Greetings from Oto!

This remote mountain village is my haven, a home away from home. Fozzy and I retreat here once a year for hiking, cooking, and peace. If Manhattan is the city that never sleeps, Oto, with its 108 inhabitants, is a Wednesday afternoon siesta.

Like last year, we’ve rented our “cave” apartment, a psychedelic creation by our friends Pedro and Montse, who walked away from a successful but stressful life in Barcelona 19 years ago and never looked back. It’s a quieter experience to be sure, and winters can be isolating but the nurturance they get from the mountains comforts and reconnects them to their spirits.

We’ve spent our days on the trails, walking along the river or atop the mountains through lush woods to Torla for lunch, Servise for tapas and Linas de Broto for jamon. We’re starving when we arrive, the trek long ago burning through the Spanish omelet we had for breakfast. And while I love hiking for the tranquility and space it creates in the mind, the connection to nature and the restoration of self, the ability to indulge guilt-free is a definite bonus. We pick flowers along the way for my hat and every day it’s a new arrangement.

For today’s MM I simply wanted to share some photos of the trip as well as the recipe for the Spanish omelet I make every morning. Yesterday, Pedro gifted me fresh eggs from chickens he raises on his farm. They are this mornings ingredients. He also gave me a huge head of lettuce that’ll be tonight’s salad. Tomorrow he’s making us a meal with local ingredients and herbs he’ll pick from the mountain on his morning walk. Here, local ingredients are what you can find outside your door.

By the time you read this I’ll be home but Oto will be right there with me, in the center of my heart.

Till next year.

Have a happy Monday!
xo
B

Tortilla Española

This is perfect fuel for a long hike. The carbs in potatoes offer immediate energy and the protein in eggs provide sustainability. You’ll also want to take some snacks along on your walk to keep you nourished. I take almonds and sometimes fruit. Always make sure you have enough water.

Serves 2 to 3 for a morning’s hike.

Ingredients

• 6 eggs, beaten
• 2 potatoes, peeled, sliced and quartered
• ½ medium onion, diced
• ¼ green pepper, diced
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions

• Sauté onion and pepper in olive oil over medium heat in skillet or frying pan until fragrant and onions are translucent. Add a pinch of salt and some ground black pepper.
• Add potatoes and cook covered until tender, stirring every couple of minutes. This takes a while and I ended up adding a little bit of water to expedite the process.
• Add eggs and move around the pan so the eggs spread throughout the pan and into the spaces between the potatoes. Lower heat slightly. You want the eggs to set on one side totally before flipping it over to the other side but you also want to be careful that you don’t burn the bottom.
• Once eggs are firm on the sides and bottom, slide omelet onto a plate. Then place the skillet over the top of the omelet, and while holding the bottom of the plate, flip it over so that the uncooked side is now face down in the skillet.
• Cook the other side for about 3 to 5 minutes until cooked and set.
• Place on a platter and allow to cool a little, then serve.