Let me introduce you the 2005 Con Class from Rueda (appellation or wine region), Spain. Blend of 80% verdejo, 10% viura and 10% sauvignon blanc. Light golden color, a lot of verdejo character but there is some Sauv Blanc as well. Fruity nose. Notes of melon, green apple, pear and citrus. Acidity is noticeable but moderate. Pleasant to drink. Nothing beats a glass or two of this fresh and crispy white. It´s the type of white wine I could have been drinking all night long. Nice picnic wine. I love it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, I’ve finished my first 2 cases already.
With or without food, this is refreshing-value-packed white!

Punctuation: 86
Average price as of today: $10

I´d love to hear from you, if you had the chance to drink this wine let me know in the comments.

Salud!

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Ingredients for 4 servings:
1 cheakpeas can or jar
1/4 green pepper
1 tuna can
1/2 onion
2 boiled eggs
4 leaves of iceberg lettuce
10 black olives
1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
olive oil
salt to taste

Procedure:
Chopped the lettuce, green peppers and onion. Open can or jar and rinse with water the cheakpeas.
Boil eggs and when they are done cut them in half. Mix everything in a bowl, add tuna and sesame seeds, olive oil and salt. Mix again and serve it.

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The traditional Mediterranean diet, rich in tomatoes, tomato products, and other carotenoids has been associated with a lower incidence of chronic diseases, including heart disease. Recent scientific studies have shown that people who eat regularly tomatoes and tomato products are less likely to suffer from heart attacks than those who don’t make tomatoes part of their diets.

Tomatoes and the arteries
Tomatoes are crucial in the fight against heart disease because they contain lycopene. Lycopene is the red pigment found in several fruits and vegetables such as guava, rosehips, watermelon, pink grapefruit, and red chilies, but it mainly comes from tomatoes and tomato products. As a powerful antioxidant, lycopene prevents the oxidation of LDL cholesterol caused by free radicals. In a study to investigate the effects of tomato lycopene on the oxidation of cholesterol, Agarwal and colleagues provided the participants one-to-two servings per day of tomato juice, spaghetti sauce, and concentrated lycopene for one week. The study showed an important reduction of oxidized LDL cholesterol.

Absorption of lycopene
An important consideration in studying lycopene is its absorption by our cells. Research has shown that the level of lycopene found in our organs’ tissues is a better indicator of disease prevention than the amount of lycopene we eat.

How to increase absorption of lycopene
Lycopene appears more readily in the blood if the meal includes a source of fat or if the tomatoes have been heated, as in the case of tomato sauce and tomato paste. Heat changes the chemical structure of lycopene and makes it ready for our cells to absorb it.
To increase the level of lycopene in your body tissues you can do several things:
• Process the tomatoes with heat. An example would be tomato sauce, tomato paste, or tomato soup.
• Eat fresh tomatoes with fats such as olive oil.
• Eat products that contain lycopene with other food antioxidants. An example would be eating tomatoes with other vegetables such as in salads or eating a piece of fruit for dessert. Use olive oil and lemon juice as dressing, and you will have the perfect combination of lycopene and antioxidants.

Is pizza a good combination of tomato and fat?
Although pizza is not the ideal combination of fat and lycopene because the fat in cheese is mainly saturated, the wrong type for our arteries, you can eat pizza in moderation. Ask the waiter or cook to go easy on the cheese and hold the pepperoni and ham.

For more information about the author and her book “Your Heart Needs the Mediterranean Diet” visit www.emiliaklapp.com.

This lovely and colorfull recipe you can serve it as an appetizer but also is perfect as a side dish. If you love zucchini as much as I do, you should try this formula. I really enjoy it, so yummy and so simple to do. Really worth it play around with this recipe. I suggest you to give a try.

If you like this recipe also you should take a look also to my Fried Eggplant with Potatoes and Peppers.

