Here we go!

I like to decorate with vegetables.

Like many of the best journeys, this one begins with a trip to the farmers' market.

Going to the market is the highlight of my week.  Getting outside in the sunshine and the fresh air, walking among the stalls and selecting the most beautiful-looking fruits and vegetables, talking to the farmers.  It's an experience I wouldn't miss.  Which is why I've making biweekly trips to the market all summer.  It's been lovely.  This week, at the start of the Locavore Challenge, I felt a little more pressure to be a smart shopper.  I'll be out of town all weekend at a wedding, so I won't be able to make my weekend trip.  Normally, this would not worry me.  If I forget something at the market, I'll just make a quick trip to the grocery store!  But I have pledged to eat locally, which makes the store a little bit tricky.

Not to say that you absolutely can't get local food at the grocery store - not at all!  Yesterday I found Michigan blueberries at Costco.  But last week, I saw Guatemalan blackberries at Whole Foods.  That was exactly the opposite of what I would have expected, but it just proves that you have to read labels.  And not just nutritional labels!  Just because something is in season where you live doesn't mean that your local grocery is sourcing their produce locally.

So anyway, here's what I got today, and what I plan to do with it:

2 quarts of peaches (homemade ice cream, canned peach halves in simple syrup)
1 quart of plums (breakfast and snacks)
about 6 pounds of tomatoes (canned whole tomatoes)
giant red and golden beets (salad for lunch next week)
20 red hot cherry peppers (homemade hot sauce)
gourds and mini pumpkins (to look pretty)