Trying: Fresh Turmeric

Fresh turmeric is one of those things that I've heard about for years but had never tried. A mad dash to finish up our Indie Coffee Passport before the 31 March deadline had us running, in a caffeine frenzy, all over the city. We ended up on Gerrard Street. Gerrard Street is synonymous with 'Little India' here in Toronto. My husband remembers making the trek in from Scarborough to visit this strip of the city when he was a child. I first visited 7 years ago when I was new to Toronto and haven't been back since. Gerrard Street is slowly disappearing as a haven for recently immigrated Indians but it is changing and growing and will soon be something else entirely. 

Gerrard Street still has an Indian influence though. I saw these lovely little roots outside a small shop. It looks like a cross between ginger and Jerusalem artichokes. I was almost convinced that it was turmeric but asked the shop keeper to make sure. These roots were labeled 'Haldi' and were 3.99/lb. I do not really have a plan for them so I only bought 0.55 cents worth! I think I will just use them with ginger and onions in a stirfry!  

Tweet

Trying: Fresh Young Chickpeas

Is it a bean? Is it a pea? Is it the future? Or is it the past?

I snatched these fresh chickpeas up as quickly as a 'Sex in the City' co-star would have snapped up some ridiculously expensive pair of uncomfortable shoes!

I spotted this bag of fresh chickpeas in my local Middle Eastern grocery store. They were pretty expensive at almost six dollars for the equivalent of 2 cups of shelled beans but I simply had to give them a try. They have a very unique but mild taste. They are a blend of fresh peas and the usual bean-i-ness that accompanies chickpeas. I ate most of them fresh from the pod as one is wont to do with fresh peas.

Fresh chickpeas have been appearing in the blogosphere with more frequency in recent years. The emergence of fresh chickpeas is framed as a unique, exclusive, speciality product. I imagine that during a different era, an era where all the chickpeas consumed by a family were produced by that family, fresh chickpeas were a spring/summer speciality that was widely used and consumed.

But the wonders of industrial agriculture has removed that diversity and given us a simple abundance of dried chickpeas. As a bonus? We have lost the knowledge and recipes that accompanied the summer abundance of fresh chickpeas.

But aren't we lucky to have imported strawberries year round?

I'd rather consume our diverse local product.

Tweet