Market Freakout

So I surely can't be the only one, this is what I tell myself as I walk to the metro station, arms being pulled out of their sockets from the weight of so many bags of fresh produce. I've done it again, gone to the market, bought a whole slew of veggies and fruits because they looked so great and now I have to be really creative and hungry to get throught them all. Not such a dreadful task for someone like me who lives off produce... The excitement of finding Batavia lettuce at the market or buying grape tomatoes that explode in your mouth and taste like the sun they've been basking in is the ultimate. And cliché as it sounds, the harvest of the late summer weeks makes me weak at the knees but deeply satisfies my foodie soul.

As much as this is the most amazing time of the year, it's somewhat bittersweet for me. Every time I bite into that cob of yellow corn or eat that lightly sauteed white zucchini, and marvel at how phenomenal they taste, I am reminded that the moment is so fleeting. In just a few weeks, the corn won't be worth a look at the market, the zucchini will be a bit bitter and the lettuce will originate from some Southern US state rather than a farm 50km outside of the city. 

The approach I take in consequence of this realization is to fully appreciate the few weeks we have in Quebec - to taste everything at least once, to feast on salads, to make tons of ratatouille and bake fruit-based desserts for friends and family. I figure that in February, opening that last jar of tomatoes will be a reminder of how I took advantage of the season as well as a reason to get excited for the next.