May 9, 2006

• Strawberry season!!!

  
  

  Strawberries have arrived en force and my friend Mary Lou and I went to the bazaar this morning to buy some for canning and also to eat (we have the day off for Victory Day! note: did you know that the USSR lost the most people in WWII?).

  
  

  We bought 5 kg (approx 11 pounds) in this red basket for 2,000 soum or $1.60.  Crazy, eh?  Of course, most people buy 10-20 kg, but who are we kidding - we're canning for the fun of it, not for utility.  Also, sugar is SUPER expensive now, relatively...   It's almost double the price for a kilo, from 600 soum a kilo ($.50) to almost double, 1100 soum a kilo ($.99).  This is bad for those who want to make strawberry "jam" (called va-re-ni-ya, and more liquidy than our jam)... to last through the fall/winter season...

  
  

   

  
  

  As we're going away this weekend and won't have time to can, we decided to freeze them... as strawberry season literally lasts a week or so.  Alice Waters ain't got nothing on this place in terms of "fresh" produce and eating what 's available, in season!  You will never ever find strawberries anytime else.  Cherries are also out and won't last very much longer either.  Next in the fruit line-up: melons!

  
  

   

  • 4:41 am
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