Just Desserts

Oh, my gosh, I´ve just had heaven on a plate! The food in Spain is amazing and the quantities they are serving us would feed a small -- or maybe not so small -- army. We are in the parador in Almagro, a charming and beautiful town. For lunch we were served a local specialty for an appetizer -- pickled eggplant stuffed with pimiento and garlic. The dish dates back to the Muslim tradition -- the Moors occupied Spain for several centuries. The first course was cod topped with julienne vegetables and "foam of potato" -- sort of a thinned mashed potato thingie. Totally full -- and having left a lot of food on my plate -- I made the mistake of looking at our menu only to discover that a second entree was coming. The pork plate, with potato and vegetables, went practically untouched. I played with my food so it would look like I´d eaten some! Then came dessert -- fritters of Calatrava with bitter almond sauce and quince sherbet. It was fabulous.
We´re off to the town where it is tradition that Cervantes was imprisoned and where he began his masterwork. Bet I sleep on the bus!!!!