High/Low Bonanza at Western Wake Farmers' Market

I love high/low fashion: wearing thrifty vintage with designer shoes or wrapping an Armani suit with a belt (or leash!) from Target. I should have thought to dress that way for my trip this morning to the Western Wake Farmers' Market.

High: generous samples of roasted heirloom-tomato soup with grilled shrimp and tapioca crackers from Herons, the four-star restaurant in the Umstead Hotel, just down the road. I didn't know about the shrimp until I bit into it, but then counted my flexitarian lucky stars.

Low: scratch-and-dent produce grown using organic practices at Fickle Creek Farm's stand: tomatoes for $1.50 a pound and cukes for just $1 a pound. The cukes look like they came from a Dr. Seuss drawing, a characteristic I'll treat as a feature instead of a flaw. Remember: low here doesn't mean bad, it means good deal!

I also got over seven pounds of conventional, super-ripe peaches for $10 from another farm (sorry I didn't note the name).  The farmer asked if I was going to make ice cream with them, which is why they are known as ice cream peaches no matter what variety they are. Yes, I said, and also peach cobbler and peach salsa.

Other good deals at the market today: certified organic green beans for $2.50/pound, big bell peppers for $1 each, summer squash for $3/pound, and pesticide-free red cabbage for $1/pound. It's a great time of year to be eating your veggies!