Namaste from INDIA!

Namaste from Kerala, southern India!!

We are on a vacation, celebrating my 50th birthday (which actually doesn't come until mid-June, but it never hurts to celebrate early, eh??).  We have never been to India before and have been amazed at the sights, sounds, tastes, and colors that surround us here.  We traveled through a few northern cities and have now come down south to finish out the holiday.

One thing we love to do when traveling is, you guessed it, SEE THE LOCAL GROCERY STORE!!  Here in India we have been fortunate to see some MARKETS, which are absolutely amazing.  We even went to one, Crawford Market, where they MAKE SPICES.  By that, I mean they take the spice blends that the women bring (yes, it seemed to be all women ordering them), roast them, then GRIND THEM into the types of spices you and I would expect to see in a jar on a Trader Joe's shelf.  I was fascinated and could have easily stayed at that stall for hours observing and smelling.  Heaven!

Spices, having just been roasted, now resting on a burlap bag in the sun waiting for their turn to be ground

A long queue of spices on a Sunday at the spice market, all waiting to be ground

A grinder!  These large pistons slam down very loudly onto the spices, grinding them very finely

Most people here seem to shop at markets, but I also wanted to see an Indian GROCERY STORE.  Locals never understand my desire to check out the groceries, but I really think it is a great way to learn something about a culture!!  What cookies do they eat??  What drinks?  What CONDIMENTS???  There is a lot to learn in a grocery store!!

So we popped into one in Mumbai.  Let's just say, it was NOT a Trader Joe's :).

First off, no air conditioning.  And this is the HOT season here, record highs actually.

Secondly, they have STATUES in their grocery store.  See, here is a Ghandi one!!!!!  Isn't it great?  I have never seen anything like THAT at a TJ's.

Look, a Ghandi bust in aisle 1! 

Thirdly, the sample lady was giving out WHOLE CARTONS of Greek yogurt, not little cups of it.  Oooh-la-la!!  They also took our photo after we tasted it.  David did a funny face where he was spitting some of the yogurt out as if it tasted super disgusting.  I bet they don't use THAT in their marketing campaign.

Fourthly, the snack food section had FAIRY LIGHTS over it!!!  You know the ones, the fancy twinkling Christmas lights!!!  Cuz nothing says EAT SOME CHIPS like FAIRY LIGHTS!  It was pretty fabulous.

Snacks and fairy lights, a great combination!

We were glad we persevered and figured out where the heck the hidden grocery story was.  We crossed some crazy Mumbai streets, dodging traffic, to get there, but it was worth it.

We didn't buy a bottle of "Thums Up" soda  but we probably should have, eh?

Day 194 - Salt Water Taffy

I thought I could review this product.  I wanted to buy it.  I find salt water taffy BEAUTIFUL.  The colors, the swirls.  The IDEA of salt water taffy is very appealing to me – it means SUMMER, vacation, seaside, fun, sweetness…  Then I tasted one, and I remembered the REALITY of salt water taffy – uber sweet yucky tasting sticky FLUFF.  I do not feel qualified to review this product with my obvious bias, so am turning this review over to my partner David:

David with the Salt Water Taffy before we checked out.  He was happy to get it.

"Tasty taffy.  The package is just the right size.  There are a number of different fruit flavors, but let’s face it, salt water taffy always tastes like salt water taffy, whatever the fruit flavor.

These are very good.  The only strike I have against them is the packaging.  In this, they are no different than salt water taffies:  each taffy is rolled in a small piece of waxed paper, twisted at the ends.  The problem with this system is that at room temperature the taffy STICKS to the waxed paper.  And just out of the fridge, the taffy is so hard that the paper tears or little bits of brittle taffy flick off as you are unrolling the paper and go everywhere.   My solution is to put them in the fridge and then take them out for five minutes before unwrapping the ones you want to eat.  Why they can’t find a system to solidify the taffy before wrapping it is beyond me. 

Hmmm, this sign says Saltwater but the package says Salt Water...  I can't remember which store we got these at.

But the taffy itself – delightful." 

(Note – Susan here – David mentions fruit flavors.  The package says there are cherry, strawberry, banana, red licorice (which technically is not a FRUIT flavor, David), sour apple, and watermelon.  I tasted a pretty one that was dark red with a white swirl and I THINK it was red licorice but I would not bet you $10 on that.  I had a pretty photo of it but sadly that Sim Card thing-a-ma-bob is not working and I cannot upload it.  Sorry.)  Holy smokes – I just read the back and it says a serving size is SEVEN PIECES!!  That overindulgence may be the reason David wants to give these a high mark.)

Price – $1.99

Rating – 4.25 (from David, NOT from me)