Chocolate for Breakfast!

Well it was not my first time tasting this delicacy but it wasn’t until now that I have dove head first into it- Gobbling up two doses a day upon arrival in Madrid. Churros con Chocolate are a Spanish treat that are enjoyed for breakfast, after midnight, or just about anytime. A churro, most often seen stateside covered with cinnamon and sugar is a long, thin, ridged pastry that could be compared with a giant edible rope. It is deep-fried and chopped into manageable ‘straws’, which are then served up with a thick, hot drinking chocolate (like pudding).

Churros first began after the Portuguese sailed to China during the Ming Dynasty. In China they learned new culinary techniques for working with dough. The Chinese had a secret art of dough pulling that could not be shared under protection of death. However the Portuguese used the dough and instead pushed it out through a star shaped nozzle which resulted in the prismatic ridged churros seen today all over Spanish-speaking countries today.

I tested a few different venues for my devilish addiction such as the modern CH&CH but ended up frequenting the time-tested Chocolateria San Gines. First opened in 1894 San Gines is a favorite of locals and tourists alike. Every visit I made was accompanied by teeming hordes of chocolate-hungry patrons. We were served by seasoned waiters in white chef jackets who navigate the restaurant with a small fortress of triple-stacked mugs and spiky churro plates hoisted shoulder-height on trays. Watching them dance through the restaurant was like seeing an artist on stage. I think most would agree that the best part is being able to eat chocolate for breakfast and everyone else thinking that it’s normal.

So the next time you are in Spain make the effort to find this great Chocolate house and indulge in something age-old and supremely satisfying.

Madrid

After the sleepy mountain villages and seaside retreats of the Basque country entering Madrid was both chaotic and full of divine energy. Spain’s capital is a mix of historic romance and functional modern beauty. Three days there was barely long enough to run the tourist gauntlet and explore the center and the morning of my departure was melancholic to the point where I felt I was leaving behind an age-old friend.

Any big city has famous highlights to tick off on the list of famous must-dos and we managed to tick those boxes:

The Prado: Famous art gallery that is home to many medieval and renaissance masterpieces.

Palacio Real: The Royal Palace, still used for formal ceremonies by the current King is beautiful enough to contend with Versailles and has some gorgeous Asian influences that were in Vogue at the time of construction.

Puerta Del Sol: Where all things meet. This central square is the bustling center of Madrid and will be the place to find shopping, people, restaurants, and street performers.

Playa Mayor: The heart of old Madrid, it is almost as busy as Sol, but is a cobble stoned pedestrian only area that transports you back in time along with many of the bars lining the square that have been running for over 100 years.

Parque Buen Retiro: An enormous park full of palaces with exhibits ponds, and giant monuments where you can dance, go boating, eat, exercise, or smell roses and explore Spain botanical treasures.

However there are always unique things waiting around every corner and this capital city each cobble stoned street held a myriad of treasures to uncover.

Mercado de San Miguel: A glass-sided covered market full of people eating ready to feast upon Spanish delicacies for reasonable prices and a festival like atmosphere of pure congeniality.

Chocolate and churros: I think this delicacy speaks for itself (but I will have more details on this soon!)

Bull fight: Controversial, and hard to watch at times, but an interesting novelty and something timeless that will take you back to when you watched Saturday morning cartoons.

Metro: Modern and sleek overall the highly digitized metro is always fun to explore and the people watching is prime.

Hilarious dogs: The Spanish have the some love for squish-faced dogs that I do, but of course you can find all breeds prancing around. However the bar denizens are the most hilarious. They stroll around their turf and hassle visitors for scraps. I even caught one steal 3 full slices of bread!

Even though I hit all the main spots and some more unique aspects, there is so much more to come back for! And I will definitely be returning later in the year.

The Basque Country

Basque Country is a mysterious region that lies on the border of modern day France and Spain. The denizens of this region were competing with the Vikings for whales and the sea before most European nations had set sail. Although there is no evidence, historians believe that the Basque sailors may well have been to America before Columbus, and help build ships for Spain’s later explorations. This region is often the host of legends for lost treasures and hidden secrets to do with the Knights Templar and lore from that period.