Ingredients for 4 Servings:
2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 pound ( 0,5 Kg) Zucchini
2 Garlic Cloves sliced
1 teaspoon of Rosemary
1,5 cup Cherry Tomatoes
10 Olives
1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup fresh Parsley thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
First trim and cut the zucchini into 1/2 inch thick slices. Chopped in slices the garlic cloves. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium/high heat. Then add the zucchini, garlic and rosemary. Add salt and pepper to taste. Saute for 5 minutes or until zucchini is soft. After that add the cherry tomatoes and olives. SAaute all together for 3 minutes or until tomatoes begin to get soft.

Finally add parsley and vinegar and mix all together and saute for 2 more minutes.

….And ready to go!

Enjoy,

Samuel

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Today I am going ot talk a little bit about Jumilla area. The Jumilla D.O Denominacion de Origen is located in the South East of Spain near the Mediterrenean Coast.

Talking about Jumilla appellation is talking about grape varietry “Monastrell” and iteration of the french “Mourvèdre” but it deserves far better. Is a variety of high resistence to drought, what makes the prices very affordable and the value high. For bargain wine hunters is difficult to beat the Jumilla wines.

So what distinguishes DO Jumilla wines from other wines from Spain is that they are elaborated from the “Monastrell” grape.

Red wines, with their dominant presence of the Monastrell grape, have a strong colour, normally intense purple red, very expressive edgings and a fruity aroma (black and ripe fruit, plums…). They have live tannins in your mouth and big body. Red wine will pair fantastically with meat like barbequed ribs, grilled pork, beef and french fries.

Also is amazing that wine advocate Robert Parker rated the wines of Jumillaand this is the verdict: “After tasting around 700 Spanish wines, the prestigious North American critic Robert Parker affirmed the big international boom of Spanish wines, ratifying the relevance and extraordinary quality of the Designation of Origin Jumilla wines. At the tasting of these Spanish wines, which Parker considered one of the most exciting of his 26 years as a professional”

As a sample and tasting reference for all of you between the huge selection of Jumilla wines those are my favourites after tasting them, also comes with Robert Parker ratings:
Bodegas Juan Gil, Juan Gil , 2002 vintage: 91 points.
Bodegas Juan Gil, Juan Gil, 2003 vintage: 91 points.
Bodegas El Nido, Clio, 2002 vintage: 93 points.
Bodegas El Nido, El Nido, 2002 vintage: 96 points.
Bodegas Finca Luzón, Altos de Luzón trademark, 2003 vintage: 89 points.
Bodegas Finca Luzón, Castillo Luzón trademark, 2002 vintage: 87 points.

The best of all is that most of those fantastic wines like “Juan Gil” and “Finca Luzon” are (still) under $15 dollars a bottle. Never better said cheap is good!

Cheers

Samuel

Light, fresh and organic, this salad with mozzarella will persuade all cheese and salad lovers.
With oregano as spice gives an enjoyable twist to this classic salad traditionally done with basil. Enjoy the summer!

Ingredients:
Bufala Mozzarella
1 Romaine Lettuce
1 Tomato
1/2 Cucumber
Oregano
Olive Oil from Spain
Salt to taste

Procedure:
Clean the lettuce and tomatoe. Chopped tomatoe and cucumber in 0,5 inch-thick slices. Cut the lettuce. Finally cut mozzarella in 0,5-inch-thick slices.
Serve it in a dish.
Dress the salad with olive oil and sprinkle a little bit tomatoes and mozzarella with oregano. Put salt to taste.

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‘Siesta’ now is not a practice for lazy people anymore, so don´t be scared to crush in your sofa. It´s good for health.

1) Romans already knew it:
‘Siesta’ from the latin “sixta” that´s how they called the sixth hour of the day after luch to get some sleep. ‘Siesta’ in not an invention of the modern days and stressed way of live, our ancestors already did it. Is was a necessity back then also.

2) Sofa, the favourite place.
A survey done by the high end italian sofa Natuzzi revealed that the most wanted place for siesta between spanish population was the sofa, preferibly with the TV on
and watching old western movies or documentaries are the best the fall sleep.

3) Doctor Recommendation:
With only 15 minutes a day, ‘siesta’ reduces possibility of hearth attack, arteriosclerosis, anxiety and enhances your memory. In words of a frenchman Michel Billar: ” Siesta is the best spanish contribution to the humanity “.

