. So twenty minutes later, I had a lovely, if a little too spicy, green curry with chicken and vegetables and some very tasty cheesy bread rolls. Okay, it’s not exactly a combination you’d see in a restaurant, but it worked. And it marks the first time that I actually cooked a meal here in Spain (and probably the last), so it should be commemorated. Go me!
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