Hunters and gatherers.

Every Saturday, early morning I go out to the main and biggest open market in the Netherlands, the ‘Big Market’ in The Hague, a good place to gather fresh fruits, vegetables, spices, and herbs. One has to be early to hunt for the best deals. A good vegan may think to only gather food, but no, you hunt as well!

For those who labor under the illusion that we have evolved from our days as hunter-gatherers, they should have a closer look at shopping behavior.

Supermarkets and big department stores may have played a significant role in human evolution when it comes to abandoning hunter-gatherer behavior.  However, mankind has not evolved that much. Nothing easier to trigger this instinct with just one word … SALE! And see the herds hunting for the best deals, gathering their treasures in baskets or shopping carts. A stampede of wildebeest seems safer to run into. Don’t think that this behavior only applies to shoe sales!

For the evolved ones: forget about all those specialized delis, stop hunting for the very best quality, just head for a good (biological)  supermarket or local market with your shopping list and you’re done for the whole week! More time to cook, walk, read, dance, love, run, have fun, work, spend time with friends and family!

Or be elitist, if you prefer, and go from deli to deli so as to later on brag about your very unique finds, such as that sweet old-fashioned tea shop where you can get the most amazing green tea, or that Italian deli as the sole place in your town to buy decent pasta, and of course do not forget about that small alleyway where you found the one-and-only place in town to buy organically grown lentils. An absolute must! If this is your hobby, please do continue enjoying it! And ignore me.

The gatherer’s salad from the (super)market

Ingredients:

1 large salad bowl

1 bag of mixed salad with rocket

250 gr. green asparagus

½ cucumber

Handful of baby Roma tomatoes

½ yellow paprika

1 small avocado

A few sundried tomatoes

A handful of black olives (pitted)

Black pepper to taste

Salt to taste

Extra virgin olive oil to taste

Balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds

1 teaspoon pine nuts

Method:

Cook the asparagus for four minutes, drain and cool

Slice the cucumber in big matchsticks

Slice the paprika in big matchsticks

Slice the sundried tomatoes

Cut the avocado in slices

 Toast the seeds and nuts in a dry frying pan over medium-high heat for 2 or 3 minutes.

Take a big salad bowl, toss the salad in it, divide first the paprika and cucumber, the tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, olives and avocado. Arrange the asparagus on top.

Season to taste and sprinkle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Sprinkle the toasted seeds and nuts over the salad.

No need to fish for compliments, just gather them in.

              Enjoy!