Trivial Conversation: Grocery shopping

[marrke.livejournal.com]

We haven't ever met another multiple face to face. We're not even sure there are any others in the city we live (Corvallis, Oregon). This is a shame because I think it'd be fun to just make small talk with someone else similar to us. Not even about anything remotely serious mind you, but just about something quite unimportant.

Since we can't do that face to face, I figured that we might do something similar here. Today's topic I'd like to talk about is:


Grocery shopping.

As the official cook for our system, this is an area that I have primary jurisdiction over.

Now there are certain aspects of grocery shopping for us that naturally work precisely the same as they would for anyone else. For example, we are constrained by our budget, and our desire to eat something remotely healthy. However, there are multiple other factors to take into account as well. Different personalities like different foods. I love meat. Phoenix is vegitarian. The children like sweets, so much so that they'll happily gobble down those disgustingly sweet breakfast cereals that would make the rest of us gag.

However, there are factors working in our favor as well from our multiplicity. First of all, we have a very planned control structure, meaning that I know precisely who is going to be controlling what day. This means that I can get away with cooking meat on the nights I'm in control, and don't have to worry about Phoenix's tastes. Also, another advantage is that we can switch between us in such a manner that no one has to eat something they don't like. One of the children doesn't want to eat salad? Fine, we can get someone to eat it for them. Also, I have everyone with me shopping, which means I can ask them before I buy something. Mind you, this is also something of a disadvantage when we spend way too long in front of the cereal aisle, arguing the merits of Marshmellow Magic vs. Cheerios.

One other nice thing about this method of grocery shopping is we can let the children out to help, and they'll thoroughly enjoy it. Jill thought it was quite fun to help weigh apples, walk around gathering food we needed, and thought it was even more fun to operate the credit card machine at checkout.

That's what grocery shopping is like for us. What's it like for you?



-Delilah

Comments

[ksol1460.livejournal.com]

We're somewhat atypical. Mostly one hears stories about "the littles all want candy and ice cream and expensive cereals", etc. The only thing our young people particularly ask for is watermelon, and we can't always afford that. We can't eat ice cream or most cereals, and even when we could, it was mostly the adults who liked them. The kids want cream of wheat, which Andy also loves but which we can't have, and oatmeal. The only difference between the children and adults is that the adults (particularly Gabriel) put maple syrup on the oatmeal and the kids don't like that.

We usually go by finances and tastes in common; westerners want Greek or Arabic style food (Imoreh inhales stuffed grape leaves; Chris likes roast lamb and makes wonderful salads that are respected by people outside this system), Aureans want Chinese food or sushi, Koveht people like buffalo or venison, beans, "three sisters" soup, cornbread (we're not supposed to have this, but make it as a special treat at times) fruit sauces and fruit pies, and Gabe will eat just about anything you put in front of him as long as it is kosher and doesn't have meat in it. All of this is dependent on how much $$$ there is, and we try to not buy anything that would qualify as what Shao dubbed "pickled hummingbird tongues".

[kasiya-system.livejournal.com]

lol.. Kylene likes to put maple syrup on her raisin bran! *grin*

-kasia