Greens

Most of the time, we eat at home. Children do not have flexible palates, and we can make the “chicken or fish, noodles or rice and familiar vegetable” meal that they will eat. I am not a skilled cook, and I do not recognize most of the vegetables in the market. This leads to a monotonous diet. However, Carl gets five gold stars for making sauces with amazing spices. I miss salads, though. We can get Baskin Robbins just like home at the nearby mall. The Subway is not exactly like home, but close enough. 

When we are riding the commuter train home from school, vendors are often selling their wares from car to car. Last week, I saw a woman waving a fistful of nice looking greens. I asked the woman seated next to me what they were. She said leeks. I am sure they are not leeks, but smile and nod anyway. She added that the stems are removed and the leaves boiled in a small amount of water. Like spinach! I bought a bunch for about a quarter.

To prepare foods, we clean them as best we can. A practical training session by Fulbright included a useful bit about food preparation. Potassium permanganate (KMnO4) can be used to kill germs and other nasty things on fresh food. We add a single crystal of KMnO4 to a pan of water. It dissolves and turns the water pink. The veggies are submerged for 5 minutes and rinsed in clean water. Presto! After that, I peel what can be peeled (apples, mangos, carrots) and cook everything else (potatoes, carrots, my new mystery greens). So far so good. The mangos are out of season, but I buy them anyhow. The bananas and papaya are great. Pomegranate is readily available and tasty too. 

We had mystery greens again this week. I got two bunches from the same woman on the train.