City of squash

Step away from the farmers' market!

That is what I will be chanting as I go -- again -- to Body Sculpt class today. I went crazy at the market Tuesday after my last class. I have to pass it on my way back to work and there is no stopping me. Get this: My fridge was already full of zucchini and summer squash and what did I buy? Zucchini! There was this bright yellow variety I couldn't resist. I had to have it.

So I come home, lay it out on the counter and I tell myself: Mary, this is the dumbest thing you have ever done in your life. And you have done some dumb things.

Since then I have made squash frittata, squash gratin and roasted Mediterranean vegetables featuring, you guessed it, squash. For dinner the other night I made this huge, medieval pie. It was topped with a cornmeal crust and inside were black beans, ground turkey, onions and what else? Did someone say squash? You got it!

You can tell I am the top Buffalo farmers' market customer because when I go to the Main Street market, I am loved. I am greeted, personally, by the farmers. One of them wanted to know why he hadn't seen me recently at Clinton-Bailey. Well, this is why!

So I am trying to figure out how to avoid the downtown market today when I go to the gym. I could be like the Three Kings and return by a different route. But that is not as easy as it sounds. If I took one alternate route, that would take me past Social Services. No one wants to walk past Social Services. Passing the old Memorial Auditorium depresses me. I hate the sight of them preparing it for demolition. Even St. Joseph's Cathedral stresses me out. Leonard Pennario was baptized there, so I like to think about that. But the trouble is, Bishop Kmiec might be in there. And I am so mad at him for closing all those churches, my own church, Gerard's, included.

Navigating downtown Buffalo, it is not easy!

I am afraid I see the market in my future.