Greetings TRIS readers!
Are you excited for the weekend? I have to admit that I am 🙂 It’s the only part of the week that my favorite Spaniard and I get to spend more than a few hours together at a time. Plans for Saturday and Sunday include: attending a birthday party and dining out for a special lunch date! Should be fun!
Today has been a typical Friday for us in the food department. Per usual I didn’t have a class during lunch hours so I was home at 2pm to prepare a midday meal for the both of us. Aren’t I just so sweet 😉
On the menu today was something we consume fairly regularly for lunch – but I betcha’ it’s something the folks at home don’t see too often in their own casas….
Open me if you dare!
Looks pretty innocent, right? Just your typical paper-wrapped supermarket bought product. Probably just some turkey cold cuts or something….
OOO! It's a slimy heap of purple deliciousness
BAM! I bet you weren’t excepting to see that! (Ha, actually you probably were since I’ve been building this up so much….)
This, my friends, is fresh squid (calamar). It can be purchased in any old supermarket around here. All you have to do is tell the lady behind the “seafood counter” what you want and the quantity. In this neck of the woods, however, you better ask for your squid the “Euro way” …. aka by using the metric system.
Crazy Americans! How long is a yard anyways?
When I bought this bad boy yesterday it came out to be 700 grams – or about 1.5 pounds. The total cost was 7 euros (Maybe 9$) Not too bad of a price for two people!
"Help me Sponge Bob!"
I’m still pretty clueless when it comes to preparing things that aren’t breakfast foods and/or desserts. Today I ended up heating up my little squid friend on the stove top with a spritz of cooking spray. Didn’t taste too badly! Luckily for me I’m not scrupulous at all about food. Another thing that explains my success as a “chef” is that when Diego comes home from work for his lunch break he is always so hungry that he would probably eat cardboard if I put it in front of him….
Case in point:
"If I close my eyes and hold my nose it ALMOST tastes like Rick's chili"
As you can see, a typical lunch for us Spaniards in Gijón might not be so typical for you at home. Heck – before coming here I had never seen squid – even in a restaurant, let alone had personally cooked one up in my own house! I guess that’s the reality of your life when where you use to live is located 12 hours from the nearest ocean….
That sure is a long drive just to satisfy a squid craving.
Wishing you all a great day and Happy Weekend!
The Ray in Spain 