Where My Grrreens At?

Last night I was lamenting to my husband how hard it is to find leafy green vegetables in Stockholm. This seems odd to me, since Sweden has the perfect weather for growing kale, chard, mustard greens and collards practically all year round. So why can't I find them in my local grocery stores? All I find is the usual stuff: tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, broccoli, lettuce... usually flown in from somewhere far away.

"Um, honey, you're in a different country," John reminded me. Riiiiight, that. The thing is it just seems so strange given how healthy the culture is here, but vegetables in general seem to be a bit of an afterthought (the main attractions are definitely meat, potatoes and bread), and I've never seen cooked greens on any menu, anywhere. I prefer to pile my plate with veggies and try to make the meat the side dish. And I love greens so much that I actually crave them. Back in my bachelorette days in New York, I would sometimes saute a big heap of kale with lemon, olive oil and parmesan and eat just that for dinner.

If I can't find greens in the supermarket, surely some farmer's market must have them. The hippies around here must eat greens, right? So far I haven't found such a market, but a little online research this evening revealed that there is in fact at least one—I just missed it in the busy season and it won't open up again until Christmastime. It's at the main plaza in Södermalm, called Medborgarplatsen. And another place to scout might be Asian groceries. I'll try to check out the shops in "Chinatown" tomorrow.

Stockholmers, help me out here. Any ideas where I might find some greens? See how delicious they look in the photo? I bet you're hungry for some, too. At this point I'll go anywhere in the city. But please don't say Hötorget. I'm not craving mushrooms and knockoff handbags.