Foodie Observations

For those that don’t know, I consider myself a “Foodie.” I love beautiful, well-crafted foods of most any kind, and deeply appreciate the art therein. I love to cook, to talk about cooking, to critique foods, and to learn about how recipes work. C’est magnifique!

I was shopping today at the grocery in preparation for Thanksgiving, and noticed two things:

1- It’s a mad, mad, mad place in those grocery stores lately! Grocery stores are overpopulated, especially by those not hugely familiar with cooking.

2- All the places that I generally find a little peace and solace (bulk spices, produce, whole meats and dairy) were madhouses of wandering peoples, and the places I don’t often frequent (cracker aisle, cereal aisle) were ghost towns.

Here’s my suggestion:
Next holiday cooking season, we should write up a small questionnaire to determine the cooking aptitude of the average consumer. Say, “Name three uses for cumin.” Those that pass with flying colors may shop at a certain time. Those who fall in the middle-ish range may shop at another time. Those who’ve never heard of cumin can shop at yet another time.

No offense, y’all. While I don’t mind lending a hand with someone choosing between yams and sweet potatoes, there are days I only want to shop with my peer group.

Those deemed worthy to shop in a given time frame may come, shop, bring no one else (because really, do you need an entourage to pick out the carrots?) and get their grocery needs filled in a civil, peaceful manner. Ta Da!

Now, I’m off to make my Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake.

~Me