Rant begins.
On Sunday afternoon the water supply for the whole of Santa Margarita, the village where we live was cut off. The neighbourhood took to their phones to complain to the water company only to be told that the supply would be restored in a matter of hours or a day or so at the most. I write this post on Friday afternoon and guess what! Still no water. We're now being told that there is a faulty pump in Malaga which won't be repaired until next Tuesday when the enginer returns from his holidays!!!
Firstly, what does a faulty pump in Malaga have to do with a village just over 100km away?
Secondly, should not the fact that during a hot summer thousands of residents are left without running water from which to drink, wash in and flush toilets constitute some kind of emergency? How many diseases spread from toilets backed up with...?!?
While Spain may hold itself up to be a modern sophisticated European society sadly it still displays the traits of a third world country. We may as well be living in a mud hut somewhere in Africa.
Rant ends.
Showing posts with label Madrid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Madrid. Show all posts
Friday, 20 August 2010
Friday, 2 July 2010
Tapas in Madrid
We went to Madrid last weekend. It's about 6 hours drive from where we live (nearer 7 if you count pee pee stops) and well worth the journey. Actually travelling up is part of the adventure however the place itself is fantastic. We stayed on the outskirts in a town named Alcala de Henares and travelled in to Madrid centre on Sunday evening to wander around Plaza Mayor and get something to eat. More on Madrid at another time but for now here is an observation and a piece of advice for the traveller thinking of visiting Spain's capital city.
Tapas in Madrid is free!!!
On the Costa del Sol and Costa de la Luz we get fleeced. You go into a bar, order a drink and then buy tapas at around €2 to €3 each which, considering the size of the dishes takes 3 or 4 tapas to fill you up. Not so in Madrid where you go into the bar, order your drink and then order the tapa of your choice. This is then brought to you along with your drink free of charge. This meant that we were eating out at a fraction of the cost we originally budgeted for. Superb! How do they do it? Who cares? Free food!!!
While there we watched Spain beat Chilli in the World Cup qualifier. I was quite surprised at one point when the team wearing blue kit scored and every one cheered. I had assumed the blue team was Chilli you see while the other team wore red (Spain's usual kit). Someone later explained to me that each team has two kits of different colours and on this occasion Spain wore blue. Anyway they won which was good as I now live in Spain and its not as England has got a team right now is it? But, what do I know, I hate football.
Back to tapas and here, in true spirit of this blog is one quick recipe for a tapa. More will follow soon. Just you try and stop me.
3 eggs
3 rashers of bacon (or 4 depending on how big they are or how much you like bacon)
About 4 good handfuls of green beans (well how else do you measure them)
2 measures of vodka
Half a glass of orange juice
Half a glass of cream soda
1 shot of Grenadine
First, chop up the green beans and put in a pan with salt and water. Bring the water to the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Next, beat the eggs in a jug or bowl then throw them in a frying pan with some olive oil and fry them up until, well... fried I suppose. When fried break up into little pieces and leave in the frying pan.
Then, chop the bacon into little pieces and again throw into the frying pan with the eggs. Fry for about 4 minutes.
Finally, drain the green beans and add them to the frying pan. Cook together for about 5 minutes and then serve with fresh crusty bread as shown below courtesey of our new camera.
The observant of you will have noticed the extra ingredients listed but not used in the above recipe. For those new to 'Burning Down The Kitchen' there is a law first and foremost that must be obeyed as drilled into me by my friend and Executive Chef (who will remain nameless to protect his professional reputation) namely...never cook without alcohol within arms reach.
Get a tall glass and place it in you freezer for 15 minutes. Take it out and immediately fill it with the vodka, orange juice, lemonade and a dash of Grenadine. Throw in a couple of ice cubes and sit back and watch.
The Grenadine is for artistic effect as it sinks to the bottom of the glass and set against the orange juice gives the appearance of a sunrise. Very effective. Just as efective is the result that comes from placing the empty glass in the freezer before filling it, but I'll leave this to you to try.
Anyway, more tapas recipes are to follow and we still need to get around to that Italian feast.
Hasta luego
Steve
Tapas in Madrid is free!!!
On the Costa del Sol and Costa de la Luz we get fleeced. You go into a bar, order a drink and then buy tapas at around €2 to €3 each which, considering the size of the dishes takes 3 or 4 tapas to fill you up. Not so in Madrid where you go into the bar, order your drink and then order the tapa of your choice. This is then brought to you along with your drink free of charge. This meant that we were eating out at a fraction of the cost we originally budgeted for. Superb! How do they do it? Who cares? Free food!!!
While there we watched Spain beat Chilli in the World Cup qualifier. I was quite surprised at one point when the team wearing blue kit scored and every one cheered. I had assumed the blue team was Chilli you see while the other team wore red (Spain's usual kit). Someone later explained to me that each team has two kits of different colours and on this occasion Spain wore blue. Anyway they won which was good as I now live in Spain and its not as England has got a team right now is it? But, what do I know, I hate football.
Back to tapas and here, in true spirit of this blog is one quick recipe for a tapa. More will follow soon. Just you try and stop me.
3 eggs
3 rashers of bacon (or 4 depending on how big they are or how much you like bacon)
About 4 good handfuls of green beans (well how else do you measure them)
2 measures of vodka
Half a glass of orange juice
Half a glass of cream soda
1 shot of Grenadine
First, chop up the green beans and put in a pan with salt and water. Bring the water to the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Next, beat the eggs in a jug or bowl then throw them in a frying pan with some olive oil and fry them up until, well... fried I suppose. When fried break up into little pieces and leave in the frying pan.
Then, chop the bacon into little pieces and again throw into the frying pan with the eggs. Fry for about 4 minutes.
Finally, drain the green beans and add them to the frying pan. Cook together for about 5 minutes and then serve with fresh crusty bread as shown below courtesey of our new camera.
Get a tall glass and place it in you freezer for 15 minutes. Take it out and immediately fill it with the vodka, orange juice, lemonade and a dash of Grenadine. Throw in a couple of ice cubes and sit back and watch.
The Grenadine is for artistic effect as it sinks to the bottom of the glass and set against the orange juice gives the appearance of a sunrise. Very effective. Just as efective is the result that comes from placing the empty glass in the freezer before filling it, but I'll leave this to you to try.
Anyway, more tapas recipes are to follow and we still need to get around to that Italian feast.
Hasta luego
Steve
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