Market Day

>Today I went to a large market in the city. It has many vendors selling fruit and vegetables. The items are cheaper than going to the grocery store and it helps to support local farmers. Tuesday is the day that fresh produce is delivered from the farmers to the market. Therefore, it is very busy because everyone wants to get the freshest food.

This cart is bringing in a load of bananas and other items. It is carried (through the busy streets of Nairobi) on this cart pushed and pulled by 3 men. I’ll tell you about the other obstacles on the road in another blog…..

At the market it is expected that you will barter for a price. Bartering is not one of my favourite things. Thankfully, I went with a friend named Jane who has already established friendships with some of the vendors. She introduced me and another teacher’s wife to her usual vendors, so they gave us their “best price” without bartering. For Kenyans, bartering is all about forming a relationship. They enjoy the chatting that goes with the bartering and hope that you will come back to them because you have formed a relationship. It is very interesting – Kenyans are incredibly warm and social people.

I bought mangoes, apples, tangerines – our usual fruit. I also bought tomatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, green beans, peas, cauliflower, broccoli, lemons, potatoes, chili peppers, celery, cilantro, green peppers. When I got home with my heavy bags of produce I had to wash everything in a solution of potassium permanganate crystals (a strong oxidizing agent and disinfectant). This is necessary to kill all the germs that may be on the food through handling or fertilizing methods.

Cooking and baking is a bit different at this altitude (water boils at a lower temperature, food takes longer to cook, need more flour for baking). And because the ingredients are a bit different, things just don’t taste the same. I have had success with tea biscuits, cornmeal muffins, chili, oatmeal cookies, pancakes…. But not so much success with spaghetti, cheese sauce, banana muffins. This afternoon I made a beautiful apple crisp and fresh tomato soup. I have recently received a copy of the famous Baptist cookbook “The Newcomer’s Guide to Cooking in Africa”. Tomorrow I am going to tackle salsa and tortillas. Cooking from scratch has taken on new meaning for me here. I have been ever-so-thankful to those families that have invited us for a meal in the last 3 weeks.