Shopping at Nature's Basket and Lunch for One

//The good part - I got myself some egg replacer, blueberries, red wine vinegar, kalamata olives, granny smith apples, white mushrooms, lettuce, and chives. The bad part is I have no idea how to use red wine vinegar or egg replacer or chives. An afternoon of indulgence cost me Rs. 1500 at  Nature's Basket.

The biggest disappointment were these Seriously Sours candy. I was expecting like a dozen lemons being squeezed inside my mouth, going by the box cover. Instead the sweets were very much edible and pleasant. What a ripoff for Rs. 150!

On my way back - a dinner for one. I find ordering in much safer than just sitting there all alone in a restaurant. Eating out alone - and actually enjoying your meal rather than just hurriedly scarfing it down - was one of my to-do items - I need to do it more often. I just sat there for a couple of hours eating (salad), drinking (celery orange apple juice), smoking indoors (one of the big draws of eating at this place!), and enjoying my meal (a chocolate dessert).

The big bowl of salad at Mocha Mojo is a real bargain. Its Rs 90 for a BIG bowl (I couldnt eat it all, I had half of it parcelled and had the remains for dinner) with your choice of dressing. I chose the honey mustard and light mayo. The salad's got lettuce, cabbage, mushrooms, corn, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, onion, and peas. I'm going to make a version of this salad myself for later.

And for dessert, I usually go for Vertigo - a stacked six layer brick of a chocolate cake, but I usually need a strappy lad with me to polish off my remains (there always are!). So this time, I chose a smaller chocolate dessert named That Chocolate Thing. Its a flourless, eggless chocolate cake, dusted with chocolate ganache, and accompanied by a scoop of chocolate icecream. I know, its got milk and is not vegan. But I'm not even sorry! An occasional treat is alright.

Wordless Sunday: This Week at the Farmer's Market

Gandhi said one should speak only if one can improve on the silence. Hence, a wordless Sunday series. But to help you along, roll your mouse over each image for a brief description.

The Produce Section

The Organic Cafe

Miscellaneous Items

Weekend Shopping at the Farmers Market and Nature's Basket

This week's farmer's market at Bandra had its usual carnival atmosphere, with everyone basking in the all-things-organic goodness. While the market covers its bases with vegetables, there are very few fruits there - this week were figs, guavas, papayas and bananas. There were these amazing looking dark green/purple colored long beans, which I had to have, as I have never seen them this colored and this firm.

While the prices are reasonable, or in some cases even lower than regular produce, I do notice that its mostly just the expat crowd or the well-to-do locals who frequent the market. My parents are still perplexed why I have to travel 15 kilometres each way to buy my fruits and veggies, when there is a veggie stall practically at every corner in Mumbai.

The organic cafe had a new addition with Umami serving some lovely panini sandwiches and fruits on skewers.

I had a basil, hummus, grilled peppers and tomato sandwich on organic whole wheat bread, which was very filling. Price: Rs. 100. Not the cheapest sandwich in the world - for that rate, I could have bought an entire loaf of their organic whole wheat bread from them.

I also snagged some pickles/relish made of red and green pepper in a mustard oil base, which smells divine. In the spirit of rotating their menu, my favorite Gujju stall there didnt have any dhoklas this time. But they did have pani puri, laddoos, and chicki.

And some organic liquid jaggery - for when my maple syrup runs out.

There were cosmetics made of bees wax - not vegan, but better than the chemical-laden stuff out there. And organic soaps, soy-based candles, and such. Pretty, but I'm not ready yet to take my veganism to that next level just yet. I love my Maybelline dream mousse blush and mascara too much! :)

As well as the usual stall by Satvika, with food items like honey, ghee, cereals, jams, chocolates, fruit candies. And even a non-alcoholic Christmas punch.

 

So, I really didnt have that much to buy at Nature's Basket this week - since my kitchen cabinet is pretty full with all the stuff I have gathered over the last 2.5 months of blogging. Just the usual salad ingredients - deep red lettuce this week, some organic strawberries (Rs 70), some Thai brinjal which looks like peas (Rs 20), four boxes of fresh basil (Rs 6 each), and a bag of fusili pasta. Basil's my new favorite ingredient of this year!

And unknown to me, a ridiculously priced box of cherries (Rs 320!!) - which amounted to more than half of my bill at Nature's Basket. I wish they'd label their fruits beforehand, than having the shock of seeing such ridiculous prices in the bill on my way home. :( But they are so delish, why waste my time regretting the buy?!