To market, to market.

[tyggerjai]

Fruit
So today was Fantastic Fruit day at the market. Nice rockmelon (I can't call it Sponspek with a straight face.), very nice grapes. The market is full of cherries from $5 - $20 a box, fresh mangoes (but it's raining. Mangoes. In the rain. Ah, Melbourne. So no mangoes today. Because it's raining. And eating mangoes in the rain is silly.). Almost plums. I actually did buy some plums - I was getting apples, and saw some plums, and they looked nice and almost ripe but not yet squishy, and not bruised, so I grabbed 4. And the guy looked at me with awe, and said in hushed tones "They're $12 a kilo!". This is not the best way to get me to buy your plums. They were the best plums at the market, I think, and yes, ok, they were pricey, but weighing them and saying "That's $6 just for these four..." is not helping your chances of shifting them.

But I found it very hard to get enthusiastic about vegetables today. Fruit, yeah, but only because it really was good fruit, and even then I didn't buy much. I need a trolley, I think. Or a packrabbit. That's a good idea. I do enjoy wandering round the market myself, and it takes less time if I leave Megan at home, and it means I can buy cool surprises for her. But then I have to carry everything. Perhaps I could blindfold her, so we still get through the market quickly, and she doesn't see the surprises, and I have someone to carry stuff. Yes. I think this is an excellent idea.
Of course, it means getting her out of bed in the morning....

Cheese!
bunnikins has this weird idea that one can have "enough" cheese, or even "too much" cheese. This seems to me like having "too much" hardware, or "enough" motorcycles. I'm not as adventurous with my cheese as erudito, but I do like knowing there's some in the fridge. So today's purchase was King Island Cheddar, and Australian Edam. When I retire, I will retire to King Island, and live on cream and cheese. And possibly cream cheese.

Bread
If you're buying bread at the Vic Markets, avoid the big bakery on the middle corner. Go to the little one on the side, opposite the chemist and next to the place that sells slaughtered bunny. Unless you need something special, they do the best loaves at the market.

And circuses
A brief diversion. The National Institute of Circus Arts will be doing a show from the 5th - 15th. I think this is the school that's grown out of the Flying Fruit Fly stuff, who used to basically be the junior Circus Oz.I suspect it'll be well worth a look, and I'll certainly be going.

Whitegoods!
Speaking of fridges, I need a new one. I think I'll take the couple of grand I was going to blow on hardware and buy a fridge instead. A nice, shiny, new fridge that doesn't leak, or drip, and that has a decent freezer compartment, preferably with a door that STAYS ON.
Mmmm, shiny stainless steel fridge. Mmm.

<zim> MEAT! </zim>
And finally, pork. Pork is like cheese and hardware. I mentioned the other week the Polish deli at the market. It has queues three people deep, consistently, and now I know why. What I *didn't* mention the other week is the personal nature of my relationship with processed pork products. There's a cafe in Canberra called Gus' cafe. It's not the cafe now that it was when Gus owned it, and it has much more competition now, but before your Della Piazza's, and your Essens, there was Gus' Cafe. It was the first cafe in civic to have outside tables, it was the first cafe to have that culture of sitting idly over a coffee for hours, at was, really, the *only* decent cafe in Canberra. For years. And they did the most amazing frankfurters. Crisp, taut skins, full of juicy, flavoursome meat. Fantastic. And ever since I moved here, I've been looking for frankfurters that good. Oh, sure, you can get them on Acland St, at the Jewish restaurants. But you can't take them *home*. And sure, you can pick up Don's Continental Frankfurts from Safeway, but... well, not only are they a poor imitation, but I used to work for Don's. I ported their Complaints database at one point. I'm ... less fond of Don's products now than I was before that little experience.

So the Polish Deli. Has all the processed pork products you could possibly poke a stick of dead pig at (mmmm, polish Kabana). Not only are their frankfurters and Knackwurst fabulous, this weeks new sausage is something they translated as "hunter", with caraway, garlic, and the ubiquitous dead pig.

I'm dubious about "Meat Salad", I must confess. ANd even more dubious about "Herring salad", but then I'm dubious enough about Herring at the best of times.

Mmmmm, warm dead pig.

And remember, Citizen, vote early, vote often.

sol.
.

Comments

Oi!

[entrippy.livejournal.com]

It's spanspek (but pronounced sponspeck) and I comprehensively refuse to acknowledge the purview of this *waves hand in dismissive fashion* rockmelon of which you speak.

Re: Oi!

[madigrrl.livejournal.com]

I had to go and look up "purview" but having done so, I choose to reinterpret your statement
as "Should you choose to hurl rockmelon (as opposed to spanspek) pieces at me with gay abandon
I would refuse to even notice you doing so." I eagerly await our next meeting. :)

Re: Oi!

[tyggerjai.livejournal.com]

Indeed. Like Madi, I do not think purview means what you think it means, but, in the words of bunnikins, "Who am I to argue with a houseful of South African Jews, all of whom were adamant that it should be called spanspek. Since I didn't have terribly strong feelings either way, it was easier to relent, and spanspek it's been, ever since."

sol.
.

Re: Oi!

[madigrrl.livejournal.com]

I'm not disagreeing with his interpretation of the word "purview"; afaik it was a valid,
if slightly obtuse, usage. I just like throwing fruit at people.

Re: Oi!

[entrippy.livejournal.com]

Yah. Wot Madi said. Valid but obtuse. Most people, perhaps, wouldn't attribute fruit with a "sphere of authority" but where I come from it's the norm. Except for Rockmelon, which has no authority.

[lederhosen.livejournal.com]

I think my first ever Real Date was at Gus' Cafe. I remember it was a cold wet night, the inside was very warm, and the windows were so badly fogged I couldn't see who was inside :-)

Yay dates at Gus'

[tyggerjai.livejournal.com]

I so remember that. I didn't have so many "dates" per se, but many many coffee rendezsvous, and days spent sitting in the Canberra sun while parades of people I knew came and went.
We could, at one point, start at about 11pm, have several complete changes of personnel, and wander back from playing pool at 11pm to find the same table still full of people we knew, with perfect continuity of handover all day.

Man, what a small town it must have been.

sol.
.

[madigrrl.livejournal.com]

Mmm...cheese. I think when I go to vote (which is what I'm about to do) I shall buy cheese.
And then I will eat it. It will just be common or garden variety cheese but it will be
cheese, nonetheless. And I suspect I shall sing a little song about cheese. The lyrics will
be "Cheese! Wonderful cheese! Beautiful cheese! Luvverly cheese!" But then, I also think
it's likely that I shall do an aeroplane impersonation at some time during the day because I'm
that sort of butterfly. We have spaghetti oops!

Yes.

[tyggerjai.livejournal.com]

Glorious Cheesy goodness.
Rabbit thinks your cheese song proves that her friends are as weird as each other. I think it's a splendid idea, but you should try to work in a little more pork.

sol.
.

I *am* a vegetarian, you know

[madigrrl.livejournal.com]

Pork! Horrible Pork! Terrible Pork! Putrescent Pork!

Cheese, glorious cheese

[lirion.livejournal.com]

Mmmn, cheesey goodness indeed. King island stilton. And Persian Fetta. And good tasty. I think you get the point. Too much cheese? - what is this alien concept of which you speak.

Mmn, the polish pork products also sound wonderful, however I have the misfortune to not be able to eat them :( They don't react well with me, so I save them for when i am feeling especially healthy.