Happy Chorizo Day in Puertollano!!

So last Sunday was Chorizo day in Puertollano.  For those of you who have never had chorizo, it is a really good sausage-like meat that is soooo good.  In Mexico, chorizo is a little different---usually spicy.  Here in Spain, it can be sweet, spicy, or normal flavor, similar to salami I think.

It is very common to buy chorizo like the picture below...mmmmm lol


It is really good served as a tapa (appetizer) with cheese and green olives.

So anyway, every year on January 23, Chorizo Day is celebrated to remember many years ago when people would initiate la matanza, which means basically "the pig slaughtering" that would take place at their homes in the country.  There are also different stories about Chorizo Day.  Some people say that many years ago when there were issues with religious differences in Spain, people would eat Chorizo to show that they were Christians, as opposed to the Muslim or Jewish people who did not eat pork for religious reasons.  A little history lesson!  Really, people just use Chorizo Day nowadays as an excuse to eat and drink all day!  Which is exactly what I did!! 

My friend Toni, another wonderful friend that I have made who is also an English teacher where I work, invited me to spend this day with her family and friends at a friend's house in el campo (the country).  It was about 10 minutes away from where I live, and it was so fun.  Again, like Teresa's family, Toni's family and friends made me feel so welcome.  I really enjoyed myself and felt very comfortable among good people.


Here are some pictures from this meat-worshipping day...

This is Natalia (right) and her friend Maria.  Natalia is the hija of my friend, Toni.  I took this picture mainly to show you this cat---her name is Cacahuete (Peanut), which is the name of MY cat in Ohio!!  This is my Peanut!! (below)  I miss her!!

This perrito (puppy)'s name is KITTY haha.

My good friend, Toni, and our little friend Patricia.  Toni is a wonderful person!

The country house is a house that has been in Toni's friend's family for many, many years.  It is on a big property, and they have a tennis court, as well as this court, for Paddle Ball.

Here we ate the famous dish, Migas.  This is actually the same dish that I ate at "my" restaurant where it had scary whisker fish.  Thankfully, this dish only had chorizo and peppers.  It was wonderful.  We all stood around the table with forks eating out of this big bowl and drinking wine.  No plates, low-maintence!  They said life is very simple en el campo (on the farm)!

This is my new friend, Maria Dolores.  She is the friend of Toni whose family owns the farm house and property.  She is an English teacher at a primary school here, and we are going to begin meeting for coffee once a week to practice conversation in English.  She said she'd help with my Spanish too!  She is definitely buena gente (good people) and it was very nice meeting her.

Maria Dolores told me that iglesia (church) in the distance is where she got married. 

Very cool table in their yard.  I love the Spanish style of very colorful tiles.

A picture with all of the husbands that were at the farm.  They were all really funny.  We had a great time joking around.

I went to put away my camera, and these guys were like WHAT ARE YOU DOING???  Take our picture!  They were LOVING posing, and felt it very necessary to pose with the Spanish flag.  They kept saying "Campeones del mundo!" (Champions of the world)---from their World Cup victory last year.

Overall, it was a very successful Chorizo day!  We ate SO MUCH, especially chorizo.  Honestly, it felt like we were eating all day long. Good times!