Market day ~ what did you buy?

[tod2]

bjd - You are just BRILLIANT! Thank you so much - As soon as I read the name it rang a bell!
I am so grateful. (Been watching the drama this am - going off to see SKY News now)

Bixa and Mark , you are also my heros! Yes, that's them wot I wonted ;D

[Deleted]

Mar 21, 2012 16:44:33 GMT bjd said:

Please don't asky why they cancelled an outdoor food market because of an assassin on a motorcycle in a totally different area of the city.

When the vigipirate alert went to scarlet in the region of Toulouse yesterday, all markets and other group events were cancelled because they didn't know where he was going to strike next. Since they didn't locate him until 3 a.m., it was far to late to rescind the order, because the market vendors had not procured the goods that they would normally sell. The stalls would have been empty except for the longer lasting items like potatoes and onions.

[bjd]

Not only the market was cancelled -- we were even told a plant exchange in a local park on Sunday was cancelled, all the gymnasiums closed, etc.

[Deleted]

[bixaorellana]

Mar 21, 2012 18:07:48 GMT bjd said:

Not only the market was cancelled -- we were even told a plant exchange in a local park on Sunday was cancelled, all the gymnasiums closed, etc.

Sounds as though they didn't want crowds gathering anywhere. Makes sense.

Re: Casimira's strawberry pic ~~ I was never much of a fan of Brocato's strawberry ice, but always loved the fact that they'd have something so seasonal.

[auntieannie]

last week, I bought some local rhubarb.

today, I bought ... a spice dabba!

[Deleted]

So, this morning before our upcoming day of rain, I went to the Chinese supermarket to buy a few items.


First of all, I just got some very basic batavia lettuce and some big clunky carrots (for cooking). The cute little carrots are about double the price.

I also bought a package of 'rice flakes' which are actually big square noodles. They don't stay square when you cook them, though. They roll up into floppy cylinders.



Then there is a package of samosa for an upcoming lazy evening. These are locally made with spicy beef. I just put them in the oven on the cookie sheet for about 10 minutes. I have learned to also use oven paper under them, because a surprising amount of oïl drains out of them when they heat up.

I do love a bargain, so when I saw the frozen stuffed bitter cucumber from Vietnam two for the price of one, I knew I had to try them. They are stuffed with shrimp, fish and chives.

The Chinese cashier was very intrigued and had a brief and inconclusive conversation about them with her nearest cashier colleague. So she turned to me as a poor alternative and asked "are they any good?"

I had to confess that I did not know yet. In any case, she very much approved of the bitter cucumber part. "It is a very healthy vegetable to eat in the summer," she asserted.

I haven't yet had my fill of baby corn cobs in spite of the price, so I bought another package from Thailand. They could almost reconcile me with maize.

And the last item I bought on impulse were the frozen stuffed crab claws from Vietnam. 20% crab, 80% shrimp according to the package. This is obviously another item for a lazy meal when I don't actually feel like doing anything.

[lagatta]

Those big clunky carrots are actually great grated or done with a "carrot tool" that juliennes them. I have made a salad combining my flat cabbage, described elsewhere, and one of those carrots. Very nutritious.

Not pleasant thinking of that very screwed-up and murderous young man in Toulouse. After all, they couldn't know he wasn't part of a larger group.

[bixaorellana]

I am so jealous of that haul from the Chinese supermarket -- so much fun stuff to try!

[Deleted]

I was thrilled to find a head of romanesco at my Dia supermarket for only 0.99€. I've always thought that it looks like it comes from another planet.

[bjd]

I bought one of those at the market a couple of weeks ago, after thinking they looked odd for quite some time. I can't say I was particularly impressed by the taste -- sort of like not very strong cauliflower.

[Deleted]

Yes! Moon vegetable. Fractals.

[Deleted]

Really excellent Mexican limes are going for 1.80€/kg at my local store and I just can't imagine what the growers are earning when you think of all of the expenses along the way, not to mention the fact that the store probably wants to make a profit.

