What I brought home from the Farmers' Market today

1 bunch of green garlic
1 bunch of narrow leeks
3 small onions
5 small yellow and green streaked pattypan squash
1/4 lb of shiitakes
5 small heirloom tomatoes, because it won't last much longer, the season
I container of ricotta
1 cup of lemon basil tea (actually, I consumed it on the spot)
1 lb of grass fed minced beef, for the dog over the course of the week
2 dozen littlenecks, for me, soon
a mess of greens

I didn't get flowers as my Wednesday zinnias are still bright; and we're in between for fruit-- no more peaches, and early apples and pears are not that appealing. Some one had blueberries, but I doubt them this time of year, and I don't especially care for raspberries. Oh--loads of grapes, but the best ones, like scuppernongs, have bitter rubber skins, and the lychee inside clings to its pits, and I just don't enjoy the process. That said I bought some sliced and peeled cactus fruit on the way home, so perhaps there's no way around the sacrifice the changing season demands.

It was hot today, and crowded. I enter on the southeast side, from the subway exit on Park Avenue South and 15th Street, then make my way up past the mulchers on the left and the meat folks on the right, who are slow as mulch then never have bison hangar once they get to me, but do offer Ursa bits of jerky. Ursa hates crowds as much as I do and her tail goes down as we press on. I was looking for Yuno. Her stand has the freshest and most exquisite produce, and we chat about haircuts. I'll catch her on Wednesday, at Dag Hammarskjold, and ask why she wasn't at Union Square today. I ate her shishitos last night, and a few of the golden bite sized tomatoes left over from my Wednesday pint. As we head south on Broadway, the sun is in our eyes. I think about eggs from Knoll Crest but there's a line and my arms are growing heavy. There's a pork place with great bacon that's in my freezer right now, and occasionally they have just laid pullets, but not today. An unwitting fellow dog-accompanied marketeer stops to let his retriever greet Ursa, who shows him what's what (or rather, who's who) before I can pull her away. Corn is out of the question today; I have only two arms, and the pull of the lead in addition to the pull of gravity. Corn's getting awfully starchy lately anyway. I skip Ronnybrook, as I have been preferring the non-homogenized milk from Evans that I buy at Murrays Cheese. But Ronnybrook's glass bottles are the best. I actually remember having a tin box on the back patio, where milk was delivered, a creamy morning miracle.

New York green markets