Pears poached in wine, Mama Ía blog

Pears poached in red wine, the link to the Spice Islands and Miami 2022

Pears poached in wine, Mama Ía blog

If there was a dessert that my mom made very often when I was a young girl, that was peras al vino, pears poached in red wine. And I know what you’re thinking, and yes, drinking age is lower in Spain that it is in the US, but no, these pears have essentially no alcohol because all of it is evaporated in the making. 

Phew! Now that we have cleared that up, let’s move forward.

Pears poached in red wine, Mama Ía blogJuan Sebastián Elcano in Miami, Mama Ía blogPears poached in red wine are one of the easiest desserts to make, and now that I mention it, maybe that’s why (more…)

Blackberry tiramisu, Mama Ía blog

Blackberry tiramisu to celebrate the publication of my novel “I Was the First”

Blackberry tiramisu, Mama Ía blogIf you follow Mama Ía blog you may have noticed I’ve been away from this space for a while, but this post hopefully explains why. It’s a good reason, but to make up for my absence, I’ll treat you to a really sweet, beautiful recipe: blackberry tiramisu.

I Was the First, Mama Ía blogAnd I know, too, that this is not a Spanish dessert. But I was looking for a beautiful dessert, not only sweet and tasty but pleasing to the eyes, and this one checked all the boxes—and my current taste buds.

As you probably know —because I’ve posted about it before and it shows in my blog—, I have a second gig (or is that the first?) as a writer. Sure, I write for this blog, but (more…)

Chicken lemon and capers in a port sauce, Mama Ía blog

Chicken with lemon and capers in a port sauce —and splashing in Alcocebre and Onteniente, Summer 2022

Chicken lemon and capers in a port sauce, Mama Ía blogI hope you had or are having a wonderful summer. I have been in back-to-work mode for a while, and thought that chicken with lemon and capers in a port sauce was a recipe worth of being the first one of the new “school year “.

Pou Clar, Mama Ía blogAlcocebre, Mama Ía blog

If you have been a regular follower or subscriber of Mama Ía blog for a while, you know that in the summer, the blog takes a short hiatus. This is the time when, more than blogging, I am “researching“. Okay, okay, that’s (more…)

lemon tart with strawberry cream frosting, Mama Ía blog

Lemon tart with strawberry cream frosting, and Madrid’s Naval Museum

lemon tart with strawberry cream frosting, Mama Ía blogA layover of a few hours in Madrid can be very well invested, particularly if, as it happened to me, it was in April and not in June. News has it the wait time for passport control at Madrid airport this summer will not allow me to do this again. Or… it will have to be a shorter, but still sweet visit —just like the lemon tart with strawberry cream frosting (or more specifically, the mini tarts) that accompany this post: small and sweet. 

Museo Naval, Mama Ía blogStrawberries, Mama Ía blogI have been wanting to visit the Naval Museum in Madrid for a long time, and more so following the investigation that led me to write my novel Yo fui el primero, about the first circumnavigation of the world completed by Spanish navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano, and (more…)

Cod with asparagus, Mama Ía blog

Cod with asparagus and preserved lemons—and Valencia’s Maritime Holy Week

Cod with asparagus, Mama Ía blogThe recipe I’m sharing today, cod with asparagus and preserved lemons, is very appropriate for this time of year. Cod is a kind of fish long associated with Lent in Spain. Lent is now over, and you may not know that even though Easter Sunday has passed as well, we are still in the Easter season, which will last until the feast of the Pentecost, the Sunday about fifty days later.

Santa María del Mar, Mama Ía blog

Iglesia de Santa María del Mar, St Mary of the Sea Church, Valencia

Cod with asparagus, Mama Ía blog

Cod with asparagus, Mama Ía blogWhat you may know is that we are also in the season of asparagus, one of the first spring time vegetables, so cod with asparagus should be on the menu.

By now you also know that cod is (more…)

Chickpeas and Swiss chard stew, Mama Ía blog

Potaje de Cuaresma, Chickpeas and Swiss Chard Stew, for Lent — and Fallas!

Chickpeas and Swiss chard stew, Mama Ía blogPotaje de Cuaresma, sopa de vigilia, caldo de Cuaresma, are all names that refer to the same dish. The name would translate literally to “vigil stew” or “Lent stew” in English, but we’ll call it chickpeas and Swiss chard stew for the purposes of this blog. 

Fallas Valencia 2022, Mama Ía blog

Valencia’s Fallas 2022, celebrated as it was before the pandemic

Chickpeas and Swiss chard stew, Mama Ía blog

The original or most typical version of it in Spain also includes cod. However, I omitted it today and made it a more simple dish, not only appropriate for Lent but also for a vegetarian diet.

The origin of this dish, like many other Spanish dishes, can be found (more…)

Bitter orange marmalade, Mama Ía blog

Bitter orange marmalade, the flavor of my Spanish breakfasts

Bitter orange marmalade, Mama Ía blogI can’t help it, but every time I have toast with bitter orange marmalade, or Seville orange marmalade, as the jar may be labeled, I think of my dad.

Bitter orange marmalade was my dad‘s, and also my, favorite marmalade.

Oranges in Taroncheral, Mama Ía blogOranges and lemons, Mama Ía blogFor years, during middle school and high school, our dining room table at breakfast time would become not only the family table where everyone gathered to convene before going on our way to school or to work, but also (more…)

Mocha cake with espresso frosting, Mama Ía blog

Mocha cake with Espresso cream cheese frosting —and my Valentine’s

Mocha cake with espresso frosting, Mama Ía blogWhen thinking of what special treat I’d make for Valentine’s Day I knew I had to find something with coffee. Dave has a sweet tooth AND he loves coffee. So mocha, the combination of chocolate and coffee, was a good option. 

I didn’t know, however, exactly what to make or how to make it, and I ended up going through recipe books and doing Google searches. Finally, taking a bit from here and a bit from there and then adding my own ideas, I ended up with this cake: mocha cake with espresso cream cheese frosting.

Fox Island Park, Mama Ía blog

I have to say I don’t like calling myself a recipe developer. I am not one, and I don’t intend to be one. I am not a professionally trained cook, so I do not (more…)

Salmon cakes, Mama Ía blog

Salmon cakes —and the January mood

Salmon cakes, Mama Ía blogAfter the rich and sometimes heavy meals, and indulging in sweets and baked goods, January calls for moderation and healthy meals, right? At least that’s in almost everybody’s minds, and salmon cakes are a perfect option.

I love the month of January. I may have said this before — actually, I know I have. But while I still love most aspects of it, I have to tweak my affirmation. 

Home, Mama Ía blogBrothers, Mama Ía blog

When my sons were younger, the month of January meant the back to normal, both literally and figuratively —or in other words, both in the house as in my mind.  After a couple of months of the craziness associated with (more…)

Roscón de Reyes, Mama Ía blog

Roscón de Reyes, Kings Cake for the feast of the Epiphany

Roscón de Reyes, Mama Ía blogAfter a few years of very good intentions, finally 2022 sees the recipe for roscón de Reyes, Kings cake, on the blog. Not that I haven’t been making it! But I am not a great planner of the recipes that I will post on Mama Ía blog and the Christmas hustle and bustle always caught up with me.

Reyes Magos in Alcoy, Mama Ía blog

Kings Melchior, Gaspar and Baltazar at the January 5 Three Kings Parade in Alcoy (Alicante, Spain)

Nativity Scene, Mama Ía blog

Nativity scene at the Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago

That always seems to be the case. I do have some method and loose plan of what I will post on the blog. However, more often than not, I will cook or bake something that (more…)