Torrijas —and Spain’s love affair with bread
It is the Easter season, and my favorite treat is torrijas! They can be enjoyed at any time of year, but In Spain they are traditionally eaten during Holy Week and Easter.
But what are torrijas, you ask? They’re a delicious sweet bread treat, and even though I hate to make the following comparison, this is how I explain what they are here in America when asked: torrijas are the Spanish version of the French toast. Yeah, I know, who knows what came first, the torrijas or the French toast, right? But French toast is popular in America, so that is my best way to explain torrijas.
Cristo de la Palma during the Holy Week Processions (Onteniente, Spain)
Holy Thursday Procession, Maritime Holy Week in Valencia (Spain)
The weather has been incredibly cold and snowy this winter across much of the United States (even in Florida!). And it’s not over yet! February just ended, so there could be even some more snow and cold temperatures in store for us. In these weather conditions, there are some foods that I crave: soups, stews, and rich, filling vegetables, like this braised greens beans in smoky tomato sauce that is so idiosyncratically Spanish, it almost transports me there.
Come Thanksgiving, and everything is a whirlwind of events, celebrations and parties. The fact that my birthday is in early December adds to it. Not to mention the yearly tradition of attending the Handel’s Messiah concert by the 
If November 2024 started with a trip to London and Edinburgh, November 2025 hasn’t lagged behind in excitement, with a trip to beautiful Maui, in the Hawaii archipelago. A perfect excuse to accompany this post with a celebratory dish, beef shank with wine and pimentón sauce.
But don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying beef shank with wine and pimentón sauce should only be made for a special occasion. It’s just that it’s one of those dishes that looks beautiful on your plate and at the same time, feels comforting — the kind of dish your children coming home for the holidays are craving and will appreciate. 
While searching on my blog, I realized that I don’t have any post about the most important festival in Onteniente, my hometown, las Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos, the Moors and Christians Festival! Many recipes can be related to this post, so it was hard to choose, but I decided on coca de calabaza, pumpkin coca, a sweet torta popular in my region,
Coca de calabaza is a pretty simple coca, it includes only a few ingredients. It is eaten by itself, like a morning snack or an afternoon merienda, but I also like to eat it as a light lunch —never mind the sugar in it, the pumpkin 
If you’ve been following Mama Ía blog for a while you know (and have heard me say more than once) that the recipes I post are quite simple. Spanish cuisine is not complicated and it doesn’t use a ton of ingredients, relying more on excellent ones cooked without many adornments.
Today’s recipe, Alcoy meat cakes, while not hard to make, is a bit more elaborate, so I have to warn you. It also requires the dough to sit in the fridge overnight, so it’s a recipe that you need 
The month of May seems to always be full of events. For Catholics, it is the month of Mary and first communions; in Indiana, it is the month of the Indy 500; for many, it is the month of weddings. And here in the United States, it is also the month of graduations, both college, university and high school. After a number of years celebrating graduations, we are not having any at our house this May.
On this Holy Week, a very appropriate dish, coca de pimiento, atún y tomate, bell pepper, tuna and tomato torta, a dish that is so idiosyncratic of my hometown that I am surprised I haven’t posted the recipe before.
Oranges and almonds for a celebratory post: Mama Ía is 10 years old!
What could be more appropriate than a roast recipe to accompany a post about the UK? Rosemary and thyme standing beef rib roast with red wine jus is the recipe and Edinburgh, Scotland, the destination!
But first, about this standing beef rib roast. Standing beef rib roast is not an inexpensive dish, I have to warn you. That is why I’m