Vegetable Science

Being productive has a completely new meaning in India. Everything takes so much longer to do that I have to be content with accomplishing one thing with my day. Yesterday it was shopping for vegetables. All the expat ladies rave about Paley Hill and its wonderful vegetables so we hired a driver and headed out for the hour drive to stock up on the necessities.

First of all, there were only about 4 stalls and they were lined up on a narrow, busy street. I didn't know what to worry about the most - getting hit by a speeding vehicle, stepping in gross garbage, or digging through swarms of flies to select our produce.

He did have lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, and cucumbers - a miracle as those are the first I've seen here. The price was determined by a set of weights. White people get the special, most expensive price which is why most people will send their maids to do the shopping. It was still ridiculously cheap - $9 for two bags stuffed full.

After shopping and waiting for the driver to pick us back up, we drove the hour plus ride home (traffic was worse going back) to begin the cleaning process. The most essential item here is your Veg Soap. 

Two tablespoons of this miracle product mixed in with a sink of filtered water makes a bath for all your fruits, vegetables, and eggs. Soak for 10-20 minutes, scrub thoroughly with a good scrub brush, rinse with bottled water, let dry, refrigerate, and pray you don't die when you eat it.

And that's basically all I did yesterday. It was a very productive day in India! Tomorrow I'll tackle meat shopping.