Cooking With Nity

Hola todos,

Today I discussed the joys of the kitchen with my spanish host mother and found that she dislikes the kitchen and most things about it. She is, however, human and needs to eat so she could still answer my questions about food and cooking in Spain.

First I asked her where she buys her groceries. She answered this by telling me that depends on what she wants, high or low quality. Supermarkets for not so fresh, processed food and small specialty stores for the best bread, fruit, vegetables, meat, and fish. Just like the US,if you want real quality your friendly neighborhood Meijer is not the place to go.

Second I asked how many times she went to the store a week. She said twice.

Third I asked her about the price of food and if it was increasing. She said it was and that it was far more expensive to buy food now than it had been a few years ago. However, she buys fresh bread for 3 loaves fore 1 euro. I personally can't imagine bread being any cheaper. As an example she said that fish was the worst. Which is odd since they eat more fish than anywhere other than Japan. I would think such a large market would drive prices down, but I am into biology not economics.

Fourth I asked how much time she spends cooking and if she makes a list of food to buy. She said that no she keeps a rolling list in her head. And she also said that she guesses she cooks for maybe 1 to 2 hours a day.

Fifth I asked how she learned to cook. This answer was very interesting. When she was younger she lived alone with a group of friends. Her mother was working in a different city as was her father. She taught herself to cook during this time and I am quite impressed because she is a very good cook.

FInally I asked the question we have all been waiting to hear, what was her favorite thing to eat. After much deliberation and several long seconds thinking she said tortilla de patatas; then she left to go pick up her daughter.

 That is all for now.