To market, to market...to buy a....

On Friday I signed up for a tour of the market through AWA (American Women's Association). I almost didn't go because....really, who are we kidding? I am not much of a cook and usually tours are not my thing....but I am SO glad I went! It was awesome! Ruth, an American nutritionist who has lived in Fiji since she was a small girl led the tour. It was fascinating. I never knew all that the market had to offer or how to use half of the produce. I learned so much! Ruth was really incredible and had SO much knowledge to share. I just got an email from her jam packed with recipes and nutritional information. If I even make one or two more meals than my boring usual as a result of this trip...then woohoo! It was time well spent! Here are the pictures ..so colorful!

We started upstairs with all of the spices and seeds. Upstairs has a lot to offer Suva friends! Check out all of the different types of dahl. You can also get chia seeds and every spice you can imagine there!

This is the view from upstairs to downstairs.

This is the kava plant which is pounded into a fine powder for grog.

Here are some of the ladies on the tour.

Okra (Bindi) is abundant here. Need more recipes for this.

This is the outside part of the market. It was pouring rain outside (surprise) so we had to dodge puddles and leaking "roofs". Ruth was able to show us which vendors had the best produce.

This is a wild fern (ota) typically cooked with coconut milk here. It apparently can be cooked any way you would cook asparagus. It is delicious and super nutritious.