Fwd: Green pepper

A chilli. Well not exactly, but a green pepper with our Spanish dinner.

Torre San Pedro el Viejo

Torre San Pedro el Viejo, a tower that 
predates the chilli in Europe by 200 years, 
which we saw on a tapas and historical tour
 (also without chillies) last night. 

We had vermouth, two types of ham Iberico, 
With manchego cheese and dray manzanilla
sherry, then tortilla de patates with wine of
the region, a kind of eggplant parmigiana
with cava, baked sucking pig and two Rioja
tempranillos and then sweet sherry and ice
cream shots. no room for chillies!!
 But I've got a lead on where to go when we
Are back in Madrid next week.

Blog jueves

Nothing visible on the chilli front today. We went the the Reina Sofina centre for contemporary art, the highlights of which were Picasso's Guernica ( predictably) in a crowded room and some end of life paintings by Miro and Picasso in a very empty room.  

The exhibition around Guernica showed some great art and told some powerful stories about the 2nd Republic, the role radical contemporary artists had, and thought they had, in popular analysis and politics, about the kind of inevitable force of business, capital and authoritarianism which saw Franco come to power. You can't imagine Australia's mining giants supporting the anarchists and socialists and surrealists in any battle for legitimacy.  It made us wonder about any lessons the thirties might have for the new era of uncertain capitalism that  - from here in Spain at any event - seems much of the world is drifting into. 50% youth unemployment  and I don't know what is happening to older people out of work here. 

I missed the protest at Atocha railway station the other day where incoming politicians were put on the spot about the unfair mortgage laws that are seeing people lose their jobs and then their houses. I havent seen evidence the radical theatre here now that was a feature of 30s Madrid yet.  I suspect it's on the Internet. And my Spanish is rather limited for research purposes, so if anyone out there has the cyber contacts please let me know. 

 Meanwhile  The Guardian suggests the Churches, well some of them, are fighting a rearguard action in the UK; strongly accusing the Conservative government of demonising the poor. While the complex series of events which has led to the near collapse of so many banks really can't be blamed on the poor, or even on social security (which in many countries is the poor by another name) it seems that there are more than enough people content to see them do things tougher. Check out the Anglicare Australia research showing its the most affluent who think the poor should get a bare minimum support. 

 So I'm looking around here to see signs of how this contest of ideas is being expressed.

I must say, I am not missing the Australian political analysis and commentary.

Weds am.

An interesting item in Monday's Guardian discusses the German position of power in Europe, and wondering about the difference not having a colonial history makes to its cultural impact and presumably its cultural diversity. (It's amazing how much you can glean from one paper if you only have the one.) Anyway it relates to the pride one time colonial powers have in their achievements and identity.

In that context I've been surprised by the continuing strength of local food traditions here.  Somehow the paprika inveigled its way onto the Spanish cuisine along with potatoes (claro),  red peppers of the capsicum variety, chocolate and tomatoes. But of chillies there are none. My point being there are a lot of Spanish restaurants .

Grette  and I went for a long walk tonight tracing down a Mexican restaurant mentioned on a guide site. Passed through a patch of Indian and Chinese places but we were too early - 7:30 pm - and they were all closed so I'm not yet sure who their clientele are or what the food is like. But we then traipsed past a number of classic tapas bars filled with fairly young loud people, found the Mexican cafe and didn't really like the look of it, and so we ended up eating hummus with carrot sticks and listening to Kylie Minogue, The Seekers, and Men at Work among others in a quiet kind of too cool to be hip cafe in the tapas bar area. Hence the photo featuring paprika below.

I think I'll need to keep chasing a bit of South American food here, because that makes an interesting circle  and also investigate if there is any museum or art exhibitions dedicated to say cochineal or more likely chocolate which were a couple of Spain's big American gifts to Europe.


After many hours everyday I now have some transportable blog connectivity. I used some time chasing a chocolate museum - one in Astorga and one in Barcelona, and a cochineal museum of which there appears or be none. Well, we'll see.

racion of carrots hummus and corn chips with paprika although not chilli

racion of carrots hummus and corn chips with paprika although not chilli

Madrid hoy

This episode of the chilli world tour - the Spanish, Portuguese, Moroccan bit - is starting slowly.

Partly because this blog itself  won't be paste for a day to, when I have local SIM card and account to connect the iPad.

I find it surprisingly hard to relax without any news of the world, distressing Australian politics or internet connections. Easter Day today, while scandalously full of open shops and businesses, appeared  rather light when it came to Internet and telephone connection services.

I try to turn it to my advantage by  focussing a bit extra on mindful breathing. But somehow  the lure of this agitated disconnection and the unfulfilled desire of listening to the sports reports, watching television of any kind, and checking my emails - is stronger than the world of the momentary breath. I'Ve got no doubt there's an opportunity for me there.

Today in Madrid, (Grette's and my first day) after watching a spot of traditional Easter competitive community drumming,  we ate a very satisfying menu del dia ( menu of the day) which had no sign of chilli. Im not surprised . but i noticed. im going to have a look around over the next week or so to see if where the chillies show their face.  I am anticipating our visit to Portugal so I can compare. On a strictly menu del dia basis of course.  

Of course it was the Portuguese who managed to spread the Chilli, in a few short years, right across the world, to almost no economic advantage that I am aware of. Whereas the Spanish claim responsibility I think for chocolate, vanilla and cochineal. All very profitable in their day. Anyway, the Spanish people I know are proud of their role in international chocolate marketing. So I am looking forward to testing out the comparative Portuguese knowledge and pride in the chilli.

Finally I hear the president of Ecuador was recently in Spain inviting recent medical graduates or come on over  to Ecuador where they are needed and wanted. Given the economy here in Southern Europe, Latin America probably looks very appealing.maybe the is a kind of  reverse colonisation, where the growing newer countries can now foster a brain  drain in their direction to suit themselves.

No new blogs until I solve my connectivity problem.
 Spain is great but no signs of chillies yet.
I think I will need to search out Latin American cuisine.
 Phot0s and comments once these two key issues are resolved.