OpenCor and Spanish Food

First off, I have some rather sad news...

I lost my camera in the discotech. Whether it was stolen or lost due to carelessness is undeterminable. But the point is, this blog is going to be lacking pictures for a little while.

But let's not let that get us down! This is a once in a lifetime experience. I don't want to spend it being down in the dumps...

The OpenCor at the corner of Músico ginés and Poeta mas y ros (about two blocks from where I live) has been a meeting spot for my friends and I since we got here, but I have only recently discovered its greatness. I actually ventured inside the OpenCor a few days ago and found everything I could ever need. Apparently, as one of my professors told me, OpenCor is a spin-off of the American concept of a convenience store. In Valencia, there is really nothing equivalent to a WalMart. You buy your bread at the neighborhood panaderia, you buy your fruit at the fruteria, and you buy your books and paper at the papeleria. You most certainly don't find these things under the same roof...unless you're at the OpenCor. I guess Cortes Ingles (a huge Spanish department store that does everything from selling clothes to cutting hair to selling baked goods) thought the American convenience store was a good idea for Spain, staying open 7 days a week and also during the siesta (about 2-5p).

OpenCor sells books, magazines, flowers, bread, gum, candy, chips, cheese, yogurt, mini-burgers in plastic packaging, chorizo, wine, booze, purses, batteries, various electronics, amongst many other things. I suppose if I were in an OpenCor in the US, I would just say "oh, another convenience store," and keep walking on by. But most of the things in OpenCor are things I've never seen before. There are flavors of chips I've never seen before (like jamón- ham and aceite de oliva- olive oil).

And speaking of Spanish food-related items...

Today was the clase de cocina (cooking class) set up by the university. We went to a private cooking school and they taught us to make paella valenciana (with rabbit, chicken, and veggies), paella con mariscos (seafood paella), and flan (custard dessert). First we ventured over to the market across the street to buy the rabbit and the chicken. The market itself was amazing. I'm making a mental note to go back there to explore all the fresh meat, seafood, produce, and everything else they have! When we got back to the school, we watched the instructor hack away at the whole rabbit and whole chicken (heads and everything). Part of it was completely disgusting, hearing the bones cracking and blood on the skin, and the guts, but part of it was really cool to see the entire process of preparing the food, rather than buying a package of pre-cleaned and prepared chicken breast. There's something really exciting and fulfilling about starting with completely fresh produce and turning it into a meal. So we cooked all this food and ate it and I have to say, it was a really nice way to spend a Saturday "morning" (according to the Spaniards- it's not afternoon until after you eat lunch). I can't wait to cook with mom when I get home!

The food here has been really great. My madre cooks pretty healthy and fresh stuff. I love the rice dishes with fish in them. And the salad my madre serves is so simple. She puts some bag-o-salad in a bowl with some olive oil and a dash of salt (sometimes vinegar, too) and we all eat from the bowl in the middle of the table. Sounds boring, but it's delicious and I recommend that you try it. A couple nights ago, dinner consisted of calamari cooked with onion and olive oil with mushrooms (and possibly a little curry powder) and it was absolutely amazing! I thought it would be gross, but it was really delicious. Especially sopping up the sauce with a chunk of bread.