Getting ham-mered

Flying for 10 hours is never a treat- even if you're flying premium. Without even realizing it. And therefore missing out on all the free booze that just might make the journey bearable. Though life has a way of evening these things out for you by placing the fattest man with the most liberal attitude to personal grooming next to you...

As the battery on your laptop (along with rest of the entertainment) inevitably and all too soon runs out, one has to find other ways to keep herself from boredom that just might result in a sharp lecture on personal hygiene. Such as studying the in-flight magazine. Wonderful sources of education, those. I, for one, have learnt that iberico pigs, that lovely breed that provides us that scrumptious Serrano ham, are free from trichina. The finest of them are only fed acorns, mind you (those asylum seekers on the other hand are left to fend for themselves...)

As the meat is cured and left to dry and age and mature and hang, over the following months (the best ones go through years of maturing process- not unlike men...) they lose about half of their mass. The fat that seeps out means that the fat that is left is actually the good kind. How about that. I was so fascinated by these nuggets of information that my solemn intention to go back to kosher went right out the window. The moment I got to my supermercado I went crazy with the ham and shellfish selection and emerged with a lobster. 

And as we were grilling it (and our noses) in the sun on one of our terraces with a glass of chilled Albariño in our hand my destitute, tinned tuna-filled existence seemed like a bad dream...