During my year in Spain, I developed all kinds of friendships with Americans, Spaniards, and other foreigners living in Barcelona like me. I established a regular get together with several people and it was so nice to have something to count on and look forward to on a regular basis. Dunkin Donuts for lunch, following by shopping with Elisa....Cafe y Croissant con Chocolate with Carla and Sara....lunches with Anhchi and Christy. Today we are heading over to one of several of Christy's apartments for lunch.
We were making, or better, attempting to recreate something my roommate Dolors had made. To this day I have never made it taste or appear quite as delectable as Dolors accomplished. It's really a simple dish, packed with contrasting flavors and colors. She started with rice and she tossed in a smashed clove of garlic. She fried up some italian or pork sausage. She then halved a couple bananas and fried them in the same pan as the sausage. Finally she fried an egg. Now for the assembly: Stuff the rice into a small water glass and upend it onto a plate. It should hold its shape. Spread the sausage around the rice in a circle. Place the banana halves on top of the sausage and finally, lay the fried egg on top of the rice. Lovely, right?! Serve with ketchup to taste and eat by smashing it all up and combining everything.
I can't remember the details of our cooking experiment that day, but I don't think it was a disaster by any means. The song Hook came on (a cassette most likely as it wasn't a big hit in Spain) and there is this interlude in the middle sung very quickly. To my surprise, Anhchi and Christy chimed in, singing every word perfectly. Apparently they were very familiar with the song and had spent some time working on the lyrics. Truth be told, I was a little envious of their skills. I was also envious of their close friendship. They were very close friends at UC Davis prior to coming to Barcelona and were constantly sharing hilarious stories from back home. They never made me feel like a third wheel and I always enjoyed our lunches because the hook brings you back....
