And now for something positive...

Things have calmed down in my neighborhood, so now’s a good time to start focusing on the better aspects of Spain, like the food. Although many expats complain that the food is boring and repetitive, I find it somewhat comforting that I can go into any café, bar, or restaurant almost anywhere in Spain and be sure to find a few staple dishes: tortilla de patatas, jamon iberico, patatas bravas, pincho moruno… just to name a few.

I’ve decided to include a weekly recipe for those of you who like cooking. This week’s installment is a recipe for gazpacho from my friend’s godmother. I haven’t tried it myself, since I just got the recipe last week and it’s been too cold for a summer soup. However, as this woman is more than 70 years old, my guess is that she’s made the soup enough times to perfect it. That being said, the recipe's quite vague, so those of you with better cooking skills than me can adjust the ingredients to your liking.

Julita’s Gazpacho

INGREDIENTS:
- 2 or 3 cloves of garlic
- Half of one onion
- One green pepper (not too big)
- 4 ripe tomatoes
- 1 small cucumber
- Olive oil (about half a wine glass full)
- Vinegar (a bit less than the olive oil)
- Salt
- Cumin seeds (one teaspoon)
- One slice of bread soaked in water

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients and add water. Beat everything together with a mixer. Continue adding water until it reaches the consistency (or appearance) of a light cream.

Serve very cold.