Let's review the score. Dates: zero. Meals consumed that were delicious, scrumptious or otherwise fabulous: zero. Vegetables consumed: too many to count. Pounds lost: about three (official weigh in on Sunday morn). So if we focus on the positive, I'm getting my Five-A-Day for me and a small village in South Africa.
This journey led me to Produce Junction last night. Imagine a cross between a farmer's market and Soup Nazi. Tables of veggies make three 'aisles'. You are allowed to pick what you want from the tables- assorted greens, some root veggies, I saw leeks. Garlic in mass quantities. There are also some unusual veggies in bags. I think I saw Asian eggplant (at least, that's what I'm calling it); long skinny and bright purple. Then there are bags of wrinkly, unidentifiable veggies. Some sort of squash, I think and some peppers that scare me are lined up right next to the button mushrooms. It's a dichotomy of food and I'm nervous. There's no one to ask and what if I buy something and when I try to prepare it, it bursts into flames or causes mass destruction. So I might be over-reacting a bit. I feel more at ease as I get closer to the counter. Ahh, potatoes, onions, peppers (bell- but in four colors), cucumbers (two varieties even, but I know what they are); all bagged in somewhat larger quantities. This is more like it. You tell them what you want in short order. One cucumber, one zucchini, one cabbage, and red peppers. One equals one bag. Depending on the item, it might be two pounds(squash, cukes, peppers etc) up to five pounds (onions). Don't ask for half a pound of something, or two yellow bell peppers. It doesn't work that way. You get a bag and you don't get to pick. They don't want to talk to you about how to prepare zucchini, or what is the best way to wash leeks. They add everything in their head and give you a nice round number. Thirteen dollars. Seventeen fifty. You order, pay cash, and move along. Don't bring a credit card. Don't expect a receipt. And DON'T expect to pay for anything but veggies at the vegetable line.
The far right aisle leads to fruit. Fruit has it's own counter. Tables with some bagged oranges, boxes of mangoes and a table with pineapples notify you that you've entered "Fruit". Avocados are here, mainly because no one knows if they are a fruit or a vegetable. (The science geek in me needs to tell you it's fruit because it contains the seed). A small cooler on the right holds clam shells of berries. The usual- blueberries, strawberries, raspberries. There might have been blackberries, but I wasn't impressed with the prices. I might try walmart. Again, you order quickly and pay cash. Since it was slow and my mom looks a bit unstable most of the time (not crazy, just like she is a bit lost, might stumble on something, or knock over a table), she asks them to get a bag of red peppers for her in the fruit line. He takes pity on her, probably because there is only one person behind her.
A whole other outdoor area holds "Garden". Annuals, hanging baskets, vegetable plants, some herbs and apparently shrubs live there as was pointed out to me by Mom. They also sell cut flowers. I didn't feel the need to check it out. Again, there is a separate register for flowers. No counter, since this is more self serve.
Their produce is cheap, which is why I drove about 35 minutes to get there. Mostly, the produce is ready to be eaten. Now. Right now. Don't buy far in advance or I'll have a very expensive compost pile. I ended up with zucchini, two small heads of cauliflower, cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, mushrooms, a head of cabbage, two bags of baby carrots, strawberries, a small pineapple, and radishes. A lot of radishes. They sell them three small bags at a time, so I got a bag of three. And I picked up what I thought were beets. It was near other root veggies, which I now realize were probably diakon radishes. They were bunches with lots of greens and thought they were just a bit light for beets but you don't waste time inspecting things. Turns out they are giant radishes. My plans for pickling this week will now include pickled radishes. It's a lot of produce for one person. But as I said, that small village somewhere needs healthy vegetables this week.
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