The Last Meal

Simple Goodbye Pasta

Well, the moment has finally come.  I’ve been dreading it for ages, and it makes me terribly sad, but it was inevitable.  I’ve left Madrid.

I’ve been in the Spanish capital for the past nine months working on a Master’s in Communication at a university here.  I hope to combine that work with my upcoming MPH (which I start this Fall) in order to devise a comprehensive way of addressing the obesity crisis from a prevention perspective.

But besides studying, of course, I’ve also just been really enjoying life.  I love observing Spanish culture.  I feel comfortable in it.  And the food’s not so bad either.  So perhaps you can imagine that my heart is a little broken at having to pack everything away and kiss my vida madrileña goodbye.

Finalmente… Gazpacho

There’s truly nothing better than cold soup on a hot day

It’s almost June now, with temperatures easily reaching the 80′s in the afternoon here in Madrid.  This means that finally one of my greatest wishes has come true: restaurants are putting Gazpacho back on their menus.

Correction: OK, Gazpacho is always on the menu, but not usually in the kitchen until madrileños deem — en masse — that yes, something in the air does finally call for cold soup season to begin.  This seems not to be directly related to the actual weather outside, in the same way that mandates for appropriate footwear and pantyhose use are governed by a set of rules that I happen to not be privy to.

Whatever the reason, I can say for sure that enjoying a gazpacho on a hot day is one of the greatest pleasures of summer.  It’s perfectly refreshing and satisfying.  Invigorating, even, like you’re absorbing an insane amount of vitamins and nutrients through osmosis that will instantly show through your skin.  Which of course, you are.  And the skin part, maybe it’s just the happy glow that comes from consuming something so fresh and delicious. Ahhh..