A (delicious) Shopping Spree

June 2015Every Saturday I go on a shopping spree. I fill cloth bag after bag. I ignore my aching shoulders and just keep walking, determined to get the job done.Over the years my spending has become so out of control that I’m on a self-imposed budget. If  I have even a dollar left, I go back and find something to buy with that last amount of cash. It is my goal to leave with nothing in my pocket.I’m not seduced by designer shoes or fancy clothes. What catches my eye is mundane but much more beautiful (in my opinion).So every Saturday morning I follow the siren call of the wild purple of Japanese eggplants, the heady fragrance of bunches of fresh basil and sweet aroma of tiny Royal apricots to the Davis Farmers Market. I can never decide between the creamy white cauliflower, the long Chinese beans or the golden zucchini, so I buy it all.The problem is that there are too many choices. Juicy white nectarines, shiny red peppers, ripe tomatoes, aromatic rosemary,  tart lemons, summer oranges, sweet berries of all kinds from yellow raspberries to round blueberries and tasty blackberries. How is a person supposed to just buy one or two things?The wonderful end result of all my spending is the delicious meals. Here the star attraction is the produce.  Every week I resolve to buy less but I’m tempted by the okra, the crisp cucumbers, the bags of walnuts, baskets of soft figs and ripe yellow nectarines.  They are all so delicious and all so worthy of my attention and money. What is a girl supposed to do?