The Basques also speak a language that is unconnected with any other living language- Euskara. This odd language full of k’s tx’s and z’s look like some alien script and is spoken all over the area along side the respective French or Spanish.

This region has always relied deeply on the sea, iron, and of course their own resourcefulness and stubbornness. This stubbornness has allowed them to keep a strong presence and heritage throughout the years that still lives strong to this day. Despite some Basque Terrorism from the ETA (meaning and in Euskara) directed towards the Spanish government this area is a treasure to uncover.

You would never know these people were hostile as the region is comprised of sleepy villages, nestled in the mountains of the Pyrenees where life is slow and simple. Along the coast you will find a similar vibe where you can find fishing villages packed with pastry shops, pintxos (basque tapas), and of course the Beret- symbol of the Basque people.

We managed to skim through several small Basque villages between our stays in the bigger cities of Bilbao, San Sebastian, and Saint Jean-de-Luz across the French border.

Bilbao, usually deemed the industrial city is a delightful mix of a maze-like old city center and a gorgeous new town full of flower and fountain adorned squares and modern architecture, including one of three world famous Guggenheim Museums. Guides to the area don’t give this town the credit it deserves.

San Sebastian is a seaside beauty with a long stretch of sand to enjoy, a modern area called Centro which is a shoppers paradise with a mix of big European brands and boutiques (and thus I spent a day here putting my Euros to good use). Lastly but not least is the large and bustling old city with a busy square full of eateries, roads packed with Basque’s watching the football matches and no shortage of helado (ice cream).

The border jump to Saint Jean-de-Luz takes no time at all and has a completely different feel from the Spanish side of Basque. Life there by the sea is calm and serene. Where the sun is good and the food is better. There are not many landmarks to brag about but this small town was historically important. Napoleon used this port during war times and was also the place where Louis XIV of France tied the knot with Marie-Therese of Spain putting end to years of squalor between the countries. Just soaking in the atmosphere and dining on gourmet quiche and macaroons is enough to make the town worth a visit.

In a nutshell the Basque Country is mix old, new, France, Spain, and something all its own. This region is a great place to go if you want to relax while flooding all five senses with something unique.

Ongi! Tres Bon! Muy Bueno! Very Good!

A Little Something on Teaching

I think that all children think about becoming a teacher at one point. Often they think about how cool of a teacher they would be and how much better they would teach their students than their current educators, others have a heart of pure love and nurturing and helping a child cut out a Valentine’s heart for his Mom or friend is a dream come true.

I was the first. I thought I would be fun, radical, a bit blunt, honest, and keep my classroom as far from the staunch and normal learning styles as possible while still being effective. Sometimes I am a bit dry but I think that overall I have managed to set out to do what I wanted.

When teaching a language you need to show that it is more than a set of grammatical structures and a memorization of vocabulary lists. The pinnacle of achievement is not a gap-filling grammar exercise. Each language is alive, changing, and used for a million things. We use it for formal situations like school and business transactions; we also use it for buying food in a market, and of course is seducing our lovers and entertaining our friends. So why is it that educators often strip bare the fun and interesting language we use with those most intimate to us and that we spend the most time with. Maybe because it isn’t appropriate in the uppity world of academia, or that the old prudes who designed the system are uncomfortable using it.

Regardless, I am keeping it real. I want my students to be able to do their business and then play hard after. This is life. Growing up in an English society we have plenty of opportunity to hear all the language we will ever need, but when your only access is through books and evening classes you are not so privileged.

In return my classes have been great- they have shed their hard Russian shells, had great laughs, played silly games where they were bartering in a faux market for wives, human hair, and gunpowder. You know your job is done when you hear:

‘Who needs a wife? She is the best quality from Russia, blonde and very tall, she will make all your dreams come true.’

‘I already have two wives, but I do need some barbed wire.’

While from the far side of your classroom another pair of students is haggling over the quality of their shoes.

In the end I feel that effective language teaching is being able to make it fun and relevant to the student’s needs and interests and to have them learn things in your class that they can use when they go online, to their job, or to and English country, and I am very thankful to work somewhere I can make this happen.