[Don Cuevas]

Mar 18, 2014 14:24:40 GMT kerouac2 said:

Really excellent Mexican limes are going for 1.80€/kg at my local store and I just can't imagine what the growers are earning when you think of all of the expenses along the way, not to mention the fact that the store probably wants to make a profit.

Mexican limones agrias are insanely expensive here now. $30 pesos/kg in the mercado and about $47 in one supermercado, at least. We are used to much lower prices for this indispensable fruit.

[bjd]

I went to the market this morning but it's that sad time of year. Am getting fed up with the usual winter stuff and it's not yet time for spring fruit. I did see some "local" strawberries -- the first ones -- but since they are greenhouse ones, they don't have much taste and are expensive. I also saw some asparagus for over 11€/kilo! No way I will pay that much. I just have to wait a few more weeks.

[Don Cuevas]

We bought a kilo (well, a large bunch, suitable for several meals) of asparagus at the Morelia Costco for only $40 pesos. We made the most of it. That was an unusually low price.

[Deleted]

I just returned from the Farmer's Market and purchased some real goodies.
Soft shell crabs are in season so I bought six of them to prepare for dinner tonight. I will do them pan fried with a Meuniere sauce. My favorite way to prepare them.
I also bought three cartons of very ripe peaches (discounted because of) which I will grill some of and make peach ice cream.
Also, some beautiful heirloom tomatoes and some eggplant.
Oh, and a beautiful cantaloupe.
All of the above locally grown.

[Don Cuevas]

We went yesterday to the art. 10 Farmer's Market in East Hanover, NJ. bought vine tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, sweet potatoes, white potatoes; plums, pears, lemons and a black radish. Total just under $30 USD. 

[Deleted]

My local hard discount superette had the most incredible selection of about 20 different tomatoes of every possible sort. Unfortunately, I didn't need any tomatoes today, but I absolutely plan to go back and get some of them.

[lagatta]

The good field tomatoes are just coming in now, much, much later than last year. The very severe winter and cool spring delayed everything. I bought some pretty little aubergines/eggplants and some San Marzano type tomatoes. Tomatoes are lovely. The aubergines are tasty, but once grilled not much of them. I also picked up different herbs for a farro salad.

We also have wild blueberries, which are lovely and very nutritious. They are nice paired with peach slices, in aesthetic terms as well. The peaches are still expensive though. They aren't commercially grown in Québec; they come from the Niagara peninsula in Ontario, which has a warm microclimate, in part due to the Niagara escarpment. This is also why good wine (especially white wine) can be produced there.

[Don Cuevas]

I found a bag of farrow in my mom's pantry. Can you give us some preparation tips?

[Deleted]

I rarely eat chocolate so why did I buy this? (Actually, I have numerous people to give it to, and they all LOVE chocolate.)

[Deleted]

So THAT's why there's a world shortage of chocolate. Shame on you for speculating!

[Deleted]

The main reason that France has propped up every regime of Côte d'Ivoire for the last 50 years is to protect the source of chocolate, no matter who is in power. If chocolate suddenly disappeared from the supermarkets, I think there would be extreme consequences in many of the countries of the world.

In any case, I did notice that prices have risen considerably since my last foray into Switzerland.

[bixaorellana]

[Deleted]

I hadn't bought prickly pears in ages, but these from Sicily were calling out to me.

[bixaorellana]

Nopal cactus, the kind that make that fruit, have naturalized so completely in Sicily that they appear on souvenir items as a symbol of the island. When I told someone there that the cactus pads, not just the fruit, are eaten in Mexico, she was astounded.

My favorite is the prickly pear that's pale green inside. It tastes like mulberries.

[rikita]

i bought some prickly pears recently too, but here they tend to be sold only in a box with about twelve fruit at once - and since i am the only one in my family that eats them, and i eat usually one or two per day, i always end up throwing some away because they've gone bad (often, at least a few in the box are almost gone bad to begin with, anyway) ...

[bixaorellana]

Don't you all think I should return this tomato? It was obviously broken, then patched.

                     

                     

[breeze]

Frankenfood.