4) Is a Polical Issue:
Japanesse, pioneers for long time a go on sleeping at work, Corporations have specials rooms to get some sleep at work. Productivity increased 20%.

In Hungary want to create a law to regulate the siesta time, they need the support only of 200,000 signatures.

In Huelva(Sevilla) between 3 and 6 PM they have to stop making noise near an area called ‘Playa de la antilla’.

5) Hotel Siesta Rates:
Every day is more common Hotels between certain hours give special rates by hour to do ‘Siesta’ in Spain and other countries. Perfect choice after a bussines or coworkers lunch.

Ingredients: for 4 servings
5 Potatoes
4 Eggs
1 Pound ( 0,5 Kilo) Fresh Green Beans
Olive oil for dressing
Salt

How to:
Boil the potatoes, eggs and green beans. Boil them separetely, first potates, then the green beans and finally the eggs.

Boil potatoes for 15-20 minutes or until they are soft. Once the potatoes are done remove the skin. I recommend you to check the potatoes with a fork, if they are soft mean they are done.

Boil the eggs, once are done remove the skin.

Finally boil the green beans for 15-20 minutes or until are done and soft.

Add for every serving one potatoe cut in half, one egg cut in half and the green beans. Don´t forget to dress it with olive oil and salt to taste.

Aaaaa I almost forgot…Serve it cold.

Tip: Personally when I do this dish I like to mash it all together. To mash it I use my fork.

Buen provecho!

Samuel

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This is other of my favorite recipes. My Mother taught me how to make it when is was in college, this way she tried to make sure I was eating well and healthy…and it worked, suddently I stop eating pizza and burgers every day.
Try it you will how easy to do and fast is!.
This dish is also very popular in other mediterrenean cultures like Greece.
Here it is:

Ingredients: for 4 servings
3 Chicken Breast
1 Big Spanish Onion
3 Garlic Cloves
1 Cup of Beer ( I put like almost the whole bottle of beer)
2 Tablespoons of Bread Crumbs
1/2 Chicken Bouillon (Cut in half a chicken boullion, the “powder cube” one)
4 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
2 Bay leaves
2 Tablespoon of fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
Chopped onion and garlic cloves. Heat olive oil in a frying pan with low-medium heat. Cut chicken breast in cubes and sautee for 3 minutes.
Then add onion and garlic. Sautee all together for 4 minutes or until onion get brown and soft. Now add the 1/2 chicken broth.
Finally add the beer and stir all together for 20 minutes. Five minutes before the time add parley and bread crumbs.

Tip: If you want you can use chicken legs and wings instead of breast. Also you can try it with pork tenderloin. Don´t forget to put bread crumbs, that´s the key to make the sauce thicker. Also if you don’t have this “chicken powder broth” you can add 1/2 cup chicken broth.

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Knowing how to read properly a spanish wine label is going to give you enough information about the content (and maybe a great deal) of that bottle.
Like a popular saying: You can not judge a book by it´s cover; but when it comes to wine you can judge a wine by its label.
A label provides you information about who made the wine, which year was made and where was made…

Vintage: Very important. Every year is different, you should know if the vintage you are about to select was a good one for that Wine Region. Ex: One vintage can be a good one for a “Rioja” but a bad one for a “Ribera del Duero”. You get the idea??

Denominacion de Origen (D.O) or Wine region: Every D.O has its special character and taste. Trying differents D.O is the only way to educate yourself about wich D.O is your favourite and matches your taste.

Quality of the Wine. In Spain we have minimum of aging in bottle and in oak barrel for a wine to be considered by the spanish laws as Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva. And we are the only country in world who has that classification.

Crianza: A wine labeled as crianza has spent at least one year in oak barrel.
Reserva: A wine which says reserva on the bottle is a three year old wine and at least one of these years has to have been spent in oak.
Gran Reserva: Wines are aged for at least five years, where two years are in oak and three years in the bottle.

I hope you enjoy and find it usefull.

Cheers

samuel