When In Spain...

Once upon a time, long, long ago, I had a step-mother-in-law who was from Biarritz, Spain.  (We have a complicated family history.)  Pilar introduced me to a number of (to me, then) exotic dishes such as paella with chicken and a variety of seafood.  "I saved some clams so we could eat them raw."  Oh goody.  "No, no!  You can't just swallow them, you have to chew them three times.  Have another."  And tiny fresh sardines, floured and fried whole.  "Mama!  Did you see their eyes pop in the pan?!"  To my credit, I refused nothing, tried everything, and I thank her to this day for expanding my culinary horizons.  I also thank her from the bottom of my heart that she did not make the baby birds in squid ink tapas that she described as a favorite in Spain. 

One of Pilar's recipes that I made often when the Kids were home is Spanish tortilla.  Since it is usually served at room temperature, it is a great side dish to take on picnics as an alternative to chips, etc., and goes well with any barbecue.  It's a simple recipe with just well-seasoned potatoes and onions fried slowly until soft and then mixed with beaten eggs to cook until set.  I happen to have a few eggs (a few buckets!), and remembering this dish last night, decided I'd try to make a much smaller one than I had in the past.  The only tricky part is sliding the tortilla out onto a cookie sheet to turn over and put back into the skillet to brown the other side.  I could manage last night by myself using a smaller pan, but when the Kids were home and I was using a big, heavy cast-iron skillet with a lot of potatoes and a dozen eggs, that was a two-person job.  The aroma of cooking onions and potatoes whetted my appetite, and the Spanish tortilla was every bit as good as I'd remembered.  And I have leftovers!

With the miracle of the internet, I was sent the suggestion by a reader that the bird in yesterday's photo might be a white-tailed kite.  Guess what!  I looked it up and, by golly, I think they're right.  I know I've never seen this bird before, but we're evidently within it's range.  Thanks Kevin, Jerri and Glenn for the info.

There is a local chat page that has been full of sightings of bobcats, a few black bears, and a lot of mountain lions in the area lately.  Unfortunately, there have also been reports of goats, sheep, and alpacas being killed.  It wasn't so long ago that Camille, Linda, and I saw that very large bobcat down by my woods.  The consensus is that the fires and drought have brought wildlife closer to populated areas in search of food and water.  It's hard to blame the animals; they're fighting for survival.  The best we can do is keep a sharp eye out and take what measures we can to protect our livestock.

It was a rather uneventful day, but a really good dinner.