Farmer's market

[oyceter]

Farmer's market, how I missed you! Even though I just missed you once last week... but I shall not be able to go next Sunday, due to being in NYC.

There still are peas! Otherwise, the entire market has shifted to autumn -- the berries are pretty much gone, with the exception of a few strawberries here and there, and there are persimmons galore. I wish I liked persimmons more, but I tried a few samples, and they're too sweet without enough of a kick to interest me. The tomatoes have slowly been going away as well; there still are some, but I didn't get any because jonquil's last farmer's market report mentioned that they didn't taste tomato-y anymore.

I checked with the current sugar snap pea vendor (different from the English pea vendor, who stopped having good peas in early October), and she thinks that they'll only have peas for a few more weeks. The peas today were still good, but they're getting really fat and round (they look just like the peas in my icon now!), which means that in a few weeks the pea skins will start cracking and the peas will be all starchy instead of sweet. Le sigh. Then no more peas for me =(. So I bought a lot because I wanted to make cychi eat peas as well, but alas and alack, I turned on the heat too high and so some of them got mushy! At least both Cy and fannishly reassured me that the peas still tasted good. Apparently, my mission to proselytize the goodness of fresh peas continues unimpeded.

And, excitingness! There are satsumas! Satsumas everywhere! It's definitely the holiday season now! I associate giant, fat ponkan oranges with Chinese New Year, and ever since having holidays at the boy's parents' place, where the only fruit consists of satsumas, I've started associating them with Thanksgiving and Christmas. The boy's parents would put out a lovely spread of food, but after all the heavy rich stuff, I really just wanted to eat fruit after munching on cheeses for a good two hours. The samples I tried were still a bit sour -- I think American oranges will always have that sour tang, but that's ok too. I forget how much I love peeling refrigerated satsumas in front of the TV when it's chilly outside and having the citrus smell permeating the apartment and staying on my fingers.

The chestnuts are still there as well, and since I'm going to be here over Christmas (my sister is coming! And my mom! And maybe even my dad! How exciting! Exclamation point!), I have to get some later! The apples are still there, and I got cider again. To my dismay, I completely didn't realize that my normal apple guy had apple juice (sometimes I want juice instead of cider), but next time. And no bread this time, just because.

The sad thing is that my normal pie and pasty stand is apparently going out of business =(. So both me and fannishly stocked up on pasties, and I got myself the normal fruit pie (boysenberry this time). Apparently Palo Alto is buying them out to build condoes where their store is. Sigh. But! They had mince pies this week! I've never had mince pie before, but I've read about them all the time! It was very exciting. I asked the lady what they were exactly, and she sort of looked at me and said only older people buy them, out of holiday nostalgia. Apparently "young folks" like me do not like them so much. But... mince pie! (I only wish there were mincemeat as well.) Mince pie report to come later, hopefully.

Despite the Christmas decorations popping up everywhere, it didn't really start to feel like holiday season until the nights here got chilly, and I saw the chestnuts and satsumas at the market. I suppose it's because back in Taiwan, Thanksgiving and Christmas aren't so big, but Chinese New Year season means the cold snap (han liou? "winter/cold flow" literally) and chilly concrete apartments with no heat, chestnuts vendors on the streets and oranges.

Comments

[chi-zu.livejournal.com]

The pasty people are going out of business?!

Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!

I love those things! I'm so sad that I never got to have another one, I haven't had one in years. I think I know exactly who you're talking about and they're the best. The others are all posers.

[oyceter]

I know! It is so sad! It's the people from BJ Bull's (I think that's what it's called), and they have little fruit pies all the time and these lovely pasties that the guy keeps touting as having no grease ;).

But yes, I shall miss them incredibly =(.

Hey, if you are coming by any time in the near future, I can freeze one for you for old time's sake or something!

[chi-zu.livejournal.com]

BJ Bulls! Yes! That is them! I like them because a)the product is good, and b)there's a very British flavor which is just what you want in pasties.

Sadly, I won't be home any time soon. It makes Edna angry.

[oyceter]

BWAH! Ok, that's another great Edna icon! Oh no, pretty soon I will think you look just like her!

[chi-zu.livejournal.com]

Hee hee!

I feel like Edna looks like me in spirit. I am much taller. ^_^

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

You've never had mince pies? And young persons where you are don't eat them so much? What *is* the world coming to?

I should make mince pies this year.

Gina

[oyceter]

I never have! Apparently California is the center for young person debauchery and lack of mince pie!

I want to try mince meat pie too.

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

One US/UK culture clash I don't understand:

Is it correct that in the US "cider" isn't necessarily alcoholic? If it isn't then what distinguishes it from apple juice? Is it that "cider" is unsweetened?

[loligo.livejournal.com]

"Hard cider" is the alcoholic stuff, and we do have it, but not in great abundance. "Cider" is unfiltered apple juice, cloudy and tangy and full of rich apple flavor, and infinitely superior to the clear, sweet beverage sold as "apple juice". I don't think apple juice is actually sweetened with anything -- it's just made from bland sweet apples and has all the personality removed from it.

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

Thanks. In the UK "cider" is used purely to mean the alcoholic drink, and any quality of apple juice is known simply as "apple juice".

Of course, this may give Americans an excuse for getting spectacularly pissed in Britain - "I didn't know it was alcoholic!"