29/10/2008

Vegan MoFo Day 29: Being Vegan in Spain Part Dos

Most bloggers probably get fed up with me moaning about "I can't get that here" or "I've never seen that in the shops round here" or "Oh I've never tried that!" etc etc ad infinitum...... Go on - you can all admit it. I do sound like a broken record sometimes. So I thought this little MoFo entry would be about some of the wonderful things I CAN get. HURRAH!
Nooch! The ever elusive VWG The creamiest yummiest Yoghurt ever!! All Pulses including my beloved Dried Peas!! Nori (still haven't used this) Nuts, Mock Duck, Tofu
And that doesn't include the wonderful Fruits and Veggies that are available when this lazy MoFo'er gets off her butt and gets to the market on a Sunday morning!! So what I'm trying to say is - living vegan here in Spain is pretty darn good if you know where to look and what you're looking for and you're not frightened of cooking meals from scratch. And I haven't even mentioned how cheap the booze is! RESULT!!! Today's song is Rehab by Amy Winehouse - this was playing in a shop I went in to and I can't get the darned thing out my head - it doesn't even matter that I don't even know the words....GRRRRR!!!! *starts singing Pink Floyd*

16 comments:

Lisa -- Cravin' Veggies said...

That's quite a haul you've got there. I had no idea that brewer's yeast and nutritional yeast were the same thing (or perhaps I translated it very, very wrong)

Anonymous said...

I love reading vegan blog posts. I learn so much!! I basically eat vegan now except for cheese, butter, & the occasional ice cream. None of them are good for my vocal chords...so I should quit.

You're in Spain?

For the Love of Guava said...

dang it... I was going to say... Nori would definitely be light enough to send in exchange for a meal if I ever get to Spain... hmph.. must re-think my bribing tactics...

Jen Treehugger said...

Hmmmm...Lisa - you have reawakened my doubt. When I first bought this 7 months ago I asked at the health food shop for Levadura Nutricional (ever seen The Mexican? LOL!)the Levadura de Cerveza is what the woman gave me. It does translate as Brewers Yeast yet the Spanish Vegan forum I frequent talks about this and includes this in recipes for cheesey sauces and everything. I guess until I go back to the UK at Christmas I will not know for sure if it is the same thing as Nooch - but this stuff has served me well in a whole host of recipes.

Yeah lauren - I'm in Spain. Cool HUH!

Guava - get your bribing head on gal. The crazy thing is that this Nori that I got from the Asian shop is SOOO cheap. It's €2.90 compared to the HFS who was charging €6.50!!!

Marni said...

Oh man ... Spain? I'm so envious. The Husband and I honeymooned in Amsterdam with plans to go to Germany while we were there. Well, we never made it out of Amsterdam :::snicker::: but we vowed to go back to Europe and tour it proper. We just love it there across the pond.

I loved seeing all the pics of things you can get there that I've never seen here. Nice!

River (Wing-It Vegan) said...

Check out all those goodies! As long as there's cheap booze it's all good, right? :D

disabled account said...

i know this is stupid, but i must know what mock duck and that VWG stuff is...if the yeast stuff smells like cheetos then you've most likely got the right stuff. brewers yeast probably smells like beer, i've never smelled it, but i live very close to the coors plant. yuck.
mmm, yoghurt. i want that.

haha! my word verification is "wanter."

aTxVegn said...

Score! Enjoy your goodies!

Sal - AlienOnToast said...

I feel your pain but don't think England is much better you know!

It's got easier the more i've learned and basics like tofu ... etc I can get easily.

But I have to order gluten and nooch and stuff like that online. The worst thing is restaurants though - none of them cater for vegans! Except the chinese / indian restaurants.

My bro lives in london and he knows a vegan or two and it sounds like they have an easier time of it.

kimmykokonut said...

Are you from Spain? I lived in Granada for 5 months once upon a time and found it difficult to be vegetarian there. I was eating out often and frustrated at the veg options-cheese on bread, tortilla espanol, bread, olive oil. Salads were hard to come by as were beans. I found that strange. Life got better when I started cooking for myself. I remember finding a few fun veg restaurants in Madrid and Barcelona, but it was slim pickings. My sympathy is with you. As long as you have a kitchen and a farmer's market, all is not lost.

Felicity said...

With tofu and vwg, you're set to make all kinds of faux vegan meaty delights!

I learned a bit (a very little bit) of Spanish, so I can now refer to my cats as "los gatos negros". hehe.

Bex said...

I love seeing people's fun shopping hauls. Special ingredients you have been searching high and low for, treats you don't get often, it's so exciting. I think I love food too much.

Anonymous said...

I totally understand - I was on vacation the in the States this summer and it was so easy! Here in France it's not that bad, but you have to be much more whole foods oriented, no fake this and that unless you make it yourself or feel like paying 10E for it!

A.M. said...

I feel like a broken record about what I cannot find in the Netherlands sometimes too, haha!

And even though I LOVE a few things I can get very easily here - I would like to be able to buy me some gluten! Lucky you...

Bethany said...

I love a celebration of what you have post. very cool.

the rehab song is funny in a very twisted way. the first time I heard it I knew she was so headed there.

Jen Treehugger said...

Kimmy - I'm not from Spain but I have lived here for 7 years. I'm a hardened ex-pat.
:)

Eating out is the only real problem I face but having said that we have three restaurants here who are aware of my diet and they are very careful and particular.
AND they are a Pizza place, an Indian restaurant and a Vegetarian restaurant - so I am pretty lucky!

Granada is BEAUTIFUL!!!
So green and pretty compared to the Costa Blanca. It's all beach and dessert here (which is pretty in another kind of way).