Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving’s day is a traditional celebration in the United States and Canada. Originally, it was celebrated the last Thursday of November in the USA, but nowadays it takes place the fourth Thursday of November. Canada celebrates it the second Monday of October.
Its origin come from Europe. When the Europeans first arrived to America, they bring their traditions with them. They used to celebrate a good harvest having a big dinner. The first Thanksgiving’s dinner was in 1621, in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
What to have on Thanksgiving’s day?
Well, there are many things you can eat that day, because, normally, each member of the family brings something to eat; but the main plate is Roast Turkey!

How to make the Turkey?

To prepare the turkey for roasting, first remove the giblets. Next, rinse the bird inside and out and pat dry with paper towels.
If you are stuffing the bird, stuff it loosely.
After that, brush the skin with melted butter or oil.

Then, insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh. Finally,
place the bird on a rack in a roasting pan, and into a preheated 350 degree F (175 degrees C) oven.
Bake until the skin is a light golden color, and then cover loosely with a foil tent.

By Ángel Barbecho Ortega

SODA, POP, COKE, SOFT DRINK?? THIS IS A MESS!!

Hi, dear readers!!

I want you to think just for a moment how you would invite a foreigner to a “refresco”… Saying “a drink”, maybe?? I think that if many of us have the opportunity of going abroad should know that because it’s easy!

When I have watched TV series or movies I have noticed that characters order a “Soda” in a pub... but what’s “soda”?? maybe a specific non-alcoholic drink? Yes and no!

“Soda” is just a term that means “soft drink” or “gassy drink” (the last one is more British)
But it doesn’t finish here. This term varies from one country to another. Is more familiar for you “Pop” or “Coke”?

Let’s take a look at this map of United States:

Interesting, eh?

Ok, I'm going to show you something more delicious! Hmmm…
Do you know what ice-cream soda is?? In many movies you can see it and maybe you have tried it!

It’s the mixtured of a soft drink or carbonated water with a few scoops of ice cream and flavoured syrup.

And again we have a discussion about terms for it: "ice-cream soda" or "float" are used in United States, Canada and United Kingdom; "spider" is used in Australia and part of New Zealand and in another part of New Zealand is used "coke float".

This delicious drink was invented by chance thanks to Robert M. Green in Philadelphia. He was selling sodas when he ran out of ice and in order to keep his sodas cold, he used vanilla ice-cream from another salesman.

There are different ice-cream sodas according to its flavour: Chocolate ice-cream soda, Boston cooler,purple cow, root beer float or black cow... and one very famous called "Butterbeer" due to Harry Potter series. =D

Do you think that Hermione likes Butterbeer?? haha xD

By: Nuria María Ortiz Sánchez.

HONEY

It is known for everybody what “honey” means. It is a sweet yellowish or brownish viscid fluid produced by various bees from the nectar of flowers and used as food. But, what we know about its history?



Apparently, human beings started to hunt for Honey at least 10,000 years ago, as a cave in Valencia, Spain shows. In which two female Honey-hunters collecting honey. In the ancient Egyptian, they used it for embalming the dead, and to the fertility of the god Min, were offered Honey.

The religious importance is also important. In Hinduism, honey is one of the five elixirs of immortality. To Jewish, it is a symbol of the New Year. In Buddhism, it plays an important in the festival of Madhu Purnima, in which they celebrate the day in which Buddha make peace among his disciplines into the wilderness. In the Christian Bible, honey is referred to heaven as the “Land of Milk and Honey”. It was considered the food of gods in ancient times. In Islam, according to the prophet Muhammad it is recommended for healing purposes.

Later, honey was the basis for the production of an alcoholic beverage called mead, also known as honey wine or honey bear. Even Napoleon chose the honeybee for his crest. But nowadays, the main uses of honey are in cooking. We add it as spread on bread, as an addiction to tea and others beverages, and obviously to prepare some dishes to, especially desserts, as pudding. It is also used as a medicine to diabetic ulcers, acidity, conjunctivitis and ocular allergies, and also in cosmetics products,etc.

