Pan Sin Gracia

The Camino a Ítaca loops back to an article I wrote years ago retelling a story my father-in-law once told me about the bread that was meant to keep them going. This fuses with stories of immigrants who have settled in this land of emigrants and the bread that binds it all together. Click over…

And Now Something Different for Lunch

McDonald’s may be ubiquitous But diversity is hard to beat down Today’s menu: Cooked Shrimp Snails Frog’s Legs Pig’s Feet Pork Jowl Fried Fish Stories behind the images #nonofar http://nonotfar.blogspot.com . . . . . . . . #tapasbar #tapas #cocinaespañola #andnowforsomethingcompletelydifferent #mykindaplace #spanishgastronomy #spanishfood #detodalavida #extremadura #badajoz #frogslegs #deeptravel #thatgreenhurtsmyeyes #foodlover #eattheworld #foodie #nothingfancy…

Another Round!

Writing in the local paper. Local issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. After the last class before the summer break the other day, a group of students and I went across the street to the bar to celebrate what was…

Monumental Rock, Monsanto, Portugal

Perched high above a patchwork of olive groves and cork forests, a holy mountain juts 758 meters (2486 feet) from the surrounding plain. It’s a sacred playground overlooking neighboring villages where naughty gods once used huge granite boulders as their croquet pieces, and left them scattered, forgetting to clean up after themselves. Over the centuries…

Whose Legs?

Fat Frog’s Legs For Sale It seems that there has been a seachange in finger food here recently. While frog’s legs have always been on the menu in this region, it’s generally something that was either common knowledge among locals or something that was tucked away in a lost corner of the menu. I’ve even…