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Newsletters from Comida España

	If you have not heard of Corte Ingles, let us enlighten you: It is Spain's main department store. You can find a Corte Ingles in almost all locations throughout Spain. It is a traditional store with any and every product that you might need from clothing to kitchen items to books. (think of the old-time department stores that were located in your downtown).
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Another trip!

	This summer, we are going to the northwestern part of Spain. Galicia is where all of our seafood conservas come from. This area is very unique compared to the rest of Spain. It has a rugged western coastline consisting of cliffs as well as inlets. Best of all, it won’t be +100 degrees!
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Chocolate a la Taza

One of the many pleasures throughout Spain is their hot chocolate or Chocolate de la Taza. This thick and delicious beverage is very popular after “clubbing” at the local discos. (around 4:00a.m.) After hour bars serve this concoction along with Churros to counteract other beverage excesses. However, if staying up past 2 a.m. would be a miracle, then it is perfectly acceptable to have it at a normal morning hour for breakfast. At Comida España, we carry one of the oldest and very popular Chocolate a la Taza: Torras.

Fall = Roasting!

Autumn is a great time to start roasting those root vegetables. Try to get the vegetables at your local farmer's market for the best quality and true flavors of the produce. Baby potatoes, carrots, beets, turnips, onions and of course, garlic are all great flavor combos. We use our Dintel olive oil and our saffron infused vinegar to coat the veggies, (optional: Add ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika for an even more robust flavor);then roast for about 45 minutes in a 400 degree oven. When done, we use one of our more complex oils such as iO as a finishing oil and season with salt and pepper.

¡Trip to Spain!

We just came back from our yearly trip to Spain. Again, we didn’t have enough time to really get to know all of the places we visited. One of the “off the beaten path” places was Puebla De Sanabria. We found out about this place through a Señora named Luz that we met in Santiago. She was from Madrid and could easily start her own tour business due to her wealth of geographical knowledge. She told us that Sanabria was a must see.

La Vida Española

	Spain, like most European countries, has a different pace to its everyday life. Spain is notorious for its late night dining and social scene. Most Spaniards go out to eat after 10 p.m. and it is not at all unusual to see people, even families strolling the plazas and streets way after midnight.
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¡La Primavera!

With the onset of spring, cooks are putting away their big roasting pans and preparing for those lighter dishes that celebrate the new season. One of the more versatile sauces that Spain is known for is the Romesco Sauce.
It originated in the ancient city of Tarragona, which is in the southern region of Catalunya (Catalonia). However, it is a common sauce throughout Spain. It compliments chicken and white fish. It’s great over pasta or even a baked potato topping. It’s delicious spread for bread. Best of all, it’s very easy to make with a food processor. Try our recipe at: www.comidaespana.com under recipes. We would even suggest tweaking the recipe by adding one of our types of paprika: sweet, bittersweet, smoked or hot.

¡Flamenco!

	When visualizing Spain, one always thinks of Flamenco. It is a trip must-see. Flamenco is an art form that comes from Arabic origins with its music and the dance was spread throughout Andalusia by the nomadic gypsies. It is hard not to be mesmerized by the passion and rhythm that is performed. Even our then-12 year old shut off his I-pod when seeing a performance in Sevilla. Un Milagro!
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¡Pequeño road trip!

The direction to Valencia, out of Madrid, takes you to many treasures along the way. This route takes you north instead of heading south to Valencia. One stop is Cuenca. This town is noteworthy due to its hanging houses built on the face of a gorge. It’s a lovely pueblo where the main entrance is a walking bridge over the gorge.
It has many little boutique places to stay and, Parador Cuenca on the other side of the gorge that was once a convent.

February is heart health month!

Many foods promote over health and reduce your risk of heart Disease. One of the power foods for your cardiovascular system is Olive Oil. It’s a great source of Vitamin E and other polyphenols. To get the optimal benefit from Olive oil, it needs to be Extra Virgin or first press oil. Also, look for cold extraction on the label. If the olives are heated for the oil extraction, it loses its’ antioxidant properties.

Feliz Año 2011! We wish everyone a good year!