But, the word honey has become a term of tenderness in most English-speaking world. In some places it is used for loved ones, and in others, it is used when addressing casual consciousness or even strangers. Honey appears in many children’s books. Bears, as Winnie the Pooh, are depicted as eating honey, although they eat a wide of foods. This term could be in relation with bears to children because both things, by the point of view of a child, are extremely sweet and it makes that children can associate both together.




By Esperanza Reyes

Meeting means Eating

Any plans for the weekend? You could go to have lunch out with friends, or to have dinner in a new and exotic restaurant! Any plan for a rainy night? What about going to a friend’s house with your group, eat together and watch a film with popcorn?
Meeting with people to eat is very normal in our lives, it is a very good resource for any occasion or the perfect excuse to have fun!


Most of the important events are accompanied with food. A good example is a wedding, where the couple chooses the best dishes and sometimes very original, preceded by starters and followed by a dessert. Lately it is very normal that in the celebration there is food during the whole day or night.
There are similar celebrations where many guests are attending and the dishes are very important too, such as the first communion or the baptism.


But not only in celebrations we think of food, but also in meetings for example. Political meetings will have more attendants if they offer some food and wine. It is very typical that they do it to attract people, as in politic meetings as in any kind of lecture or talk, or to inaugurate something. It seems that offering food they will be more successful.

We also have celebrations where we meet our family and friends to eat, for example in festivals, like on Christmas’ Eve or Christmas, on New Year’s Eve or New Year, on Thanksgiving or in any typical festival in any country. Also to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, that someone has got a job or the end of exams (whether if we have passed or not!)
We also have meetings to eat with workmates, classmates, old friends to keep us updated…

We would also invite people to eat for different reasons: to thank them something, to surprise them or to try to get off with someone.
Another typical thing is to buy food, sweets or chocolates to people for some of the same reasons I have mentioned before but also to friends when they feel bad or to visit ill people with some delicious food to make their days a little better.
As you can see food is present all the time in our everyday life and almost most of the times meeting becomes eating!

NY: "THE BIG APPLE"

Hello People!
Why New York is also know as "THE BIG APPLE"?
This history was during a time a mystery. But, twenty years ago, two etymologists from the University of Missouri of Science and Technology, Barry Popik and Gerald Cohen, has provided a clear image picture of the term’s history. Before to this theory, there were a big number of false etymologies. One of this was that the term derived from the name of a brothel madam in the city called Eve.

The first time that this term was used took place in the 1909 book The Wayfarer in New York, by Edward Martin, writing: "Kansas is apt to see in New York a greedy city. . . . It inclines to think that the big apple gets a disproportionate share of the national sap". This quotation was recognized as a metaphoric use by the Random House Dictionary of Slang.

This term was popularized as a reference of the city by John J. Fitz Gerald in a number in the 1920s in reference to New York horse-racing. The earliest was a casual reference on May 3, 1921:
J. P. Smith, with Tippity Witchet and others of the L. T. Bauer string, is scheduled to start for "the big apple" to-morrow after a most prosperous Spring campaign at Bowie and Havre de Grace.

Later, Fitzgerald explained his use in the column “Around the Big Apple”.
“The Big Apple. The dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There's only one Big Apple. That's New York”.


New York writers started to use "Big Apple" by the late of 1920s and used it outside of a horse-racing context. It became a popular song and dance in the 1930s. Other writers continued using this term in the 1940s and 1950s.


In the 60s, "the Big Apple" alluded to the old name for New York. In the early 1970s, under the leadership of its president, Charles Gillett, began promoting "the Big Apple" for the city. It has remained popular since then.

The New York's baseball team, the Mets, have a "Home Run Apple" that rises when a Mets player hits a home run. It has become a symbol of the Mets baseball team, recognized in the league as an iconic of the Mets' stadiums.


By Esperanza Reyes

WHY MEDITERRANEAN DIET?

The Mediterranean diet is a lifestyle based on a balanced and varied diet in which predominates food derived from the traditional crops of the geographical area bordered by the Mediterranean: wheat, olives and grapevine.

His discovery as a healthy diet was made based on nutritional studies in Greece where it was detected an incidence of “arteriosclerosis”, cardiovascular disease and degenerative diseases below average, and of course a longer life expectancy.
The study results showed a clear relationship between the characteristics of the diet and the health of its population.

