i love the farmers' market

On Wednesdays I stop by the farmers' market in Santa Monica. It's a nice one, really big, lots of vendors with a wide range of products, a couple of food stands that I haven't shopped from (but man does it smell good in passing) and your expected gaggle of do-gooders who want you to sign their petitions.

Today was an especially beautiful day to stop by. The sun was shining pleasantly (not unhealthily as it's been earlier this week), there's a gorgeous breeze and every one seemed to be in a really good mood.

I got a little overzealous with my purchases:

Well, it's not all for tonight's meal.

These Japanese eggplants are going to be part of a ratatouille that I'm planning for tomorrow night's supper.

Their skin is so tender, I won't even have to peel them.

This magnificent 'choke (and his friends) is going to supply me with lots of afternoon snacks (I seem to need a snack right around 4 o'clock every day. I should have been born in England.)


Pearly rows of white corn. Ooh, I really hope these are sweet. There were throngs of shoppers around them at the sole stand that sold corn. Everyone seemed to want them.


I buy these tomatoes (I can't remember what kind they are now) and the cucumbers from a Japanese lady who always sprinkles our transactions with a bit of Japanese. Makes me think of some of the Korean folks I know who sometimes talk to me in English, then repeat everything they say in Korean in the hopes (I think) that I will learn to speak Korean through a kind of conversational osmosis. It makes me smile. I didn't correct the Japanese lady to tell her that I'm not Japanese.

I was going to write by way of explanation how sweet these tomatoes are even though they aren't that tempting red color that makes you want to eat raw tomatoes cut up with nothing else on them not even salt or olive oil. But it seems that my camera responds well to the kinda dim lighting in my kitchen and really brought out the color in the tomatoes. No explanation needed, it seems. Don't they look awesome? They are very very sweet, by the way. I almost always exclaim after the first bite. Ooh, I'm so excited to dig into these tonight.

I thought this curled up fella was amusing. So here's my imagined contribution to white space wednesday.


And out of the corner of my eye, I spied the bowl of potatoes looking ever so darling in their little vintage bowl. Am I going overboard with photographing these guys? Last week's was et up right quick. I got these again today thinking of including them with tonight's dinner (roast chicken+corn+simple salad), but I think they'll be nice with tomorrow's ratatouille. I do have to confess that I keep buying them not only because they are tasty (which I assure you they are) but because they are teeny and cute and I just can't help myself.

the end.