orange

Cake celebrates a signature taste of Valencia

Cake celebrates a signature taste of Valencia

Posted on by Pat and David
The whole idea of a Valencian orange is confusing. The area around Valencia boasts a staggering number of orange orchards. Most of the trees bear sweet oranges, but not what is called a Valencia orange in the U.S. That would be a creation of William Wolfskill, an agronomist who hybridized the juice orange in the mid-19th century. He called it Valencia because the oranges of that part of Spain were famously sweet. Of course, they were sweet. They were what we now call mandarin oranges. And most of the citrus varieties grown in Valencia today are mandarins or one of the many mandarin-pomelo crosses. Orange remains one of the signature flavors of Valencian cuisine. Fresh oranges appear throughout the meal from an orange-onion salad to...Read More
Agua de Valencia, born in the Café Madrid

Agua de Valencia, born in the Café Madrid

Posted on by Pat and David
Few cocktail names trip off the tongue with the lyric trill of Agua de Valencia. It even sounds sweet and clear. Purportedly invented at the Café Madrid in 1959 by bartender Constante Gil, it is so popular with tourists to Valencia that bottles labeled as Agua de Valencia are available everywhere from the Mercat Central to most souvenir shops. Look around the tables on Plaça de Mare de Deu behind the cathedral, and at least half sport a tall glass of the orange drink. And why not? Authentic Agua de Valencia relies on freshly squeezed juice from locally grown sweet oranges. (They are not ‶Valencia″ oranges, which were bred in California and named for the city.) Groves of sweet oranges surround Valencia. All grocery stores...Read More
Summer travel picnic #2: wild rice salad

Summer travel picnic #2: wild rice salad

Posted on by Pat and David
This nutrient-dense and filling wild rice salad has seen us through many an epic road trip. Sealed in plastic containers, it keeps well in a cooler with ice. We've enjoyed it on picnic tables between lighthouses on the Maine coast and, most recently, on a trip down the entire length of the Connecticut River via the various river roads of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. The original recipe came from the Boston Globe food section a few decades ago. In those days, wild rice was considered an indulgent delicacy. Then Trader Joe's got into the act. In fact, we stock up on TJ's wild rice and dried Montmorency cherries every time we visit. We have long since lost the original clipping, but to look...Read More