Cocina Casera

In the tiny kitchen on La Calle de la Verbena , my host mamá, Puri, always had something brewing in her pressure cooker. The flavors melded into such a beautiful aroma that filled the cozy Spanish apartment. At times, the pot would scream right before the knob would shoot straight up and hit the ceiling. One of the best dishes that came from that pot was her sopa de garbanzos, lovingly made from scratch. Twenty years later, I finally made my first pot of it. It's warm creamy, flavorful richness transported me right back to her tiny kitchen, where we lingered over our mid-day meal each afternoon. Ingredients 1 16-oz bag of dried garbanzos (chickpeas) 3 Tbsp olive oil 2 smaller (or 1 larger) onions finely chopped  3 - 4 cloves of garlic chopped or minced 3 - 4 carrots thinly sliced 1 - 2 potatoes cubed  1 red pepper roasted and chopped or half a jar of red roasted peppers 2 bay leaves 1 Tbsp of Spanish paprika  1 package dried Spanish chorizo sliced 1 32-oz box...

My kids beg for this dish, and I'm happy to oblige especially because of the spinach. And what goes better with spinach than bacon! Ingredients 3-4 Tbsp. of olive oil ½ yellow onion chopped 1 package baby spinach 6 pieces of lower sodium bacon 2 cups frozen hash browns 8 eggs ¼ cup milk pepper to taste Cook or bake the bacon as directed on the package until crisp. Place cooked bacon onto a plate covered with paper towels. Blot the bacon on top with additional paper towels to soak up any extra grease. Then break the bacon into small pieces, and set aside. Rinse the spinach. Cook over medium-low heat, drain, and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the hashbrowns and onions until wilted, but not brown or crisp. Add more oil as needed. Add the bacon and spinach and stir gently. Lower the heat to medium low. Preheat the oven to broil. Using a whisk, beat the eggs, milk, and pepper in a large bowl. Pour the egg mixtu...