The green grocer’s is a surprising recipe box full of ideas. Cultures meet to prod fruit, chat over the price of staples, and all ignore the tomatoes during the summer months. Listening carefully and sometimes asking politely will reward you with fresh ideas as well as deeply traditional methods of preparing food.

When it comes to those people who launch into unsolicited advice I tend to pay close attention, not to ascertain new facts no but to find out what kind of misinformation is being passed on. While picking through a bin of lemons (8 for $1.00), I overheard a conversation with a mother and son.

Mom: “You know how to pick a good lemon?”
Son: “Why?”
Clearly, this kid is on a path for a cocktail-shunning beer drinking future.
Mom: “Well, when I’m not around, you may need to buy lemons. Pick one that looks good and doesn’t have blemishes. See? Smooth skin.”

I wanted to whip a lemon at the woman. Either she’s been really lucky with picking juicy shiny lemons or she has not had a good lemon. I shook my head knowing if I yelled across the bin, I wouldn’t be heard. A lemon could be dry and pithy on the inside. Like a lot of fruit, it should feel heavy for its size. The lemon should be firm, but not hard. Blemishes are okay and shine may be because of wax. Like many things in life, do not take it at face value.