The basic foods and the main characteristics of this diet are:
1. Abundance of plant foods: fruits, vegetables, bread, pasta, rice, cereals, legumes and potatoes.
2. Olive oil as the main source of fat both for frying and for seasoning.
3. Eat seasonal foods in their natural state, it have to be always chosen the freshest.
4. Normally consume red wine in moderation during meals.

5. Consume a moderate amount of cheese and yogurt.
6. Consume weekly a moderate amount of fish, eggs and poultry.
7. Eat nuts, honey and olives in moderation.
8. Red meat a few times in a month.
9. Use herbs as a healthy alternative to salt.
10. Make a regular physical activity to work the heart and keep in shape our joints and our physical tone.

The need for outlining these foods and their share on a balanced diet, this pyramid arose. This is based on the proportion of nutrients that made up the Mediterranean diet. It is a graph showing the type and quantity of food that can be taken. Each region has a climate crops and food is also different. Thus a pyramid can be adapted to each of them, but in all cases remains a general outline with the proportion that may be consumed.

Bread and pasta as the main source of carbonyhidrates. So carbonydrates should provide 50% of total dairy energy intake.
Vegetables, fruits, nuts and legumes contribute to be a higher fiber and antioxidants diet. Fish, poultry, eggs and dairy products as the main source of protein. So proteins provide 15% of the total energy.
Lower consumption of meat and animal fats. By this, fats or lipids contribute about 35%of total energy intake.
These foods and culinary treatment lead to a lifestyle that complements habits that invite the climate, such as trips on the sun, gatherings or the nap.

By María José Gómez

University and food in Spain!

As we all know,  due to the strange and very long timetables we have, we are obliged to eat at University. In this post I am going to show different ways in which we can combine this necessity with the obligation of studying!

Refectories:  normally, all the universities or faculties have refectories in which students and professors can eat. You can choose a first and a second plate, an a dessert, with bread and free water included. It doesn’t cost too much (around 4€).

Take away: if you don’t like what the cafeteria/refectory offers, you can go to a bar or a restaurant and have something there. It will probably be more expensive, but food may be better there of course, and you can take it away and eat it wherever you want!  

Tupperware:  maybe because of the crisis (or because you prefer your own food) you also can bring tupperwares and eat on the grass with your mates. There are also some places enabled to eat, with tables and chairs!

If any of these options satisfies you, you can return home and have something there if you have time enough! 

As you see, studying and eating are perfectly compatible! 




By: Ángel Barbecho Ortega 

Eating in front of the computer makes you fatter!

As I have already said in other posts, we all know that technology is really important in our lives and we use it all the time for everything: we watch TV; we listen to the radio; we call friends and of course we use computers and internet almost all the time. All this technology gives us many advantages and the ability to do a lot of things that without it we couldn’t achieve. But like everything, it has some bad aspects, for example, it can damage our health and affect our nutrition.



If while eating we use our computers - to talk to friends, to write emails, to watch videos, to read the news, to play computer games or anything of the like - we don't pay attention to what we are eating but instead we just eat and eat automatically. We also consume more calories than usual; our brain is more concentrated on what we are doing on the computer than on savouring the food, so we therefore don't feel as full as we would if we had eaten without any distraction. It can also occur that one feels hungry after having finished and feels the need to snack, which also affects the digestion and makes one fatter.


Also spending so much time online leaves us no time to take exercise and means we don’t move to pass the time doing other things because we can spend hours and hours in front of our computer. Another bad aspect is that we can be connected virtually with friends while eating, but we loose our real connection with our family.


Of course for university, our jobs and being in contact with friends it is necessary to be online constantly but we must be aware that our health has priority and we should take care of our body. So sometimes it is good to leave technology aside for a while and enjoy life without it, especially at meal times when we should pay attention to our food, savour it, eat slowly and treasure this time with others.

Our Podcast!

Click here: Spanish Stereotypes

Ángel: Good morning! We are a group of students of University of Seville and we have to do an interview for our task of New Technologies. We would like to talk to an English native speaker about stereotypes. Would you like to participate with us? Just five minutes, do you mind?

