Lu scaru, my favorite place

Lu scaru di Pitrolu, the farmers market closest to my home, in Piazza Petrolo, is my favorite place in Castellammare. When I enter any  fruit store I fee like a child in a toy shop. Ergo, when I enter lu scaru, Sicilian for market, I get totally carried away, usually buying much more than I need. The freshness of the produce is guaranteed since farmers bring it early each morning.  Different shape baskets are used to keep track of whose produce is  being sold.  For example, the tomatoes in the photo are heart shaped, but others are round or square. Some produce is simply resold by the scaru's owner. Unlike American farmers markets where the prices are at a premium, here this is really the cheapest  and best place for produce. The unfortunate event this year is the generally poor shape of the late summer eggplants. It's been too hot and dry so they  are smaller and their outside skin shows some signs of "burning." They are delicious anyway  as Sicily produces the best eggplants in the planet.