In Barcelona, we were fortunate enough to have full access to a kitchen (that of JoAn, our couchsurf host). For dinner one night, we tried our hand at making vegetarian paella and sangria; how very Spanish of us.

Americans in Spain: Vegetarian Paella Recipe

Ingredients (Serves 6)

• 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz) of olive oil
• 5 cloves minced garlic
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cups (32 fl. oz) vegetable broth
• 2 cups (16 oz) uncooked rice
• 4 medium tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
• 3 small bell peppers (red, yellow, and/or green), seeded and cut into thin strips
• 1 cup (4 oz) green peas
• 2 cups (14 oz) artichoke hearts, tough outer leaves removed and quartered
• A few pinches of saffron
• 1 lemon
• Lemon wedges, to garnish

Heat the olive oil in a paella pan and sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is tender and translucent. At the same time, heat the broth in a separate saucepan until simmering.

Pour the rice into the paella pan and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add the bell peppers and tomatoes and cook for a further 3 minutes. Add the simmering vegetable broth and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes or until almost tender and almost all the liquid has been absorbed. Stir in the peas.

Sprinkle the artichoke hearts with a few drops of lemon juice and arrange over the rice in an attractive pattern. Continue cooking until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender.

Serve the paella straight from the pan, garnished with lemon wedges.

Americans in Spain: Sangria Recipe

Pour a bottle of red wine into a pitcher. Toss in a whole bunch of chopped and seeded fruit of any variety. If you use canned fruit, add the juice from the can. Let sit for as long as you have the patience. If you’re Alison’s family you’d pour in Sunkist, which ruins any chance of sounding knowledgeable at a college party when you suddenly exclaim, “you don’t make Sangria with Sunkist?!”

How´s the saying go… waste not, want not. So, as you devour that box of clementines, save the peels! And save your grapefruit peels and any other citrus peels you wish to candy. Below is the basic grapefruit peel recipe; experiment with modifications, such as adding some thin slices of fresh ginger.

Ingredients

• 4 grapefruits
• Water, to cover peels
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup sugar, optional

Directions

Using a sharp knife, cut each grapefruit into quarters. Remove the fruit from the peel, leaving the white membrane or pith attached to the peel. Save the fruit for another use. Slice each quarter peel on a diagonal into strips about 1/2-inch wide. If you cut them evenly, they will look nicer when displayed.

Place the sliced grapefruit peels in a pot and add enough water to cover the peels by about 1-inch. Place over high heat and bring to a rolling boil. Remove from the heat and strain. Return only the peels to the saucepan, cover again with fresh water, and repeat the boiling and draining process three more times (only two more times for clementines). It´s important to change the water because it retains the bitterness of the peel.

After the fourth boil, drain the water as before and return the peels to the saucepan. Add the sugar and enough water to cover the peels by 1-inch, and some fresh ginger if you so desire. Place over low heat and let simmer for 2 hours. During this time, the sugar will sweeten and preserve the natural flavor of the peels. After 2 hours, they will be soft and translucent and the syrup will be thick. Let the peels cool in the syrup and keep them stored in the syrup, refrigerated, in an airtight container until you are ready to serve. They will keep this way for up to three weeks.

When ready to use, allow the peels to drain on a wire rack for a few hours to remove the excess syrup. Put the rack over a baking sheet so the syrup does not drip all over the work surface.

Once fully drained, you have three options for serving: First, you can serve them as they are. Second, you can place the peels in a medium-sized bowl filled with granulated sugar. Roll the peels around in the sugar until they are well coated. Third, you can dip the sugared peels into the bittersweet chocolate. Dip two thirds of each sugared peel into the bittersweet chocolate. Gently wipe the excess chocolate from the end of each peel before placing on parchment paper. The chocolate should set in a few minutes if it is tempered and the kitchen is not too hot.

Irini’s carrot cake; you’ll win hearts with this one…

3 eggs
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2 cups sifted flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
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1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup coarsely grated apple (1 big apple)
2 cups raw carrot, finely grated (5 medium carrots)

Beat eggs well.
Add next seven ingredients. Beat well until smooth.
Stir in last four ingredients.

Bake in a 8″ (20 cm) circular cake pan or a 24 cm bundt pan
350 degrees F (180 C) for 60 minutes

So delicious. Irini always packs us beer bread for our ferry travels.

250 gr. white flour
250 gr. dark flour
3 soupspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder
5 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger powder
walnuts/raisins
200 ml beer
about 200 ml water (little by little)
(The dough must be rather stiff)
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