That's Apples and Oranges

 I wrote about visiting the open market yesterday before we had started to eat what we did purchase. Today we had artichokes and red moon apples. Being something of an apple producer myself, this variety was kind of surprising.  On the outside the skins are kind of a reddish rust color; but on the inside they're actually red.  They're slightly tart like Granny Smith apples and the flesh is a little grainy--perhaps because apples ripen in September-October so the apples we bought on Saturday have to have been in cold storage since then, and even our best winter apples don't do well towards the end of March.

I also bought 5 kilos of oranges. (I meant to get 5 lbs, but still get a little flustered when ordering.) So, I wanted 5 lbs. and got 11. At fruit stands you're not allowed to select your own fruit. The vendor does it.  You can touch the fruit; and can also ask for a taste before buying, but when it comes time to buy, they make the selection and you keep your hands to yourself.

The oranges were really ugly on the outside; but the vendor had sliced a few open to show what they looked like on the inside.   I don't think I've ever had juicier oranges. I tried to peel the first two at the dining room table, but that's impossible. Now I stand at the sink because the juice goes everywhere. I've decided that oranges in Italy are like apples in the US--in that there are lots of varieties, and that includes a wide variety of flavors.  The blood oranges seem to be preferred across Italy, and you can find navel oranges here--the main selling point is they're seedless.  I have decided that I like the flavor of blond oranges more than most other varieties.  You can buy red orange juice or blond orange juice in the store.  Red oranges.  Hmmm, sounds like an oxymoron. I remember when my brother Evan noted that blueberries are red when they're green. Is that a triple oxymoron?

Orange red and orange blond...