vegetable – M's Adventures

Eating Monk’s Beard

March 24, 2021March 25, 2021M's Adventures

In March, I saw clumps of grass being sold at the markets. I asked what it was and was told, “agretti” — in English, this vegetable is called Salsola Soda or Opposite-Leaved Saltwort (although I don’t think it’s a common thing to eat in English speaking countries so the name may not be so important). In Italian, the fun name is Monk’s beard.

I asked the vegetable seller how to cook it and she said, to cook it in salted water for ten minutes, dress with olive oil and lemon juice, a bit of salt and pepper, and eat. Some recipes say to add garlic so I may do that. I like this recipe because I like the idea of cooking it with spaghetti so that the shapes are similar. First I tried it without any flavorings so I can see what it tastes like.

I over cooked the pasta… I was too busy taking photos!

For those who live in the U.S. and want to grow Italian vegetables, this site also provides some information on them. This vegetable is supposedly becoming more popular with chefs. Other season vegetables right now are wild asparagus and artichokes. I even saw some sunchokes, Jerusalem artichokes, at the market the other day.

While the appearance is a bit like chives, it tastes more like… grass, and has a nice slippery texture. I think this would be a very healthy vegetable and it could be fun as a dish by itself. I made it with spaghetti so that the shapes matched. Of course, I put cheese on it.

The Markets of Port of Spain

September 14, 2017M's Adventures

hsTFlEhXRAjAQ-If8AHp9QK8Gqo4jZh8AvPTs6P0WGbnBRkiAMy-oMZqJ1wTZ3mnxJVB2faSoRBXBbzetviQWyARKO5Sc7GRbb3SQUvMcMGEYfa8XZRmZGgrSwke3TSCT5Y8KddX-kkrSYO1p8Rak6VB9POKDcjOEDw7PCgC7sRwezsxtGf8F51RGH Another extremely short list. There are vegetable markets in most of the towns in Trinidad, but it’s not a “thing” to do here. I like exploring markets and I managed to express my interest to the driver.

NSpFbuhe7R5zZY30zTx_3SsNb5SBWzrIKvsYmf3GABDJnCQLK3OmQDYKUPfTmqc3-qy50EKwK-SeKCcxLVeTkRbfTYFQjozBbTfbqHpsppULFs2unwbH64rPNTQJwQzux8_Syn3-nNcQTW-6AfjoXG5hjwP2gAb0g1BhHU0ruZH16ftIYFXcJFFZub The yuppie market is the Green Market in Santa Cruz. This market is on the way to Maracas Bay. The market has vegetables, meats, food stalls, musicians, massage booth, and artisan stalls (soap maker). Apparently, this market was the brainchild of a Trini who had lived in the U.S. and decided to bring back the idea of the farmer’s market to Trinidad.

QGEwSbVh0piF8kVdHkYbPUy7eP1DN0J-zsKYI9MBJ366yaaXfh0ioAhUapHX-sMXY445OanAHhRmy6tTT3Ix_kTzO2RxCvAMoBpE1X7_DI11MLWHjoDrGSDcVHKKEk0h6Lp62O5zWazQEJJUpe41UKGYRdPbPVCXCNYygZk0PYJZcMczGUHaeVwg4f The biggest market is Central Market. Most of the stalls sell vegetables and fruits. There is a food “court” down in the corner of a large hall. Most of the vendors prefer to set up their stalls outside where the cars can drive past and use them as a drive thru, leaving most the dark interior stalls empty and boarded up. Many of the items for sale were breadfruit and coconuts. Some of the vendors made me some blatant offers which were not on the regular vegetable selection.

nWSOLvaatIaluqi-nbwwWr8R0P6TkamOTbPHO6yWUUw2jYYCYEqCdSzoo5Du1VUuCPK0TLH2evgcT7xa80LewiQtH5Dozjh0pJSQ_fK2SAioR4-Zw-ktjPjWvNchLK3ytZkaG505a1hd9xSkiG1Jvy5GQrZLthf2RD4zy4ijFztF78s2-sPo6B7wvm The one I liked the most is Tunapuna in the town of Tunapuna. It was lively and busy. The locals were busy shopping and ignored me except when they treated me like any other customer. This market also included some ferocious clothes shopping.

