Pickled Ginger, Dance on Air

FINALLY, I am back on track! This morning, I was able to do a huge amount of grocery shopping, to begin to refill my pitiful, empty kitchen. My shopping excursion involved the Santa Monica Farmer's Market, and not 1, not 2 but *3* different grocery stores! My refrigerator is no longer empty, and once again, I feel like a natural woman! Oh, I didn't end up spending a full $300 restocking my supplies, but I spent so close to that amount, I definitely spent $300's next door neighbor. :-/

So, here are the undesirables I picked up today....

* 1 Bottle of Tonic Water
* 1 Heirloom Pink Grapefruit
* 1 Bottle of Kombucha
* 1 "Gwen" Avocado
* 1 Head of Radicchio

I also have some very specific awful recipe plans that are not given away by that list of foods, so stay tuned for surprises!

ANYWAY, back to yesterday, before I was human again, and I still had a barren kitchen. In my real life, 95% of the time, I eat leftovers for lunch.... it's the healthiest, easiest, and most economical way to feed yourself, midday. But yesterday, as I had not cooked in 5 nights, there was nothing leftover! So, I did what I do when I'm in a lunch pinch, and I ate one of those prepared Trader Joe's meals. I assume that some people eat those meals for almost every lunch and dinner, but it is pretty rare for me to buy one. I had eaten their Lentil Wrap the past 2 lunches in a row (it's my favorite!), so this time, I got a package of their Veggie Tempura Rolls. Which comes with a little package of one of my Hated Foods, pickled ginger.

BTW, I have read the ingredients over and over again, and they look vegan to me, but they don't have the V on them, so I guess vegans need to eat at their own risk?

You guys, I'm not proud to admit this, but once again, it has been proven that I am one stubborn SOB, and it has negatively affected my life. Clearly, since I learned of the existence of Vegetarian Sushi in my late teens, I have eaten it hundreds of times. And all of those times, I cast aside the pickled ginger, because "I don't like pickled ginger." Which is very strange, because yesterday, I ate that package of tragic, pickled ginger, and it was goddamn delicious! Uh, why did I spend 20 years rejecting it? I now feel pretty sure that I actually never, in my life, tried the pickled ginger before! I am convinced that someone told the 18 Year Old Me that my veggie sushi was accompanied by Pickled Ginger, and I thought, "Yuck, I don't like pickled foods", so I never ate it. Until yesterday. And I loved it. And I look forward to going to an actual Japanese restaurant and getting some real pickled ginger, unlike the sad little package I ate yesterday!

So, today's lesson is: Pickled Ginger is a wonderful accompaniment to veggie sushi (and I assume, to fish sushi as well, though I will NEVER be one of those vegans or "vegetarians" who starts eating fish.... fish is a gateway meat!), and I was wrong to be stubborn about that! However, I 100% stand by my belief that Ginger Rogers is NOT a wonderful accompaniment to Fred Astaire, because she could not tap dance her way out of a paper bag. Pickled Ginger = A. Ginger Rogers = D-

You know that quotation, that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but she did it backwards and in high heels?!? That is BS! Fred actually had the ability to tap dance, Ginger had no tapping skills whatsoever. Fred would have been much better accompanied by Eleanor Powell. Youtube "begin the beguine fred astaire eleanor powell" if you don't believe me!!!! End of Tap Dancing Rant!!!!!

 Finally, I have 2 more minor updates to report.

1) Hubby and I shared a beer today, and it was the first one we agreed one! He has learned to like the wheat beers, while I gravitate towards the dark brews. But we decided to try a beer from another part of the world, so we split a Jamaican Red Stripe beer, and we both thought it was pretty good, Mon.

2) I don't think I mentioned this, but I picked up a box of Earl Grey teabags. I have made a vow that if I ever dare to drink a 3rd cup of tea in a day, it has to be Earl Grey. Normally, I'll drink 2 cups in the mornings, and be done for the day. But sometimes, I get home from work, and I just need that 3rd cup. So, when that happens from now on, #3's name is Earl. In fact, I drank a cup of The Grey Earl yesterday afternoon, and you know, it wasn't THAT bad. Progress?