Maribel's Paella  (amounts for 8 goodly servings)
as many mussels as people (or twice as many if they're small)
big shrimp (twice as many as people) olive oil squid (cut in postage-stamp size squares; 1 large squid body) red and green peppers cut in generous bite-sized chunks tomatoes cut the same (1 kilo) garlic cut large (1 or 2 large cloves) bay leaves paprika or chili powder fish bouillon (1 large cube) fresh peas (2 cups -- well, frozen peas if you MUST) rice (best: Spanish short grain arroz; 1 kilo) saffron clams (four per person if, ideally, small)
Pull heads off shrimp, and put them and the mussels in enough boiling water to cover, and cook them to get their taste into the water. This is the "secret" step that gives the dish its characteristic taste.
In a large flat ceramic paella vessel sauté the squid, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, bay leaf, and paprika in a generous amount of olive oil, and when tender, add the boiling liquid and enough boiling water so that the total amount of liquid is a bit more than twice the volume of the rice, and bring to a boil.
Add peas and rice, and 5 or 10 minutes later, the saffron. Stir as little as possible to prevent burning. As soon as the mixture begins to simmer, adjust the flame so that the mixture simmers and cooks the rice. Simmer until the rice is nearly plump and the liquid has been absorbed, about half an hour.
Place the remaining ingredients -- shrimp, clams -- atop the paella and cover and allow to rest for fifteen minutes before serving.
Elsewhere in Spain we encountered paellas with chunks of fish and chicken as well as Maribel's ingredients -- delicious!
Graciella's Sangria
2 apples
2 pears orange lemon mandarin orange banana (if you like) 2 bottles of nice red wine sugar lemon juice to taste
Mix. Drink. Don't drive.
Maribel advises that Spaniards will adjust the strength of the Sangria by adding vodka and/or light rum to suit the occasion.
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