Anyone who knows my entertaining style knows I have a tendency to overdo rather than under. It drives me nuts - I can't tell you why. The worst part of this fault is that whenever I am cooking a dinner for the two of us or a larger party, I make enough food to feed my guests five times over. It is an irrational fear that people might go hungry on my watch. I am a sucker at the grocery store for buying two of whatever by reflex, especially if they are on sale. My grandmother would famously buy a closet full of toilet paper when it went on sale to maximize the bargain - so I guess I get it from her.
Well, the bulk shopping doesn't work out too well in a European apartment. We have such minimal storage for pantry items and especially slim pickings in our fridge and freezer. Plus I have to haul whatever I buy from the store along with Connor + stroller home whenever I shop.
So the name of the game here is to right size your grocery list for what you need that day and possibly the next and no more. I have struggled mightily with the concept. I dislike daily grocery store trips with a toddler. But yesterday I did just right. I thought about - and only about - what we needed that night to make dinner. And somehow I managed to come away from the grocery with just those two additional ingredients: chicken and curry sauce. That must be a record for me. I felt like quite the European carrying my groceries in my arm rather than a bulky bag. Let's see if I can keep it up.
PS - Just because this is a random recollection - I am really missing seedless watermelon and air conditioning right now in these hot summer days. Two little things I take so for granted in the US that are hard to come by on this side of the Atlantic!
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Tennis Team Cooking Class
8 years ago
1 comment:
Hey Reid - you can come bring your sleeping bag and sleep in our bedroom for the night. It's the only room that is air conditioned! :)
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