Calçotada #3, March 17, 2012

Our third annual winter visit to enjoy calçots with Pat's colleague, Joan, and family took place in mid-March. We found everyone in the fields, working on a water reservoir, so we helped prepare the calçots (trimming the tops and bottoms) and admired the pretty apricot blossoms:





Back at the house in the village, Joan tended the calçots on the fire:




while Marie-Angels prepared the artichokes:




Pat carved the Bellota "jamón":




Joan (junior) played ball in the (empty) pool and Oriol played with his new rabbit:









Artichokes are now ready for the fire-Pat has learned just how much olive oil to pour in the centre...WAY more than you would think!




Add a sprinkle of paprika:




And grill 15-20 minutes:




The boys prefer macaroni:




Eating calçots is a messy business:



The charred artichokes are now ready:




Next comes the meat course: various types of botifarra (sausages) and lamb chops:




Joan's Father opened up some really old wine from his cellar:




The meat is done:








Little Lucia falls asleep in Marie-Angel's arms:




Some décor up the stairs to the main part of Joan's parents' home, plates collected by his mother over the years:











Pat tries to teach Proto the dog Chelsea's old "treat on the nose" trick:








Boxed wine from Spain?!? It was actually pretty good!




Dessert...my Granny Smith Apple Tart was a hit, as usual! Marie-Angels, Mary and Enrique:




And finally a much-needed hike up to the Ermita on the hill behind the village:




You can see the mountain-top village of Siurana in the distance:




The vineyards are just barely coming into bloom:















We more or less stumbled back to the house in the dark, with the help of Enrique's iPhone light as well as enjoying his stars app, which when pointed to the sky, showed us all the constellations! Pretty cool...

Pat and I spent the night at the little hotel in the mountain-top village of Siurana, where we had stayed a couple of years ago with Steph and Lou for Pat's birthday.

Hasta luego...

Location:Cornudella de Montsant, Catalunya