Saturday at the market! If I’m of town or unable to go on a Saturday, I get upset. I go through withdrawal. Chuck was at the car dealer getting an oil change in his vehicle, so he came downtown later, when I had half the shopping finished. He met me at Starbucks (a central location, no comments needed from the peanut gallery) to finish the job. We came home with these goodies.

                          Market Day!

The ordinary goods are in their places – carrots, lettuce, parsley, berries du jour (cherries). We picked up a few imported peaches (Georgia) and greenhouse tomatoes since our tomato plants aren’t fully mature yet. I have enough peas (even Amigo likes them!) to freeze for the future, so I bought beans. But wait – there’s more!

More than just fresh produce!

It’s easy to get tempted to buy something different, like an artisan infused vinegar or a local honey. While I waited in line to rehydrate with a pomegranate-cherry smoothie, Chuck slipped into a small local deli and bought a mozzarella salad, cheese, and a Belgian Red from New Glarus. I picked out two flavors of pasta, both local and organic, to make dinner more interesting and tasty later in the week. Somehow, impulse buys at the farmers’ market are much more palatable than, say, an impulse buy at the shoe store.

After-the-fact shopping list.

• Fresh vegetables, delicious and nutritious.
• Fresh fruits unavailable in the backyard garden – at least for now.
• New adventures in food, organic and locally made
• Priceless. All of it.