Thursday adventure!

....Continued from previous post

....As we surge forward with the masses on the sidewalk, we pass the row of strawberries, cherries, and other fresh fruit stacked outside under the building's blue awning. Rena and I enter the door with the steps leading to the second floor. Ahh, here we are! We've finally arrived at Fairway, the super-market that has two floors! I carefully carry Rena up the stairs in her carrier. For once, I remembered to stop upstairs first so I could easily take the stairs instead of having to drag a shopping cart onto the elevator. This week, I need only soymilk from upstairs, for making meatballs. I start to grab a carton of ZenSoy because that's usually the cheapest of all the non-dairy milks there- but then the word "SALE" on some signs catches my eye. What's on sale here? I wonder. Some of the more expensive soymilks have a sale sign, but so do Blue Diamond almond milk and a rice milk. I pick the almond milk for several reasons, but mainly becaus I love almonds and expect the taste to be delicious! It's also low-calorie. I grab one and carefully carry Rena back downstairs.


We dodge the customers who are paying for their purchases as we head over to the beginning of the path that is the first floor, the vegetables. Fairway chose to have us, its loyal customers, begin our search for sustenance with the most nutritious selections! I equip myself with a shopping cart. Good, the broccoli is still 2 for $5 so I pick out two beautiful, green broccoli bunches. Refrigerated opposite the broccoli is a selection of spinach, arugula, and....Fresh herb salad! Awesome! I'll use that for my salad instead of the usual lettuce or spinach. And here, at the opposite end of the aisle, are my all-time favorite vegetables: Multiple varieties of mushrooms are sitting on the shelves, both loose and packaged, just waiting to be savored! Today I take a few of the loose, giant portabella mushrooms and grab a few handfuls of loose crimini mushrooms. Mmm, I can already taste the garlic tilapia with mushrooms....

..."Can I please have two pieces of tilapia?" One of the men working behind the fish counter picks out two nice pieces from the pile. He places them on the scale, wraps them up, and hands them to me. I toss my "catch" in my shopping cart, and we continue to the vast selection of breads -- from challah to bagels to tortillas to naan bread. I find a kosher, fresh loaf of "Bread Alone." No challah for us- we prefer natural, whole-grain bread nowadays. Now, this week I know I have to replenish our Kedem grape juice supply, as we finished the bottle last week. Rena and I head over to the kosher aisle. Which kind do I want this time? Do I want concord or blush? Let's try blush this week.

What else do I need this week? I know I'm making meatballs....Of course, I need ground meat! Should I use real ground beef for this week's meatballs, or should I use ground turkey? Well, the ground turkey is both cheaper and healthier than ground beef, so I grab a package of Kosher Valley ground turkey. I'm careful not to pick one that says ground turkey breast because those are about the same price as the ground beef. At this point, I take a break and turn on my PDA to make sure I didn't forget anything in my shopping list...Oh, oops- I forgot to get more cooking spray! So Rena and I find the aisle that holds the baking supplies. There, above the oils, is a selection of cooking spray. I choose the cheapest: Pam. I've also forgotten to get roasted edamame beans for the salad. I find these in the selection of kosher nuts, vegetable chips, etc.

Finally, with every item on my shopping list checked off, Rena and I wait in line to buy our Shabbat food at one of the express lanes. Rena remains asleep as I swipe my card and hike with her and my bagged groceries back to the subway to return home from our Thursday adventure. For now, this is how our special mommy-and-baby bonding time goes each week- But I can't wait until my Little Pie is old enough to enjoy food shopping without sleeping through the whole thing!