Shopping Adventure

Our closest supermarket is .62 miles from the apartment at the Galleria Malta Mall.  We walk there several times a week to pick up groceries, but never too many things at once since we’re carrying them back.  Yesterday, I needed to venture a little farther from home.  I took the tram (light rail) a few miles into town to visit the nicest butcher shop we’ve found.

I was in search of beef – something hard to come by here; although there is every kind of pork imaginable.  I was looking for short ribs, oxtail, or something to braise in Guinness Stout for dinner on St. Patrick’s Day. I was able to find something cut like a steak and called rostbef.  They butcher animals differently here, so I can’t really tell you what cut of meat it was, but it did have a bit of bone, which I’ve used to make stock.  I’ve decided that I will make something similar to Clay’s Irish Stew and serve it over mashed potatoes.

The actual purchasing of the meat was a little different.  I pointed at what I wanted, held up one finger and said “kilo, proszę (please).  I must learn a few numbers.  The woman behind the counter wrapped it up for me and gave me a receipt, which I took to the cashier at the front of the store (only a few steps away).  After I’d paid for my order, I took the receipt to the end of the counter  where my order was bagged and waiting for me.

You really have to keep your eyes open and see what everyone else is doing.  In some markets your produce is weighted at the register; at others, there is someone to weigh and price your fruits and veggies in the produce section, and I hear they get really testy if you show up at the register without things being priced.

 

Lois Britton

An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com,  she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.