Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Lets Go Halfsies


Almost every week, I end up throwing out food that goes bad as a result of my cooking for two. I find it frustrating that stores cannot figure out that a number of their customers are single folks or families of 2. I end up buying a huge bushel of parsley instead of the 2 teaspoons the recipe calls for. Same with cilantro and celery. DAMN that celery, it drives me nuts how much I have to toss out. I contemplated composting, but I am not sure what to use it for. What do I do with compost when its done doing its thing? I know I could just look it up on the internet, I will have to do that today after this post. Please, Whole Foods, could you consider selling smaller loaves of bread, smaller bunches of herbs, half containers of liquids like soy milk (which goes bad after 1 week of being opened, I never end up using it all) and smaller boxes of cereal. I guarantee this would revolutionize the supermarket business. People would shop more often if they buy smaller quantities of food items and I would even be willing to pay more for the extra effort it takes to produce/ design the new containers. Mark my words, this is the next big thing like how magazines and newspapers have followed this trend of smaller sizes to be more eco-conscious. Good stuff comes in small packages after all!!!

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Sebastopol, Berkeley, etc.

This weekend we spent time in Occidental at our "country house" as my New York City originating husband likes to call it. After a delicious meal at a restaurant in Sebastopol called SLICE OF LIFE, I pondered the following: How do veg conscious towns and cities come to be? My smarty pants B.F.F. Michelle said that its usually a college town thing. I agreed, but its not always the case. Obviously a location like Berkeley falls into that category. What about the towns that are unique for no apparent reason, not housing a college or sporting a city vibe? Some country towns are seriously lacking restaurants in general except for maybe a Denny's or Applebee's but others are very thoughtful in their choices of what is acceptable to grace their land. Sebastopol fought to keep McDonalds out, sadly unsuccessfully.
I want to know why certain towns are so diverse and down to earth. Why is Healdsburg a meat haven with so few choices for vegans, when Sebastopol is a goldmine for those wanting a meal that never mooed or clucked? If anyone knows why this is, please fill me in. Recommend a book or something because it is so interesting to me!