Fruit and Vegetables Plentiful supply in spite of weather

Press, 4 January 1980, Page 2

Fruit and Vegetables Plentiful supply in spite of weather

In spite of the stormy! weather in Christchurch 1 over the last two days, sum-1 mer fruit and vegetables are! plentiful. Salad vegetables such asl spring onions, radishes, and lettuce eased in price at the Christchurch markets yesterday. Cucumbers were down in price because of an excess in supply. There were good supplies - of tomatoes yesterday, and these ranged in price from $3 to $5.20 a carton. The wet weather meant that prices of root crops and winter vegetables firmed at the auction. Carrots and pumpkins were in strong demand, as were cauliflowers which sold up to $6 a bag.

Marrows from Nelson were plentiful causing the price to drop. Cabbages were also plentiful and were reasonably priced. There were also adequate supplies of silver beet and broccoli. New potatoes were eagerly sought after. The . wet weather means that it will be several days before fresh supplies can be dug. There were plentiful supplies of onions from both Pukekohe and Nelson. Pukekohe onions sold up to $7 a bag. There were also plenty of old season’s onions from Canterbury.

Bad weather also meant that berry fruit was limited. The 'price of- strawberries rose to $1.79 a punnet.

However, good supplies of stone fruit are available from Central Otago and Nelson. Peaches sold to $4.10 a tray and $6.20 a Case. Nectarines sold for $5.70 a tray and apricots made between $7 to $l2 a half-case. ; Cherries ranged in price from $5 to $14.10 a 4.5 kg

carton. Plums sold for $3.50 and $8.50 a half-case.

There were good supplies of oranges from California and Australia, and Californian and New Zealand lemons were also available. However, there were no ban-

anas at the markets yesterday. , ’ A shipment of Island bananas is expected on' Monday and should- reach the shops later in the week, but Equadorean bananas will not arrive until the next week. Green peppers will become more plentiful as the outdoor crops in Nelson ripen. Peppers sold for $8 to $lO a 2kg carton yesterday. This week’s recipe CHEESY TOMATOES AND PEPPERS 3 large tomatoes 25g butter 1 cup finely sliced onion 1 cup finely sliced green pepper grated parmesan or Cheddar cheese . melted butter salt . pepper sugar

Method: Slice the tomatoes I thickly. Place them in a light'ly buttered, oven-proof dish in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and sugar. In a, fry-pan melt the butter, add the onions and peppers, and fry lightly. Top the tomatoes with the onions and peppers, and sprinkle with grated cheese. Drizzle a little melted butter over the top, and bake in an oven at 200 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. Serves two or three persons.