Very odd topic.

So I went to an actual farm and got real vegetables. Eh? Real vegetables? Have you ever noticed how the vegetables in supermarkets are all remarkably similar? All the carrots are the same size, shape and colour. Parsnips are generally slightly larger than carrots and onions are typically about the size of a tennis ball. Shocked as I was when I saw onions about twice their normal size and ditto for carrots. The shapes varied too, not always prefect cones.

Ze farmer explained to me that the supermarkets will only buy vegetables that fit a certain specification and are not interested in any deviations. They prefer smaller size vegetables as they look younger, fresher and healthier.

Anyway, I took a consignment and cooked them, they were fantastic. I don't know if it was because I literally dug them up and ate them within 2 hours or because they were so big and varied. By the way, I got them for free. It was as much a novelty for me as it was for the farmer who couldn't believe that I thought all vegetables grew to a perfect shape and then jumped into a plastic bag.

So...the bottom line. Where should I get my vegetables next? I believe there is a farmer's market in Dun Laoghaire shopping centre (the old one, not Bloomfields) every Thursday and there is a farmer's market in Leopardstown race course every week too. I checked out the one in DL and they seemed to have some nice home cooked stuff and organic vegetables. The home cooked stuff was nice (I scoffed a pie) but the vegetables were very pricey. The vegetable (and fruit) shop in the basement is also very dear. I will try to get to the one in Leopardstown.