Farmer's Market

Whenever I have to show someone around town, I'm naturally inclined to take them to a venue related to food. Even if my guest doesn't cook, I'm sure he or she doesn't mind eating and I will gladly cook for them if they wish. Teens have their malls; dog owners have their parks; jocks have their sports bars. Groceries, butcher shops, patisseries, organic food stores, and other foodie venues are my regular hangouts.

Of all such joints, the Farmer's Market is one of my happiest of Happy Places. Apart from the environmental benefits of eating organic, locally grown produce that have not spent days or weeks in transit on the back of a truck, there is also the exciting sense of adventure: I am guaranteed to find something that I have never seen, tasted or cooked with before. That gets me stoked like the day before my seventh birthday.

Take, for instance, the rainbow carrots pictured here. I didn't even know about them until Ireen took me to the market yesterday. I also didn't know that carrots weren't originally orange -- Noelle who came with us to the market said that it was the Dutch who cultivated the carrot to be what it is today in honour of the House of Orange. The humble carrot began its existence as a bitter root vegetable that came in every color but orange.

And get a load of the gold beets and candy stripe beets. Their names alone tickle the palate. Add to that the exquisite colors and mild sweetness, and you have the inspiration for many recipes to come. Imagine the gold beets pureed into a soup, garnished with herbs. Or a crunchy salad starring the striped beets, accompanied by mixed greens and crumbled goat cheese under a drizzle of golden olive oil.

The unknown poses a thrilling culinary challenge that winds me up like a boxer in the ring. There are ingredients to be discovered, flavor combinations to be surprised by, and new methods of preparation that can transform and elevate the foods we already know.

Grocery shopping without a menu is an example. Although it's not economical for a small household to stock up on fresh produce -- much of which will wilt, rot or over-ripen if not consumed within a few days -- I'll sometimes go to the store without an agenda or preconceptions about what I might find or what I plan to cook. It forces me to experiment, working only with what I have in my kitchen. It's not always successful, but it's an education.

For example, the size and vivid color of the upright carrots (left) kept drawing me in despite other distractions such as plump, ruby-colored raspberries and fresh, baked pies. I'm not crazy about carrots, but I wanted these carrots. I didn't know what I would be doing with them. If nothing else, I'd have lots and lots and lots of carrot sticks this week. My skin might turn orange, my eyesight could improve, and I'd be prodigiously regular.

However, I realized today that I have yellow onions, ginger, sage, curry, coriander seeds, chicken broth and cilantro at home. This gives me a chance to reinvent a recipe I developed some time ago for the cookbook. It was good, but not great. See if it turns out any better tomorrow!