Writers for years have waxed poetic about the sensory delights of eating good food. Grocery shopping, though, has rarely provided that kind of inspiration.

For locavores (people who eat food grown locally as much as possible), food shopping becomes a whole new world of sensory enjoyment. Every physical sense is pleasantly stimulated when you visit a u-pick farm or farmers market, and the result is revelatory - who knew grocery shopping could be so stimulating?

I awakened to this awareness at the Bellingham Farmers Market recently. I was strolling between booths when I saw a woman carrying a bouquet of lovely flowers she had just purchased. She walked into the stall of a vegetable vendor, who exclaimed when she saw the bouquet, "I love sweet peas!" The customer immediately held up the flowers for the vendor to smell. The vendor's eyes closed for a moment as she breathed in the fragrance. "Thanks," she said, "I needed that." They both smiled and laughed, and began talking about vegetables. I was touched by this simple human moment and began to reflect on how integral physical sensations are to the Farmers Market experience.

Aromas are pervasive. When I first arrived that morning, I'd been enveloped by the scent of cinnamon wafting out from roasted nuts at a booth on the street. Next I went to the Red Barn Lavender booth to pick up my weekly egg CSA share, and lingered for a few moments, soaking in the soothing fragrance of the lavender products offered. Bakery vendors play a large role in bringing bliss to the nose, and so do the coffee and ethnic food vendors. My entire shopping trip was punctuated by scented breaths full of flowers, sun-warmed tomatoes, fresh fennel, juicy berries and other tantalizing smells.

Entertaining sounds are equally hard to miss at the Market. Over a background of conversations and laughter, you'll hear unique sounds, such as the whir of the bicycle-driven blender at the smoothie stand or familiar sounds like the crunch of fresh bread crust. The buskers provide special auditory stimulation from one end of the market to the other. Here you can listen to the music of some kind of hand-cranked dulcimer. Over there is a classical string quartet. Down the path is seventies rock music. Sometimes wistful, sometimes rousing, the buskers' music is always worth special attention.

Colors and visual experiences are also extraordinary. Three colors of beans (green, yellow wax, and purple) on display at the Alm Hill Gardens booth halted my attention for a few moments as I admired their beauty. (I also took some home to savor their taste!) I stopped to photograph a colorful assortment of beet varieties at Terra Verde's booth. My eyes were attracted by shiny dark green zucchini, rainbow chard, Easter egg radishes and spectacularly beautiful flower arrangements which can only be achieved when the flowers are absolutely fresh. I also enjoyed seeing children's painted faces, and unique heirloom tomatoes - jewel colored, with smooth or puckered skins. I reveled in their lovely shapes, too, from perfectly round cherry tomatoes to mango shaped giants - all a delight for the eyes.

Handling the produce as I buy it affords a cornucopia of touchable textures. Really fresh zucchini has a gently prickly feel, and a resiliency that's hard to describe. Ripe zucchini feels hollow and responsive, similar to the experience of thumping on the rind of a ripe watermelon. The contradictory fragility and sturdiness of berries is another wonderful touch sensation, as are the smooth oily skins of tomatoes and the feathery fronds of fresh fennel. The feel of perfectly ripe food is incomparable.

At the heart of it all, of course, are the flavors and tastes. Cheese and honey samples, breakfast pastries, ethnic sandwiches, fresh juice smoothies - all contribute to a growing sense of anticipation for the deliciousness of the local food we take home to savor.

When I try to find words to describe of the difference between the physical sensations of just picked, fully ripe produce versus the feel of factory farmed food that's been away from home for many miles and many months before you get it, I find a surprisingly empty gap in the English language. The only word that comes close to the meaning I want is "aliveness." Local fresh food simply feels, smells, looks, sounds, and tastes more alive. And I feel more alive when my senses experience it.

Today's recipe is a special sensory experience of its own. Jostaberries, a cross between gooseberries and black currants, taste richly sweet and tartly sour at the same time. Their flavor can vary quite a bit, so be sure to check the taste as indicated in the recipe. Cherries balance the strongly flavored berries.

