Buy Fresh, Eat Local

Finally shopping for groceries has become fun again. I was in the groove of shopping up in portland, splitting my loyalties between trader joe's, fred meyer, and whole foods. When we moved down here, we were shocked by food prices. But now I am once again in a groove of shopping. We are doing the majority of our shopping at Trader Joe's, and as of yesterday I found a farmer's market that is close, cheap and wonderful. Which is great, because it was hard on the pocket book to buy fresh veggies and fruit. Now, I plan to do the bulk of my weekly produce shopping here on Saturday's. I was really impressed with the variety of fresh produce.* Sure, it's not as aesthetically pleasing as the farmer's market held on Portland State's campus, but it'll do.

We bought a flat of strawberries that were so bright and large they looked fake. And one whole stand was committed to avocados (my absolute favorite). The lady selling them would ask when you planned to use the avocados, and for what. She would then pick them out for you, as she had them lined up in order of ripeness. I just mushed one up and ate it for lunch. I have to say that California has to be the best place to buy avocados.

I am also looking forward to trying out some of the recipes from my most recent issue of "Real Simple" (thanks again Kristin! it's the best present ever). The August issue features "20, 20 minute meals." Which is a dream come true to a full-time working wifey like me.

*the photo featured is not from pasadena, but rather from a trip to Seattle's public market.