The early bird gets the...

Cheap, fresh local basil. Yep, at our local Sunday Farmer's market, one must get up and out of the house early and beat the crowds to get it. A healthy bunch at a few stands costs from $.75 cents to a dollar. At a higher-priced stand, the same amount will set you back $2.25. Seems like quite the mark-up, especially since I buy basil nearly every week to make pesto. That's $50.00 a year, more or less (a conservative estimate)! Still, when I miss out on the cheaper stands, $2.25 is better than the grocery store price of $2.25 or more for a fourth of what you get from the local farmers. Pictured here are Molokai sweet potatoes. They are deep purple on the inside and outside, and very sweet. These are left over from last weekend's haul. I will roast them soon for sweet potato fries or a simple mash. The white "spots" are natural juices dripping out. The spots appeared just after I had sliced one open before snapping the picture so you could get a peek inside.