Six pictures from the one hour of the week when I am a person who plans meals.

Market day here is Saturday, and it starts earlier than I would like. I go with a bag, a rough idea and exactly enough cash to stop me from buying a third kind of cheese.

How I shop

I do not take a list. I walk the whole length of the square once without buying anything, then double back for whatever looked best. Dinner gets decided around the vegetables rather than the other way round, which is how you end up eating better for less.

• Go early for choice, late for bargains.
• Talk to whoever grew it. They know how to cook it.
• Buy the ugly ones.

Open any of the frames above to see them larger. The cheese is not pictured, as there was none left by the time I got my camera out.

Sample content for The Pixel, a fictional personal blog.