Lessons are only good if you get something out of them, so now that you know all about farmers' market etiquette you're ready to tackle buying tomatillos and blueberries, to enjoy the fruits of your labour.

Allison Ulan, the founder of Ashtanga Yoga Montreal was kind enough to shatter my presumptions about Ayurvedic food by inviting me to a practice dinner for an Ayurvedic Retreat she will be offering next month. The last thing I thought it would be was seven courses of bread, fish, chicken, maple syrup, peaches, rice, apples, and blueberries.

When so many farmers' market vendors all seem to be selling the same produce, choosing which one to buy your food from can be difficult. A good farmers' market sport is actually having a seat on the outskirts of the market and just watching the indecisive customers wandering back and forth between stalls. It can be kind of hilarious as long as it's not you. Some vendors offer samples, but you'll rarely be able to compare the cucumbers from three different vendors, and you probably won't be sampling the kale since that hearty green needs at least a good blanching or dousing in vinegar and oil to soften it up. All you can do sometimes to decide is rely on loyalty. You find a product or a producer you like and you stick with it.

A farmers' market is not a grocery store. You can't make it through successfully if you keep your mouth shut. It necessitates interaction, but there are unwritten rules to these interactions, such as when to start a conversation, when to not start a conversation because the salesperson is busy (and that's what he or she is, in addition to maybe being a farmer - a seller), when it's time to buy, and when it's time to leave. There's also the issue of whether or not it's okay to not buy something if you've eaten a sample, which is kind of along the same vein as, "If you get her pregnant, you have to marry her."

I've never done my grocery shopping at a circus, but there are a whole lot of circus-related things (like trapeze) that sound fun and should be tried. . Starting this Friday, August 6th and running through Sunday the 8th, an organic and eco-friendly marketplace hits the grounds of the Tohu village at Jarry and Iberville for the Fete Eco-Bio Paysanne. Soak your feet in an ionic bath at Eco-Detox OR Entreprise TCM (yes, there are two different companies present who will be offering this service...) after trekking from booth to booth learning about the Portneuf Environmental Film Fest, purchasing some one-of-a-kind recycled jewelry from Bijoutia, and struggling to choose between all the organic, local fruit, vegetables, cheeses, wines, canned goods and imported fair-trade olive oils, spices, rice and teas. Oh, and there's music, workshops, some Haitian dancing and, of course, a little bit of circus.

Did you listen to this week's podcast and hate the talk about biscotti because you couldn't have any? Well now you can. What Jeremy and Greg don't know is I've secretly been posting podcast recipes all along. All you need to do is hunt back to earlier recipes, like the Salt Cod Cassoulet recipe and the corresponding week's podcast to discover that all the podcasted deliciousness can be yours. As good as the salt cod was, the brownie recipe at the bottom of the post is probably even better, MAYBE even better than what was eaten on the podcast. Maybe.