market day, Càlig

Tuesday has been market day in Cálig for hundreds of years. Women dress up for the occasion and now plan where they will have coffee – before, during, or after shopping. Some days there are more vendors than others, but today was a good day with three different vegetable and fruit stands and probably 7 or 8 for clothing. After a week of travelling, I was ready to stock up on fruit and vegetables. My friend Maria steered me to the “best” one. My eyes bulged at the fresh lettuce – I immediately chose the purplish leaves. Deep red strawberries, bananas from the Canary Islands which seem much richer and firmer than those from South of our border, Bing cherries from a nearby village (where next week end is the feria de la cereza in Salsadella), eggplant, huge red peppers, garlic, onion, yellow potatoes…. I filled my bag so full and so heavy that I had to get the little car. All this for around $10 (8 euros) I returned later on another errand and bought some tasty olives. On the way home I stopped for rice–and a fellow shopper recommended Montsiá. The firmest she said. We use it for paella. I didn;t make paella but did invent a tasty dish of rice, meatballs (already seasoned), eggplant, red pepper and tomoatoes. There have been many changes in Càlig, but market day is always a treat.

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