I’m Back!!!
My visit to Spain was full of wonderful hours with my daughters talking, walking, and visiting with Claire’s friends and each other. Our first few days in Madrid were fairly relaxed with eating and drinking. Whenever you order a drink, you always get a little tapas – some olives, or slices of bread with cheese & tomato, or whatever. Most days, we were usually sitting at a bar or café to have a little something to eat and drink in the late afternoon. Dinner was normally between 8-10 pm.
On Tuesday, we rode the bus for 8 hours to the beach town of Cadiz. Once there, we found what was probably the only room available at a hostel, on that particular evening. But to our great fortune, it had 3 beds and a balcony! Cadiz is an historic place with a cathedral, a fort on the water, along with some other monuments and historic details. It is also a beach town, with restaurants, hotels and other things that cater to the influx of visitors during the summer holiday months. But the good thing about Cadiz is that it is a vibrant town on its own. It is a port town and has many businesses that support the residents of the city.
The weather was fabulous – 3 days of sun and se were enough for us!
I was anxious to get back to Madrid. There’s so much to do and see. We visited the Prada & Riena Sophia Art Museums, had dinner at a Russian restaurant, hung out at el Retiro with friends, drank at some local hangouts, shopped and ate great food, and drank wine.
I have brought home a gift for everyone! As you know I love food & on one Sunday evening, when many places are closed, we managed to find a restaurant that fit our budget. We sat outside and had our tapas. Claire and I had a stuffed eggplant and we managed to duplicate it at home as well, so here is our gift to you.
RECIPE FOR STUFFED EGGPLANT
1 medium eggplant
1-2 cloves of garlic
½ onion (chopped)
4-5 mushrooms (chopped)
Pumpkin (butternut squash) – diced/chopped small (yields 1 cup)
Spinach or broccoli
Couscous
½ cup of Goat cheese – crumbled
Directions:
Cut eggplant in half and scoop out inside, leaving a slight rim.
Be careful not to cut the skin
Brush inside with olive oil & season with salt
Bake @400° for about 15 minutes
Meanwhile, cook couscous according to directions. Chop veggies & sautee together until just soft.
Combine veggies, couscous and most of the cheese.
Stuff eggplant and top with a bit of cheese.
Bake at 375° between 45-60 minutes – where eggplant skin is soft, and the top is lightly browned.
