Safe Travels

Most of the stone fruit we buy at the Hollywood Farmers Market is not completely ripe. It transports better that way, and at home I ripen it at room temperature for a couple of days before we eat it.

However, the tiny peaches at Mud Creek Ranch are ripe and fragrant and delicate. They are wonderful to eat but difficult to carry through the market in our shopping bags without crushing a few.

Fortunately, Larry came up with a great solution. He washed a cardboard container with a nice lid (from the Whole Foods salad bar) and now carries it to the market with bubble wrap and an elastic band.

At the stall, I line the box with bubble wrap, carefully arrange the tiny peaches inside, and secure the lid with the elastic band.

Larry puts the box in the bottom of a cloth bag where it will stay upright as we jostle our way through the market buying more food.

The peaches arrived home in great shape.

Shopping at the farmers market is a little more difficult than pushing a cart around a superstore, but the produce selection is worth it. And with a little forethought, all the produce can arrive home looking as great as it did on the farm stands.