A small sampling of St. Lucia's fresh fruit -- bounty of the Windward Isles. As we moved NW the options dwindled dramatically. |
I still didn’t realize how
spoiled we are in the United States overall when it comes to fresh
produce.
The dazzling array of
produce and fresh fish in St. Lucia, Martinique, Dominica and Guadaloupe’s huge
open-air markets reinforced my false perception that local produce was
bountiful throughout the Caribbean.
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The produce aisle at Mattew Town Great Inagua general store. Nothing “fresh.” |
The day before VAT took
effect in St. Lucia (click
read here to learn about VAT), the produce shelves were wiped bare. St. Lucians didn’t realize most produce
prices would be unaffected by VAT, but they didn’t want to take any
chances. With all the other
options for produce in St. Lucia, I didn’t pay much attention.
Then, hurricane Sandy
hit. We were thousands of miles
away in the Virgin Islands, but we were impacted. Our weather wasn’t much affected, but
Sandy stopped the flow of produce distribution. Its impact in the Caribbean was staggering. Broad supermarket
produce aisle shelves were largely empty.
Even long-storage veggies like onions and potatoes were bruised and
mushy.
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The produce compartment of our fridge – empty -- two weeks after our last fresh produce purchase in Puerto Rico. |
When I started this trip, my
intent was to eat more like a local.
I just didn’t expect to give up fresh produce as much as I have in the
Caribbean, especially in the Bahamas.
Thank goodness for cabbage,
onions and to a lesser degree, carrots, for their long shelf lives.
No-mayo Asian cabbage slaw
is definitely a mainstay for us, along with canned veg. This time, when
provisioning, we packed our small freezer with meat (chicken, pork, beef). Next time out, I will insist on saving
some space for frozen veg unless we’re sure fresh veg is available.
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