It's Market Day!

Every Wednesday there is a luscious farmer's market outside my office building. Not only does this make my weekly produce shopping extremely convenient and cheap, but I learn about unique vegetables and fruits that I didn't even know existed!

Last week I discovered the Japanese jumbo grapefruit, which is the sweetest and most delicious citrus fruit I have ever tasted. It's enormous, and it's best devoured when you cut it in half and eat the sections like you would a smaller grapefruit. They come in pink and white. I have yet to try the white, but I think I will be purchasing one today.

Right next to the grapefruit stand is a Chinese family selling live chickens. They stuff them into brown paper grocery bags, and people line up around the U.N. Building to purchase one of these live chickens! Can you imagine bringing that back to your office for the day?

Do you know the mushroom man? He is wonderful! A bountiful selection of shitake, oyster, portabello, browns, lions, these yellow ones that are good on salad. YUM! If only they also sold mushrooms of the magic variety.

Speaking of which, my favorite vegetable stand is these two hippie guys who always have an array of fresh and unique veggies, all of which are grown and picked by themselves. They offer every variety of greens you can think of. Yes, EVERY green. Do you get the idea? Only in California...

They also offer up unique recipes and different ways to cook or eat their veggies. One day, I purchased what I was told is a "wine cauliflower." They pour a bottle of wine into the soil where the cauliflower grows, causing it to turn purple and have a tint of alcohol in it. I was thrilled to hear this, bought it, and came up with a fantastic recipe where I stuffed the bottom with peppers and scallions, drizzled it with some oil, and roasted it in the oven for about an hour. I told everyone about the wine aspect of it, and everyone was in as much disbelief as I was. No wonder, it was a lie! When I went back the next week and told them about my wine cauliflower success story, he told me I should be their cheese cauliflower, which was tinted orange. To give it that color, they pour a can of cheese whiz into the ground. It was at this point in time where I realized I'd been had by my favorite farmers market boys.

Now if you'll excuse me, I must go purchase some spiky broccoli. I think it's crossed with cactus or something.