exploring the neighborhood

we live in south nashville, near nolensville road.  our neighborhood has one of the largest kurdish population in the country.  as a result, we have many middle eastern markets.  we also have a large latino population that has given us a plethora of markets and restaurants to choose from.  but that is not all that you will find if you drive up and down nolensville road.  you will also find indian markets and restaurants as well as restaurants and markets representing several different african nations.  let's not forget all of the asian restaurants and markets ranging from thai to japanese to korean and chinese.  this business corridor is very diverse and we are lucky to live in the middle of it.  very rarely do i find myself having to do without a special ingredient because the market is not close or convenient.  even the walmart and kroger stores in the area are likely to stock a wide variety of international ingredients.

so what's a chef to do?  if you're like me, you wander around the stores looking at everything and try to find recipes to use the unusual ingredients.  mostly, i buy things like herbs, spices, produce and nuts because they tend to turnover the stock quickly and most of the time, the prices are better than the big supermarkets.  when we want basmati rice, we head out to the indian market and if we need curry or spices like cardamom or coriander, we pick them up while we are there.  if tonight's menu features fish or seafood, we head out to the asian market and pick that up along with fresh produce and soy sauce or sesame oil if we need it.

recently, alix and i headed out to a new indian market near the house just to see what they had to offer and to perhaps, pick up a few items to try out.  the patel brothers market calls themselves the largest chain of indian markets in the country.  whether or not that is true, i cannot say.  what i will say is that this is an extremely clean and organized store and when i need items that would be considered indian or pakistani, i will most likely visit this store to purchase them.

alix was intrigued by these bottles.  after a year in college, she has latched onto the ranch on your pizza habit that all college students seem so fond of.  the idea of ketchup on her pizza just did not seem appealing, then i was skeptical too since i only add a sprinkle of cheese to my pizza.  maybe the teens in india like their pizza with ketchup?

one thing about small ethnic markets i do not care for is the condition of produce.  in so many of the stores, it looks as if it should have been composted a few days ago.  that is most likely an american reflex; we are conditioned to search for perfect and pretty produce.  this store featured mostly pretty and perfect produce.  everything seemed very fresh and not mishandled.

the prices were fair and the quality was high.

we found many varieties of produce that were new to us.  someday, we will figure out how to use them and try something new.  

as a pastry chef, flour always attracts me.  the ideas of trying old favorites with exotic flours is always fun.  using them in muffins, breads or biscuits is always interesting.  another way to try them out is in breading recipes, in place of plain flour use the various bean and grain flours for a different flavor.  

we had fun wandering the aisles.  we picked up every bottle, can and bag and read the contents.  the english translations were amusing.  we went to several stores that day and had fun taking notes and pictures.  look for more posts on the subject!  more importantly, explore your neighborhood and try new things.  it is always best to keep the business in the neighborhood and we all know the economy needs the boost!