Brave Food World

When I went to the market Wednesday, I came away disappointed in myself. There were vegetables and fruits I've never seen before, sea creatures I couldn't imagine eating and exotic foods that called out to me with their spicy smells. The place BEGGED a person to get experimental and I walked away, not with hairy root vegetables, ink-oozing cuttlefish or Middle Eastern delights, but with boring ol' oranges and tomatoes.

Fail.

So this afternoon, I went back with one rule and one rule only: IF IT FRIGHTENS YOU...BUY IT.

I brazenly elbowed my way to the front of the mob at the baker, the fish monger and the olive vendor. I pointed and palpated. I pretended I knew what I was doing. I came, I bought, I conquered. (But I STILL couldn't get up the nerve for the hairy things. What are those anyway?)

I hauled my prizes home and promptly staged a photo shoot that will have me doing dishes for the rest of the day. No matter. It was worth it. I give you my poor-man's version of food porn:

I am certainly not the first person to artfully photograph Sharon fruit. Nor will I be the last. The guy at the stand wouldn't let me buy just one or two. He pointed behind himself, shrugged apologetically and said, "Boss." I am now the proud owner of a CASE of these suckers.



The only bakery in the market is run by a cute Middle Eastern couple. These two treats looked so appealing with the dark swirl of fig and the teardrop shape, I could barely wait to eat them. The fig swirl one is glazed with rosewater.





And I didn't stop there. I got this flat, square date bar thing, which is actually nothing special and this delicious crepe-style unit stuffed with peppers, onions and spices. Greasy as all hell, but freaking delicious.





These are just turnips. They aren't scary, but I coveted the little white and purple ones when I was here last April, and totally chickened out on buying them. So I figured today was the day. Besides they're cute.





It's not that olives or roasted red peppers are frightening, it's that the olive stall is. There are dozens of kinds of olives, sauces, dips and colourful spices. It's the kind of place where you feel you need to have your shit together. You don't. You just have to point.




I'd never seen a melon like this and I wanted one. It's from Brazil and was very heavy to take home on the Metro. It's also not really that sweet. But it's juicy. Meh.







The ballsiest purchase: lil' wiggly squidlets. With eyeballs. Staring at me accusingly. The fish stand is by far the most gory place in the market with massive turbot, scary eels and giant squid covered in black ooze. I'll save those for next week.