Spain is not the first place you think of when planning a ski vacation but there are many ski areas located throughout Spain. Probably the most visited are the Ski areas in the Pyrenees which borders France. There is a Ski resort in each area: Cantabria, Galacia and Leon. There is an area in the “La Rioja” region, and a couple more down south in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. You could have a great vacation mix of sport, culture and of course, fabulous cuisine.

Navidades de España or Christmas in Spain

	Christmas time in Spain has a few different traditions than in the U.S. For instance, Christmas Eve is when the big meal is served and then on to Midnight Mass to celebrate the birth of Jesus. A lot of families open their presents on Christmas Eve.
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Websites that promote Spanish cuisine

	Besides our website, here are a few sites that can give you a better overview of the foods and wines from Spain. The sites give the history, the descriptions and the production regions of the different delicacies found throughout the country.
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Have the gifting blues?

	Tired of the gift card? We can solve your problem by offering unique gift ideas such as corporate gifts, wedding gifts, Real Estate closing gifts or just a special gift for a “foodie” friend. We have Paella Kits, Te Amo Olive Oil Club or an arrangement of your choosing. We guarantee your gift will be a hit! Check out our gift section on the website or email us for ideas.
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The olive cure

In June of this year, we toured the Jolca olive factory and saw the whole process of “off the truck to the tin”. Here were some of the highlights in the process of getting those delicious olives to your table: The olives are still sorted by hand when they come into the factory from the olive groves. All of the types of olives are then cooked. After the cooking process, they are put into large, sterile containers for curing for 30 days.

¡Viva España!

	Free shipping on any orders until August 31st, 2010 in honor of Spain’s victory in the world cup and Alberto Contador for winning the Tour de France!.
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Olive Oil News

	Comida España's Extra Virgin Olive Oils win several awards at 2010 Los Angeles International Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition.
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Off the beaten path

	In June, we went to Spain to visit with some of our vendors. One adventurous trip took us to Orcera to visit Potosi Olive Oil factory. Orcera is not on very many maps. Going east from Jaen, we traveled through alternating Olive Tree groves and Wine vineyards with little villages tucked in between.
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La Familia

	We are in Spain visiting family (La Familia) and visiting our vendors for the first half of June. We are also hoping to find an Olive oil from the Cordoba area to offer for the Te Amo Olive Oil club. Here are a couple of the places that we will stay in the Andalucia region: Palacio de Mengibar (www.palaciodemengibar.com) in the Jaen region and El Rey Moro (www.elreymoro.com) in Sevilla.
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Olive Oil Club!

We are launching an Olive oil club to provide you with a variety of Olive oils that we carry. There are two levels: 1) get an olive oil every other month for a year. And 2) get a different olive oil every quarter for a year. All of the olive oils represent the best olive oil producing regions of Spain. Go to www.comidaespana.com for information and to sign up. Remember, this can make a gift that keeps on giving!

Paella: Spain’s National Dish

Thinking about cooking Paella? It’s a relatively easy, but time consuming dish to prepare. The most important things to successful Paella are having good ingredients and having a good pan. Always use round grain rice such as Bomba rice. The round grains are dense and need three parts liquid to the one part rice. If using seafood, get the freshest you can find. And finally, have a good, flat-bottomed pan that is oven proof. Many Paella recipes call for finishing the Paella in the oven.

How to taste Olive Oil

	Fine olive oils, like wines, have layers of flavors. They can be sampled just like you would a wine. Here are some tips to consider: Look at the color. An early harvested olive gives more green colored oil. The light and more yellow colored oils are from riper olives. Smell the oil’s aroma: A good olive oil should produce a fresh, complex, fruity olive fragrance.
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"Castillian Gold": Spanish Saffron

The Moors brought this unique spice to Spain. It is the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus. It is very expensive due to the labor-intensive way of harvesting the spice. Only three stigmas from the crocus are used. For every gram of saffron, it will take 170 flowers. The crocus blooms overnight in mid-October. To optimize the flavor, they are hand picked the same day. Then, the stigmas are spread and dried over charcoal fires. This gives it that deep smoky flavor.

Noticias de España

	There are over 5 million acres of olive groves in Spain? Spain is the number one producer and exporter of olive oil in the world. History shows that olives were a part of the Spanish diet around 3000 BC. Amazing! A great website to check out to find out more about olive and olive oil is: www.olives101.com.
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