We found out that we have a little bazaar quite close to our house and took time to explore it today. It's much smaller than the big (Green/Zeloni) bazaar that we went to yesterday, but it still had plenty to offer and is great for day-to-day shopping.
We've been pretty happy with the foods we've found so far. I've seen more than six or seven types of melon here -- all ripe and sweet-smelling, with beautiful skins of all different colors. I can only identify two of the melons... the rest are a mystery. A tasty mystery! We bought one with a bright orange peel and a green flesh -- it was kind of like a honeydew. The watermelons are delicious and very melon-y. Peaches are kind of flat (like they were spun on their axles while they were still growing) but taste so yummy and are very juicy. There are also an abundance of sweet apricots, apples, and other fruits that you'd expect to see in summer: grapes of many kinds, tiny sweet strawberries, plump black currents, blackberries, gooseberries, all full of flavor and, of course, locally-sourced! :) Veggies are also in large supply, along with herbs and spices and a variety of home-made pickles in jars from the sellers' homes.
Meat has been an interesting thing to shop for. In the bazaar, we saw EVERY part of every animal hanging from hooks or laying on table tops. Even though there was no covering or refrigeration, it was spotlessly clean and didn't smell at all. There are also a lot of cured and smoked meats, like bacon and sausages. Michael bought a big chunk of bacon (not sliced), as well as some sausage. Horse sausage. Yeah -- Americans are a little squeamish about eating horse, but it is so common in Europe. We eat it every time we visit our extended-family in Belgium and have found it in delis all over France, Germany and other countries. It's all about perspective. I love eating kangaroo meat, too. In outback Australia, that's as common as beef, but in the cities, it's still a little 'exotic'. Lamb is the thing there... but in Korea, eating lamb would be as abhorrent as eating a family pet. Americans generally love pumpkin, but in Belgium, that's horse food. Some people love goat cheese and goat milk, while other people are used to eating horse milk (both fermented and un-fermented, here in Kazakhstan). Which brings me back to horse meat. You've gotta be open to new things. The sausage, by the way, is hecka tasty. Michael's talking about bring some to the staff outing tomorrow to see if anyone is willing to try it. I hope they do.
And yes, I did say "fermented and un-fermented horse milk". It takes up half the dairy case. There are as many different brands and bottles as there are types of bottled water in the US stores. When your from a culture where horses might be the only livestock you have outside your yurt, that's what you go for. Now, there's a lot of cow milk and goat milk, too. I haven't tried horse milk yet, but I plan to do so when I get a recommendation for where to start!
In case you were wondering, we brought a few things with us from the USA. Michael packed a five-pound back of corn tortillas. We also brought Cholula, Chipotle Tabasco, whole dried chillies, peanut butter, Vegemite, and a few other things that we couldn't get when we were living in Japan four years ago. Happily, we're finding that the Kazakh markets are certainly well-stocked. There are some things that are hard to find and/or strangely expensive -- like cereal bowls (all too small), butter knives (two for $8!), and Tupperware-like containers. I guess the bonus is that all of those things only need to be bought once.
Michael's in the kitchen making a pizza-type dinner out of some fresh round bread we bought today and some yummy-smelling tomatoes and basil. (Post-note: dinner was great! Here's two photos:)
I hope in winter there are just as many yummy things to eat. Fortunately, that feels a long way away today, as I sit here in the sunshine and cool breeze, settling down after a 90-degree day.
Also, I'm feeling happy that I got to talk to my parents in Australia, on Skype video-phone (free, over-the-internet, long-distance calls!). Technology is so cool.
We've been pretty happy with the foods we've found so far. I've seen more than six or seven types of melon here -- all ripe and sweet-smelling, with beautiful skins of all different colors. I can only identify two of the melons... the rest are a mystery. A tasty mystery! We bought one with a bright orange peel and a green flesh -- it was kind of like a honeydew. The watermelons are delicious and very melon-y. Peaches are kind of flat (like they were spun on their axles while they were still growing) but taste so yummy and are very juicy. There are also an abundance of sweet apricots, apples, and other fruits that you'd expect to see in summer: grapes of many kinds, tiny sweet strawberries, plump black currents, blackberries, gooseberries, all full of flavor and, of course, locally-sourced! :) Veggies are also in large supply, along with herbs and spices and a variety of home-made pickles in jars from the sellers' homes.
And yes, I did say "fermented and un-fermented horse milk". It takes up half the dairy case. There are as many different brands and bottles as there are types of bottled water in the US stores. When your from a culture where horses might be the only livestock you have outside your yurt, that's what you go for. Now, there's a lot of cow milk and goat milk, too. I haven't tried horse milk yet, but I plan to do so when I get a recommendation for where to start!
In case you were wondering, we brought a few things with us from the USA. Michael packed a five-pound back of corn tortillas. We also brought Cholula, Chipotle Tabasco, whole dried chillies, peanut butter, Vegemite, and a few other things that we couldn't get when we were living in Japan four years ago. Happily, we're finding that the Kazakh markets are certainly well-stocked. There are some things that are hard to find and/or strangely expensive -- like cereal bowls (all too small), butter knives (two for $8!), and Tupperware-like containers. I guess the bonus is that all of those things only need to be bought once.
Michael's in the kitchen making a pizza-type dinner out of some fresh round bread we bought today and some yummy-smelling tomatoes and basil. (Post-note: dinner was great! Here's two photos:)
I hope in winter there are just as many yummy things to eat. Fortunately, that feels a long way away today, as I sit here in the sunshine and cool breeze, settling down after a 90-degree day.
Also, I'm feeling happy that I got to talk to my parents in Australia, on Skype video-phone (free, over-the-internet, long-distance calls!). Technology is so cool.
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