To market, to market...
No, no, I didn't buy a big fat pig at the market. However, I could have bought plenty of pork meat if that was my goal. Today's goal was to go to the Asian market (which would be more appropriately named as an international grocery store as it has more than Asian foods) for more spices and the Central market for fresher produce.
First stop: Asian market
This is my second time here. They recently moved to a larger space. It was very nice to have more room to move around and not feel so crowded and in the way. So, why would I travel about 45 minutes by public to go to this market for spices??? Well here's the reason why.
Yes, that is the wall-o-spices that they sell. I'm willing to travel for good spices. My picture doesn't even capture the whole wall. They have them neatly organized in Hungarian alphabetical order. The packages generally range from 20-50 grams each depending on the spices. They have about any spice imaginable that you could want. Everything from garlic powder to basil to cloves to poultry seasoning to tandoori seasoning. They also have spice mixes such as different types of spaghetti seasonings, steak seasonings and more. I like these kind of mixes- no MSG or other additives- just herbs and spices. Here one seasoning mix I bought today.
Here's my the spices I bought today and picture of our spice cupboard at my house. I think we are pretty much set with spices for a while. I love the wonderful things you can do with spices. It adds another dimension to cooking. Of course no Hungarian house should be without Paprika so I bought some today.
Second Stop: Central Market Budapest
Fresh produce in our local grocery store is not kept cool so the fruits and vegetables don't stay fresh as long. The selection has also been dwindling since the weather is changing. I wanted to see if there was anything else available at the market. Oh, I enjoy the market. It is buzzing with people purchasing fresh food. It's kind of like a farmers market. You can buy fresh produce, nuts, meats, and fish. (The fish is a little fishy to me since Hungary is a landlocked country. So, I stay away from them. It's a good thing they are in the basement.)
So here's what I bought today.
A trip to the market would not be complete without some Hungarian food as a snack or lunch. Well, it would be complete but I haven't had any authentic Hungarian dishes since being here and it's been over two months. It was about time. The upstairs of the market has places to buy prepared food and souvenirs. (Yes, the market is a big tourist place, but a surprising amount of Hungarians shop here.) I found some burgonya paprikash- paprika potatoes. It came with a sausage.
It was good...well the sausage was a little interesting. Not sure exactly what kind of sausage it was and after eating I wasn't sure that I should have. But the potatoes were tasty.
All in all the trip to the market was a very successful morning. Home again, home again jiggety-jig.
First stop: Asian market
This is my second time here. They recently moved to a larger space. It was very nice to have more room to move around and not feel so crowded and in the way. So, why would I travel about 45 minutes by public to go to this market for spices??? Well here's the reason why.
 |
| Jambalaya Tomato Mixture of Vegetables Containing: Tomatoes, chili, leek, black pepper, salt, peppers, parsley, thyme, garlic, and onion. |
As you can see the labels are all in Hungarian. It takes some planning when shopping. You have to know what seasonings you may want in advance, find the Hungarian translation (thank you Google translate), write it down and take it with you. Or there is the "cheat" sheet of English/Hungarian words that the school gave me my first week however it doesn't have an extensive list of spices. When buying the seasoning mixes you have to do a little guessing. Some words are just don't translate into Hungarian so they are recognizable in English such as spagetti or jambalaya. To find out the contents of the mixes you need to understand the Hungarian. I am beginning to remember some words. Today, I was able to remember that fokhagyma is garlic, hagyma is onion, zeller is celery, paprika is pepper, and só is salt.
Here's my the spices I bought today and picture of our spice cupboard at my house. I think we are pretty much set with spices for a while. I love the wonderful things you can do with spices. It adds another dimension to cooking. Of course no Hungarian house should be without Paprika so I bought some today.
 |
| Our growing selection of spices at my house. Thanks to the Asian Market. |
Second Stop: Central Market Budapest
Fresh produce in our local grocery store is not kept cool so the fruits and vegetables don't stay fresh as long. The selection has also been dwindling since the weather is changing. I wanted to see if there was anything else available at the market. Oh, I enjoy the market. It is buzzing with people purchasing fresh food. It's kind of like a farmers market. You can buy fresh produce, nuts, meats, and fish. (The fish is a little fishy to me since Hungary is a landlocked country. So, I stay away from them. It's a good thing they are in the basement.)
So here's what I bought today.
 |
| These will become stuffed peppers for roommate dinner. |
 |
| Yummy pears! |
It was good...well the sausage was a little interesting. Not sure exactly what kind of sausage it was and after eating I wasn't sure that I should have. But the potatoes were tasty.
All in all the trip to the market was a very successful morning. Home again, home again jiggety-jig.
Very nice pics and great to see you in them too! :) Looks like you are ready to do some cookin' and make sure you show those roomies what a great cook you are, too! Hopefully they are as much fun as our "dinner club" dinners were that first year at SCPA. Love ya!
ReplyDelete