Worchestershire sauce and crushed red pepper flakes – not what one might think of as essential items, yet they add that certain zip to particular foods. The expectations were high and I was nervious, as I had volunteered to prepare la cenar, the major midde-day meal with ALL the family there (including abuela Rosario, who is a fabulous cook). Ten people, used to very good food . . . and me with no worchestershire. Despite its absence, the Caesar salad was quite popular—my thanks to Betty for the BEST Caesar dressing! And who even knows what is in worchestershire sauce anyway. Croutons were quite a hit; a new item for all.




Also, I’m happy to say that my sister’s timballo recipe (post a comment and I’ll send it to you), sans red pepper flakes, received rave reviews from all, with leftovers shipped off to many. Eleven-year old Laura helped me pit 2 cups of sort-of-like kalamata olives for a couple hours on Saturday, while we practiced languages with each other. It was probably her touch, along with abuelo Juan’s home-grown, home-canned tomatoes, that made it so good!



A very fun part of the meal preparation was that Ana, Laura, and I did all the cooking at “la instituta” – the high school where Ana runs the kitchen. Located about two blocks from her house, we paraded back and forth between home and school with armloads of salad, trays of flan, and bags of baguettes.

Before going to Súria on Friday, I roamed the beachfront a bit. It was a day of shapes – and it was fun to watch the very high fashion Audi folks race these little cars to the edge of the dock, spin them on a slick, then climb the wall.










¡¡Also, the naked man was back, so a quick snap for Michele!!