I have long hated…no…loathed the grocery store experience, which is no surprise to anyone who has been acquainted with me for more than thirty seconds. The meat is horrid, the produce spoils in two days, half the dairy already has expired or nearly-expired dates when purchased, and to top it all off, the buggy in which I’m putting the food that will go into my mouth, was most likely last pushed by a mother who plopped her sticky, smelly, poopy pants-laden darling not in the seat provided, but in the food area.
While shopping, I’ve been bumped from behind - repeatedly - by a buggy pushing child who could not see over the top. I’ve had a bounced ball land in my buggy, upsetting and breaking a vase of flowers I had just purchased. I’ve had half-eaten cookies thrown into my groceries by passing a child who discovered he had eaten all the chocolate chips out of it, and demanded another. I’ve waited for 11 minutes while granny picked up every package of ground beef several times looking for just the right package. I’ve stood and waited in front of the soups while two neighbors talked as if they hadn’t seen each other in years and years. I have never, and I mean never, had a good experience in the grocery store, save for the one time thirty years ago when a toothless little old lady stopped us in front of the beer cooler to say that “that red, white, and blue stuff is some pretty good beer, and it‘s cheap too.”
A year ago, hope came to the neighborhood when a butcher shop opened up a mile away. Not just a butcher shop, but one that promised all natural meats and poultry -never having been administered antibiotics, steroids, or growth hormones, and they know (and tell you) exactly where their suppliers are located and give you websites so you can check them out yourself. You cannot believe the difference in the taste - especially the pork. I haven’t yet been able to get over the gamey taste of free range poultry, but I’m working on it. I can buy 1/4 lb of ground beef, 3 pork shops, 2 bratwurst, 2 chicken legs, 1 thigh, or 4 tenders. I am not limited to family packs of 400 for anything. It's wonderful! Haven’t purchased meat at the grocery store for over a year now, and I’m always joking with the butcher that he needs to put in a green grocer next door.
Well, lo and behold, a few weeks ago I heard about a local organic produce delivery service, and they too touted locally grown whenever possible. After checking them out, I signed up and got my first delivery last week. It was like having the farmers market come visit me. Never have I seen lettuce that fresh at the grocery store, the apples were not the mealy things I’d purchase while there, the oranges dripped juice down my arm, and I took the inclusion of bok choy, which I had never eaten let alone cooked, as a challenge.
It was good. After trimming and cleaning it, I rubbed each stalk with some dipping oil I usually use for baguettes, and put them on the grill for a few minutes. A little drizzle of basalmic, some salt and pepper and wow…good stuff. Even the men at least tried some, pronouncing it ‘not objectionable.’ (A major miracle in itself.)
My weekly delivery is on Monday and tomorrow I get tomatoes, fingerling potatoes, green beans, broccoli, green onions, strawberries, apples, bananas, and oranges. All that I need from the dreaded grocery is bread, butter, cheese, and paper products. Goodbye grocery store, hello sanity!
