You are a sucker for a good farmers' market, just as you can't resist the temptations of any grocery store. You go there wanting to be seduced--by ripe heirloom tomatoes, heaps of ruby radishes, and, if you're really luck, tangled nests of garlic scapes in the spring or juicy peaches near summer's end.
It is best to go early, before the heat and the crowds bear down on you, before the tender greens and over-ripe fruits begin to wilt and soften under the sun's gaze. For now, you enjoy the early morning coolness, made all the cooler today from the previous evening's monsoons that raged through the city; the sky is still coated in a blanket of clouds promising more rain. The city is quiet, subdued.
It is good coffee you must have first in order to browse through the produce stands; it will hold you over until you decide what goods you truly want to commit to. Its taste is dark and bitter on your tongue--tempting you to balance it out with one of the pastries piled high in several booths like edible artwork topped off with powdered sugar. But no, you aren't ready to commit yet, not ready to give up the little thrill that blossoms in your belly with each temptation, each possibility.
As you wind your way through the stalls, you marvel at the jewel-like produce: amber carrots, emerald greens, butter yellow corn heads poking through pale green wisps of silk and husk. You keep your eye out for pickling cucumbers (what is summer without homemade pickles?) and another for those culinary miracles of homegrown tomatoes--gone too soon from the stands--that needs only your teeth sinking into their flesh to make a perfect meal.
When your coffee has dwindled in its cup and you have made a full circuit around the market, it is time to let yourself be fully seduced by the few items you can't stop thinking about, time to give into the temptation of peppery radishes, red and green okra spears, and tiny heirloom cherry tomatoes. You return for your treats, already planning the week's meals which all somehow revolve around just washing and eat these earthly treasures raw. At the last minute, you throw in a bouquet of wildflowers because farmers market flowers always make your nightstand look so lovely, make your mornings so much more delicious when you roll out of bed.
With a full heart and an even fuller canvas bag, you head home, content in your treats, excited to spread them out on your counter in a cornucopia of summer pleasure.
Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you. If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is in the everyday, subscribe to my newsletter below for regular doses of enchantment. Want even more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Here’s to a magical life!