Make the market a regular stop-off
For the longest time, we kept forgetting to go to the market in Porirua on a Saturday.
I thought you had to be there at the crack of dawn, before the birds were up, and jostling for places with drunks on their way home from a night on the town looking for a kebab.
But no, you do not have to be there before the sun rises and I didn’t come across any drunks.
We now go every other Saturday about 8.30am and there is no shortage of stalls.
Fish, food, bread, noodles, fruit and veges, clothing, music – there is something for everyone.
And there are all sorts of people milling around, handling the fruit and veges, looking for the firmest, reddest tomato or the largest broccoli.
There’s Island music playing and some of the older men sit on the benches observing the comings and goings of the people. Mums pushing prams, dads lifting big bags of potatoes and not one person I saw with a grumpy face. It has a kind of village feel. I wondered if this is what it’s like in Europe where people go on a daily basis to buy their fresh groceries.
The smell of coffee teases and entices as I choose my tray of eggs and then I spy Island chop suey (I cannot resist the stuff, I don’t care what it does to my arteries, it tastes divine).
It was a bit chilly this particular Saturday but a group of Samoan women were dancing traditional dance and laughing, their little ones mimicking their hand and feet movements.
A group of Asian women were sitting cross- legged on mats smiling toothless smiles and graciously taking my one dollar for a big bunch of coriander.
The selection of veges and fruit is wonderful and my husband has decided, after being now three times, that he has found his favourites.
I just like to wander and try to get the most value for my dollar but really, the differences between the stalls are so small it’s not a problem if I pay $1.50 instead of $1 for a huge bunch of parsley.
Apart from just the fun of going there, the prices make this a must for all canny shoppers. The food is fresh and cheap. A box of apples was $5.
When you are feeding a large family, this is a must- go- to place.
For $ 30 I got tomatoes, a seriously massive cauliflower, onions, celery, apples, mandarins, lettuce, bananas, parsley ( huge bunch), leeks, carrots, lemons, red peppers, bok choy, parsnips – and I can’t remember what else.
This will last me a fortnight and I feed four adults.
I don’t throw out any old veges or fruit and because it’s fresh, it lasts.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not knocking supermarkets but really, with the cost of food everclimbing, and if you want to save money, go to the market.
One cucumber in the supermarket this week was $4.99. For one!
When you consider I spent $ 30 for everything ( except potatoes), that would be 15 per cent of what I spend for one item.
If you haven’t been before, do yourself a favour and get along.
Goodness knows, if you have children they are up early anyway, it’s well worth the trip, it’s fun and just people-watching is a great pastime.
Follow Tracey’s weekly In My Kitchen blog at kapimananews.co.nz