Foodblog: bergerka

[bergerka]

Woof. I'm home. I'm exhausted.

First to some questions.

My debut in LA will be...when they decide to hire me! someone get on the horn to Maestro Domingo, wouldja???

Mixed drinks as we know them in the States are fairly rare in Spain, except for specific cocktail bars, also rare. If you get a mixed drink, it's likely to be rum and coke or rum and Fanta limón, gin and tonic, something like that. A martini, in Spain, signifies...a glass of vermouth, usually Martini brand, and they will ask you if you want red or white.

Bizarrely, even with all that, most bars in Spain stock about seven kinds of gin, including Hendrick's. One tapas bar we were in the other night had twelve different kinds.

The concert went spectacularly well. It was slightly freaky...in a pueblo of about 1,500 people, 600 showed up to see it, making it standing room only and VERY hot in the church. Channel four in Castilla y León also showed up to film the thing, I understand it's being shown sometime today there???

The program was as follows (not food related, but yanno, forgive me):

Part 1

Je suis Titania (from the opera Mignon, by Thomas)

Three songs by Mozart

An Chloë

Als Luise die Briefe ihres ungetreuen Liebhabers verbrannte

Abendempfindung an Laura

Four old Spanish arias, arranged for piano and voice by Joaquin Nin

Las majas madrileñas

Alma, sintamos

El jilguerito con pico de oro

Tirana

Four Italian songs

La promessa (Rossini)

L'invito (Rossini)

Almen se non poss'io (Bellini)

Stornello (Verdi)

Intermission

La Petenera (from the zarzuela La Marchenera, by Torroba)

Las carceleras (from the zarzuela Las Hijas del Zebedeo, by Chapí, and my favorite piece on the program)

La courte paille (Francis Poulenc)

1. Le sommeil

2. Quelle aventure!

3. La reine du coeur

4. Ba, be, bi, bo, bu

5. Les anges musiciens

6. Le carafon

7. Lune d'avril

Four songs by George Gershwin

Do it again

But not for me

Someone to watch over me

Vodka

As encores I offer

No corté más que una rosa (from La del manojo de rosas, by Sorozábal - just gorgeous)

Quando me'n vo (Musetta's waltz, from La Bohème).

We were invited out afterward by the mayor and his wife (who was a riot. I think she's in love with Eric) for jamón, queso from Zamora and vino tinto. I unfortunately did not get pictures of that as, er, it didn't seem polite to take them.

Got back to Salamanca very late indeed, hence breakfast was very late indeed, and once AGAIN I forgot to take pictures, jeez, I suck. But I was tired. It was buckets of coffee and a croissant.

Lunch, on the other hand, which followed very shortly on the heels of breakfast, I did get pix of. It was at C's mom's house.

We had her version of an ensaladilla rusa (basically the potato salad they make here), which had potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, cooked carrots, green beans, peas, jamón york (cooked ham) and artichoke hearts.

Then we had pork cutlets, salted and sprinkled with oregano, dipped in egg and fried.

And of course, bread. This was just so pretty I couldn't resist.

For dessert, we had evil little pastries from the bakery downstairs, which, as it turns out, is owned by César's sister. Did I know that before? These are evil, evil I tell you. Also blurry. But mostly evil.

I'm now back in Madrid, and while I THOUGHT I wouldn't be hungry again...I'm starting to think about it. Hmm. Sunday night. August. Everything closed. I'm going to go look in the refrigerator to see what I can possibly come up with. If all else fails, I'll go for kebap...

[racheld]

"Sunday night in August in Madrid. . ." Running through my head to several different silly tunes, most notably "Annie doesn't live here any more."

A world away, a world apart, a whole lifetime and lifestyle and knowings of which I am no part. Just wonderful to be shared with and told about and kept informed.

And did I see MAYO in the potato salad? I had no idea that was even possible.

I DO wish to have been at the concert---I DO love some Poulenc, and of course, the Sorozabal and the Musetta. My college roommate used to practice in the adjoining "ironing room" with its echoey tiles and metal furnishings, and I'll always hear the little waltz in that frame, with the notes flying past in ricochet off lockers and pipes.

It's been an adventurous week, tied to my armchair as I have been, and I thank you from my heart for such a rich, colorful, delicious tour.

[bergerka]

I feel like I'm letting y'all down, but I am just too tired to mess with anything complicated tonight!!!

So I foraged. I found some turkey breast, some toast, and some roasted red pepper.

They went beautifully with a glass or three of El Coto 2003 Crianza Rioja wine.

For dessert, two more of those butter cookies and one slice of banana bread, just to round things out!

...and that's my blog. Thank you all so much for reading and being patient with my connection issues! I'd love to hear from you here while it's open, or by pm, or by email!

Buenas noches, felices sueños y gracias por leer!

Besos y abrazos,

K

[jayhay]

Oh no, it's finished? I loved every minute! Thank you Kathleen, for letting us imagine for the last several days that we too, had followed our heart.

