The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: grocery shopping in a foreign country (by Michelle)

Lest I've given the impression that all our time is spent going to impressive museums, parks and cathedrals, I thought I'd share a little about more domestic adventures (which is how more of my time is spent). For today, it's grocery shopping:

THE GOOD

• Lots of delicious crusty fresh breads. Every day people stop at a shop to pick up a fresh loaf.
  
• An amazing variety of delicious cheeses (and by "variety" I don't mean mild, medium, sharp, and extra sharp cheddar.) So far my favorites are Idiazabal (a smoky, sharp, goat cheese), Manchego (a hard and tangy sharp cheese) and a Gouda with cumin seeds (this one isn't specifically Spanish, but YUM!). There are still lots to try.
  
• If you like olives (and we do), they are scrumptious and not so expensive. Our favorite by far is "campo real" which are the most lovely colors of green. (see the "Olive Heaven" post below) The major grocery stores have olive bars, with a dozen or more kinds of olives to choose from.
  
• If you like olive oil (and we do), you have an entire store aisle of choices! Spaniards must go crazy in the US looking for olive oil varieties.
• The other great thing is shopping during the siesta. Here is a picture at the hipermercado (a Wal-mart type superstore) at 3:30 in the afternoon; we have the whole store to ourselves! (which is why I feel okay taking pictures in a grocery store.) I am not exaggerating is saying that if this picture had been taken at 1:55, just before the siesta, there would be at least 100 people in the frame and every checkout stand would be busy and crazy. We'll blog about the siesta another time. (We usually don't shop at this bigger store because it is a bus ride away.)

The Bad

The challenge is getting by without the things that I am used to, like Mexican food (normally a staple in our house). If any of you has mistakenly called Mexican food “Spanish food”, now is the time to stop. Though the Americas influenced Spanish (and European) cuisine back in the 15-16^th centuries when explorers brought back potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and chocolate, I don't know that there is much influence going that direction today. At the local grocery store there are no Mexican foods at all. If I go to the big hipermercado (pictured above) then there is a tiny Mexican section that is a bit pricey ($3 per can of refried beans). I can get a “tortilla” in the neighborhood grocery store, but in Spain a tortilla is a thick egg omelette with potatoes and onions-- tasty, but not useful in making a quesadilla. We’ll survive of course, but eat a taco for us!

(I hope that it doesn't seem like I'm complaining. Rather, I am pointing out differences that I think might be interesting and surprising . . . okay, sometimes I might complain when I'm wanting just a pinch of cilantro.)

The other thing that we miss is baking supplies. Not that I am a big baker, but I do like an occasional homemade chocolate chip cookie or pumpkin bread. I guess that Spaniards don’t bake much. Flour is only sold in cute little packages of 1 kilogram (less than a pound!) and baking soda is hard to find. Shortening? I’ve never seen any. Vanilla? I just found some in Madrid.

On the other hand, if you are looking for canned white asparagus? . . . . . . Half an aisle length of only canned white asparagus! And boy, does Simon look thrilled. (if you double click on the picture you can see it bigger) Or canned tuna or fish? An entire isle of canned seafood! Take your pick.

The Ugly

Check out the fish aisle (which isn't even half of the fresh fish aisle-I just singled out the slimiest part). I was disappointed because the time that I brought my camera to the grocery store they didn’t have any angler fish. Sometimes they proudly feature a big angler fish with its mouthful of terrifying teeth and bulging eyes right there, front and center, but today only lots of octopus and other slimy fun. I’ve trained the kids that it is okay to discretely hold their breath when we pass by the fish section but outright pinching their noses is bad manners ... and obvious gagging is absolutely not acceptable. (though I’ve had my moments as well).

Some of you may be thinking, "Michelle, carpe diem! Why don't you learn some local recipes afor cooking all that interesting seafood?" Many of you know that I am far from timid about trying out new recipes, and we do try out things Spanish-style, but my weakness has always been seafood. I have never liked it much and I cook it even less. Maybe I'll get brave. Normally Dave cooks fish for himself at our house because the rest of us aren't so interested. Send me your octopus recipes and maybe we can try them out. Really, send any and all suggestions.