Hi, all--
I haven't seen a thread on this, and was wondering about what Spanish people eat "en casa." The reason I ask is that, in so many cases, the menus in restaurants seemed essentially identical to one another (eggs, eggs, ham, and eggs; eggs, bacon, ham, and spam...no, just kidding...couldn't resist tapping into old Monty Python). If you walk into a lot of bars/cafes, the pictures on the menu board look IDENTICAL.

So what do people eat in their homes? I know a typical breakfast is coffee and maybe a little bite of something, but what about the rest of the day?

Put another way, what's in the refrigerators of all the Spaniards on the board right now?


Tara

yogurt. ummmm. yogurt. when i was guiltily shopping at el corte ingles, out of pure laziness, of course, i saw lots of spaniards with yummy dannon yogurt (better than in the u.s.--better pasteurization maybe?). also lots of gazpacho. ummmm. i always hated gazpacho until i went to spain and had to learn to love it if i were going to eat. but man, they have good gazpacho! i saw lots of it going into their green, white, and black bags too. someone tell us what else.

When I lived in Sevilla with a family we ate filete with french fries (¿patatas fritas?), en May lots of gazpacho, chicken simmered in some kind of really tasty broth, lots of soup, tortilla, once we even had mashed potatoes with a hotdog (frank), pizza (the mom made them from scratch), espinacas with garbanzos, rice dishes, lentejas, a kind of potato salad, huevos a la flamenca, fried egg (that you eat with bread), pisto, fish (that fried one with tons of bones), and of course for dessert either yogurt (Sheba's right, it was sooooo yummy), fruit, Petite-Suisse, mousse, flan or this one really good thing that the mom made. Sorry it was a little over a year ago and I don't remember names of anything. But everything was delicious.

[ 08-01-2001: Message edited by: ilovemadrid ]

I had forgotten about the yogurt until you both reminded me. Yum!! I had SO much of that when traveling in Spain (also in Ireland, where it is similarly wonderful--the kind I always had there was made with whole milk, which many of us Americans don't drink anymore--except for, in my case, an occasional splurge on Rice Krispies).
Tara

Oh man!! I miss the Danone yougur!!!! Anyway, anyone I've lived/stayed with or visited has eaten a lot of fish, garbanzos, lentil soup, incredibly good chicken soup, filetes- I think like pork cutlets, rice, and when I lived there we always had paella for lunch on Monday, and tortilla espanolas at least 1-2 times a week, normally for dinner. As someone previously noted, everyone I know (friends, host family, host families of friends) would buy the pre-made pizza crusts and make their own pizzas. (Oh how I miss the cheese/jamon York/aceituna pizzas!!) Some of the meals were a little different than I was used to--try mashed potatoes/corn/mayonaisse/macaroni/tuna all in one! (I just don't like mayo!!) That meal caused me to have such 'stage freight' once that on the next night I only took a small spoonfull of the 'mystery white mound with pink spots' that was on the table before me, just to be safe. Come to find out it was REAL MASHED POTATOES, and they were taken away before I could take more!!! In the words of Homer Simpson, DOH!

With french fries a lot of times you'll get a dab of mayonaisse on top in restaurants, and many times with hamburgers they'll put a fried egg on top (at restaurants, you won't find this at McDonald's).

For snacks, they'll eat fruit or sometimes little cakes/cookies with their tea or coffee. They also have incredible ice cream, better than Italy IMHO!! The kids LOVE candy (whenever I visit I bring a TON of American candy that you can't find over there. The big, flavored bubble gum is a hit as are the Rice Krispies treats, peanutbutter cups, and Ever-lasting Gob Stoppers).

Speaking of candy, has anyone noticed that a "Milky Way" as it's known in the US is called a "Mars Bar" in Spain, while a "Mars Bar" in the US is called a "Milky Way" in Spain? Wierd, huh?

Buen provecho!!

GranadaGirl (Who just gained 10 pounds dreaming of my madre's tortilla, chicken soup, and pizza!)

[ 08-01-2001: Message edited by: GranadaGirl ]

After a night on "la movida",we ended up in my friend Celso's apartment, where he made bikinis out of bacon, cheese and bread in a small toaster oven. He owns two wonderful tascas by the Puerta del Sol and that's all he had in his home! They were good none the less.

My fridge is almost empty because I beguin holidays tomorrow, jejeje. Anyway, I still have a box of milk, a jar of water, an egg, a yogur, cheese, chorizo, half melon, pasta salad and spinach croquetas that left from yesterday dinner, beer, chocolate puro Valor, two lemons... I think that's all. Also in my kitchen always garlic, onion, pasta, rice, lentils, garbanzos, beans, and different conserves like atun in oil, olives...
Most common dishes in home are :
different dishes of rice, pasta, legumes, vegetables, meat, eggs and fish.
For summer, everything very easy and quick for cooking :
1st- pasta, potato or garbanzos salad, gazpacho, menestra, vichysoise.....
2nd- fried anchovies, scrambled eggs with mushroom and shrimps or ajetes, omelette, filete, lasaña, croquetas, any other fish to fry that is OK in the market...
3rd- melon, water melon, apricots, peach, plums, nísperos ........

Let's accept that the "insides" of a fridge will be different depending on th geographical area and the season. If we are talking about Madrid, typically, there are some "kitchen basics":

Chickpeas, beans (white & dark), lentilles, rice (Valencia type or Calasparra-my favorite). ALl will be prepared either in "hot" or salad modes.

Also you will find onions, garlic, parsley,"laurel", tomillo, romero, clavo, sweet paprika.

Potatoes and some pasta. Vegetables (summer) artichokes, letuce, aubergines, tomatoes....fruits.....lemons..olives of different flavours, canned aubergines( en escabeche)

Pieces of lamb, cow, pork and chicken either for grill or cooking.

Fishes and seafood, from moussels to sardines, it depends on the week.
I can't hide my liking of cooking...

Miguelito, Nativo,

Just let me know when you want me to come over for dinner... I like the potential menus.

I'll bring the wine...

El Gato (Wolf in a cat coat, wishing he was in Madrid for the food... )

forget the yogurt...bring on the NATILLAS!