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| SG’S BELGIAN CHOCOLATE & PISTACCHIO. MY BELGIAN CHOCOLATE & TURRÓN. |
December 6 was Constitution Day here in Spain. The holiday was observed on Monday the 7th. Tuesday the 8th was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, another national holiday.
Stores were open Saturday. Or they weren’t. They were open Monday. Or they weren’t. Ditto Tuesday.
I couldn’t find a phone number for our gym, but their website notice board didn’t say they were closed. So we took the 20-minute walk to the gym and found it dark. I said, “Well, at least we’re getting our cardio today. It’s nearly 3 miles round-trip.” San Geraldo agreed.
Five minutes later, we were walking home along the Paseo once again. San Geraldo felt we deserved a reward for our efforts. It had begun to drizzle, so he suggested we get in out of the rain — at the first ice cream shop we passed. I didn’t disagree. (He’s a terrible influence.)
After our ice cream, we continued home. But a few minutes later, the owner of a couple of local restaurants, one of which we frequent, spotted us and insisted we stop for a drink. He had been in Germany opening another restaurant and we hadn’t seen him in months. It would have been impolite to refuse. We agreed to a cup of cafe con leche. We sat with him for about 20 minutes — refusing the shots (chupitos) he offered to wash down the coffee — and eventually made it home.
We were so full that we waited an entire two hours before each having a slice of the Jamaican Black Cake San Geraldo had baked the day before.
Click here for the basic recipe. San Geraldo adapts it. (People who know how to cook can do that.)
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| TEN POUNDS (4.5 KILOS) OF DRIED FRUIT. (A DOUBLE RECIPE.) |
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| YO HO HO AND THREE BOTTLES OF RUM. |
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| A BOTTLE OF SWEET SHERRY (VINO DULCE). (AND WE CUT BACK ON THE AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL!) |
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| SOAKING IN THE BOOZE FOR TWO DAYS. |
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| PUREED. |
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| MORE INGREDIENTS. |
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| DARK MOLASSES (AKA TREACLE, AKA MIEL DE CAÑA) |
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| STIRRING WAS A MIGHTY WORKOUT (FOR SAN GERALDO). |
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| CHECKING THE FIRST BATCH IN OUR BRAND SPANKING NEW OVEN. |
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| SUCCESS! SOME MORE VINO DULCE POURED OVER THE BAKED CAKE. |
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| WE’VE ONLY EATEN TWO OF THE TEN CAKES OURSELVES. SO FAR. C’MON, IT’S FRUIT!!! |
Let’s get physical…
