Nice People 13: Nice Save

lostinrates

ukmaggie45 wrote: »

Oh I love avocado too, but we never seem to be able to get decent ones. They are hard as bullets, and then go off before they go ripe. Any handy hints from any Nice People where we might find proper ripe avocados?

Green grocers seem better than supermarkets.

ukmaggie45

lostinrates wrote: »

Green grocers seem better than supermarkets.

There's a really super greengrocer in Lodge Lane, which isn't too far to go. We drive past it occasionally, and I always want to stop and root around in it. It's full of all kinds of stuff, the fresh fruit and veg spill out onto the Lane, and into the side road beside it too. This is from 2011, but gives you an idea of what it's like.

Or this recent blog post from Ronnie Hughes has some great photos.

I think we will have to go visit soon, and explore some more of their fruit and veg too!

PasturesNew

ukmaggie45 wrote: »

There's a really super greengrocer in Lodge Lane, which isn't too far to go. We drive past it occasionally, and I always want to stop and root around in it. It's full of all kinds of stuff, the fresh fruit and veg spill out onto the Lane, and into the side road beside it too. This is from 2011, but gives you an idea of what it's like.

Or this recent blog post from Ronnie Hughes has some great photos.

I think we will have to go visit soon, and explore some more of their fruit and veg too!

I've never seen anything that HUGE and well stocked. It's usually shabby places, with uninviting crates (often half empty) of uninspiring looking veggies and surly looking staff. And, out of the way, 2-3 miles away, or open short hours. The market here's got some stuff, but it's only daytime/Mondays and the very furthest stall from the car park.

The staff also look like they want to pounce on you, which I find offputting.

lostinrates

I have made dhal todY, but forgot to do it in the slow cooker. Haven't yet remembered to turn on the new vent in the kitchen. Everything smells of spice through the house.



I'm tired too but don't know when to get a nap in. Not dark enough to put birds in yet, so loitering in hope I'll have time for a good nap after that.

ukmaggie45

PasturesNew wrote: »

I've never seen anything that HUGE and well stocked. It's usually shabby places, with uninviting crates (often half empty) of uninspiring looking veggies and surly looking staff. And, out of the way, 2-3 miles away, or open short hours. The market here's got some stuff, but it's only daytime/Mondays and the very furthest stall from the car park.

The staff also look like they want to pounce on you, which I find offputting.

I know just what you mean about pouncy staff! We used to have an excellent greengrocer just down the road from us, he became a friend, but he retired about 7/8 years ago. For a while it stayed as a greengrocer, and OH used to shop there, though it was smaller with less variety. But it was run by Muslims, think maybe from Somalia, and just disappeared about a year ago. We don't know why it went, but wonder if racism was involved. We never managed to find out.

But the Lodge Lane place is near enough to be worth driving to, or in summer it would be a nice walk across Sefton Park. Though it would be a trundle for me of course. It looks so vibrant when you drive past, and I love to see all the veg and fruit spread out in huge piles, all looks really appetizing!

GDB2222

We just buy ready-to-eat avocados at the supermarket. I choose carefully - give them a squeeze.

For milk, I reach to the back of the shelf, to get the latest possible sell-by date. For avocados and mangos, I look for the earliest sell-by date.

michaels

Can it get worse? At the airport they were willing to reactivate our old.booking and change to today but we had to get the travel insurance company to ok this which they eventually did...5 minutes after.the flight closed so too late for us to make the change so here i am sitting in economy and feeling even more miserable. Any tips on making the next 11 hours.disappear?

I hope you all have laid on some warm weatber for when we get back.

GDB2222

michaels wrote: »

Can it get worse? At the airport they were willing to reactivate our old.booking and change to today but we had to get the travel insurance company to ok this which they eventually did...5 minutes after.the flight closed so too late for us to make the change so here i am sitting in economy and feeling even more miserable. Any tips on making the next 11 hours.disappear?

I hope you all have laid on some warm weatber.for.when.we gett back.

Two strategies:

a) Drink too much alcohol, or

b) Drink lots of water, to avoid DVT and walk around a lot.

ivyleaf

Generali wrote: »

It's such a budget policy that they can't even afford spaces between words.

And, as you see, only one "i" is allowed in any word

Edit: oh no, that was me.

michaels, I hope you will name and shame that insurance company. They sound appalling. Wishing you the best journey possible in the circs at any rate.

Re: avocados. I think I remember reading that you're meant to ripen them in a paper bag.

Nikkster

michaels wrote: »

I hope you all have laid on some warm weatber for when we get back.

Er.... yeah. About that :eek:

I'm pretty sure I heard them say on the local news last night they were anticipating the coldest temperatures for the last couple of years this weekend. I'm sure it's completely different in Inner Herts though

Hope the journey passes quickly.