Perennial Shoppers

So a bunch of my friends are shoppers. A bunch of my associates are shoppers. The majority of my husband's female coworkers are die-hard shoppers. I really only shop these days if I'm in a thrift store, because I want all those wonderful expensive clothes but refuse to pay for them, and at thrift stores, I find the prices are less than a trip to Old Navy or Target...hallelujah.

But I AM a shopper, and I'm coming out of the shopaholic closet: I love to shop...for FOOD. Yes, food. I love it. I can spend as much time wandering a grocery store, going back and forth between aisles, and examining deli counters as Cory can spend at the Ann Taylor outlet without ever feeling a need to look at the clock. And I always walk about having spent a fortune I never intended to spend.

But we eat well!

Disclaimers aside, I confess...not only do I shop for food, I shop EVERYWHERE for food. My basic grocery shopping is split these days between Vons and Fresh & Easy, (Vons has to-die-for soups, and Fresh & Easy has uber-cheap produce, a great cheese selection, and the most clearly-marked epiration dates of anyone anywhere...TANGENT TIME!!!)

***If you have a Fresh & Easy nearby, CHECK IT OUT...I LOVE their strawberry lemonade (pricey, but BOY, do you get what you pay for! It's like Red Robin's strawberry lemonade...and nearly the same price!) AND you get a huge discount on things nearing their expiration date, like when I bought a couple cheese pizzas the other day for $.98 each that "expired" two days later. Fed our whole family, plus Bella, with leftovers. Not to mention how incredibly friendly they are, their "kitchen table" that offers samples and ideas like Trader Joe's does, and that time that the employee who leapt forward to bag my groceries (everything is self-check but VERY easy to scan) was so happy that I love shopping at Fresh & Easy that he gave me a bunch of fresh flowers (also nearing their expiration date, so they would just have been thrown out) on my way out the door. Did I mention that we get coupons for them in the mail every week or two? And we're not talking piddly little $.25 here or $1 off when you spend x amount...we're talking "$6 off when you spend $30 or more." People, that's TWENTY PERCENT off your groceries if you limit it to $30! ASTOUNDING!!!!!***

Anyway, back to...splitting my main grocery shopping between Vons and Fresh & Easy, and then all my supplemental shopping elsewhere: Farmer's Markets (in Anaheim on Thursday and Fullerton on Wednesday, mostly for produce, pita and humus, and sometimes artisanal oils or cheeses), Trader Joe's (which I love, but if there is any reason I go, even though it's well out of the way, is for their Orange Chicken. Try it. I'm so not kidding. And add a few chopped green onions, and serve it with sticky rice. Who needs Panda Express?!), El Super (formerly Gigante), also the perfect place for cheap produce and all things Mexican (awesome taco-sized corn tortillas), 99 Ranch (an Asian market, because where else can you get 2 1/2 pounds of gyoza for $5 and a 25 pound bag of jasmine rice for $18.99, not to mention any fish you can imagine cleaned right before your eyes and prepped just the way you want it, AND the worlds biggest crabs and lobsters live AND cheap, and just about any type of stir fry or Asian sauce in the entire world...if you can get past the fishy smell, which has never fazed me because I grew up with mostly Korean friends), and Northgate (for the specialty produce, oddly carried by a tiny Mexican market, and the unflavored churritos for dousing with hot sauce and lime, not to mention the crema Mexicana and sweet breads out the wazzu, but let's face it, it's mostly for the "I'm in Mexico" cultural feel when you shop, which I love!). Am I forgetting anywhere? Um, sometimes I hit up Target (NO LONGER WALMART...but that's another post) for the basic basics because their prices are better, but beyond that...do I really NEED another grocery store?

Yes, it's true...I'm a shopper. Obsessive shopper, actually. If there is food to be had, I'm in the store. It means I spend considerably more time running my errands, but when you're as devoted to food as I am (thank heavens for alli!), you make sacrifices.

No, wait, there's one more: Cortina's Italian Market. OH MY YUMMY GOODNESS. Italian meats and cheeses and deli items sliced and measured and packaged to order with items you can't get anywhere else (Lupini beans, anyone?) and awesome prepared pizza dough and sauce and whatnot. And Italian cookies...and breads and rolls...and other beautiful yummy little things, plus bottles of Balsamic vinegar ranging in price from $5 to $55. Wowzer.

Okay, I think that's all. Yup, for now. Until I start getting into Indian cooking again, or more into Thai, both of which cultures have all sorts of little grocers around here. Hmmm. Good idea, actually. Healthy cuisines, unique ingredients...

Dang it. I AM a foodie...and as a result...a shopper. Or is shopping just a means to an end? A means to filling my stomach full of delectable dishes? Either way...my children will know the difference between white and black truffle oil before they enter grade school, and that's really all I can ask.

Now where's my alli...?