Sampling Soviet Satellites

When you think of Russian food you probably don’t get much past Vodka and Caviar, but there is a quite a lot more. What really adds to the cuisine in Russia is the influence and availability of food from former Soviet Satellite countries. These countries have given Russia food of Slavic, Middle Eastern, and Asian origins, which I have not come across even in the most global of cities.

Last weekend I went with a group of teachers and had my first Belarusian dining experience where I dined on Draniki (a small, flat potato dumpling) served in a pot with baked prunes, onions, and veal. It was served with smetana (kind of like sour cream without the sour). With this I has fresh whortleberry juice and krambambula-a spiced Belarusian liqueur made of vodka, honey and spices such as nut meg, cinnamon, cloves, and pepper.

This following weekend we went for homey Georgian fare- Georgia as in the small eastern European country and not the southern states of America. Georgians are known for good taste and culture as well as being much louder and passionate than our stone-faced Russians. From the smoky long tabled bar we dined in I would have to agree.

We started with Khinkali, a large meat dumpling that you eat with your hands and suck the salty juices out of while still piping hot.

Next we had the iconic and famous Hatchipuri. This cheesy Georgian flat bread is simple but divine. To go with these we had kabob-roasted meat topped with dill, onions, and pomegranate arils, which they call sashik. As dessert we had a double round of Turkish coffee served with chocolate. The coffee is sweetened and served with the grounds still swirling in the glass. You must let it settle to the bottom before you enjoy.

When winter is rough and work is demanding food is often the best part of my day and I am glad to be dipping into a new world of cuisine that is a combination of the new and the homey. If I am in any luck we can hunt down some Azerbaijani next week.

Maslenitsa Madness!

This week in Russia has been the annual celebration Maslenitsa, or Butter week. It is the last week before lent where people all over the country feast upon Blini (pancakes) before their partial fast. It is combined as a festival of spring coming and on the last day of the festival a female scarecrow, the symbol of winter is burned to welcome in the spring.

The week starts fairly slow but each day has a theme, one for having pancakes with your in-laws, one for sweet pancakes, another for festivities and games, and so on. Sunday is the most important day, the day of forgiveness. On this day families take pancakes to their dead relatives in the cemetery as well as celebrate in major festivals included pancakes and animal fighting (sometimes even bears)

As you may have guessed I took full advantage of this holiday and have been eating pancakes left right and center. I began my feasting in Red square with a traditional condensed milk topping paired with a mug of hot mead to the background of fur clad drummers.

Then I did two nights of home cooked Blini from Smoked Salmon and cream cheese, to banana and Nutella, and cinnamon and sugar. These Blini were better than anything I found out on the streets.

The grand finale was on sunday in Red Square where there was a small state fair erected in the shadow of St.Basil's Cathedral. Here there were hundreds of people with scare crow face paint and colorful sunshine pinwheels. Blini were being served up hot- both sweet and savoury as children when flying down a big ice slide. Center stage however was a musical competition with performers in traditional style from all 12 regions of Russia.

It was a cold spring night and so we went home to have a pancake nightcap. I decided it would be best to do this in a personal way with Canadian Maple Syrup and butter.

I am full of Blini, ready for spring, and looking forward to tasting all of the special Lent menus.

Cracks in the Ice

Well once upon a time at New Year I told you I would be publishing many more posts on my blog, and alas the last 2 months have been as dry and barren as my Moscow winter.

Over the last 2 months I have been working at school, with private students and on top of that taking 2 teaching certifications through International House. One in teaching Business English and one for teaching Young Learners. Between the 12 hour days, class prep., homework, meetings, and a teaching practicum on Sundays I have become incredibly productive and have managed to keep some money under the matress for the fall.

On the other hand I have been rendered uninspired and socially uninteresting.

However the first day of spring came yesterday and I have seen some water trickling across the snow-pile-lined pavements of Moscow. Nothing could excite me more! A hint of spring and the summer to follow coupled with the fact that this week is also Maslenitsa (Butter week) in Russia. What the Hell is butter week you ask?

Well, Butter Week or Pancake Week is the week long festival to celebrate the coming of spring and the week before the religious holiday Lent. It is celebrated by eating pancakes (more like a French style crepe) everyday of the week in a different place or accompanying them with social activities and music.

By Sunday I shall be fat, buttery and well informed on the holiday. Watch for my blini news.