For the past year or so I've become a big fan of eating healthy and living it! Along the way, the discovery of things which I knew nothing about has been the best part of it all. Also, these bits of facts came from very simple places like Yahoo and of course Google :)! Nothing over the top so read on...
This post is dedicated to vegetables/tharakaari (kannada)/PRODUCE. Now...I am situated on that side of the globe that calls tharakaari produce... so I will stick to calling veggies produce, just so we blend in...
(Cutting to the chase now...) Having grown up in this area called Malleswaram and shopping for fresh produce at a market with great character (8th cross tharakaari markettu), going grocery shopping at a super market bummed me out! Most of you will agree that you'll walk the long drab aisles only if you have to! As luck would have it, in the middle of no where in College Station, Texas, my room mate discovered this adorable farmer's market called Farm Patch! Come to think of it, the proximity to Mexico does make Texas a good for produce state but who knew back then! So I had developed this weird affection for Farm Patch. I loved going out there and I can still remember exactly where what was. I had grown so comfortable shopping there...... and then the move happened...hmm...I landed in New Jersey.
New Jersey, The Garden State, was even better actually! I started living in this area which had the best of several worlds - accessible to Princeton Downtown, huge farms and just the right amount of desi-ness. I found myself surrounded by farms and farmer's markets! Without realizing I had started to take a liking for vegetables such as asparagus and broccoli (I know right!!!) and fruits such as grape fruit and blueberries. These farms also let you pick fruits and vegetables off of their farm patches. So, what's the big deal in plucking your own strawberries and egg plants....nothing really.....but looks fun so definitely something to try this summer!
The inspiration for this post came from this article I had read which stressed on buying produce from a local market rather than a super market. The produce from a local market is less likely to have been subjected to extensive storage and chemicals and hence is of more nutritional value. For me though, farmer's markets are pretty and a lot of fun :). To find your local market check out this website, http://www.localharvest.org/ , its pretty neat.
Oh and to learn how to make broccoli more interesting try this recipe from a cooking blog created by one of my distant relatives: http://samayalarai-cookingisdivine.blogspot.com/2008/12/18th-december-2008.html
This recipe is a very typical South Indian dish worth the effort if you like eating curd in any form.
And and....on a totally unrelated subject....the one thing to look out
for in New York City just at the on set of spring is its tulip patches! A Steve Jobs invention helped me a little here. See below! The first picture is at the park behind the Wall Street Bull. The second picture is the view from the boss' room. The third picture is at the Zuccotti park or better known as the camping site of the Occupy Wall Street protest.
So thank you until next time :)
