Veggie Stands and Fruit Stalls

So now that the box has the basics covered…we will not starve or die of thirst in the desert…John wanted to show me a step closer to what folks here do for refreshment. Most of you already know that Qatar, as a Muslim country, is dry—alcoholic beverages are only sold in very limited places, and you have to have a license to purchase alcohol for your home. So for special events, at restaurants, or even for regular refreshment, the big thing here is fruit juice. I’m talking fresh-squeezed fruit juice. You see fruit juice “stalls” (very small stores) in strip malls everywhere.

John took us to one about 5 minutes from the house. For about $1.25 each, we got generous cups of juice that wasn’t squeezed until we ordered it. We got orange, banana/pineapple, and lemon. They added some sugar to the lemon (obviously ☺) but not to the others. Typically, they mix mint in with the lemon, too. More on that later.

These are rich and very very yummy.

Akin to juice stands are fruit and vegetable stalls. These are enclosed, air-conditioned mini-stores that sell only fresh fruits and veggies. The stalls are much less expensive than the grocery (Carrefour), and we have one close to the house.

The stall is about the size of a large walk-in closet, or for those of you who have been in my Franklin house, slightly smaller than my kitchen (just the kitchen, not the breakfast area). The tomatoes and bananas below came from that stall, along with some red apples and fantastic sweet carrots. Inside the stall were the owner plus two service-people, leaving room for no more than two customers. The English was limited, but everyone was very friendly. John sent me in with some cash (everything here is in cash) and waited in the car with the kids. I had to ask for amounts in kilos…I should have paid better attention when they offered the one lesson on the metric system in fifth grade 30 years ago.

A kilo is 2.2 pounds. I can’t remember, but I think I bought ½ kilos of everything (jet lag brain fog). Six bananas, 8 apples, 8 tomatoes, and 8 carrots cost, all together, $6.50. John says this is very affordable in comparison to other options.

The picture below is of my first tomatoes and bananas, as well as some walnuts and golden raisins purchased at a spice/nut/candy vendor in the main souq (more on that to come).