21 September 2010

Food and Flowers

Jane and I have been going to the markets every Sunday morning for the last couple of months.  We leave home at 5.30 am (not much fun in the middle of winter) and head off.  The first market we hit is where we get our meat, fish and eggs...organic and soooo tasty.  

The second market is where we buy our fruit and veg, plus Greek style yoghurt and I get my organic sour dough rye bread there as well.  That market also has a lot of bric a brac so after we've had coffee and breakfast, we spend an hour or so looking for something to read, cheap clothes, etc, before buying our produce.

But let me tell you about the yoghurt.  I love yoghurt but I will never buy it from the supermarket again, not after tasting the stuff I buy every Sunday.  It's organic, rich, creamy and the flavours are to die for.  There is plain, mixed berry, mango, apple and cinammon (my favourite), lemon and myrtle and raspberry and coconut.  Just delicious with fruit and muesli.

At the moment strawberries are very cheap and we bought a kilo of first grade fruit for $3...bargain.  Mangoes were available for a while but we haven't seen any for the last couple of weeks.  They were first on the market in early August thanks to last summer's rain.  There is a bit of a lull at the moment, but soon the mango season will begin in earnest.

Not only do I get my own meat, fish, eggs, veg etc, but I also shop for my daughters.  Consequently we take Jane's station wagon (my car is far too small), a couple of eskies with ice bricks, our trolleys and extra bags.  By the time we've finished Jane's car is rather full.

We have bagged some really good clothing bargains, too.  There is one lady who sells all her clothes for $2 a piece.  She has good quality stuff, all freshly washed and sorted into size.  So far, I've bagged two pairs of jeans (one pair are pink), and a pair of shorts.  Jane's just about refurbished her whole wardrobe.  At another stall I bought a beautiful cardigan in a lovely dusky pink, brand new for $3.  It's winter weight but will be great for next year.

Last week a couple had pots of hippeastrums for sale, some in flower, some in bud but due to open in a day or so.  What caught our eye were a couple of hippeastrum with double flowers...neither of us had seen anything like it before...so Jane bought one.  I put a photo below...it's just beautiful.

So...that's what we've been up to over the last couple of months.  Also, after about three attempts I've finally been successful in getting on to Facebook...wonders will never cease.  Already I've caught up with members of family who are living overseas and whom I haven't seen for years.  Good stuff.

Right...here are some photos.




Jane's double hippeastrum


This is a bromeliad flower...they look like berries





My daughter and son-in-law gave me this for Mother's Day.  It's not as showy as it usually is...it has flowered non stop since May.  All I do is keep it well watered and it's absolutely covered in these pretty pink flowers.  Don't ask me what it is...no, it's not a primula, although it looks similar.



Pink begonia flowers...everything is very pink today.

8 comments:

Maribeth said...

Would love to go to the Farmers Markets with you! Unfortunately living in New Hampshire, USA, it's a bit of a jaunt!
My husband sells our fruit to a farmer and he has not only a farm stand, but attends Farmer Markets as well.

The Chair Speaks said...

Love yoghurt too. I buy from supermarket if I'm lazy otherwise I make it myself.

Lifecruiser Travel Blog said...

OMG! Do you know how much I love markets????? We nearly don't have any (worth mentioning anyway) and I really hope that will change. I'm so envious of that market of yours, it's sounds perfect to me! And now you got me craving for that yoghurt :-P

Love that bargains... (Now you got me a vision of all kind of stuff... *giggles*)

Beautiful flower photos, I've almost forgotten about flowers now when we're having autumn and an unusual cold one too... *sigh*

- BUT: today sunshine, so I hope it will stay!

Jack K. said...

Glad to know you had another successful shopping trip.

Gattina said...

Apparently you do the same as I do, I go to my midi market in Brussels almost each Sunday. For me it's rather a nice walk and I buy fruits which are much cheaper, but nothing else. Mr. G. goes to the Waterloo market where he has his Italian stand and he buys fresh stuff there.
Isn't it funny that everything we used to eat as children became suddenly "organic" ?? When I think all the chemicals we have swallowed since our Teenager days until now ! and we are still there, lol !

Christine and FAZ said...

Loving the flowers and also the sound of your market. We'll be home in Southport by April fingers crossed, just got to book the flights.

Merle said...

Hi Robyn ~~ I envy you your wonderful trips to the markets and all the fresh food and everything else that you and Jane get. The 5.30 start is a bit daunting, but will be better now the days are longer.
Thanks for your comments, I had been thinking of selling my house and going into a unit, so asked for the assessment test and was pleased no alzheimers and the girl advised me to stay here, so that's it for now.
Take care my friend, Love, Merle.

Tinsie said...

I love the bromeliad flower photo :-)