Simple Vegan Tapas:

Lately I find myself in quite the predicament...I'm too spent to cook, let alone blog about it. By the time I sit down at my computer to write (lethargic and slightly depressed), it's like I can't lift my fingers. There's no words left in my head.

The same thing happens when I try to cook. "Rice takes too long....you're not having pasta for the 5th night in a row! Fatty." So I end up with some sloppily-thrown-together meal, in my messy hair and sweatpants, and I think that I may be in a rut.

But the truth is that I'm actually not in a rut at all. I'm really about to cross the finish line in this crazy marathon that I started over seven years ago. Yet, while all of these things are going on behind the scenes, I feel like I'm spinning my wheels. (Who wants to run a marathon anyway? - Side note - I'm thinking of running a half marathon!)

But, all in all, I'm sure that when the Bar is over and I'm all settled into a new home, it will be different, and I'll be able to enjoy the simple things...like the smells of garlic wafting through the kitchen and freshly-made pizza dough rising. Soon. 

I guess I'm really in no rush. The rest of my life is waiting for me regardless. Besides, sometimes it's nice to have a legitimate excuse to have unkempt  hair and live in sweatpants. 

So anyways, who really cares about all of that? I just want you all to know that I haven't forgotten about you!!!

Now...Vegan Tapas!

In case you didn't already know, I am absolutely in love with Spain. Everything about it: the culture, the people, the food (pero no jamon por favor!), everything. Spain has a liveliness that's unparalleled, and it's a beautiful country to spend two summers in. 

Funny thing, before I went to Spain, I absolutely hated olives. Now, if you want to cheer me up or comfort me, all you have to do is hand me some Spanish olives and some Tempranillo wine. It's such a comfort!

The cherry tomatoes don't go the best with olives, but they sure are delicious. Besides, tapas are random small plates that don't really have anything in common with each other anyways. 

Ingredients:

1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. olive oil

Dash of salt

Dash of cayenne pepper

1 1/2 cups arugula

3/4 cup Spanish olives

Baguette bread, sliced

Total Cook Time: 10 minutes. 

Instructions:

1. Add the grape tomatoes, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and cayenne pepper to a medium skillet. Cook on medium to medium-high heat until tender and a little charred, adding more salt or lemon juice to taste.
2. Once the tomatoes are done, top the bread with the arugula and serve the tomatoes and olives on the side. Don't forget the red wine!

Barcelona With 2 of My Favorite People:

I ❤ BARCELONA:

In the midst of cleaning my house and all the work that I'm supposed to do today, I got to reminiscing, and thoughts of Barcelona crept into my head. Although we only spent literally like a day and a half in Barcelona, it was awesome.

On the Thursday of our second week in Spain, we had no idea where we would be going for the weekend. Adam, Liza, and I spent over six hours in Liza's room looking up flights and train rides trying to decide where to go.

Hotel Rooftop

Anyways, after five hours or so and a few beers, we were a little delirious, and Adam was getting a little stressed. Around 12AM, we finally booked an overnight train ride to Barcelona for the next night. While we were laughing and carrying on, Liza reassured him, "Don't worry! You're about to have to best 36 hours of your life!"

The next day, we caught the 664 bus into Madrid and headed to La Mafia for some pre-train ride food and drinks. I had the verdura (vegetable) pizza and a few stiff whiskey cokes. We then headed over and bought some cheap vodka and Tang (really just Spanish orange pop, but we like to refer to it as "Tang"). And yes, it's "pop," not "soda."

All of the fun that we had a La Mafia almost made us late for our train. We made it to the train station with a few minutes to spare, but because Liza and Adam are chain smokers (just kidding guys!), they had to smoke before boarding the train. I decided to run down and check out the situation, and that's when I realized that the train was leaving right then. As a result, I had to run up the escalator and outside to try and get Liza and Adam, all while the train attendant was yelling, "Tus amigos cogerá el tren siguiente!" ("Your friends will catch the next train!").

Somehow we made the train, and we were finally on our way to Barcelona. Of course we were bothering the other people in our car who were trying to sleep. Liza even spilled some of her Vodka Tang on the girl who was sitting next to me. I ended up falling asleep, but Liza and Adam ventured to the train bar and were off wreaking havoc all over the place (of course).

Happy ☺

I woke up around 5 in the morning, just in time to watch the sunrise over the water. Listening to American Girl and Black Betty on repeat on Adam's phone (I didn't have one at the time), it was one of my favorite experiences during my time in Europe. I took a ton of pictures of the sunrise, but I still need to get them from Adam.

Anyways, we arrived in Barcelona a little after 8 in the morning, and we headed to our Hotel. The bellboy, Jordi, was one of the nicest people I've ever met. We gave him our cheap bottle of tequila as part of his tip.

We then took the party to the streets while waiting until we could check in. We shopped for a little and then headed back to check in. There were some really cool stores in Barcelona. I even bought a Spanish cook book! 

After we checked in, we napped for a little, and then we jumped on one of those hop on hop off buses. I think we ended up only riding it for a block. Oh well. At least we saw the Gaudi Cathedral, which was beautiful by the way. We then ended up at this cool bar (I can't remember the name, but we like to call it "Captain Tony's") for tapas and cervezas. After that, we shopped a little more and then went to the beach.

With gorgeous mountain and city views and plenty of middle-aged topless women, the beach was exactly how I had pictured it. We had a few beers and chilled out. After that, we headed back to the hotel for a shower, and then enjoyed rooftop views of the city over a glass of wine while eating dinner.

Unfortunately, I was sick and unable to go out that night, but Liza and Adam decided to go to the casino. We spent the remainder of our time in Barcelona eating and shopping at the train station. Sadly, the weekend was over, and we had to make our way back to Madrid. Getting back to Liza's comment, our weekend in Barcelona is definitely up there with some of the best hours of my life.❤

Beach ❤

Souvenirs ❤