Tim: Yes, of course. I’ll be delighted

Mª José: I would like to know why you decided to come to South Spain, especially to Seville.

Tim: I decided to come to southern Spain because for me it really appealed the culture part because when you think of southern Spain, Andalusia has everything that Spain has offered, and the small areas were better than the North or the East or the West. So south of Spain has everything that is good about Spain.

Nuria: About stereotypes…What did you think you would find here before coming?:

Tim: Well, it’s pretty natural for an American or for a friendly foreign to think that all the men are bullfighters and all the women are “flamenco” dancers and so I guess I can’t have that mentality coming in but from early on it was obvious that not all Spaniards are either flamenco dancers or bullfighters.

Clara: It is said that Spanish women are one of the most beautiful in the world, what do you think about it? 

Tim: (laugh) Well... I don't have to agree, I would say the same. They are definitely beautiful and it's an honour to be walking round the same city as them.

Espe: Did you think that in Spain everyone would speak English for being the official language in the world?

Tim: I guess I came with the mentality that a lot of people would speak English and because of that I was surprised because not as many people speak English here as I expected but it turned out to be a good thing for me because I have been able to practice my Spanish with almost everyone on a daily bases.

Ángel: So do you think it is difficult to live in Spain without speaking Spanish ?

Tim: I would say yes.  It is very important to be able to communicate simple things on a daily basis, like asking for something in a restaurant, or to ask for directions of some places you don’t know how to get to. So.. it makes life a lot easier if you do speak at least a little bit of Spanish .

Mª José: What did you think about Spanish food before coming?

Tim: Spanish food, honestly I did not too much about it. I had heard stories from my friends that come about the Spanish omelette, the “tortilla” but I didn’t really know what to expect and surprisingly now it′s my favourite plate so, for me it is hard to imagine going back to... food... back home after having found much Spanish food. It′s gonna be terrible.

Nuria: Is it true that Seville is always hot?:

Tim: Always hot…? For a long time it was haha! (laughing) All summer and other way up to November it seems like, but just remarkable is can get a cold and that I’m not very happy….but because I didn’t bring enough jackets.

Clara: Do you think that people in Spain are more friendly? All the time hugging, kissing, lovely...?

Tim: I agree with that. There is definitely an elevated sense of affection that shows here in Spain, whether means hugging the first person you meet for the first time, or kissing someone or a couple making out in the park, I think everything is a little bit more public.

Espe: And finally, do you think that Spanish people are too loud and always shouting? 

Tim: (laugh) Sometimes yes, eh... it is not too common to hear people yelling and screaming over the phone or across the street but I think I have come to accept that fact, I really like it now. It seems that because of that Spanish people are more open, so I like it.

LOOK AND BE CAREFUL!

Hi ladies and gentlemen!

I was looking for some photos in the Web for my new post and I have found this!

Probably in this photo the tittle would be "Soup of the day" instead of "Soub of the bay".

I think that one person like a waiter, a waitress, a barman or a barmaid could be careful when he or she writes the menus for a bar o for a restaurant.

But there are

more...I have seen a lot of mistakes in words that are very common. Look at them:

I think that a Pepsi bottle or a 7up bottle are called "Soft drink" not "Soft dinks" as the menu shows us.

What is tomotto fry? and kwaliflower? and omlett?

3 consecutive mistakes for 3 basic words...

The right words are:

tomato fried, cauliflower and omelet or omelette.

Do you want to taste Golden rosted drummet? I don't, because I don't know what it is.

Finally I think that "gralic" refers to "garlic".

What do you think about this? Simple words that have a lot of mistakes in a menu that is exposed in public.

By María José Gómez.

CHRISTINGLE, CHRISTMAS CANDY CANE & GINGERBREAD

Hello ladies and gentleman!!

If I have decided to write about Christmas and sweets, it is because everybody loves both whatever the reasons are.

I am going to start with the traditional Christingle. First of all, what is that?

The story of Christingle said that three poor children wanted to give a gift to Jesus, like the other families were doing at the church. But, the only thing that they had was an orange and they decided to give him that. The top of the orange was green, so the eldest of the boys decided to cut it and put a candle in the hole. The youngest girl thought that the orange looked dull, so she decided to take her red ribbon from her hair and put it round the middle with toothpicks. The middle child had an idea and put small pieces of dry fruit on the ends of the sticks. They took it to the church and the priest took their gift and showed it as example of true understanding of the meaning of Christmas.

