According to the New York Times, everyone’s favorite brand of kosher food, Manischewitz, wants to go mainstream. If I didn’t know Manischewitz, chances are no kind of advertising would convince me to buy its products when up against other brands. And since I do know Manischewitz, I’ll stick to buying their products only during Passover. But you tell me:
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So the weirdest thing has happened to me.
Last Thursday night, after foraging through my kitchen for something to eat (I still hadn’t gone shopping after my vacation), I settled on some Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies. And because sometimes I do stupid things, I sat on the couch and ate about half a strip of ’em.
Maybe 10 cookies total.
Well, the very next morning, my pants didn’t fit. I mean, they were too big. It was really odd. Not that they were obscenely big or anything, but for the first time in I don’t know how long I really needed to wear a belt. Continue reading
Forget Christmas, just for a day. Tomorrow, April 25, is the annual free cone day at Ben & Jerry’s, or as I like to call it, the most wonderful day of the year. That means even though the temperature is in the 50s, you are obligated to go to your local scoop shop and grab yourself some free Phish Food or Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. If you’re like me, you can go from store to store grabbing a different scoop at each shop. (Don’t worry, I’m not really going to do that.) Baskin Robbins usually has their free cone night the day after, but there’s nothing on their web site yet. Stay tuned. When I know, you’ll know.
My friend Kathleen called it my “holy war” yesterday. Whatever it is, today was the day I struck back at Shaw’s and Stop & Shop for overcharging on Passover food. I mean, if they’re gonna mark up this food, which isn’t all that good to begin with and is only necessary for a week, then I’m going to save my receipts and return whatever I don’t use so they can give me my money back. And I don’t know whether it was my 3-day trip to New York, or the fact that I ate not less but smarter during the week, but I ended Passover this year with more leftover (unopened) food than I have in recent years:
* A box of egg matzoh
* Two jars of mayonaise (one extra because I found light mayo at another store)
* Four cans of tuna (two extra because I found them cheaper elsewhere)
* A box of cookies
* A coffee cake mix
All that was worth about $27, which I’m sure I’ll give right back tomorrow when I do my normal grocery shopping, but for now, it’s safe and sound back in my wallet.
Nothing says Passover quite like the pleasant aroma — not just the scent but the aroma — of Manischewitz Coffee Cake permeating every inch of my apartment. It’s the best thing about this holiday. I baked the cake yesterday morning, and today when I woke up, I could still smell it. Mmmmmmmmm…
Went to Stop & Shop and Shaw’s yesterday to stock up on Passover food (the holiday starts Wednesday night).
It’s one of those necessary evils that I tend to postpone until the last minute every year.
Why? It’s not that I am anti-Passover or anything, nor is it that I am a procrastinator (well, alright, maybe I am a procrastinator). It’s that the whole buying of Passover food experience just rubs me the wrong way. Continue reading
It’s just past lunchtime on Monday and I can safely say I am finally ready to eat again.
Joe, Marie and I resumed our Ice Cream Tour of Boston yesterday by heading to Celebrity Pizza in Watertown. But it was closed (until “springtime,” whenever that is), so we headed back over to Cabot’s in Newton. Yum. Of course, this was also a lunch plan, so we all had “real” food first. And after a cheeseburger and fries I was pretty well sated, but I went ahead and ordered a sundae anyway. (A “regular” sundae, which I learned was not a small but a larger size. Ooops.) Mint Oreo ice cream, chocolate mellowcreme fudge, marshmallow fluff … and what the hell, sprinkles too. Mmmmmm … And if you’ve been to Cabot’s, you know they make some of the best, messiest sundaes ever. (That’s the marshmallow dripping off the right side there.)
Well, I took one look at that thing and was stuffed already. But onward I trudged, digging my spoon in repeatedly and doing my best to eat as much as I could. At one point, as I struggled, Joe (who had simply ordered apple pie a la mode) offered this wisdom: “You go to lunch with the appetite you have, not the appetite you want.” With that, I put down my spoon. Joe was right and I was done. And for those who keep track of such things, I had barely eaten half.
