Produce Markets in Paris
Once you’ve wandered a good urban produce market, like the Greenmarket in New York City, or any of the many street markets in Paris, even the best of produce departments begin to look sorry indeed. The scents, the multitude of languages, the breadth of products, the contact with the growers is all missing, making for a quiet and rather sterile experience. I know that when I go back to my favorite natural foods store I will weep when I look at the fruits and veggies.
This morning my friend Wendy and I spent a long time at the huge Richard-Lenoir market. Though I could have done without some of the fishy scents and the sight of uncooked meat, muchof the market was just bursting with the most gorgeous produce.
Strawberry season has arrived here. They are enormous and so sweet that the first taste really took me aback. I’ve rarely had any like these in my life. We bought half a kilo and walked to the exquisite Place de Vosges and had them as a snack, along with some fresh whole wheat olive bread from the same market. What a heavenly way to spend a Sunday morning …
Sally said,
April 8, 2006 @ 6:42 pm
I have been looking for whole wheat olive bread in Los Angeles for several years. I wish finding it were as easy as going to a farmers market! I guess I should just learn to make my own, but I’ve never baked bread in my life—it scares me. :-0 Any tips?
Thanks for blogging vegetarian Paris. I can’t wait to go and try some of your recommendations. Also, thanks for your fabulous cookbooks. I’ve been enjoying them for years!!
Sally
Nava said,
April 8, 2006 @ 8:33 pm
Sally, I’m not much of a bread baker myself. You may be able to find some online, but they’d have to FedEx it to you for you to get it fresh! How about a Whole Foods market near you in L.A.? I don’t even have one of those nearby.
Thanks for your comment and thanks for the compliments!
Sally said,
April 9, 2006 @ 1:15 pm
Hi, Nava!
Whole Foods is a lovely market (though it’s got a lot of meat in it for a vegan like me) but you’d be surprised at the lack of whole grains in the store. They have a bakery and you can look at loaf after loaf of bread and find “enriched wheat flour” as the first ingredient. The only whole grain bread I can find there is pumpernickel, and they don’t always have it. I have also never found whole wheat pretzels there or in any local health food store. (Though I have found some online.) Anyway, the lack of whole grains at Whole Foods is just my little pet peeve. Time to roll up my sleeves and learn to bake bread!
Sally
Nava said,
April 9, 2006 @ 9:12 pm
That’s really sad about the whole grain bread situation at a place like Whole Foods! You’d think with a name like that … there are lots of good bread books out there; No Need to Knead, Bread Alone, Breadtime—it seems to me that there are people who have a certain knack for bread baking, like there are people who are really good at sewing (I’m good at neither). But if you come up with a good, whole grain olive bread, please do pass it along to me!!