A Lazy Day at the Farmers' Market

This weekend was perfect—lazy, sunny, and I had absolutely no plans. Don’t know about you, but that’s what a perfect weekend is to me. Does say a lot about how much I value sleep, eh? When we moved to San Diego, everyone cautioned us that the sun will soften our brains and we’ll become laidback. I’m glad that happened the minute I landed here! There’s something about southern California sunshine, it’s just pure, fresh and bright. Really. If you’re from here, you know what I mean. If you’re not, visit this place, you’ll know what I mean.

A direct effect of this abundant sunshine (though we do have cloudy days, mind you), is the presence of weekend farmers’ markets. You’d find the most friendly and most hardworking people selling their produce. This weekend, Sanjay and I went to our neighborhood one in Del Mar. Do you see the color on the tomatoes? Come on, you’ve got to love this. Heirlooms abound. Drizzled with balsamic vinegar, mixed with fresh mozzarella, parsley and grated garlic, it’s a great appetizer. 
But back to the Del Mar farmers’ market—color was the name of the game, and it wasn’t just red from the tomatoes. Look at the squashes, and zucchini—I mean, come on, they’re gorgeous. Fall/winter brings the squash varieties back, and you can bet on quite a few dinners of roasted veggies with rotis.

Besides the customary tamales, mango and watermelon stands along with fish, flower and fruit stands, there’s even a cactus plant stand, the owner did scare me though—said, you need to come here every weekend (which I don’t, since I’m lazy), and so I lied and said, yes, yes, ma’am, I do and I will. And since I can’t lie that well, I guess I obligated to go every weekend now. Here's her cactus:

But the fun stand is the oranges one. The lady in the pineapple shirt has been there ever since I can remember. From blood oranges to Valencia’s, she has them all. She doesn’t talk much, but I have a feeling she loves oranges (and maybe pineapples). What do you think? I really should stop making up stories about farmers in pineapple shirts selling oranges….

  

Anyway, hope your weekend was fun too. More recipes to follow, but till then, enjoy the rest of what’s left of this weekend. Really, enjoy!