soup
As I have mentioned before, I do almost all of the grocery shopping for our household and pretty much enjoy it. I have found out though that I must not shop when I am hungry because I come home with too much food and sometimes some very odd choices. I do not wish to give examples of these oddities at this time.
My usual routine at the grocery is to go down almost every aisle to check for bargains and/or get ideas for future meals. The only passageways that I seldom ever visit are the ones for drugs, detergents, and pet food/supply aisles. The reasons for the non-visitation of those places are that we get our drug needs elsewhere, I don’t like the detergent perfumes and we don’t have pets.
I usually go in for a few items and come out with a cart full – it is almost like a vice, or as close to one as I get. Just the other day I went in Bi-Lo for two items and came out with a dozen or more, but the bill was under thirty bucks – rare for me. One of the items that I picked up during my slow meander through the store was a plastic bag of split peas – I had a hankering for some split pea soup.
Several days later the desire came again to my mind, and since I had some time between babysitting obligations, I decided to crank up some soup. A recipe was there on the package so I just followed that one. The peas were inspected and placed in the correct amount of water, boiled and were let set for an hour. I had no bay leaf or thyme but did have celery and onion, so I just used what I had. The ingredients on hand were cut up, added to the pot, brought back to a boil and then simmered a while.
When I had to leave for my babysitting assignment, I turned the pot off while I was gone – always a good idea. After the sitting, I went by to pick up some take-out for the Spice and I to share and came home. The Spice had returned home and turned the soup back on for me and upon checking the consistency; I found it to be a bit too soupy. Then a small scooper of grits was added to thicken the gruel a bit.
We ate the take-out and went for our evening walk while the soup thickened. The Spice doesn’t care at all for split pea soup so I was on my own with the eating thereof. Having already eaten, but still having a bit of spare stomach space after the walk, I decided to have a bowl of the soup. It was found to be sufficiently thick and I had to really fight to hold myself to one bowl – and even though it was not seasoned according to the recipe, it greatly suited my taste.
On different occasions and seasons I am and have been thankful for many different things – one of todays praises to God was for split pea soup. ec
My usual routine at the grocery is to go down almost every aisle to check for bargains and/or get ideas for future meals. The only passageways that I seldom ever visit are the ones for drugs, detergents, and pet food/supply aisles. The reasons for the non-visitation of those places are that we get our drug needs elsewhere, I don’t like the detergent perfumes and we don’t have pets.
I usually go in for a few items and come out with a cart full – it is almost like a vice, or as close to one as I get. Just the other day I went in Bi-Lo for two items and came out with a dozen or more, but the bill was under thirty bucks – rare for me. One of the items that I picked up during my slow meander through the store was a plastic bag of split peas – I had a hankering for some split pea soup.
Several days later the desire came again to my mind, and since I had some time between babysitting obligations, I decided to crank up some soup. A recipe was there on the package so I just followed that one. The peas were inspected and placed in the correct amount of water, boiled and were let set for an hour. I had no bay leaf or thyme but did have celery and onion, so I just used what I had. The ingredients on hand were cut up, added to the pot, brought back to a boil and then simmered a while.
When I had to leave for my babysitting assignment, I turned the pot off while I was gone – always a good idea. After the sitting, I went by to pick up some take-out for the Spice and I to share and came home. The Spice had returned home and turned the soup back on for me and upon checking the consistency; I found it to be a bit too soupy. Then a small scooper of grits was added to thicken the gruel a bit.
We ate the take-out and went for our evening walk while the soup thickened. The Spice doesn’t care at all for split pea soup so I was on my own with the eating thereof. Having already eaten, but still having a bit of spare stomach space after the walk, I decided to have a bowl of the soup. It was found to be sufficiently thick and I had to really fight to hold myself to one bowl – and even though it was not seasoned according to the recipe, it greatly suited my taste.
On different occasions and seasons I am and have been thankful for many different things – one of todays praises to God was for split pea soup. ec
posted by mreddie | 11:03 PM
13 Comments:
I hve been known to get lost for thre or four hours in the grocery store. I enjoy shopping for groceries and am a dilligent coupon clipper. Trying to se how much I can save has become a challenge. I once saved over a hudred dollars on a $200 dollar checkout. But I've heard of people actually coming out with the store oweing them money.
One thing I learned early on was never shop on an empty stomach.
TMG - Hey, it's good to hear from you, I had quit checking in over there, I thought something had happened to you.
We as humans are considered hunter/gatherers and maybe that is the attraction for the grocery. :) ec
I'm just the opposite when I go shopping -- very dedicated to my list.
I'm glad you had some good soup, and split pea is wonderful for the fall weather after a hike. Simple pleasures, for which we are always grateful, just as you say.
I'll have to admit that I do not care for any kind of shopping, but when I do it, it is brief, from a list, and I rarely check the price - I just want to get out of the store.
When I bought my son's birthday gift yesterday, I said, "a casual shirt for camping, and a nice sweater for church". I chose the store, Mervyn's, went directly to the men's wear, found something nice, and bought it on the spot - no mall exploring, etc. When I give these gifts, I leave on all the price tags, and enclose the receipt, so that if my selection is poor, they can exchange it for something they DO like....and, more often than not, I'll just buy gift cards, like to "Red Lobster", or REI. That way, my excursion is even easier, and faster.
Ha, I also forgot to mention, about the hunting/gathering idea - I'm probably in the 'nesting' category....just like to be home.
ec,
That soup sounds good! I never thought to add grits to thicken soup!
I bet that makes it all the more tasty! I'm very fond of grits!
June
Hey, you are quite a cook!!
I love split pea soup, though never made it. And in the South I had never heard of it.
I have to settle for the canned soup. Dean can't have peas so IT'S ALL MINE!!!
Betty G
AC - Oh I always get my list items but some extra items just call out for me to take them home as well. Not sure how they do that. :)
bonita - As good as the soup was, I want to try it with the called for ingredients - need to stock up a bit. My shopping forays are limited to the grocery and most anyplace that hardware or tools are sold. Mall and shop are four-letter words and I try to stay away from those. Gift cards are good for us mostly non-shoppers.
junierose - I forgot that leftover split-pea soup thickens up on its own and the next day it was almost too thick, part of that was the grits, but it was still good though.
boopchile - I have eaten the canned kind, but there is a sense of adventure in making it myself. And I had it all to myself - the Spice doesn't care for it. ec
I'd like to try it, but my hubby whined so badly when I suggested it that I haven't gotten back around to wanting it.
;-)
jayleigh - I guess it's not for everybody, but I sure did enjoy it. ec
I will be so glad when it's finally cool enough here to make a big pot of vegetable beef soup. I love soup!
P.S. I believe the supermaket clerk punches in $100 when she sees me coming to check out. Even if I'm only there for milk!
brenda - Soup is a good thing in the cold weather, even just the cooler. And I think the supermarket folks see me coming as well. ec
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