Tapas

My mother wanted to know about the tapas in Spain......

OMG. What a question!  I cannot answer it in any way except to say that anything can be tapas. Anything. Deep fried rabbit ribs, one each of ten different olives including those called muerto because they're all wrinkly and old-looking, a small bowl of tomato soup with a crouton floating on top, a slice of bread with cheese & ham, literally anything can be tapas.

It simply means "a little something to eat while you drink." Drinking is the operative word. Tapas would be just a snack if there were no glass of wine next to it.

The Spanish eat much like the Mexicans. They get up and have coffee, then sometime later in the morning a small sandwich called a bocadillo, a gofre, or a croissant with another cup of coffee. Much later, between 2:00 and 5:00 they eat a meal with vegetables, bread, meat, maybe some dessert. Much later still, between 7 and midnight, they drink wine, visit with friends and eat a tapas or two. (Tapas is both singular and plural.)  Beer figures into the equation as well. It's drunk like soda pop. A coffee shop is often a bar too, so coffee can come with all kinds of alcohol additives. Yesterday in the market, around 9:00, I had coffee and watched the man next to me drink three espressos with brandy in a row. For a country suffering from an economic crisis, this seemed an expensive breakfast.

So here are some pictures of tapas that I have enjoyed......so far.

Chicken in tomato sauce

"Pincho" of Spanish tortilla, made from
potatoes, onions and eggs.

Interesting ingredients stacked on slices of bread

Even a salad can be tapas

Skewered anything on bread is tapas

A bowl of olives is also tapas. Take your pick!!