Um...con carne?

Every meal is an interesting adventure here.  Most people know I refused to eat vegetables, fruit, or anything without at least one stick of butter for most of my life.  Yesterday, my host mother set a plate full of cauliflower in front of me.  Literally, my plate was piled with giant heads of cauliflower, or "coliflor."  Yup.  Nothing is lost in that translation.  It turns out, cauliflower smothered in a milky-onion sauce and sprinkled with cheese is actually pretty decent.  Until it gets cold.  Then, the bread-to-cauliflower ratio is crucial.  I'm not going to go into a restaurant and ask for "ajoarriero," you know, EVER, but I am proud to say I am capable of eating a meal with only vegetables (and a generous slice of bread) for the largest meal of the day.

Is this what growing up is like?

Top 5 Most Interesting Meals in Spain So Far
5. Any bocadillo (loaf of bread with an iiiiitty little piece of meat thrown in there last-minute.)
4. Churros con chocolate (Two words: Hot. Damn.)
3. Mussel Arancini (fried ball of mussel and cheese.)
2. Crema de Calabaza (it was like...pumpkin yogurt? Eh, it was free.)
1. Octopus (shockingly great. We're missing out in Idaho.)

Even though it's usually around 60 and sunny here during the day, all the houses are made of heat-rejecting marble and no one has central heat.  It gets really cold at night and has never been above 45 in this house.  So the Spanish came up with this awesome little device called a heater that they place beneath their dinner table, which is covered with a lovely fleece blanket and protected with a tablecloth.  We sit in the living/dining room on the couch and arm chairs and cover ourselves with the wonderfully warm blanket.  Seriously, best part of my day.

I'm not gonna lie, a week ago I had some serious doubts about Spanish cuisine.  But then I met my host mother and sat down for a meal at her heated blanket table.  Then she brought Sarah and me the best food I've had since my real madre's cooking, and I knew I found my home.

Also, yesterday was Monica's birthday!! We had a super classy evening at a bar on the river called Vogurt...no one really knew what that was about so we called it Yogurt.  Anyway, she is 21 and hawtter than EVER.  So happy to be in Spain with you Moni!