Same Same, But Different

Part 1

I made the ridiculous mistake of thinking I’d write about one thing this week…

Stone fruit? Tomatoes? Melons? Any of the bright and shiny main characters…

Then I walked into the market.

Summer never arrives politely. It barges in through the back door carrying too much of everything, in multiple good-looking tote bags. And this year, summer hit the NOS button. That awful April heat wave shoved the whole season forward, and now the markets are bursting at the seams. Every stand is screaming for your attention. Every farmer is convinced their X is the best X. (But a lady never tells…). Frankly, most are making an extremely persuasive case.

So anyway, I gave up trying to pick one subject.

Today’s episode is called Same Same, But Different.

Because somewhere along the line, we’ve all become creatures of habit. We buy the same favorite tomato. The same basil. We walk straight toward the giant watermelon as if the other twenty melons are merely decorative.

The internet and local menus certainly don’t help. They crown winners, everyone chases it, and before long, we’re all walking around with identical market carts filled with Sungolds, Hass avocados, and seedless watermelon as if we’ve cracked some code.

But the market has never been about finding the best. It’s about finding your best.

There’s almost always another version of the thing you already love. Sometimes it’s sweeter, stranger, better for this or that preparation. Sometimes it makes you wonder why the familiar version became “famous” in the first place.

So today we’re taking the scenic route through summer.

Same same… but different.