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Monday, June 1, 2009

The Guilt of Cooking with Oil


I feel it. I don’t dribble oil, like I used to, I pour oil. And I have the sensation of being harshly judged somewhere. I see little droplets of unused oil on our plates, and understand why the people here (in Catalonia) clean it up with bread. It’s a shocking sight. Oil, oil, oil.

And yet I love it. Its what we (foreigners to Spain) love about Mediterranean cultures in general. The indulgence of oil and pastries and wine and some sort of gluttony over our food.

I wonder if we all secretly love the tinge of guilt of eating and cooking with more salt, more oil, more sugar.

Did you know they eat chocolate for breakfast!? No, its true! Part of me is horrified and part of me is delighted that I’ve finally found a place I can be the real chocoholic I’ve always been in the secret recesses of my kitchen, or my ‘private’ draw. You all thought I had something wicked in there. It was just mars bars.

It seems everyone is out of the cupboard here.

4 comments:

K said...

Chocolate - yaaaaaaaay!!
Celebrate it -
smear it-
deep fry it - with more oil.
Yum!!
I say go for it.
You'll always be as skinny as a streak of pee anyway.
LIVE IT!!

You rock - K

Tiffany at Patheya said...

a streak of pee!!!!

All of my mind went blank after that comment. :D

K - You rock!

Anonymous said...

Same in Italy. Pastries, brioche (croissant) with chocolate, though chocolate doesn't appear to be as popular as in Spain... though I can get away with it.
I no longer think twice about having a piece of cake for breakfast. Afterall, it's easier, and better for the body to digest a piece of cake on an empty stomach then after a big meal. Right?
Speaking of Mars Bars (i'll be looking for that 'private' draw when i come), you don't see people snacking on chocolate bars here...

Tiffany at Patheya said...

hmmm... that's true. No snacking on chocolate bars here either...

But the typical breakfast was a croissant, with a block of chocolate beside it, and a coffee. The coffee is room temperature!!!! IIIIIIK!!!

Nobody is even trying to pretend they don't eat chocolate. Where is all the guilt? Why did we get it and these guys, so close to Rome (the guilt centre) miss it entirely??