greengrocer yesterday - along with the inevitable trip to the Post Office.
We needed lettuce and more tomatoes. The Senior Cat had finally admitted defeat and pulled out the last of the fancy lettuce he had been growing. The lettuce has been nice but it is now bitter. The tomato plants have, as yet, not produced much. Hopefully they will if we can keep them alive in the expected heat.
I know the greengrocery shop well. I know the staff and they know me. I like the way the owner insists on using local sources wherever he can. He expects his employees to know about the stock and to be able to advise customers. I once sent the Senior Cat to do some shopping (a dangerous exercise as he has little idea about such things) and they took over and did it for him.
Needless to say I go back again and again - and they get a large bag of shortbread for Christmas.
The Senior Cat and I eat a great many vegetables - and a wide variety of them. Potato, pumpkin, parsnip, carrot, beans, peas, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, courgette and more all make their way onto our plates in winter. In summer we add salad vegetables. I can deal with all these things in a variety of ways and I can do it fairly quickly but I don't think I spend an excessive amount of time preparing meals.
But it seems that only one in seven Downunderites eat more than one or two vegetables a day. I find this almost incomprehensible.
What are people eating if they are not eating vegetables?
It seems they are not eating fruit either. That is something else we eat. I rarely bother with a second course apart from cutting up some fruit. Thankfully the Senior Cat does not particularly care for steamed puddings or jam tarts or any of the other baked delights that some people seem to revel in. He is even less impressed with the sort you can buy from the supermarket and reheat.
I also bought cake yesterday. It is something I have not done for a year. I bought it for the same reason last year. It is the birthday of an elderly friend. She happens to like this cake. It is, as bought cakes go, very plain but it reminds her of the cake her mother always made her for her birthday. Her mother was the daughter of a baker and I suspect knew things I will never know about baking. I will take the cake when I visit her in the nursing home today.
The Senior Cat investigated the label on the packet yesterday.
"Do you want me to save you a slice?" I asked.
He shook his head and then asked, "Did you get some more cherries?"
I did, just a few. He took a handful, washed them at the sink and went outside to eat them.
I am thankful he is in the one in seven who likes his fruit and vegetables because I prefer them too.
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3 comments:
It's the fruit and vegetables that are a large part of the secret of his good age and health.
I find fruit a little difficult in winter. Apples of course. And here in Geneva I've discovered the pomegranate which is a wonderful addition to our winter breakfast which often consists of mango, pomegranate and yoghurt.
Vegetables are another matter and I guess we eat a lot of them in winter, while turning to more salady things in summer, much as I would in Australia. Today lunch was spinach, potatoes and tomatoes cooked in an Indian style and dinner was a conventional salad - iceberg lettuce (what a shame it is the worst one for you), tomatoes (which looked dreadful but are surprisingly tasty, avocado and cucumber. This is a salad I don't really want to eat unless I'm making it myself as it is unbearable without best quality ingredients.
Vegetable soups in winter - yum. At the moment we have leek and potato in the fridge.
The oddest thing about not eating vegetables is that they go such a long way budget-wise, at least as long as you focus on what's in season. I make dahl with vegetables regularly, cheap as chips, tastes great, good for you is almost the added bonus rather than the point.
Ahem. That was my comment and just to add my details, since something went wrong putting them in.....
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