La Comida Española

I had a nice chat with my host mom this afternoon when I got home from school. I explained our assignment to her, and she went above and beyond to answer all of my questions. I had to slow her down a few times to look up the meanings of words and I'm sure there are still a few things I missed, but it was great to bond over our love of food and eating. She's the youngest of her family and surprisingly, didn't know how to cook for a long time (eggs were her specialty). In fact, when she met her husband, he was a much better cook than her. But now she cooks for everyone and loves getting creative with meals, and we all love what she comes up with.

She generally only shops at the mercadona in the area, because they have everything she needs. Throughout the week, she adds food items to a shopping list on the fridge, and everyone contributes when we're running out of things like toilet paper or other household supplies. Occasionally when she's shopping and sees an ingredient that would go well with what she wants to make, or sees something that gives her an idea, she'll make a spontaneous purchase. She doesn't like the smaller single-item markets, and only goes there when she needs two pick up one or two ingredients before preparing a meal.

Stocking up trips are made about once a week, but my host mom isn't the only person who does the grocery shopping. In fact, my host dad is the only person I've ever seen coming back from the market, and the family's tiny car was packed with bags. In terms of prices, she said she has noticed a small increase in recent years. She said that whenever the euro is worth less, things cost more, which makes sense.

When I asked about favorite dishes to cook or eat, she replied similarly to how I would: she loves everything! Some dishes are easier to make than others and require less time, like things that she can just put in the oven and let cook, or soups/gazpachos that essentially only involve blending ingredients. She loves her blender, and showed me a few more of her favorite kitchen items like the sharpest knives and biggest crockpot-looking thing. Her favorite part about cooking and eating is the variety, and it's true! She makes something different essentially every day. Sometimes there are repeats in soups, salads, or desserts, but generally she'll add something different to the soup or change out a vegetable in the salad.

My final question was about recipes and cooking shows. She's not a fan of cooking shows because  they're too slow for her, and she doesn't like spending the time watching someone cook when she could read a recipe in a fraction of the time. She gets most of her recipes online, and tends to prefer reading and prepping while the oven heats up (she's very efficient). Finally, I told her that I'm a terrible cook and am a little nervous about having to feed myself next year, so she promised to send me off with plenty of recipes. She also offered to have me cook with her one day before I leave which I definitely want to do, so she's going to pick out something that I might actually have some success with (not exactly what she said, but I think that's the idea) and give me a cooking lesson this weekend. Wish me luck!