This story took place at Christmas 1747 in Germany. Pastor Johannes de Watteville gave each child a lighten candle wrapped in a red ribbon, with a prayer said: "Lord Jesus, kindle a flame in these dear children's hearts". This was the first. Some years later, in 1968, John Penson of Children’s Society introduced Christingle services to the Anglican Church, where the custom spread quickly. The Christingle consists of: an orange representing the world; a red ribbon around it representing the blood o Jesus; dolly mixtures, dried fruits or sweets skewered on cocktail sticks pushed into the orange, representing the fruits of the earth and the four seasons (the representation of the four seasons was a later addition, not of Moravian origin.); and a lit candle pushed into the centre of the orange, representing Jesus Christ as the light of the world.

Christmas Candy Cane story comes from Indiana. A candy maker wanted to make a candy for Christmas. He decided to incorporate symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ.

He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy: this colour was used to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, The Foundation of the Church and firmness of the promises of God. He decided to make the candy with the form of a “J” to represent the name of Jesus. The candy maker thought that the candy was somewhat plain, and he stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes for the blood shed by Christ on the cross. So we could have the promise of eternal life. Candy Canes are a wonderful Christian symbol of Christmas.

Traditional Christmas Carol:

Look at the Candy Cane

What do you see?

Stripes that are red

Like the blood shed for me.

White is for my Savior

Who's sinless and pure!

"J" is for Jesus My Lord, that's for sure!

Turn it around

And a staff you will see

Jesus my shepherd

Was born for Me!

The last one is the traditional Christmas Gingerbread. It was brought by the Armenian monk Gregory of Nicopolis to Europe in the 10th century. He left Armeny, to live in France. He stayed there seven years, and taught the Gingerbread cooking to French priests and Christians.

During the 13th century, it was brought to Sweden by German immigrants. It was the custom to bake white biscuits and paint them as window decorations. In the 16th century, they were sold in monasteries, pharmacies and town square farmers' markets. In the 17th century, the town of Market Drayton in Shropshire, UK became known for its gingerbread. The first recorded mention of gingerbread being baked in the town dates back to 1793. Gingerbread became widely available in the 18th century.

"And I had but one penny in the world, thou should'st have it to buy" gingerbread.

-- William Shakespeare, "Love's Labor's Lost"

By Esperanza Reyes

CHRISTMAS TIME!

Christmas dining is defined as the set of eating habits made at Christmas time. It usually corresponds to countries with influence on Catholic religion.

It is mainly characterized by family gathering habits, and in most cases linked in with the culinary traditions of each country.

The main feature that encompasses all gastronomies is the use of sweet food, usually mixed with ground grain, crackers, cakes, etc.

Other common denominator is the marzipan. Another important feature is the use of nuts and dried fruits.

SPAIN

In Spain, the traditional Christmas food is usually modest and poor and it is based on meals with plenty of sweets. Today, these customs have changed and family meals are often abundant.

There are three meals in the Spanish culinary celebration of Christmas, and they are: Christmas Eve (dinner), New Year’s Eve (dinner) and The Three Wise Men’s day (lunch). In many occasions the family is together also on Christmas’ Day and New Year’s Day (for lunch).

It is characterized by all Christian traditions. Notable nougat (mainly traditional soft nougat and nougat from Jijona or Alicante), “polvorones”, dates, marzipan (in all varieties such as figurines, Gloria’s cake or Cadiz bread), sugared almonds (very famous in Casinos, Valencia), “alfajores” or almond soup (very common in Madrid) among other sweets.

It also very common to eat dishes such as suckling pig, poularde, turkey, lamb, sea bream or shrimp and other seafood.

On 31 December is a tradition to eat twelve grapes at the rate of twelve strokes, one in the New Year is very common to toast with champagne.

The first of  January, in the morning, people usually eat “chocolate with churros” at home with the family.

On January 6 (Epiphany), usually it is eaten the traditional “Roscón de Reyes”.