[eskay]

Kathleen (you have the same name as me ),

It's been a pleasure reading your blog; Spain has been on my list of places to visit ("someday") for a while and this has just intensified it. Muchas gracias.

[judiu]

Besos y abrazos a usted, tambien! I loved the blog, the little black dress and the Gershwin! I wish I coulda seen the rest of the Gershwin set! Thanks for the trip!

ETA: I can't type for s**t!

Edited August 20, 2007 by judiu (log)

[Marigene]

Thank you for a most wonderful week in Spain, Kathleen!

[JeanneCake]

Oh... it can't be over already!

I've had such a good time this week. Thank you! And C, and his mom, and your friends, and.. and... and

you are so generous to share life with us for a week. I'm sorry it's over but I've enjoyed every minute of it!

[prasantrin]

The frog is located on the skull slightly to the left of center of the photo.

←

I didn't even see that! I thought the frog was near the bottom right corner--it's not a realistic depiction, but you can see legs that look like frog legs doing a plie, and I thought the swirls near the top of that little section were eyes.

[Chufi]

Kathleen, thank you so much, I loved it! and it was great to hear you sing. I hope you'll have a concert in Amsterdam some day.

The fava beans with morcilla have been haunting me since I saw them on this blog. I'll be making that, or something like it, soon!

This glimpse of your new life has been very inspiring to me. I wish you all the best in music, love and Spanish life!

[Abra]

This has been a real eye-opener and fun all the way. But what the heck is a zarzuela, in music? To me it's a complex and delicious seafood stew!

[Genny]

:the crowd stands and cheers, someone from the back whistles and roses rain down on the stage: Brava! Brava! Encore!!

Well done, especially considering the hectic schedule you fit this into!

Thanks so much for sharing yourself, your friends and the home you have found.

Hugs,

Genny

[wawairis]

It's over??? Oh no!

Kathleen, I truly enjoyed your blog and pictures. So very interesting and informative. Good luck with your singing career. (I couldn't download the singing clip!)

[bergerka]

A zarzuela is the Spanish version of operetta, or light opera - like Johann Strauss II, Gilbert and Sullivan, Offenbach, that stuff. Basically classically written music with dialogue in between numbers, somewhere in between musical theater and opera.

I adore zarzuela. It has, I find a uniquely Spanish character that I like better than both german operetta and french opéra-comique.

I came to check in and thought - oh crap, I forgot to take a picture AGAIN - and then realized I didn't need to!

This was really fun, folks - can't thank you enough.

[Safran]

Excellent blog!!! Thank you, thank you Kathleen!!!

[lancastermike]

Just as much fun as I hoped it would be. Thank you Kathleen for keeping us entertained this week. Perhaps you could open one of your next gigs with J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets jusat to see if anyone gets the reference. Thanks again.

[Kouign Aman]

That was wunnerful fun. Thank you so much.

Bugger LA. Come sing for Ian so we can hear you in San Diego.

[Ling]

Thanks for taking us to Spain! And just so you know, I did end up making the olive oil chocolate mousse.

[C. sapidus]

Kathleen: What fun – thanks for taking us along for the ride this week.

[MarketStEl]

Hugs 'n' kisses back atcha! I had a load of fun following you through your part of Spain, and it's a shame they won't allow jamon iberico into the United States.

Which allows me to free-associate: To the person who expressed disgust that anyone would describe Boar's Head as the best of anything: Keep in mind that in much of the US, the supermarket deli counter (if indeed the supermarket has one) is what passes for charcuterie, and many Americans wouldn't get the distinction (I haven't yet really myself). And since really good deli meats are largely confined to specific parts of the Midwest and Northeast, most of the rest of the country has to calibrate by the premium brands with national distribution, Dietz & Watson and Boar's Head. Maybe if we described it as "barbecue without the heat," folks might understand better.

If you can't answer this last question in the blog, I'd appreciate a PM if it's possible: How recently was the cathedral in Salamanca completed? I thought the astronaut in the stonework was cute, and I tend to get a chuckle out of current or contemporary or self-referential carvings in Gothic structures (like the sculpture of the architect holding a model of the Woolworth Building in its lobby, or the one of F.W. himself counting coins in the same space).

[kaneel]

Kathleen i have enjoyed your blog very much. I was in barcelona last month and i fell in love with the city. I told my husband i want to move to spain. I loved the relaxed and laid back lifestyle. It is hard to get back to the american lifestyle working working and more working. I don't know if Madrid is anything like Barcelona ,I am sure you get to travel alot with your singing carrier .

Edited August 21, 2007 by kaneel (log)

[KatieLoeb]

Kathleen:

Thank you for a glimpse into a life fearlessly and well lived. And to think I was worried about you when you took off and moved to Spain. Pfft!

All things happen for a reason. You've reinforced my belief in karmic balance and given me hope and courage. Many thanks for the slice of a life we'd all love to be living. Simply marvelous!