After we separated, I had intended to go to the movies or, at the least, to Shaw’s to do my weekly grocery shopping. But I was so stuffed that I sat like a stone and aside from pacing around my apartment, barely moved. I never even ate dinner. When I woke up this morning, I was still not very hungry. But now, I think I’m ready to eat again …
… If only I had time to eat today.
(And thanks to Marie for documenting that monstrous sundae, and my happy reaction before I got too far into eating the sucker.)
As celebrity sightings go, I suppose this one was pretty minor. But it was still kinda cool to see city councilman Mike Ross grab a spot in line behind me at the self-check-out line at Shaw’s on Commonwealth Ave. this afternoon.
In all the hub-bub of the 5pm crowd, you don’t expect to see someone like Mike Ross amongst the shoppers, much less on the self-check-out line. But there he was: just as cool and slick as he looks on TV, but taller than I expected, and a heck of a lot tanner. (I’m guessing he recently came back from a vacation. Must be nice.)
I was standing there, watching a clueless older woman try her hardest to figure out the machine so she could check out with her two items, wondering why I always get stuck behind these people, when Mike Ross swooped in, seemingly from out of nowhere, grabbing some flowers and something else he’d left on top of the machine while he stepped away. (Nice.) Nonchalantly, like it was no big deal, he stepped behind me and got in line. And when this woman finished, and I stepped up, I felt powerful knowing I was the only thing preventing Mike Ross from checking out and leaving the store. (Alright, I didn’t really feel that way. In fact, I’m not sure why I even wrote something as dorky as that.)
Mike Ross watched as I deftly used the machine, scanning my items one by one, with no errors and no commands by the machine to rescan or check my bags, and getting it all done in what must have been record time. Except for a small panicked reaction when my slice of cake tipped over, I was in prime form. I’m sure he was impressed. (ha ha ha)
At the same time, I was intrigued and a little bit amused by the fact that no one but me seemed to recognize the guy. I mean, it’s not like he’s Mayor Menino or Ted Kennedy or anything, but the guy does represent many of the people in the supermarket — even if they are college students. So you’d think some of the folks would know who he was. And it was Sunday, a day off, so there was no need for him to introduce himself or make a thing out of it. So, he just checked out and headed on his way like he was any other shopper. (Unfortunately, I can’t tell you how good he was at the self-check-out. That’s because I am not a dorky stalker and didn’t stick around to watch.)
Anyway, the message is this: Mike Ross is just like you or me. He goes to the grocery store in the middle of the Sunday rush and scans his own stuff. Good man, that Mike Ross.
My inbox this week has been full of people’s cold remedies (plenty of water, Goldenseal, and something called “garlic mush,” for example), but today I got this message:
“Is the well so dry that you have to subject your readers to your ceaseless whining about your head cold? Honestly! It’s that time of year, get a grip. Let’s put it in perspective: would you find my ramblings about migraines at all compelling??”
So consider this my last posting about my cold. Why? Well, the emailer would have you believe it was because she wields enormous influence over me (ha!), but it’s actually because I’m feeling better today. Sometime last night during dinner (at Masa in the South End. Yum), there was a clearing. Was it the spicy food? Possibly. Was it the loud noises that forced their way into my head? Could be. Was it my strong desire to hear discussion on the other side of the table? I wouldn’t doubt it.
Whatever the reason, my head congestion ended, and now, hours later, my cold is on its final breath. Ha ha! You thought you could defeat me, cold, didn’t you? Well, it may have taken me longer than I wanted, and you may have put up a strong defense against my various remedies, but I have won out. You are beaten down and I am victorious. And now I will enjoy a fun weekend.
Let this be the last I write about colds, flus, viruses, sneezing, runny noses, and head congestion for a long time. Amen!
Stores in Coolidge Corner seem to close often enough that when another shuts its doors, it’s hardly newsworthy — much less blogworthy. But something’s up at Zathmary’s, and I can’t seem to figure out if the store has closed for good or what.
All week, the delivery trucks have arrived, dropping off the daily breads, newspapers and produce, and leaving them right out front or just inside the front door. And there they stay.
When I pass by at night on the way home, the place is empty, half the lights are off, chairs are still stacked on the tables, display cases still empty. Continue reading
Martin's Musings 