farmers' market

Buying groceries in our old Chicago neighborhood was a challenge. The closest market was over a mile away and when you don't own a car, it may as well be the moon. Especially in January. Brutal.

We eventually resorted to buying groceries online, which has its perks for city-dwellers, but required a lot of planning (not exactly my greatest strength). At any given moment, we would have at least eight cans of tomatoes in the pantry because I was paranoid we would run out. Discovering you are out of an ingredient in the middle of a recipe almost always ends in disaster. Have you ever tried to make chili without tomatoes? It just doesn't work.

And finding decent quality produce in Uptown? Forget it.

In California, however, I am in produce heaven. Heaven.

Not only is there a grocery store on the next block, there is a weekly farmers' market in the plaza of our apartment complex. I don't even have to cross the street. Amazing!

And for the first time in my life, we have had fresh flowers in the house for three weeks straight. It's the little things, guys.

I want to eat it all. And I plan to.