Choose produce for tonight and the days ahead, with simple ways to turn tomatoes, greens and a few staples into meals.
Choose the meal before the haul
The tomatoes look good. So do the aubergines, the peaches and the enormous bunch of chard. Before buying all of them, decide what you will cook tonight. One ingredient is enough to start a meal.
This is easier than arriving home with ten beautiful ingredients and no idea which ones belong together. Tomatoes might need bread, a soft cheese and herbs. Greens might become dinner with beans, lemon and something crisp on top.
Buy for different days
Separate what you will eat tonight from what can wait. Very ripe fruit and tender leaves should have an early place in the plan. Firmer vegetables give you more room to change your mind later in the week.
Ask the stallholder which fruit is ready to eat and which needs a few days. Uneven tomatoes can go into sauce; ripe peaches need a place in tonight's meal. Buy the quantity you can use while it is at its best.
Leave a little space
At home, put fragile leaves where they will not be crushed and keep tonight's ingredients together. Leave room in the fridge to see what you have. The bunch of herbs hidden behind a stack of tubs is easily forgotten.
Before the next shop, look through the remaining vegetables. Greens can go into eggs or beans; tomatoes can become toast toppings. Buy what completes those meals first.
