It
happens just about every time I go out shopping for groceries.
I bring along my list, cross off the items as I load them into
my cart, and head home with the bags. Usually, before I can even
finish putting things away, I end up grabbing a notepad and jotting
down one or two items for the next run.
For
whatever reason, it appears that I cannot plan the perfect shopping
trip. There’s always going to be something I’m missing.
Here’s
how bad it gets. Last week, I noticed I was running low on crushed
red pepper. So, I added it to the list and bought some. While
putting it away, I grabbed the wrong bottle from our spice rack.
I had pulled out the bottle of the garlic powder and found it
was almost gone.
And
just like that, the result of an accidental motion, I ended up
starting my next shopping list.
I
do give it a really good effort. Often, I’ll wander with pad and
pen into the living room and sit down with my wife. What meals
are we likely to cook? Any thoughts on vegetables or side dishes?
Any snacks or other thoughts? From there to the kitchen, where
I match up the discussion of dinner ideas to the actual items
in the fridge. I’ll give a quick run down to the staples like
milk, juice and eggs. I swear that when I get into the car to
head out, I’ve eliminated the possibility of surprises.
But
it never works.
Occasionally,
I’m simply a victim of bad timing. Terry will be at home, with
thoughts of my heading to the store jumping around in her head.
Suddenly, a cereal for breakfast, chips for her sandwich, or some
other idea will lead to her reaching for her phone and sending
a text message. I believe the overall total would show that I’m
about 50-50 when it comes to seeing the message before leaving
the store.
(Yes,
I have actually stopped at another store on my way home from a
different store as a result of a text message and not wanting
to begin a new list.)
Other
times, it’s putting things away that becomes dangerous for my
clean sheet of paper. Once I was unloading groceries and came
across our old bread maker. Hadn’t been used since we moved, silent
for years, and suddenly bread flour and a few assorted ingredients
were being jotted down. Another time a can of clams got in the
way and triggered a craving for clam cakes.
How
bad is it? On one excursion, I picked up some marsala wine. Bought
some mushrooms, and I was ready for a homemade chicken marsala.
Awesome. Because it was going to be a day or two before the dinner
was made, I put the marsala wine away. Spotted a couple of bottles
of alcohol, realized I hadn’t made some of my favorite drinks
in a while, and suddenly found myself craving things that needed
pineapple juice and sour mix. (I was keeping things simple. Technically
I also needed a blow torch to caramelize the sugar on the glass
rim if I wanted to make them the way the bar in Las Vegas did.)
This isn’t even about going through the milk and orange juice,
meaning that eventually everything needs to be replaced. No, I’m
just talking about making it through a full day or two before
I find something that needs to be written down before I forget
it. (Only to remember it once I’m bringing the bags into the kitchen
after the next trip for groceries.)
Ok…
enough rambling for today. I think I’m going to try to make some
bread. (Dammit. And add bread flour to my shopping list.)