mi tostada

I have retired to my local bar to leaf through my local newspapers. Breakfast is served without any words being exchanged between myself and the waiter, beyond a brisk buenos días. He knows my order. It appears automatically, the clanking, bashing, steaming and of coffee machine and plancha, the hot plate used for frying and toasting, starting as soon as I am spotted walking through the door. This can be a complex business. How do you keep your fingers clean when the toasted roll you have been given has a large pool of olive oil washing over its crusty banks? And, once the oil is on your fingers, how do you stop it sticking the pages of your newspaper together? The little, square, tissue serviettes, grabbed from the plastic container on my table, pile up in front of me. From Ghost of Spain: Travels Through a Country's Hidden Past by Giles Tremlett Copyright 2006

Growing up, I never cared much for any vegetables or things like tomatoes which appear to be vegetables but are actually fruit. I just never liked them, especially tomatoes. And the first time I was in Spain, I tried café con leche, I hated it.

When I was in Linares last year, I decided to give café con leche another shot. All those French kisses from Common Grounds must have changed my taste buds as I loved it. At my school, I ordered toast and they gave me a dish of tomato. I didn't know what I was supposed to do with it, and since I didn't like tomatoes, I just left it. A month later, I was addicted to café con leche. On an excursion to Córdoba, the tostada came with the tomate. And I tried it...with a little bit of salt and olive oil...and I immediately became addicted.

My roommate/co-auxiliar and I last year started having a tradition of going out for tostada and café con leche on the bad mornings when the teachers were isolating us and we needed internet and our landlord was being a jerk (most mornings), trying to find the best tostada in Linares. On the weekends, I would go to Il caffè di cappricio, my favourite love to hate place, to steal their wifi and eat tostada con tomate. It's addictive but healthy.

Not all tostada con tomate is created equal. Sometimes the bread isn't good. Sometimes the tomate is too thin. Or too thick. It's best when you can spread the tomato first. And it's better when you put the olive oil on before the tomato. It's not like normal tomato, almost a puré of tomate. There should be just a little bit of salt.

I don't know why, but...this stuff is amazing. Tostada con tomate con café con leche makes everything better.