I did not take this picture, but I can assure you that the ones I had were identical. Basically, they're fried dough that you dip in incredibly thick chocolate. I believe they rival the waffles tasted by dear Emily in Belgium.
A few more notes about food:
Most of what people eat in Spain comes from the immediate region. Ham (which I originally wrote as "jam") of the best quality is definitely from Spain, much of the produce comes from a microclimate somewhere nearby Granada where they can grow lots of stuff during the winter, oranges are most definitely from here (they're hanging from every tree in the south right now), and little cakes that you buy in stores for breakfast are from the next town over, etc.
People also spend more of their money on enjoying food over here. They/we eat out a whole lot, and generally spend time and money socializing in bars or cafes or restaurants. If we want to hang out together, the only place to do that is a food establishment, which can get a bit expensive. My host mother, who is an especially dedicated cook, also spends a couple hours every day making the big lunch served around 3 and can talk endlessly about food.
They also eat a lot of bread over here. Toast for breakfast, bread with lunch sometimes, sandwiches with giant slices of bread, tapas served almost always with bread. Bread and pastries stare at me from every other shop window.
In conclusion, I'm still thinking about the food culture. Though it seems a bit more in line with my thinking...except maybe for the bread.
Spain sounds delicious. I propose a battle of the desserts between Belgian Waffles and Spanish Churros; the benefit to such a battle is that there really are no losers... mmmmm
ReplyDeleteoooo ¡snap! ¡churros y chocolate es riquisimo!!!! no hay mucho chocolate aquì... pero tenemos mucha fruta!
ReplyDeleteI got so excited because I had a croissant for breakfast the other morning...it was wonderful. :)
ReplyDeleteI think my favorite Indian food tradition is the chai. You can get it for 2 rupees (about 4 cents) right across the road from the building where I have Hindi, so a bunch of us will go and hang out and drink tiny cups of chai. I also appreciate how much cheaper food is here...so that even if we do hang out, we spend about 60 cents - 1 dollar instead of however much food costs in the US.
And I, too, really enjoy the localness of the food. I bought a pomegranate off a woman on the street the other day...I still haven't figured out how to eat it, but I'm excited. And people buy their chickens from stands that are on almost every street corner. And we have no fruits that aren't in season (the big deal is mango season that's coming up). It's a very different way of living--one that involves a lot less variety (and almost no baked goods, which is the saddest thing ever), but that is still really satisfactory.
...I can be a judge for that dessert battle *cough* My service will be provided for free. Hehe.
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