I DID notice that when the boy packed, he cleaned out our refrigerator, which means one of two things: Either he really loves all his Italian food and cannot be parted from it or he's pretty sure they're not catching anything for their dinner tonight. Either way, I'm good with it.
I took the opportunity of his absence to get the grocery shopping done for next week. La Cucina Italiana made my mouth water as I planned meals, but as we've discussed, I have to be meticulously selective. I am unable to find a lot of the ingredients required by these recipes. In fact, I can't even identify them by food group ... or genus ... or planet.
Today I needed chervil. I've heard of it. So in all likelihood, it exists here somewhere. But I have NO clue what it is. Thinking it might be a cheese, I went to Publix Supermarket and exhausted the cheese section. Not cheese. Then I tore up the produce section. Not produce. Finally exasperated, I asked a customer service rep where they stock chervil.
She said (and I'm not lying), "If we have it, it's over near pork. But honey, I don't think we do. Not many people eat gerbil."
I could barely choke out, "Thank you so much."
Somewher
e this evening, there's a worker from Publix who thinks I'm just short of a cannibal, for Bev is apparently planning to prepare Sauteed Gerbil con Pomadoro with fava beans and a nice Chianti ... feh feh fehfehfehfeh ...When I perfect my recipe, I'm sending it in to La Cucina Italiana. Let all those real Italian chefs try to find THAT ingredient! HA!
P.S. Should we serve this with PETA bread???
LONG RUN TOMORROW MORNING!!! (sort of)
I have been ruminating over today's exchange at Publix. The woman said, "Not many people eat gerbil." This implies that SOME people eat gerbil and she is somehow familiar with the statistics. I'm shopping elsewhere from now on ...
ReplyDeleteWe don't know where to find chervil, but Brad said they've got hamsters 6 for a dollar at Cracker Barrell. Wonder if we can get turnip greens with that?
ReplyDeleteOkay. You two just triggered one of the infamous Bev-Diet-Coke-Spews. All over the keyboard. All over the desk. I fell on the floor. HHAHAHHAHHA!!!
ReplyDeleteHad to share a story about substitutions. I made a shrimp/artichoke dish with swiss and gruyre cheese and served it in baked puff pastry shells. This person (who I would love to name will remain nameless) loved it so much that she asked for the recipe and went home to duplicate. She whinned when it didn't taste the same. Ummmmmmmmmm She used chicken and broccoli with cheddar cheese. I can't figure it out. Has me baffled! Find the gerbil!
ReplyDeleteHAHHHAHHAHAHHHHAHAHAHHAAH!!! This SO sounds like something I would do ... including being confused about why it doesn't taste the same. Fortunately, I've discovered the trick in culinary success EVERY time: low standards.
ReplyDelete