Top 10 Hobbies: Cuisine

How pastimes have a great application of crafting meaning in life.

Last summer, I traveled to Spain to visit my sister. While I was there, I discovered many different different “tapas”, or tiny dishes, of foods there. Compared to the U.S. , the portion sizes are much smaller; however, it is common in Spanish culture to order 6 or 7 tapas for the group. If you don’t like sharing food off of one plate between everyone at the table, then you are going to have to overcome your fears.

Something especially unique in Spain is that they always serve bread as an appetizer with fresh, marinated olives. Spain is a huge exporter of olives (specifically green olives), and their harvest season is in October. Once you eat all of the olives set out on the table, it is delicious to soak your bread in the oil to snack on before the actual dinner. Although the olives served before dinner in Spain are as equivalent to fries always served with a burger in America, one time my family was not served the olives by mistake. However, when I got back to the U.S. and yearned for the taste of olives, they were a whopping $2o on amazon for a tiny jar—and they didn’t even taste as good since they were imported. This correlates with the aspects of Spanish cuisine I loved most: everything is fresh. You could walk into a marketplace and see fish hanging from hooks, an entire leg of pork tied to the ceiling, and rows upon rows of olives. This unique fresh taste is something I will never forget and noticed immediately upon arriving back to the U.S. (a place where processed food is rampant). Additionally, another difference in Spain included their tendency to waste little food In America, we are constantly being shoved with heaping platters of burgers with endless amounts of fries. This leads to food waste and is entirely avoidable. Meals in Spain are very efficient in using every bit possible, including serving smaller servings to reduce food waste.

My favorite tapa (small dish of food) were called croquettes. These little dough-balls are filled with creamy, savory rue of soup that is left at the bottom of a pan. Not only does it taste delicious, but it transforms leftovers into something desirable. Another tapa I adored was the Iberian ham with “picos”. It literally melts in your mouth as you chew it. Picos, mini-bread sticks you could roll up your Iberian ham like a pig-in-a-blanket, also elevated the taste of this dish. One of the most unique tapas I ate during my trip was seafood salad (octopus and squid). Personally, I loved the taste of the zingy lemon, fresh seafood, and nutty avocado topping. Also, I ate fried sardines as well—yum! Another noteworthy dish was gazpacho. It is a cold soup made from blended tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oils and bread crumbs. Patatas bravas, which are potatoes covered in savory sauce, was probably my favorite side dish. Dessert usually consists of coffee (decaf or café) to cleanse your pallet.

All in all, exploring the Spanish cuisine was a captivating experience that I would do again in a heartbeat. Moreover, it is an important way to build a global perspective. This connects with the important idea that hobbies, while often fun, can have a greater impact on your awareness of the world around you. Going outside your comfort zone to try something new and having a healthy sense of  curiosity are two of many benefits of trying other culture’s cuisines. Challenge yourself. Discover where food takes you.