Q94jvlaFnlyXepbcja7eV8FP2AZOWQi1nQeLIRWR_9E1v5-Pw7tZ3f2DT1l-FVRdtwPiP0FOokBnkVRTKduHxAvBWvo-zdfnndCOOCtI08dP9YXdKNaRm-q2kfBp3t5fPYQ5FxKJWjwtpTOYQo4sbpmg3P1cDwUQ-ml_FT3gBZ-be4FcdARzO3awY3

Asian Vegetables in Bogota

August 17, 2015August 17, 2015M's Adventures

The Chinese porcelain cat with the waving paw is the give-away. In the U.S., it’s called “napa cabbage” but in Bogota, it’s called “Chinese cabbage.” Whatever it’s called, it’s almost impossible to find in Bogota, I guess because it’s not a normal part of the diet here.

I went on the hunt. I’m not sure if it’s my imagination but I feel like in the months that I’ve lived in Bogota, more and more grocery stores are offering “Asian” vegetables like napa cabbage, daikon, and leafy greens other than spinach. But, in most of the stores, the Asian vegetables are droopy and expensive (whenever I buy bok choy in the market, it’s never the tiny ones served to me at Gran China but I guess they, as a restaurant, get preference). It’s better to go to Paloquemao. In particular, “Peter’s Fruits and Vegetables – Chinese Products Available” which I call “Peter’s Chinese Vegetable” just because I think it would sound better. There are quite a few stands in the same area of the market selling asparagus, giant daikon, arugula, chives, and leafy greens.The last time I went, I bought two large backpacks worth of vegetables and it cost me 24,000 pesos (about $11). There is a separate lady who sells nothing by chiles. The other “Asian vegetable” which is hard to find even in the U.S., is perilla leaf. Maki Roll on Carrera 11 sells that.

Japanese-Korean seafood pancake with long green onion-chive vegetables.

As an aside, Peter’s also sells sweet potato (yams to Americans and “Peruvian camote” here — a sweet potato with an orange color, used in Peruvian ceviche and North American food) and kale. Some of the vendors even use the English words and if they see a foreigner, they’ll call out “kale” or “sweet potato” to attract customers.

Cucumber Kimchi – It Is Really Easy!

April 19, 2015April 19, 2015M's Adventures

Thanks to Paloquemao market, I’m able to find “Asian vegetables” to make Asian food. This includes kimchi.

Cucumber kimchi in pride of place on the table.

In Dhaka, I organized Korean cooking lessons and it was possible to buy Korean goods at the Korean mart in Dhaka (and I had my special Korean place in Dhaka to supply me). In Bogota there is no Korean supermarket with ready-to-eat small dishes (other than Maki Roll restaurant which has a few items for sale). Also, I haven’t found my kimchi source (Casa de Coreana‘s is the best in Bogota, in my opinion), so I decided that I would have to make it myself.

The recipe is easy to find on the Internet (Maangchi is one of favorite) and I used her easy recipe involving fish sauce. I made it and it was delicious!

Cucumber kimchi made by me. — Cucumber kimchi at six hours old.

The Market in Bogota – Paloquemao

August 24, 2014M's Adventures

A salesman peeks out from his herb stall at Paloquemao market.

Paloquemao is possibly the most famous market in Bogota. Paloquemao is located in the west of Bogota. As people often refer to it as the “flower market,” I had expected rows and rows of flower stalls under and open roof.

Instead, Paloquemao was a warren of narrow stalls all bunched together like a souk. There were separate sections for fruit, meat, house plants, and food stalls. The prices were better than at the supermarkets.

The fruit lady was very friendly and kept making me try new fruits, once I told her that I only wanted to try fruits I’d never tried before. I left with a backpack full of produce for 30,000 Colombian pesos ($15). It didn’t even occur to me to bargain. Should I have?

There is an even bigger market, Abastos (also called Corabastos or Central de Abastos), which is the wholesale market and apparently the second largest in South America. I’ll visit it one of these Sundays.

The array of fruit and vegetables from the market.