Small Town Grocery Shopping
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The elusive arugulaI love my little Southern town but living in the sticks does make vegetarian/vegan shopping a challenge. From Walmart cashiers holding up kale or rutabaga, snapping their gum and asking, "What's this?" to produce stock boys telling me they've never heard of this "arugula" I speak of, weekly grocery shopping inevitably turns into a scavenger hunt. Here's a partial list of items from this week's list that I'll be forced to drive into Greensboro to find:
- Bok choy
- Thai red paste
- Veggie beef tips
- Arugula (Yes Virginia, it is a lettuce)
- Red lentils
- Dates (fresh, not boxed and covered in sugar)
- Tempeh
- Shredded Cheddar Rice Cheese
- Veggie Meatballs
On the bright side, Walmart has started carrying Wasa Crackers, Maranantha Almond Butter, and Eden Organic and Muir Glen diced tomatoes. They also have tofu on a regular basis and American sliced fake-cheese.
While we're on the subject of food, two of my friends have started food blogs. I'm a forever vegetarian and even I'll admit that the Blue Cheese Burger with Red Wine Onion Jam on my friend Andy's blog looks pretty damn good.
My friend Nathan and his girlfriend Katie are quite the gourmet cooks and have started their own blog, Sustenance & Libation. They're big time carnivores but I feel sure with a bit of pressure from me, they'll add a "Tofu Tuesday" or some such bit sometime soon. Yup. Aaaanny day now.
Cheers,
Dena
