Paid in (sun) exposure
Suppose I could offer paid subscriptions for The Haul, but then I'd feel obliged to make it good. I prefer the sloppy, devil-may-care livejournal vibe of writing whatever I want each week — without the burden of paid subscribers. And truly, this is a fun trifle in my life, a diversion from things that are heavy and real (see: losing job, getting sick, climate, choice).
The unfortunate corollary is that I don't have revenue to share with the sweet hombres who have helped me out: Alex who designed the Haul logo and Pearse who wrote a guest post. But I do have groceries!!!
^What you see here is Alex's curated Haul basket, which I delivered in one of those rakish gray Target satchels that are all the rage in Manhattan this summer. Buried the lede: I got to meet Alex IRL this week! Even though we worked together for like a year, between Covid and him going to school in Montreal, our connection was digital-only — before now. (Some of the people I worked with for years, I'll never meet face to face.)
Fortuitously Alex's family lives in upper Manhattan so we were able to schedule a park meetup. Un-fortuitously we chose one of this week's truly brutal days to meet, when an otherwise jaunty half-hour walk was pure torture. There was no particular reason for our meetup to be that day, beyond the antsy feeling of "we've waited long enough, it's time!"
Halfway through our death march to the west side (sorry lola!!!) my pup decided to take a dip in a fetid puddle — it was hard to make her leave.
ANYway it was lovely to meet Alex in the park. He's doing a cool journalism fellowship this summer, seemed upbeat and hopeful (in stark contrast to others in my orbit). Yes, his junk food-heavy gift bag seems designed for a 13-year-old's first time at overnight camp, but I know that Alex lives with his parents, who presumably purchase groceries and cook meals. Duder doesn't need like, bulk saffron or a salami log!
ANYway that's it for this week. Abby and I are staying on a houseboat (!) this weekend before I start my new job on Monday — we'll be semi-off-the-grid. Stay cool, my fronds!!
xo,
Jesse
Featured Items
We're now on our second month of Denver Bronco paper towels. The keen reader will recall that we've also sustained months of a) LSU and b) Buffalo Bills paper towels. I went to the company website to see what other offerings we may eventually see, but something seems very wrong.
Would you be cross if I admitted there was a second, less-good surplus grocer across the street from ours? And that maybe 5% of the Haul's featured items have come from that store? It's less extensive, but Store 2 (called "One Dollar Zone" if you must know) does beat the OG grocer in a few categories: tinned fish, spices, frozen fruit, and these spicy fried chicken sliders I can't get enough of. I also found this adorable little hot sauce there this week.
I couldn't remember if it was Annie's or Amy's that had bad labor practices. Oops it's Amy's (though Annie's has its own issues). This box was pretty busted up! But as I continue my plant-based spiritual journey, was curious to try these faux meatballs. Not bad, though they definitely felt more like chickpea fritters or the dumplings you get in chicken soup. Also it's a little odd to put broccoli florets in marinara.
Gossner Foods! It's a small dairy in Utah that only makes Muenster and Swiss. Best part of their website is the tagline "You can't make cheese out of water." Not wrong. We made some killer Cuban sandwiches with this cheese.
Remember how I discussed not shopping at Whole Foods anymore? Feels extra-crafty to buy WF products from the surplus grocer. Heh heh heh. ALSO we recently ate some Amazon brand bacon — do we think this is the same product in different packaging?
