Getting groceries

Tonight we were lucky enough to be able to borrow our neighbour Nuria's car to go to the grocery store and stock up on heavy food. Normally we have to walk to the grocery store, and we only buy as much as we can carry, so today it was nice to be able to buy bottles of pop and cartons of milk without having to worry about that. Although that also meant that one of us had to drive. Erin had the honour of being the chosen one, since she is Nuria's roommate and was the one who actually borrowed the car. And she did a great job!

An interesting fact that we have discovered about Spanish grocery stores is that they all seem to carry completely different stock. I know this because we have 4 different grocery stores in Rota (Mercadona, Carrefour, SuperSol and Dia) and every time I go shopping at one of them, there is at least one thing on my list that I absolutely cannot find at the grocery store I am at, no matter which one it is. Some have a better pastry section, some carry different types of pasta and sauces but not others, and some just don't have certain food.

So far I am adjusting to Spanish food fairly well... mostly I live in denial and cook the same food as I do at home! There are some things that I've had to get used to though. For example, in Spain most milk comes in a box, not a carton. This kind of milk is only partially pasteurized as it is heated at a high temperature and only for a few seconds, a process called ultra-high temperature treatment (UHT). Milk pasteurized in this way retains more nutrients and can be stored unrefrigerated (as long as it is unopened) for six to nine MONTHS! Apparently this type of milk is very popular in Europe though, and I've jumped on the bandwagon . My only advice: ust don't drink the skimmed or semi-skimmed versions!