Bob Bolling 's Website in Galicia, Northwest Spain - Ambroa Sardinada 2003 (page 1 of 2)

Ambroa Parish had its first summer celebration on July 19th. It was a Sardiñada, which is a cookout featuring sardines, creole-style sausages, boiled potatoes, empanada and more. And for some people it was the first up-close look at some important improvements to Ambroa's Centro Social.
Sardiñada tent behind the <i>Centro Social</i>.

Sardiñada tent behind the <i>Centro Social</i>.

The Sardiñada tent was erected behind the Centro building on the newly-paved area. The fence is new, too.

The centro's grounds now have a nice front fence and a lot more pavement than before, thanks to the local government. That'll give our fiesta planners a lot more flexibility when they lay out the bandstands and concessions for our San Ramon Fiesta at the end of August. For the July Sardiñada we had a very sturdy tent for shade - and in case it rained. (It didn't.)

The Sardiñada Chefs Used the New Picnic Area on the West Side

This picnic area, with a barbecue and three stone picnic tables, is a nice addition to the Centro Social

We have a new picnic area on the other side of the property, complete with stone picnic tables and a barbecue. This is where the Sardiñada chefs did their work. The tractor and trailer on the left brought a large load of firewood. Barely visible above the trailer is the framework for a tarp to cover the sardine-cooking fire in case of rain. It didn't rain so they had no need for the tarp. Right-of center is the new barbecue, which was used to grill the sausages. And at the far right are the new stone picnic tables.

These men are putting some of the the sardines on a large grill for cooking over a bed of hot coals. If you're a foreigner like me, you might have thought sardines only came packed in small flat cans. As you can see, there are bigger ones, too.	These guys carefully cleaned a lot of patacas. There would be over 200 hungry Ambroans arriving in a little while. If you haven't tried sliced boiled potatoes with a little olive oil poured on them, you should try them. They're might tasty that way.

The first official use of the new barbecue was cooking up a big batch off criollos, a type of sausage that's a favorite of mine.	While the cooking was going on outside, other folks were inside the Centro's bar working just as hard. In this photo they're cutting the cheese that'll be served at the end of the meal.

After the cheese was sliced, the team covered it up and started cutting up the empanadas, a thin meat (or fish) pie that is a big favorite with everybody.	And what's a meal without good bread? These loaves are from our excellent local bakery - Panadería Ambroa, in Escañoy.

For more photos of Sardiñada-2003, go to Page 2 .