grocery store follies
Mar. 31st, 2004 08:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ninevirtuesI'm not quite sure what to make of the local grocery store (the Bi-Lo). It has a small vegetable section that I can best characterize as "adequate"..... heavy on the greens, onions, potatoes, and a minimal selection of other stuff.
Last week I decided to make borscht (russian soup; think of a little old russian granny who opens her cupboard and finds beets, potatoes, onions and cabbage and says to herself "How can I make this into SOMETHING that Sergei might eat?" Borscht is the result.) I make it about once a year. The beets turn it a lovely fuchsia color. Most people put sour cream in their borscht. I do not, because I don't want to be responsible for eating the rest of the tub of sour cream.
So at the grocery store, I bought the makings for the borscht. At the checkout counter, the clerk had to ask me what the beets were. (In her three-year career at the Bi-Lo, no one had ever brought beets through her checkout stand before.)
So I made the soup and brought it to school. Last time I brought soup to school, it was a squash puree (and a lovely tangerine color). This week, it's the borscht.... fuchsia soup. My classmates all had to know what it was. I generally explain myself by telling them that I'm trying to eat more vegetables, and if I hide the vegetables in soup, I do not notice them. ;-)
I'm having to get very interested in cooking. The food service at school sells ONE item that I can eat-- prepackaged sushi. I am already tired of it. I'm not bringing enough food for the day, either, so at 3 PM I'm getting hungry and raiding the candy dish (or worse, the vending machine). Fine. I will treat my cute little inadequate lunchbox as the cooler, and only use it to keep cold items cold. I will bring the rest of my food in a big paper grocery bag, and then I will have good food all day. (My classmates do not understand how it is that I can eat all day. I think I say the words "fifty mile bike ride" but they do not really get the caloric implications of doing that four times a week.)
This week, I bought eggplant and bok choy. (No, I do not have a definite plan for that eggplant. I will probably bake it.) Predictably, at the checkout counter, the clerk had to ask me what they were.
These days, I hang out with people who eat like average Americans. I shop at the average American grocery store (Bi-Lo). And I'm noticing a pattern: Most of the grocery store contains packaged junky food that is high in fat, sodium, and calories. The real food (fruits, vegetables, dairy products, lean meats) is relegated to the edges of the store, and it's far more expensive to buy those things than to buy the heavily advertised, packaged junky food. My classmates, predictably enough, buy what is at the grocery store in the proportion that is offered there (80% packaged, 20% real food).
I therefore propose that we subsidize fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and dairy products so they are the cheapest items in the store.... and we heavily tax the processed, packaged foods, and do not allow the junky-food manufacturers to advertise them.
Last week I decided to make borscht (russian soup; think of a little old russian granny who opens her cupboard and finds beets, potatoes, onions and cabbage and says to herself "How can I make this into SOMETHING that Sergei might eat?" Borscht is the result.) I make it about once a year. The beets turn it a lovely fuchsia color. Most people put sour cream in their borscht. I do not, because I don't want to be responsible for eating the rest of the tub of sour cream.
So at the grocery store, I bought the makings for the borscht. At the checkout counter, the clerk had to ask me what the beets were. (In her three-year career at the Bi-Lo, no one had ever brought beets through her checkout stand before.)
So I made the soup and brought it to school. Last time I brought soup to school, it was a squash puree (and a lovely tangerine color). This week, it's the borscht.... fuchsia soup. My classmates all had to know what it was. I generally explain myself by telling them that I'm trying to eat more vegetables, and if I hide the vegetables in soup, I do not notice them. ;-)
I'm having to get very interested in cooking. The food service at school sells ONE item that I can eat-- prepackaged sushi. I am already tired of it. I'm not bringing enough food for the day, either, so at 3 PM I'm getting hungry and raiding the candy dish (or worse, the vending machine). Fine. I will treat my cute little inadequate lunchbox as the cooler, and only use it to keep cold items cold. I will bring the rest of my food in a big paper grocery bag, and then I will have good food all day. (My classmates do not understand how it is that I can eat all day. I think I say the words "fifty mile bike ride" but they do not really get the caloric implications of doing that four times a week.)
This week, I bought eggplant and bok choy. (No, I do not have a definite plan for that eggplant. I will probably bake it.) Predictably, at the checkout counter, the clerk had to ask me what they were.
These days, I hang out with people who eat like average Americans. I shop at the average American grocery store (Bi-Lo). And I'm noticing a pattern: Most of the grocery store contains packaged junky food that is high in fat, sodium, and calories. The real food (fruits, vegetables, dairy products, lean meats) is relegated to the edges of the store, and it's far more expensive to buy those things than to buy the heavily advertised, packaged junky food. My classmates, predictably enough, buy what is at the grocery store in the proportion that is offered there (80% packaged, 20% real food).
I therefore propose that we subsidize fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and dairy products so they are the cheapest items in the store.... and we heavily tax the processed, packaged foods, and do not allow the junky-food manufacturers to advertise them.
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Aubergine!
Date: 2004-03-31 09:18 am (UTC)You can also roast it in the oven to make really nice baba ganoush.
Lemme know if you're interested in either one.
Don'tcha miss California produce sections now? :-)
Re: Aubergine!
Date: 2004-03-31 11:43 am (UTC)Actually, a trip into the produce section here is like a small trip home, because everything there has been imported from California already. Unfortunately, it looks like it. (grin)
Sure, I'll go for the baba ganouj recipe. (What do you serve that with?
gd
Re: Aubergine!
Date: 2004-03-31 12:57 pm (UTC)1 tbs lemon juice
1 clove of garlic
2 tbs tahini
1 tbs olive oil
2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
Set eggplants on a foil-lined baking sheet and pop into a 500 F oven. Turn the eggplants every 15 minutes, until they are soft all over, about 60 minutes for largish eggplants, less for smaller ones. When done, pull them from the oven and let them cool for five minutes or so.
Slice top and bottom off each eggplant, and slit the skin lengthwise. Scoop pulp from the inside of the eggplants into a collander. Let the pulp drain for around five minutes; you should end up with about two cups of stuff.
Pop the pulp into a food processor. Add the lemon juice, minced garlic, tahini, 1/4 tsp of salt and pepper. Process briefly, about ten seconds. Should end up with a coarse mixture. Tweak the salt and pepper to taste.
Pop into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap down to the surface of the dip so no air is trapped. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
When ready to serve, make a small depression in the middle of the dip and fill with olive oil. Sprinkle with parsley.
Serve with toasted pita bread. Yummy. (Though I like hummus a bit better :-)
Re: Aubergine!
Date: 2004-03-31 01:09 pm (UTC)(The nearest tahini is a 45 minute drive from here... whooops! And I can't eat pita bread anyway, at least not in large quantities.) I will investigate other options and tell the world what I do with the troublesome eggplant. ;-)