A Toast to Catalonia for New Year's Eve 2017

Cava Pink Cups by Juve i Camps

New Year's Eve 2017 is here and it well deserves a big toast for Catalonia in a turbulent year that has not been pleasant to anyone.

No matter what your political views are, you have to agree with me that this is a beautiful land that has done great things for this country, whatever you consider your country to be. 

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You may be on the Spanish side or the Catalan side. Perhaps you are somewhere in between, you feel Catalan and Spanish. You may believe in an independent republic or you may believe in a Catalonia that is part of Spain. You may trust in the Spanish constitution and its 155 article or you may not...and whatever your opinions, your beliefs you have the sovereign right to think so because this is a democracy, right? And you will certainly agree with me in that violence only generates violence, hatred only generates hatred, not only on governmental instances but at family level as well.

As I said before, Catalonia is a wonderful extension of land inhabited by extraordinary people that love to work hard to make ends meet and dream of a better society to live on so let's raise our cups in honor of our beloved territory with one of our best products Catalan cava!

Happy New Year's Eve 2017 and Happy New Year everyone!

Pa amb Tomaquet - Bread with Tomato

Nothing like a good toast spread with tomato and some olive oil to accompany any kind of food. We call it pa amb tomaquet. Instead of using a slice of tomato to make a sandwich or pouring and spreading some tomato sauce on the bread we cut tomatoes into halves and gently spread them against the toast. You can first rub the bread with garlic, then you apply the tomato and finally you add some olive oil. That will serve as the basis for many ingredients like anchovies, ham, sausage or grilled aubergines, red peppers and onions sliced in strips aka escalivada among other things.