The Elusive Green Vegetables

One thing I have learned in Spain is that green vegetables are hard to come by; unless you get a salad and usually the only green on that is iceberg lettuce, not very beneficial for your health.
There is a LOT of potatoes here, especially if you're vegan.  Sometimes the only tapas you can get is patas bravas which are "spicy" potatoes that have mayo dumped on if you don't think to ask for it on the side first.  (I put spicy in quotes because the only person I know that would find that spicy is my dog Mojo who steals food and then spits it out, drool covered, because he never likes it unless its bread).  Seriously, spicy is non-existent in Spain which pains me.  If you read any of my previous posts you would know how much I love roasted red pepper flakes and garlic.
Anywho, last night I was pleasantly surprised when my host mom gave me soup for dinner made from zucchini, and broccoli I believe.  I've found that I seriously need to work on my food vocabulary because I do not know the name of many foods which makes it even harder for me to communicate my dietary needs.

It was really good, especially with the croutons (I'm a sucker for carbs).

Then today, I went back to my favorite little vegan shop Santoni.  The owners now recognize me I've been so many times already.  They are such sweet people and very patient with my broken Spanish.  I was so happy today when I went because the place was absolutely packed!  Now not everything there is vegan but it was nice seeing so many people willing to try new things in meat driven Barcelona.

 

I got a bocadillo, which means sandwich, with vegan chorizo and avocado on really good multi-grain bread.  However, I shoved that in as fast as it would go because I was rushing to a class that ended up being cancelled.  Alas, no picture of that.  But I did photograph the side of pasta I got that had a pesto with tofu on it which was utterly delicious!  Even the fork they gave me is made from bamboo and is thus bio degradable.  How awesome is this place?!

And this last photo is from a few days ago that I wanted to blog but did not have a computer.  There is an self-serve frozen yogurt place across the street from the historical campus of my university.  I was told by other students of my program that Tutti Frutti is an American company, but I could care less because they have a frozen soy-yogurt that I got and piled with kiwis, strawberries, and dark chocolate shavings.  It was absolutely delicious and not expensive at all which makes me even happier!

As a completely unrelated note, I plan on going to the beach tomorrow and possibly the majority of the weekend.  I have to say one of my favorite parts of Barcelona is the weather.  This is the stuff dreams are made of; unless you're a polar bear than it might suck.  If I make it to the zoo, and they have a polar bear, I'll make sure to ask him/her.