Sunday Shopping

For the past few weeks, I have been exercising excellent restraint when walking past the colorful winter squashes at the Hollywood Farmers Market.

Today, restraint left the building.

I mean, really, is there a table decoration more beautiful than a winter squash? Plus, when you're bored with looking at it, you can eat it.

The weather promises to be cooler this week - maybe even down into the 60s - so I feel I can decorate with squashes. (Last week our house got into the high 80s - not good for winter squash storage.)

When Larry observed halfway through the market that our bags were heavier than usual, I had to admit that a few colorful winter squashes had jumped into the bags he was hauling.

Here's what we lugged home:
3 large sweet potatoes (cool weather is coming so I'm planning sweet potato soup), 2 garlic, 1 small (really) butternut squash, parsley, world-famous heirloom spinach from Finley Farms, green beans, radishes, 2 small romaine lettuce, 1 cucumber, a small amount of mesclun, 1 red butter lettuce, 7 red peppers (many will be roasted for the freezer), 1 ambrosia cantaloupe, 5 medium shiitake mushrooms, a bunch of beets - first of the fall season - from South Central Farmers, 3 persimmons, 2 lemons (ours are all green), 3 quinces from Mud Creek Ranch that I

promised Larry will not end up in the morning fruit - instead I will make them into excellent dessert or jam, 2 potatoes, 3 bartlett pears, 1 loaf of wheat rye sourdough bread from Bezian Bakery (for a quick breakfast of fried eggs and toast before heading into the garden to optimistically work on the rainwater farm), 1 dozen eggs, 2 kabocha squash, 1 lb Columbian coffee from Cafecito Organico, 1 turban squash, 1 large and 4 small plain yogurt from St. Benoit, 20 oranges for breakfast juice to counterbalance the fried eggs, 3 grapefruit, 4 pomegranates and 1 dumpling squash.

Also, Russ sharpened a knife for us while we shopped.