January is quite the depressing month. Eaten too much over Xmas, New Year, 3 kings and just another chocolate, Turron, piece of cake, turkey sandwich or why not, glass of Cava…so anyhow, happy, healthy, hungry January…

In fact. it´s so depressing I hardly have the strength to write my newsletter. Why don´t we just go on to February instead. Yes, that’s it,skip January… and it´s my birthday in February so that will be a good excuse to stop dieting, fortunately it´s at the end of Feb so should be able to lose at least 190 grams by then.

We usually have a calçotada to celebrate? my getting on in years. Many of you will have tried these delicious onion like vegetables, charred over an open fire until they are black and tender. You then peel off the outside blackened skin and dip the long onion into a delicious creamy romesco sauce made with grilled red peppers, garlic, mint, almonds and several other ingredients I can tell you about if you join my Catalan cookery classes…Calçotades take place all over but the typical and best known takes place in Valls. Not only do you eat these delicious ‘onions’, after that comes a huge platter of  grilled meats with allioli and of course, desserts, oh and almost forgot, plenty of wine and cava…by then, if it happens to be your birthday, you look and feel about 10 years older…

This is also the month of the Xatonades, typical in the Vendrell area as well as others.Xató is a salad composed of Frisée salad, `raw`fish, vegetables and again, a romesco like sauce. Up in Sitges and Vilanova they will also have these popular salads on the menus…

In the Delta de l’Ebre area you can sample delicious artichokes at the Jornades Gastronòmiques de la Carxofa more info 977511066 they also have rice ´rutas´where delicious ´paellas´and others are prepared, using the rice of the Delta and the fresh shellfish and fish available in that area. Whilst we are talking about that area, there is also the ‘Galera’ day…Galeras are a shellfish that are a mixture between crayfish, prawns…Feb is the month where this shellfish is (like me) at it´s best…

And of course Carnival, and by then, surely I shall fit into that Madame Pompadour outfit…