Madrid, Spain

Nate and I spent a week exploring Madrid, Spain and loved it. I studied abroad in Italy in college and the city reminded me so much of Florence: modern with ancient charm, beautiful architecture, and picturesque streets. Aside from Spain's love for Jamón (seriously, you could buy a prosciutto pig leg at every grocery store), we loved Spain's food culture. Big, filling, late lunches, and lengthy, simple, late dinners filled with tapas, cheap chilled red wine, and good food. Perusing  from tapas bar to tapas bar all evening allowed us to try dozens of restaurants. Here were are favorites: 

Favorite Eats: 

Chocolatería San Ginés is touristy but so so good. Made to order churros with a pot of bittersweet melted chocolate. 

Pez Tortilla was the best meal of our entire trip. If you go no where else, go here and try and many tortillas as possible as their menu is filled with all different interesting flavors with great wine, croquettas, and tons of vegetarian options. 

La Quietud Tiyoweh is another great cafe that doubles as a reiki/yoga space. They have coffee and teas as well as lots of healthy vegetarian options. 

Takos al Pastor one euro tacos, enough said. 
 

Vega is the loveliest vegan restaurant I've ever been to. For a table, definitely make a reservation because this the secret is out and this place fills quickly. We sat at the bar and watched as each dish came out of the kitchen looking like a work of art. Colorful vibrant plant based food with great service, this place made me feel right at home in the best way possible. 

Malaspina is a great tapas bar conveniently located on a street full of tapas bars. 

Casa González is a great little wine and cheese bar in a great neighbohood. Great place to start off your evening. 

Bodega de la Ardosa is an old charming bar that made us feel like locals. Also they serve THE BEST Tortilla de Española, it was so good we went twice in one week. 

Rayén Vegano is another lovely vegan cafe I wish we had time to have a full meal at, but alas we just went for dessert where I ate some of the best vegan chocolate cake I have ever had. Again, super popular so make a reservation. 

La Pizzateca serves delicious affordable pizza by the slice with many veg options. Emphasis on the affordable. There are a couple throughout the city. 

Travel tips: 

Our favorite dishes were Tortilla de Española - an amazing undercooked egg and potato omelet, each restaurant makes them slightly different, so you can never try too many. Patatas Bravas - potatoes with creamy aioli, and Tinto de Verano - the local's version of sangria, a perfect mix of lemon soda and cold red wine. And of course churros con chocolate! 

Parque del Retiro is like Madrid's version of Central Park. We rented row boats which were surprisingly affordable. 

Menu de la Dia - many places offer super affordable 3 course menus for lunch Monday - Friday called menu de la dia. Unfortunately we didn't find many of these menus with veg options but they're usually a great deal. 

Dinner doesn't start until 9pm, most places that serve dinner earlier are geared towards tourists.

Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía is a fantastic museum that offers FREE admission everyday except Tuesdays from 7-9pm. It makes the perfect date before heading out to dinner.

We loved El Rastro is lovely Sunday flea market with tons of great finds, including Spanish made pottery which I wished I'd bought more of!

Strawberry Rhubarb Cinnamon Rolls

These are my favorite christmas cinnamon rolls adapted for summer. We made rhubarb compound butter last week and now I'm putting it to good use! The light coconut cream frosting and strawberry rhubarb filling makes these buns perfect for early summer! 

Notes: Dough can be made ahead of time. Let it rise fully (2 hours, plus 20 minutes) then cover and refrigerate up to about 3 days. The rhubarb butter and frosting can also be made up to 3 days in advance. 

Strawberry Rhubarb Cinnamon Rolls
Makes about 15
Adapted from: Flourishing Foodie

For the dough:
1 package (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon cane sugar
1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup bread flour
2 tablespoons cane sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted & cooled
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla
3/4 cup water

For the filling:
1 cup rhubarb compound butter, softened
1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled & diced
1 tablespoon arrowroot (or cornstarch)
1 tablespoon coconut sugar
1 small lemon
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt

For the frosting:
1 batch coconut lemon frosting

In the bowl of a stand mixer proof the yeast with 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and 1/4 cup of warmed water. Set aside, after about 5 minutes the yeast should look puffy and bloomed. 

In a medium bowl, mix together both flours, remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, and salt. Set aside. 

In a small bowl mix together the melted butter, egg and vanilla. Add 3/4 cup of water and the butter mixture to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Then with the stand mixer on low slowly add the flour mixture until the dough because integrated and sticks to the sides of the bowl. Remove the dough from the bowl, with heavily floured hands knead it into a ball then place in a well oiled bowl in a warm area, covered for two hours. 

Meanwhile, prepare the rhubarb butter and lemon coconut frosting if you haven't already. After two hours, punch the dough down then let sit for 20 additional minutes. 

Prepare the filling by tossing all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. 

On a well floured work space roll the dough out into a large rectangle (about 14 X 18 inches). Carefully spread on the rhubarb butter. Drain any liquid from the strawberry mixture then top the rhubarb butter with strawberries. Starting from the long end begin to roll the dough up into a tube. Carefully cut the tube into 15-16 equally thick rolls and place cut side down in an oiled 8x13 inch baking dish (I ran out of space and placed the last one in a ramekin). Let sit for 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400. Position one rack in the middle the second rack on the lowest rung. Fill a baking dish with water and place it on the low rack. Place the cinnamon rolls on the rack above and cook for 25 - 35 minutes until lightly browned and a skewer comes out clean. 

Top with frosting and enjoy! 

Rhubarb Compound Butter

Guys, I've recently discovered podcasts. Specifically food podcasts! My husband has been away and although my french cafe pandora station keeps me company while cooking, there's something quite lovely about stimulating my brain and geeking out about food with people that get me. 

I came up with the idea for this compound butter from NPR's The Splendid Table. I could listen to Lynne Rossetto Kasper talk for days! We've been hitting up the farmer's markets in Chicago and they are chock full of rhubarb this time of year. Not going to lie, I made 3 batches of this stuff and plan on savoring it for months to come. 

Once the butter has softened it comes together in under 15 minutes. It's lovely on sourdough toast or pancakes. And if you check back next week we'll be using it for something special. 

Notes: I made this butter several times with both coconut sugar and regular cane sugar. For some reason the coconut sugar gave it a richer more caramelized flavor that I preferred but also a darker, less pink color. That being said, these photos were taken from a cane sugar batch so if yours comes out looking darker not a problem. 

I see no reason why you couldn't use vegan butter instead. Earth Balance butter sticks are my go-to for vegan butter replacements. 

Rhubarb Compound Butter
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature*
6oz rhubarb, ~ 1 1/4 cup diced
2/3 cup coconut sugar (or sub cane sugar)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine the the diced rhubarb, sugar, salt, water, lemon juice, and vanilla in a small saucepan. Cooking over high heat, bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Continue to cook at a gentle boil, stirring frequently and mashing up the rhubarb as it softens, for 5-10 minutes until most of the liquid is dissolved and the mixture reaches the consistency of jam. Let cool completely. 

In the bowl of a stand mixture, beat together the butter and rhubarb mixture together until completely incorporated. Store in a ramekin covered tightly in plastic wrap.