As I pack up my bags and prepare notes, questions and family trees to take with me to Spain for the final leg of my research before publishing my book, MANUELA'S FOOTSTEPS, it occurred to me how emotional it is when connecting with others who share the same Spanish connection. I know each one of us center ourselves on our name, our birth date, our families and who we are - Spaniards, Portuguese, German, English, Italian...... Sometimes we don't have the family connections we hope for but it's there, regardless of little issues that pop up to separate us from time to time.
Meeting the descendants of my Spanish family has been one of the high points in my life as I scatter my thoughts among them and gather their stories and feelings together into one lovely Spanish pot. Despite my being only half Spanish and many of my cousins have more Spanish blood running through their veins, we all touch one another.
Embracing my Spanish heritage has become quite emotional as I share the depth with others. Whether the sharing is through family members I have never met, family members I have personally seen or with other Spaniards who are entrenched within their own genealogy, I have learned so much more than I knew when I began this quest in 2008.
I've learned the gardening habits of Spaniards whose descendants try to emulate by planting their own "Huerta" --- kitchen gardens filled with peppers, onions and tomatoes (including cherry tomatoes). I've learned the trees many Spaniards grow to feel closer to their Spanish heritage; figs, peaches, oranges, plums, almonds, olives, lemons and pomegranates. And I've learned how to preserve lemons! Now that I have my own lemon tree, I plan to harvest, preserve and use them in my recipes. Thank you, Steven A.
My dear Aunt Millie shared abuelita's (my grandmother) Garbanzo Soup Recipe again and I wrote it down this time! The conversation started after my cousin, Bobbie F., told me her grandmother (Cristencia Gonzales and her Aunt Edna) used to make Tocino and I had no idea what it was other than bacon....? I could feel Aunt Millie's smile through the phone line as she ticked off the ingredients, how they are cooked and the little secrets she shared about using boiling water with dry garbanzo beans instead of cold. Hmmmm.... that's why my garbanzos never got soft.
Cooking Spanish is for another post. For now, I need to go shopping so I can make this wonderful soup that abuelita made for me as a child. I plan to savor the aroma, taste the soft beans and potatoes.... and remember abuelita in her kitchen with a smile of my own.
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