A Sunday paella with family in Salinas

Today my brother and I immersed ourself in a traditional Sunday dinner with the Juani Ruiz and Mari Fernandez family.  Juani is our third cousin and his getaway is a farmhouse in the country (el campo).  We have heard about his el campo property for years, but this is the first time to be part of their tradition of Sunday paella family time.  He met us at another cousin’s restaurant and we followed him on his motorcycle. The road was narrow, steep and filled with ruts as he carefully rode upwards and upwards some more.  When he arrived, the view was wonderful.  The huge patio was nearly the same size as the house and Juani told Steven he had built it all by himself over the past twenty years. The house has open beams, a huge inside kitchen shared with the living room, one bedroom and bathroom.  Ceramic tile and beautiful wood all around. Now, the outside patio has an oven built into a brick wall, called el horno and a hand-made BBQ where a bubbling pot was sending a mouth-watering aroma our way.  Juana’s wife, Mari, was stirring peppers and onions and I hurried over to her with my camera.  Beside her, sat another deep frypan with pieces of cooked chicken.  I saw chickens running around and squawking above us on a ledge above the cooking area.  I pointed to the hens and asked,  “Pollos?”  She laughed and shook her finger, “no hoy,” she said with a laugh (not today.)

I reacquainted myself with their children, Angela and Juan José and their mates and children. I was disappointed their daughter Margari and family had other plans for the day.  Within minutes, a red and white checked tablecloth covered one of the tables, chairs were pulled around, a plate of olives (Mari brined them) and glasses appeared with a bottle of rioja wine.  Smelling the paella and watching Mari add mussels, clams, shrimp and saffron with rice had me counting the minutes to eat.  

I loved talking with the family, teasing the children and showing them the pages of their family in the Ruiz  Legacies book.  Mari loved seeing their family photo when she was 20 and Juani was 28 with their first two children.  It was all very simpática (sweet).

When dinner was served, nobody was disappointed, especially me. The ensalada mixta was placed on the table, then quarters of what I thought were limes.But, no! They are green lemons. Juani and Angela explained that this time of year in Spain, only green-skinned lemons that are good. It was strange to me and Steven.

We spent a lovely afternoon talking (in Spanish because they do not speak English except Angela a little). I am amazed that I understood so much of the conversation. Steven, of course, sounds like local with his fluency in Spanish.  Juani was surprised to see a photo in the book about Lola Nuñez because he knew all the siblings in the particular family and he had never heard of her.  I showed him the photo of me, Lola and cousin Maria Angela and he shook his head and muttered, “no me suena” —- translated as I don’t get it…

After hugs and photos, we knew it was time to go.  The ride back down that serpentine road was a little dicey, but the views of the surrounding valley were amazing. Steven pointed out the cousin’s restaurant from the hill and we both felt the family camaraderie sift through the air.

After the long day, we took a siesta.  Steven’s apartment has a portable induction cooktop that we both tried to figure out.  There was a red light, so it was on, but the burners would not heat. We finally resorted to google and found instructions.  The cooktop doesn’t get hot, but instead, the pot of water is supposed to boil without traditional heat, but electromagnetism. It’s called an induction stovetop that magnetically induces the atoms in the metal of the pan to create friction from an alternating electrical current flowing the metal. No radiant heat. Magical. Kitchen remains cool because there is no wasted heat. 

And then Steven created our dinner of freshly-diced tomatoes, avocado and bits of cheese in gazpacho soup.  I loved being waited on, so I did the dishes.