Producers are listed after each ingredient.

CHERRY AND JOSTABERRY CRUMBLE

Ingredients

21/2 cups of cherries, stemmed, halved, and pitted (Boxx Berry Farm, Ferndale)

2 cups jostaberries (Osprey Hill Farm, Acme)

1 tablespoon honey (Backyard Bees, Bellingham)

1/4 cup water

Topping:

1 cup flour (Nooksack 9, Everson)

1 tablespoon honey (Backyard Bees, Bellingham)

2 tablespoons butter (Breckinridge Farm, Everson)

1 teaspoonn dried mint (Tree Frog Farm, Lummi Island)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Butter a loaf pan or 11/2 quart baking dish.

Heat filling ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until fruit begins to release its juice. Remove cover and continue cooking until fruit has softened and sauce begins to thicken - about 15-20 minutes. Taste and adjust sweetness, if necessary. Pour filling into prepared baking dish.

Mix topping ingredients in a bowl. Cut together until fine crumbs are formed. Sprinkle over the top of the filling.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until the top is nicely browned.

LOCAL RETAIL FOOD RESOURCES

Appel Farms Cheese Shoppe, 6605 Northwest Road, Ferndale; open Mondays to Saturdays 9 a.m.-6 p.m.;

Artisan Wine Gallery, 2072 Granger Way, Lummi Island; open for tastings Thursday and Fridays 4-7 p.m., Saturdays 1-5 p.m.;

Bellingham Farmers Market, Railroad at Chestnut, Saturdays 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; also at Fairhaven Village Green, 10th Street and Mill Avenue Wednesdays Noon to 5 p.m.;

Boxx Berry Farm Store and U-pick, 6211 Northwest Road, Ferndale; open Mondays to Saturdays 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and Sundays 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.;

Cloud Mountain Farm Nursery, 6906 Goodwin Road, Everson;

Community Food Cooperative, 1220 N. Forest St. or 315 Westerly Road, Bellingham;

Everybody's Store, 5465 Potter Road, Deming;

Ferndale Public Market, Centennial Riverwalk in downtown Ferndale, Saturdays 10 a.m.-4 p.m.;

Field of Greens, corner of Kale and Everson Road, Everson; open Wednesdays-Fridays 2-6 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays noon-4 p.m.;

Grace Harbor Farms, 2347 Birch Bay Lynden Road, Custer; open Mondays to Saturdays 9 a.m.-6 p.m.;

Green Barn, 8858 Guide Meridian Rd., Lynden; open Mondays-Saturdays 9 a.m.-6 p.m.;

Half Acre Farm U-pick, 6211 Northwest Road, Ferndale (behind Boxx Berry Farm Store); weekly u-pick open Saturdays;

Hopewell Farm, 3072 Massey Road, Everson; open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 11 a.m.-6 p.m.;

Lummi Island Farmers Market, across from the ferry dock, Saturdays 10 a.m.-1 p.m.;

Lynden Farmers Market, grounds of Third Christian Reformed Church in downtown Lynden, Saturdays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.;

Pleasant Valley Dairy, 6804 Kickerville Road, Ferndale; open Tuesdays through Saturdays 10 a.m.-6 p.m.;

Red Barn Lavender Farm (eggs), 3106 Thornton Road, Ferndale; Saturday at the Bellingham Farmers Market; or call for availability during the week (360-393-7057);

The Islander, 2106 S. Nugent Road, Lummi Island;

The Market at Birch Bay, 8135 Birch Bay Square St., Blaine; open daily 7 a.m.-10 p.m.;

The Market at Fairhaven, 3125 Old Fairhaven Pkwy, Bellingham; open daily 6 a.m.-11 p.m.;

The Market at Lakeway, 1030 Lakeway, Bellingham; open daily 6 a.m.-midnight;

Terra Organica, 1530 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham.