fairs and markets
One of the things I picked up at last week's Art Fair (or rather fairs) was a large and beautiful picnic basket, which will probably get more use as a market basket but does have a handy latching lid suitable for picnic-related endeavors. I took it to the market this morning and discovered that, besides being easier to manage in this context than my backpack, etc., it has an advantage that I hadn't thought of prior to purchase: in addition to preventing the squishing of delicate vegetables generally, it has room in it for me to bring along my tomato basket (which I got from the same basket-maker last year). So the tomatoes made it home this week in perfect safety. It does wonders for my peace of mind.
The haul for this week: basil, fresh mozzarella, and the aforementioned tomatoes (for polenta sandwiches); cucumber, scallions, carrots, and ginger angel hair (for cold sesame-ginger noodles); green beans (for spicy green beans); mushrooms, pattypan squash, and sweet onions (for pizza, along with some leftover chard). No fresh garlic at the organic stands this week, but I saw it a couple of other places so I'm hoping for next week. The basil's coming along beautifully, so I may have to lay in a stock of pesto as soon as the fresh garlic shows up. Eggplant's in, though I didn't get any yet. I also did not get the kohlrabi the size of a cabbage, because, my god, that's a lot of kohlrabi, and I would think the texture would be sort of weird at that size. Early corn is coming in, although it won't be really good for another few weeks.
In related news, strawberry-rhubarb crisp makes an excellent breakfast.