Mexican Food in Madrid

Oscar and I were craving Mexican food the other day. We knew we wouldn´t find anything like Abuelos but we were sure we could find something more authentic than nachos from the Hard Rock Cafe, which actually aren´t bad. A friend of ours recommended the restaurant Tepic so we gave it a shot. It was really good! It is traditional Mexican cuisine rather than Tex-Mex. We had beef tacos al pastor (left) and chicken flautas (right). They were both very good. To drink, Oscar had a Mexican beer prepared with lime juice and salt and I had a strawberry margarita. Then for dessert, I had Mexican coffee that is made in a huge clay pot on the stove and brewed with cinnamon, orange peels, and other essences. Before we left, the chef came out and introduced himself - very nice touch. I am sure we will go back.

Ham, Cheese and Tomato Pastry

This is very similar to the ham and cheese braid that I do but with a twist. I had some pastry dough in the fridge that was going to go bad so I needed to use it up. I remembered that Barefoot Contessa cut squares and folded the dough over like this for a cheese danish and thought it would be perfect to make individual portions for dinner. All I did was cut the dough into four squares (turned vertically into diamonds) and laid a couple pieces of ham, cheese, and tomatoe on each piece. Then I brought the horizontal points together; sealed them with a little egg wash; brushed the tops with the rest of the egg wash; and topped with some freshly grated parmesan cheese. All they need is about 25 minutes in the oven and dinner is on the table. Even though my presentation isn´t all that great in this picture, you can make this look pretty impressive simply by laying it over some fresh greens and serving it on a cute plate.

Vegetable Garden

A friend of Felix, Antonio, has a small vegetable garden in Boadilla del Monte, close to where we live. He is a local police officer and has this garden as a hobby. I met Antonio one day at the vineyard when we were shooting skeet and he mentioned that he was having a great harvest this year. My eyes must have lit up because he then invited me to come and pick whatever I wanted. I didn´t hesitate to say ¨Ok, when can I come?¨

A few days later, I was knee deep in fresh summer vegetables. I imagined I would get to bring home a few samples of each but never imagined that I would get to go home with all this! I picked fresh tomatoes, green bell peppers, Spanish peppers from Padron, zucchini, eggplant, onions and cucumbers. You wouldn´t believe how good they smell and what a difference they make in cooking. I have already made gazpacho, pisto, pasta with sauteed vegetables, tomatoe and cucumber saladas, and fried zucchinni. Delicious!

Just a few tomatoes.

The bell peppers are the big ones and Pimientos de Padron are the small ones. There is a saying ¨Pimientos de Padron, algunos pican otros no¨(Peppers from Padron, some are hot some are not.)

Ahh, heaven!

Feeling Empowered

I don´t ride horses very often, ok almost never, but I enjoy it. So when I organized a weekend getaway for Oscar and me, it included a two-hour route through the mountains and the countryside of Siguenza on horseback.

When we got there, Oscar asked if he could saddle up the stray cat that was wondering around the stables instead of a horse. We could tell that this wasn´t going to be your ordinary pony ride. A girl and her father, who were much more experienced than we were, joined us along with our guide, Mija. Mija basically helped us on the horse; gaves us the reigns; and said let´s go.

Before we knew it we were trotting up the mountain. My horse was well trained and was quite docile. Mija told me - tell the horse what to do and he´ll do it. However, it didn´t work that way at first. I was saying ... Excuse me, horse, could you please pick up the pace a little, if you don´t mind. ... Mija said ... No, you need to say... Go! ... and give him a strong nudge.

I am normally very good about telling people what to do in the kitchen or on a trip (it´s not being bossy, it´s demonstrating leadership) :) but with the horse it was different. Afterall, he was carrying me for two hours.

As we trotted up a hill, I noticed on the other side there was nothing but open countryside and I knew the horse was going to want to run. The other horses took off so I did, too. I gave him a nice nudge and we started to gallop. It was great! Much better than trotting. Oddly enough, I was more in control of the horse galloping than any other time on the route. I would move the reigns to the left, and the horse would go left ... then I would pull back and he would slow down; a little kick and we were passing up the other horses. It was quite empowering.

But I have to say that I was and put in my place as we were taking the last hill into the stables. My horse wanted to dart home but I wasn´t comfortable so I pulled back on the reigns and he want up on two legs - not good. Luckily, I held my own and we made a compromise and trotted down the steep hill. All in all, it was a great day. I really enjoyed the amazing views and the crisp fall breeze. I was really proud of Oscar, too. He was a great sport about it and ended up riding really well. I always knew that there was some cowboy in him :)

Oscar 53:33 - Elizabeth 57:37

We ran when the rest of the world ran. Last night, Oscar and I participated in The Human Race in Madrid. One million runners across the world participated and over 10,000 ran in Madrid. It was a 10K race that started in the Retiro park, crossed through the oldest parts of downtown Madrid, and ended in another famous park called Casa de Campo. We ran past some of the most famous monuments in Madrid including the Prado museum, Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor, la Almudena cathedral, and the palace.

Nike did an amazing job organizing the race and an even better job making you feel part of something historical. I truly felt proud as I ran. This was Oscar and my first 10K but we hope that it won´t be our last. I am especially proud of Oscar because he works so hard that he hardly had time to train and he did an outstanding job. He will always be my champion :) My goal was to come in under an hour and I did. I even jumped start two groups (by 23 sec!) so the next race I can start in the Under 58 min group.

Under the sign that put us in the group of first-time runners.

Before the big race.

Runners behind us at the starting line.

Runners in front of us.

The finish line as we left. I think the hardest part of the race was trying to find eachother at the meeting points. It was dark by the time we finally met up.

My souvenir. I had one on each foot that Oscar very delicately took care of.