UNITED KINGDOM

In the United Kingdom  is present the famous Christmas Pudding (it is a pudding made with plums). It is also traditional to stir the Christmas pudding, a traditional dessert. The mixture should be stirred on the first Sunday of Advent for each family member in an east-west to commemorate the visit of the Three Wise Men to Jesus, while you make a wish in secret.

Often it is made gingerbread cookies and various cakes with brandy butter, the trifle, the Christmas cake, the Yule Log, etc.

The Anglo-Saxon tradition marks the use of roasted turkey that is popular as well as widespread in all countries of the Commonwealth. 

Since the Middle Ages, English made called “​​mummings”, which are representations involving masked people. These works are traditional in schools and churches in small towns. 

Another customs is to hang mistletoe at the top. According to tradition, couples who stand under the mistletoe must give a kiss.

On December 26th is known as “Boxing Day”. That day charity boxes of the parishes are opened and its contents is distributed to poor families.

By María José Gómez

FOOD TIMETABLES

We all know that when foreigners come to Spain they get surprised by our timetable. We, spanish people, do everything later than most of the people in the rest of the world. We go to work later, we eat later and we go out to have fun later too.

We are used to this and we also get surprised when we travel. Sometimes we think that our timetable is better because we make the most of our days, just because we go to bed later than anyone. But is that really true?

In general, we have a light breakfast before going to work or to study, like a coffee or a glass of milk. We do our normal breakfast about 11 in a bar close by. Our lunch is usually at 2 or 3, and an abundant one. We might have something to eat in the early evening and a big dinner at 9 or 10 at night.

Do you think that our times to eat are the best?



In Spain we stop everything to eat. We stop working at 2 and go home to eat. Having a big lunch about 2 or 3 in the afternoon makes one feel sleepy and need a "siesta", a typical Spanish short nap. Some believe that everyone takes a siesta in Spain. But unfortunately we are not that lucky. Most of our jobs in Spain don't allow us to sleep after eating. After eating so much we must be ready to go back to work, which I think makes it difficult to work properly.
Also during this time public establishments close for some hours and reopen about 4.30 or 5. But public organizations and banks close at 2 and don't reopen, which can be a problem for people who work during those morning hours (which usually happens).

So do you think that this break in the afternoon is a good one? Does it make it possible for people to rest to go back to work properly later? I don't think so. I think that this timetable keeps us busy the whole day and gives us no free time to enjoy during the day. This is why we have to enjoy life so late, especially during weekends. That means going to bed much later, waking up later, eating later and making the rest of the things later as well.


In England, for example, the eating timetable is very different.

In the morning, they have a big breakfast, usually some sliced
bread with butter and jam and cereals.
During the weekends they might eat their popular English Breakfast.

After that, differing with us, they have a light lunch at 12 or at 1 at latest, which allow people keep working inmediately after having eaten. It usually consists of a salad, or sandwiches and some fruit. Children and adults eat lunch outside. They might take some food from their homes or buy something already made; there are many shops where you can find them.

They don't stop everything to eat as we do. They have half an hour to eat and then go back to work. In most cases, they finish working at 5 or 6, which makes it possible to make the best of their day.

It is also habit to have a snack before dinner, called "tea break", the popular english tea time. Dinner (also called "supper") is their biggest meal and takes place at 6 or 6.30. It typically mixes different kinds of food (salad, vegetables, potatoes).

One can cook without being in a hurry, resting a little bit and enjoy his/her day after supper. Also, they don't go to bed with a full stomach.





What do you think now? Is it not better to have a light lunch and keep working after? Stop working earlier and have dinner calmly? Enjoy life during the day?

In Spain, I always see women running to the bakery everyday at 2, nervous about what to cook and how little time they have. Do you know the cause of our timetable? War.

Spain became a destroyed country. It was impossible to maintain a family with only one salary, so men had to work 2 different jobs, one in the morning and one in the evening.
Married women weren't allowed to work in that period, so they cooked in the morning and evening for when the men returned from each job. They had enough time to cook a big menu, but now things have changed. Men and women both work, but the timetable has not changed at all. And it can be crazy.

By Clara Jiménez García