Oompa Loompas, where are you???

Here we are a week later! So far, so good. I think this whole project might actually help me stay organized since I have to plan out menus and groceries. If all goes according to plan, I should have eight recipes down by Saturday... we'll see.

Scott finished up an acoustic set at Summerfest and then we went grocery shopping. On a Sunday. The LAST Sunday before school starts. Great idea for two borderline agoraphobic/obsessive compulsive germ-phobic snobs. The place was teeming with cranky kids and their parents. On the upside, we actually saw a kid punch his father directly in the crotch which caused him to double over in the entrance. Appropriate? Nope. Hilarious? Absolutely.

Everything we had to buy was making me nauseous and confused. I actually put question marks beside items on the list, and Scott kept looking at me like I was losing it. I was someone else, walking determinedly through the store saying things like, "I think I'll just get a small jar of pimientos," or "Where are the cans of french fried onions?" or (frantically) "Is apple cider vinegar the same as cider vinegar? IS IT? IS IT???"

This was followed by Scott and I dissecting the semantics of pork products upon our arrival home. Are spare-ribs side ribs or back ribs? Are country style ribs the same whether they're pork or beef? After checking Google and the chart in the book, we asked my mom and she said they were side ribs. We cooked them for the longest time on the chart and they were AWESOME! Molasses, mustard and cider vinegar... who knew?

The side dish was rice with mushrooms and parm (not a recipe, just what was available) and a cucumber salad. Get this: Cucumbers soaked in sugar, salt, pepper and cider vinegar for three hours, drained, and mixed with sour cream and dill weed. Despite the image I had in my head of my friend and co-worker M shuddering at the thought of this salad (he fears any and all creamy sauces and dips) it was really tasty. My mom remembers this recipe from her childhood. I think it's really cool to resurrect some of these classic recipes... they've lasted this long for a reason.

One question: WHY does Betty like putting sugar on veggies? With the broccoli and now the cucumbers, it's happened twice. I'm starting to check for Oompa Loompas.

xox