My Produce-Picking Quirks
I’m not a huge fan of the grocery store. I think it goes hand in hand with not totally loving to cook. I do both tasks because I have to, but I consider them both chores. Grocery shopping is always more fun when my hubby comes along, but I try to do most of the shopping while he’s at work because a) the store is less busy and b) random items don’t end up in the grocery cart. (Keeping those items out of the cart is good for both our budget and waistlines. Well, when I’m not pregnant and have a waistline anyway.)
My birthday was just last month, and in addition to a fun-filled weekend with two of my favorite people (the hubs and the kiddo, of course), I had one small request: that my hubby do the grocery shopping for the week.
The little things really do make me happy.
The hubby was happy to oblige, and even took the kiddo along so that I’d have some quiet time to myself. I wrote out a list for him, telling him need-to-know specifics about certain items. And I told him to pick up “five to six bananas at varying stages of ripeness.”
Later, when I went to get a banana for my daughter, I noticed that there was a single bunch of six bananas. I asked him what had happened to picking up bananas at “varying stages of ripeness.” He pointed to the bunch and said that some of them looked riper than others—and he mostly had no freaking idea what I was talking about.
I had to laugh. I guess I couldn’t expect him to know that when I buy bananas, I usually pick a few that are the ripest I can find and then a few that are on the green side. That way, I have the perfect ripeness I need throughout the week. I do it so often that I thought he would automatically understand what the heck I was talking about. Apparently not.
It made me think about my other produce-picking habits. I always flip strawberry cartons over to check for moldy ones. I fold down the tops of ears of corn to make sure half the ear doesn’t have those gnarly dried-out kernels. And I always transfer grapes to smaller bags because who on earth can eat 5 pounds of grapes? (I’m sure there are people, but I start to go cross-eyed after a two or so pounds over a few days!)
Have you ever thought about your shopping habits? Do you have any quirks when it comes to picking produce? —Erin