Can't quit you

I woke up too early this Sunday morning. Abby is sleeping, Lola is sleeping, Sadie is sleeping, the bugs that plague this house are also having a snooze. My first thought upon awaking was: "It would be easy to write a quick post." So I made myself two not-delicious breakfast wraps (1.5 stars!) from the surplus grocer and feel inspired to write another quickie.

Pictured above is Nde, our favorite of the store workers. She has really taken a shine to Abby, possibly because they both like dancing to FM radio and laughing when there isn't a joke. In this photo, Nde is shucking corn in the storage bag section of the store. We didn't ask why she was doing this; it made sense until we got home and really thought about it.

This might be child labor but it's pretty cute too. One of the store's Pennsylvania drivers has been bringing his son (grandson?) along on delivery trips this summer. It doesn't seem like the lad is actually laboring, but he clearly enjoys being part of the action. I believe they are unloading non-dairy creamer.

*

Next week or the week after we'll have a guest post from another contributor, writing in from Seattle. I read it this morning, it is quite fun!

xo,

Jesse

Why do you get a free towel with your honey? It's not even branded with the name of the company or anything. Abby was thoroughly delighted by this absurdist pairing. She keeps using it as a metaphor for things that don't belong together.

Meanwhile I am tickled that there's a cleaning chemical company called "LA's Totally Awesome." I wanted a good explanation for the name but their website is not exactly forthcoming. The surplus grocer also carried this company's line of industrial degreaser.

Not sure I understand everything going on with this item, but I am intrigued!

This chorizo is novel a) because it's beef and b) because it melts into a liquid when you put it in the pan. Reminds me of 'Nduja, that Italian import I know about because I'm bougie.

This seemed like a product I would very much enjoy, but I toaster oven-ed some strips yesterday and was underwhelmed. Kinda mealy, generic flavor, wholly forgettable. Glad I didn't hoard 5 bags which was my first instinct.

The store ends up with a lot of Rana products; we had some of their lobster ravioli just two nights ago. Like Cleveland Kraut, there hasn't been a single disappointing Rana product. (No that's a lie, there was a chicken and roasted garlic ravioli that was a bit dry, but still not bad.) ANYway this was an incredible ready-made meal, Abby and I over-ate the entire thing in one go. So friggin' delish! Can I get a brand endorsement, you think?

Abby and I have undergone a fundamental cooking shift when it comes to salad dressing. We used to be dogmatic about only making our own - it's cheaper, you can be creative, and store-bought dressings are often boring. But after a few decent scores from the surplus grocer (starting with this monstrosity) we've embraced the ease of ready-made dressing. Gives us more time to build artistic salads!

Instead of "Cleveland Kraut" this one says "Cleveland Kitchen" which I've learned is the actual name of this wonderful company. Check out all their stuff! Wouldn't it be fun if they were an official sponsor of this newsletter?