More Vegetables

Today we went to the DeKalb Farmer's Market in Decatur, Georgia. It is truly an international market, both in products offered and in patronage. It was fun to see people shopping in their native costumes. It is a colorful market in both senses of the word.

The market has a big sign at the entrance banning photography of any kind. I'm not sure why, perhaps to respect others' privacy or beliefs, but photojournalists over the years have been photographing people in world markets, so I was puzzled.

Ethnic foods and ingredients of all kinds imaginable were available. Because I have such limited storage space, I didn't buy things to sample, but I sure would if I lived in the area. Different areas showcased foods from India, Egypt, Japan, Greece, and many other cultures.

And what really thrilled me was the huge variety of fruits and vegetables that I never knew existed, and I after all am a veggie kinda vagabond gal! Strange, exotic fruits and vegetables from countries around the world. Sizes and shapes and colors that were totally foreign to me. There was a carambola fruit from Asia, a large yellow fruit with five ribs running lengthwise down it that yields star-shaped fruit when sliced horizontally. There was a fruit called a cherimoya from South America, a large green fruit, kind of heart shaped with a bumpy skin. There were some large pear-looking vegetables called chayotes also from South America. What fun it would be to shop here regularly and experiment with different tastes.

Another huge area was devoted to shellfish and fish. You could choose squid or octopus, and you could choose them in various sizes -- do you prefer little squid, medium sized squid or big squid? Do you prefer them with their tentacles on or off? Shrimp ranged in size from tiny to the hugest shrimp I had ever seen.

And suppose you are interested in fresh fish. Just how fresh do you want them? Do you want to pick them out while they are still swimming in the tanks and have them cleaned and wrapped while you stand and wait or are you content to trust that the fish in the cases were very recently swimming on their own too? You can have it either way.

The area devoted to fresh meat was almost as extensive, but I did not see live buffalo in the area, nor Angus steers for that matter. I suppose one has to draw the line somewhere. I could not help but wonder if this world market in Atlanta was selling buffalo burger from Ted Turner's Montana buffalo ranch.

The market carries an abundance of organic foods and in one section was the familiar freezer case with my old standby, Ezekiel bread. I saw that I could choose regular or sesame, and I could also opt for Ezekiel hamburger buns. But the Ezekiel English muffins, hot dog buns, and pita bread that I could also buy in my little Town and Country market in my little rural town in Montana were absent! That made me smile.

I found purple cauliflower that was just too pretty not to buy.

And here's a combo that was made for me.

I regretted passing up the Louisiana hot sauce in Louisiana, so I was happy to find it here. And don't we all need a nice bottle of orange oil?

And for forty-six cents, I bought a 4 ounce container of a spice (or mixture of spices?) called Masala Punjabi Chole. It has a kind of cinnamony-cloves scent and I will try it on sweet potatoes or squash. Or maybe in my steel cut oatmeal or my protein powder/berry breakfast shake. I might even sprinkle a bit on my mango!

Today it was fun to see something new and learn a little.


And tomorrow is a new day.