Bombs in Barcelona

A week ago, you may have read that the Catalunyan police carried out a big raid and arrested 14 suspected Islamic terrorists who were about to carry out a suicide bombing on the Barcelona Metro. The raid was carried out in the Raval district, the seedier side of the old city that has a burgeoning population of Pakistanis and Morroccans, as well as the city's largest mosque. Supposedly, the intelligence indicated that an attack was imminent. Today, the national government admitted that the attack was not as imminent as was earlier claimed. It seems clear, however, that coordinated terrorist attacks were going to be carried out in the city, and indeed, we had noted an increased police presence in the Metro over the past two months. Tonight, as Hannah and I waited for a friend in Plaza Catalunya, at least 15 to 20 police vehicles, including a number of paddy wagons, sped by, indicating another possible raid. I am awaiting news in tomorrow's newspapers of the nature of this activity. Meanwhile, life goes on as usual. As I rode the Metro home tonight, I looked around at my fellow passengers, mostly young and lower-income, all potential targets, and I wondered what could possibly be gained by the misery and destruction that would result in, and from, their senseless deaths. There is so much of humanity that is so hard to understand.

Around every corner

Ah, how I love Barcelona! Every stroll through the city is an adventure for the observant. You might turn a corner in el Eixample and have your mind boggled by a building like this one:

Feliz año!

The beginning of 2008 shows no hopeful sign that the new year will see the end the violence, venality and stupidity that plagued the world in 2007...but we must hope. Personally, I await the year's surprises with the wish that I will handle whatever comes my way with gratitude, good grace, and spirit. I wish the same for all of you.

Now let's talk about food. A few days ago, the topic was off-limits for me as I recovered from a bout of - well, I'll just call it the flu. Thank goodness I can tuck in again.

The splendid repast above was courtesy of my Spanish friend Antonio the other night. Antonio is serious about food - Spanish food - but in a seamless kind of way that emanates from his general Spanishness. He comes by this honestly: his father is a restaurant cook, and Antonio has worked in bars and restaurants for 20 years, starting when he was all of 14. I should hasten to add that his family is Andaluz, not Catalan, thank you very much. I will not digress here into the differences.

During a rather protracted search mission in which we cross-crossed that paragon of supermarkets, El Corte Ingles, and in which Antonio was deep in thought, he homed in on exactly the quantity of his selected ingredients. Once in my kitchen, he set about his preparations with an admirable organization and economy of movement. His perfectly executed final product demonstrated that simplicity plus top-quality ingredients equals memorable cuisine marked by brilliant flavor, gorgeous color, and contrasts in texture and temperature. The menu:

1. Entrecote with a sauce of roquefort and cream (to die for!)
2. Mussels (cooked, cold) with minced red and green peppers, onions, olive oil and lemon
3. Calamari rings and pequillo peppers sauteed in olive oil
4. Whole fish grilled in olive oil with garlic, parsley and lemon

And here is Antonio, showing us how to enjoy these simple masterpieces: