Monday, February 15, 2010

Vegetables and the market

The other day I had been to the super market (Reliance Fresh) and bought some vegetables. Real fresh vegetables.
At home wifey asked "what is that I see there, is it Brinjal?"
Me "Yes real fresh ones"
Wifey: “But are they Bt Brinjal?
Me “Bt Brinjal? What is that.”
Wifey “See this is what happens when you don't watch NDTV 24x7 and CNN or for that matter you don't even read the papers
Me “So tell me
Wifey: “Well frankly speaking we are not supposed to eat these as they are genetically altered
Me: “But a brinjal is a brinjal, some may call it aubergine or eggplant but it is still a brinjal
Wifey: “and those tomatoes, are they the ones that shrink after 15 days or did you buy the ones which shrink after 45 days?”
Me “Now which channel said that ?
Wifey “No not channel. You should be net savvy and keep browsing to get the latest developments. Today I read on the net that scientists have blocked the two enzymes, á-mannosidase and â-D-N-acetylhexosaminidase by which the tomatoes remain fresh for almost one and a half month
Me “That long eh? So then what about Reliance Fresh ? Poor guys they will have to close shop. At this rate we won't be able to buy anything from outside. As for tomatoes we will have to wait as my garden fresh tomatoes are still green and its not yet time to pluck it"
green tomato
Wifey: “Yeah, and I did see some bitter gourd in the same pot
Me: “Yep, I too noticed that. May be some seeds found its way into the same pot. Any way I don’t like bitter gourd. Its very bitter.”
Wifey: “These dark green ones are only good for frying. You should get those big light green ones which we get in Kerala. They are hardly bitter and very good for making curry


Wifey: “Why don’t you grow those nice big red tomatoes like the one you photographed in the market ?
Me: “Oh that, . . . . yes I remember how the shop keeper was keeping a hawk’s eye on me, as if I was going to topple his pyramid


Me: “OK, how about growing water melons?
Wifey: “Like the one you grew last year ? You put it a hammock and it got so lazy lazing around that it refused to grow any further. More over water melon is not a vegetable


water melon

Me: “This is all going crazy. I think the best option is to put off the TV, read the paper only when Obama gets his next noble prize and buy vegetables from the subzi mandai (local market) like in the good old days
The market place

34 comments:

3 hungry tummies said...

Too much infos can be a nightmare haha. Love your watermelon!

Lakshmi -Celebrations said...

Exactly true,its sheer truth what you have said.its no point seeing tv news channels.i have not watched tv news after the mumbai tragedy.i took time to get relieved of that too...love the watermelon..

Anuradha Shankar said...

You really can't beat the neighbourhood sabzi mandi.. not only is it cheaper, most of the time I get better and fresher veggies there!

BK Chowla, said...

BT has created enough confusion in the country.
Not to be left behind, it is the News Channels.
But,what should we do?Be it BT,be it Screaming news anchors,be it sugar price--we accept whatever comes our way, even if means total confusion.

The Holy Lama said...

Always sabzi mandi is the first choice. Let reliance close shop. They have other businesses. Think of the poor farmer.

Insignia said...

How did you ever think to rest the watermelon on a hammock? Hahahahaha!!

Sabzi mandi serves fresh vegetables unlike other super markets which have glossy polythene cover packed with stale vegetables

Jaunty anima said...

I hardly go picking vegetables from the market but in circumstances like these when even buying vegetables is affected by news channels...SOS!!

:)

Christo Gonzales said...

this is a funny post - if you learn too much you wont buy anything.

Gomathy S said...

This is true..just go and buy some veggies from the nearby shop :)

PJ said...

I had so much reading about this dialog... yeah, too much information about nutrition can make things so confusing. Pune Sabzi Mandai is the best! (I am guessing its Pune one from the picture?)

Shalini said...

LOl, what a fun post. I love the back and forth between you two.

Padhu Sankar said...

Nicely written! New here .Do drop by
http://padhuskitchen.blogspot.com/

Nikesh Rathi said...

One of those moments when I feel that ignorance is bliss!

Lisa Best said...

Well said! How does one keep up?

Joanne said...

I have never seen so many of those veggies before! Gorgeous pictures.

Vishesh said...

so that's BT brinjal...finally!

Flying high in the sky.... said...

good posts, beautiful photos... you seem to have a big fan following ...great...i feel humbled that you visited my site and had the time to conrtibute your comments ..

warm regards
sushmita

knome said...

nice post Joe :)

Shikha

Shalini said...

Oh...I'd still go to the subzi mandi. Even I read so much about Bt Brinjal but couldnt find what the fuss is all about! So I Googled it..geek!
Thanks for the tomato info though.
The world IS going crazy!!

Joseph Pulikotil said...

Hi Greetings:)

Very interesting discussion between you and wifey and very informative also. Lovely photos to add to the flavour. I can see you have a great talent in growing vegetables. I am trying to grow some flowering plants and I don't get even one flower:)

The other day I planted a banana plant and I dumped the entire packet of fertiliser which I bought along with the plant. The next day plant was completely damaged because of excessive fertiliser. So you can see how good I am in growing plants:) But I don't give up. Whenever I see photos like the ones you have posted I get motivated.

Wife's can really make us think in different directions. While we are more concerned about making money, they concerned about food,health etc.

Have a nice day:)
Joseph

Haddock said...

^^^^^^^^
Hi Joseph,
Yes what you said is true, excessive fertilizer can damage the plant.
As for the things we grow, its no great deal. Most of the things that grow are accidental (like Ginger of which I will write a post later) You won't believe, there is a papaya tree growing in a sack !!
As for space, I have a big terrace (about 300 sq feet) , a part of which we use for potted plants. So far we could get beans (chowli) ladies finger, mint leaf, tulsi, tomatoes and ginger. Not on a large scale but just for the satisfaction of seeing it growing.
Thanks to all the others who have commented on this (and other posts too) Your comments keep me going.

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

Wonderful post and super photographs! I go crazy when people get all excited about gmo products. Man has been genetically modifying anything he could since the beginning of time. :)

I look forward to reading more posts on your blog. Thank you for visiting my blog and introducing yourself to me. :)

Anissa said...

I love the image of your green tomatoes. The light is lovely.

walk2write said...

Sometimes I get discouraged about my garden when I see all of those perfect vegetables and fruits at the store. Mine are chomped on by bugs, pecked at by the birds, and wilted by excessive heat, rain, or frost (this winter), but they still taste immeasurably better than anything I can buy. I'm also glad that I don't have to worry about consuming any pesticide residue. Your tomatoes are looking yummy. Have you ever made green tomato relish or fried green tomatoes?

Divya Kudua said...

Interesting post..true,so much has been written/spoken about vegetables.Ignorance is bliss..:):)

CAntony said...

Sounds like a conversation I'd have with Mom.

"I think the best option is to put off the TV, read the paper only when Obama gets his next noble prize and buy vegetables from the subzi mandai (local market) like in the good old days."

That's what I do!!

Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan said...

hehe.. that melon pic on the hammock with the description is hilarious

Sh@s said...

Gud pics. These news has got on to me also, now i feel so apprehensive to buy from these super stores like reliance. So ur melon became too lazy to grow up :D

sindhu said...

Great pics!!
How much time does it take for the green tomatoes to get red? I have tomatoes growing int garden but it is forever green!!

Dora said...

i never knew vegetables could look so picture perfect.. amazing ya

Destiny's child... said...

Wow! You have such a wonderful vegetable garden! And the watermelon though not all round and shapely looks really nice. What doesn't, when grown at home? :)
And a very interesting conversation with wifey :D

hamaarethoughts.com said...

Sometimes..ignorance is bliss..

Vinita Apte said...

ooo cool vegetables...looks like you have green fingers :)

Love the conversation between you and wifey.

Bt Brinjal has created quite a furore in India....

Casuarina said...

Information overdose...LOL !