Sunday Markets and Fairs

    Traditionally a day of rest, Sundays still remain a quieter day than the other six during the week. Many businesses either have no trading hours or greatly reduced times they will conduct commerce.  Except in Australia. The Energizer Bunny needs a full charge (done on the slow Saturday previous) to keep the pace with all the offerings on the 'day of rest.' Including church services, the following action was taken in on a single Sunday--with other options ignored.

Vic Park Mkts on Sunday

Holy Bagels!

    First, a stop to the Victoria Park Markets. Who doesn't love a local market?  The early morning vibe that's happy but not frenetic. Produce, baked goods, frozen meat/fish, hot food and coffee, entertainment, Girl Scouts selling cookies, cops showing off paddy wagons, etc., are all available.  I prefer my wholesale Canning Mkts on Saturday (much better bargains) but Vic Park Mkt is my next choice. My must-haves include: REAL bagels from The Holy Bagel Company! I despaired of ever finding a real bagel in OZ until these two guys showed up. Trained in New York, these genuine bagels are cured and boiled before baked. It's become a serious crutch and internal party starter for this gal. My standing order is for three salty and three everything bagels. They have other flavors but I can't be bothered changing the order or direction of my grin. I always wait until after church before biting into one.   Usually.

My lily arrangement

      Other customary purchases include yoghurt from a local yoghurt maker.  Certainly not the cheapest around and its a bit runnier than most commercial products, but I enjoy the product and the chat with the owner.  I don't have a budget that can really tolerate weekly flowers but Florescence (who ship Lillies In a Tube anywhere in OZ) comes way up from Albany with some of their overstocks.  I love the bucket of single stems--I pick a variety of colors of Asiatic lillies in the amount I want for $1 a piece. Sometimes I pick two or I pick five all depending on how many from the previous week are still hanging on. I do prefer the multiple bud stems, bang-for-the-buck and all. Unfortunately, other people have caught on to this fabulous offering and tend to buy the whole bucket. How greedy can they get?  This just forces me to go back to stealing rosemary from the neighbor...er, I mean, trimming the neighbor's rosemary bush...and pretending that's the bouquet.

Spiderchef @ Butchers Picnic

    Let's head downtown.  The Butcher's Picnic has moved from Russell Square to the much roomier CBD

location of Forrest Place.  It's part of the Eat Drink Perth month festivities.  I'm not the carnivore that Kev is but it is fun to watch the meat cooking, presentation competitions, try free samples of crocodile sausage (and everything else on offer), people watch, enter contests and generally soak up the atmosphere. Getting my picture taken with  Spiderchef was pretty cool also.
     Back at Russell Square,  India has moved in.  Or rather, a festival celebrating all things Indian.  I am not a fan of curries, vindaloos and other dubious delights but Kev adores it.  He breathes deeply as we pass the food stalls while I break out into a trot to fresher air. People are making themselves comfy in every corner. There are very old, very large banyan trees to offer shade, and a fountain surrounds a gazebo where little girls put on private dance shows for themselves.  At the main tent,

Miss Perth India  finalist

a Miss Perth India competition is going on.  Flowers and balloons are given to the finalists.  Not sure what all the duties are of this beauty pageant winner, but as a life long watcher of such pageants and a big fan of balloons, I am a captive audience member.

     OK, we're getting sunburned and some sporting event on TV is calling Kev's name. Can't spend all day wandering about...but we could.

Kosher for Lent

     Fish on Fridays.  A time honored tradition especially during the Lenten season--the forty days before Easter. Actually, any vegetarian dish will do when you're at home.  But what happens when one goes to an exciting food festival like the  Eat Drink Perth  celebrations which last the entire month of March?  The Twilight Markets are held every Friday in the center of the shopping district.  Lots of different food stands from different nationalities serving up wildly different dishes.  It's a challenge for the taste buds and Lenten reserve. What constitutes kosher for Lent?

Croc   &   Roo

       For example, the Australian tent is serving up Skippy-on-a-Stick (a skewered kangaroo sausage) and  Croc-on-a-Stick  (lose a fight with Mick Dundee and you, too, could find yourself on a short pole).    Pretty safe to say that kangaroo is not a 'legal' option.  But what about crocodile?  Do reptiles count?  And that brings amphibians to mind.  Frog-on-a-stick.  Those toads spend as much time in the water as fish do...and so do crocodiles  come to think of it.  The discussion of how these water animals did or did not qualify went up and down the line waiting to be served.

      I tried the Croc-on-a-Stick.  Slightly gamey  taste (it's those four legs) but the texture was rather mealy (I'm thinking grain here). 

Japanese dim sums

genuine paella

     Of course  there were other choices. It was fun watching the lady in the Japanese tent turn over the pot stickers in their individual cooking cups with speed and grace. The mystery contents were enough to rule it out.   
     The Spanish paella was gorgeous, colorful and legal. But all those mussel shells get in the way of serious chowing down.  Not to mention that the last time I ate mussels I ended up in a hospital emergency room.  I gave it a miss.

East Indian in Copper kettles

   Look at the beautiful color here at the East Indian tent.  I happen to be looking at those handsome copper pots.  You might be looking at the colorful contents.  All legal at this stand but truth is I don't like curries. And I abhor the smell.  Curries are banned from our house although Kev will make one when I am out of town on business and then fumigate the house before I get home.  This is a real big miss.  Have I pointed out those really lovely pots yet?

      We took stock of the situation and decided that speared reptile was enough, all sorts of vegetables at home just waiting to be eaten. .  The food and festive atmosphere makes this a great event...just on the wrong day of the week.