General Cooking (rec.food.cooking) For general food and cooking discussion. Foods of all kinds, food procurement, cooking methods and techniques, eating, etc.

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)   Report Post  
modom
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

That's what the checker at the "super"market told me yesterday as she
tried in vain to look up my veggies in her sku list. I'd presented
her with:

3 limes ("Are all of these limes? " Yup. "I'm waiting for somebody
to show me a kiwi, and I just thought..." Kiwis are furry. "Oh.")

1 poblano chile. (Her tragic look caused me to volunteer its name
before the question was formed, but she still couldn't find it on her
list. The sacker rescued her.)

1 avocado (got it!)

1 six pack of beer (got it again!)

1 sirloin steak (bar code to the rescue!)

1 bunch cilantro ("Parsley?" Nope.)

1 jicama (ruh-roh... It's a jicama, with a J, I pipe cheerfully and
proactively. She searched and searched. "It's not on the list. It
should be here between the H's and the K's, but it's not." I guess
there weren't any I's. The friendly sacker strikes out, too, so off
he trots to the produce section to discover the price. 99 cents, says
I, too late.)

I try to tell her about jicamas, but her eyes grow sheets of
Plexiglass and her posture displays the same lack of attention I've
seen in a dachshund with a full belly. Well, I offer brightly, I
really put you through a produce test, but this stuff is good.
Poblanos are used for chile rellenos. Did you ever have a chile
relleno? Her reply is the headline. She lives in Texas.

Why do people who don't like food work in food stores?

Here's a salad idea:

Thinly slice about 1/4 medium jicama (peeled). Add a sliced blood
orange (don't try to find one in Cow Hill, however), a sliced navel
orange, and a sliced avocado. Squeeze half a lime over the above
stuff, and add a generous splash EVOO. Add a scant tsp ground New
Mexico red chiles. Salt and pepper. Toss. Serve slightly chilled.

modom
  #2 (permalink)   Report Post  
John Gaughan
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

modom wrote:
> 3 limes ("Are all of these limes? " Yup. "I'm waiting for somebody
> to show me a kiwi, and I just thought..." Kiwis are furry. "Oh.")


At least you can buy limes. My commissary does not sell them. I have to
go off base... into the "real world!" :-)

Gin and tonic without lime is like pizza without meat.

> 1 six pack of beer (got it again!)


Mmmmm.... beer.... ohohohhhhohhhhh....

> Her reply is the headline.


That reminds me of my wife. I bought some chipotles and she asked what
kind of prunes are spicey, like I am some deranged three-armed freak. My
usual answer, hey, YOU married me!

--
John Gaughan
http://www.johngaughan.net/

  #3 (permalink)   Report Post  
John Gaughan
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

Steve Wertz wrote:
> There's a lot of people working in places that they don't like.
> It's called earning a living. I'm sure most people would rather
> not work, period, and do whatever they want that pleases them.


Been there, done that. I used to work in a bank and hated it, but it
paid the bills. I do not expect a cashier at any store to like his or
her job, or even to know anything about the products being scanned. It
is like being a salesman, for example, I used to work at CompUSA. Some
of the computer salesmen knew almost nothing about computers, all that
mattered is that they pushed merchandise and earned commission. It was a
paycheck, and a damned good one at that for a job requiring zero
education beyond high school.

--
John Gaughan
http://www.johngaughan.net/

  #4 (permalink)   Report Post  
Yeff
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

On Sun, 07 Mar 2004 20:45:18 -0600, John Gaughan wrote:

> At least you can buy limes. My commissary does not sell them. I have to
> go off base... into the "real world!" :-)


Have you checked at the Class VI?

-Jeff B.
yeff at erols dot com
  #5 (permalink)   Report Post  
Rodney Myrvaagnes
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

On Sun, 07 Mar 2004 19:44:23 -0600, modom > wrote:


>Why do people who don't like food work in food stores?
>

How would they know if they like food, if they've never tried it?


Rodney Myrvaagnes J36 Gjo/a

Smoking in a bar is like peeing in a punchbowl.


  #6 (permalink)   Report Post  
lea b
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

modom wrote:
>


<snip>
>
> Why do people who don't like food work in food stores?


cute story


--
chalk, the other white meat


  #7 (permalink)   Report Post  
John Gaughan
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

Yeff wrote:
>> At least you can buy limes. My commissary does not sell them. I
>> have to go off base... into the "real world!" :-)

>
> Have you checked at the Class VI?


They sell lime juice, but no produce.

--
John Gaughan
http://www.johngaughan.net/

  #8 (permalink)   Report Post  
Nancy Young
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

modom wrote:
>
> That's what the checker at the "super"market told me yesterday as she
> tried in vain to look up my veggies in her sku list. I'd presented
> her with:
>
> 3 limes ("Are all of these limes? " Yup. "I'm waiting for somebody
> to show me a kiwi, and I just thought..." Kiwis are furry. "Oh.")


You're saying they sell kiwis there and she can't just walk over and
look at them herself?

> 1 jicama (ruh-roh... It's a jicama, with a J, I pipe cheerfully and
> proactively. She searched and searched. "It's not on the list. It
> should be here between the H's and the K's, but it's not." I guess
> there weren't any I's. The friendly sacker strikes out, too, so off
> he trots to the produce section to discover the price. 99 cents, says
> I, too late.)


Funny, apparently celery root inspired a similar reaction yesterday.
That's okay, if I hadn't seen it on tv, I wouldn't have known what
it was either.

nancy
  #9 (permalink)   Report Post  
Arri London
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

modom wrote:
>
> That's what the checker at the "super"market told me yesterday as she
> tried in vain to look up my veggies in her sku list. I'd presented
> her with:
>
> 3 limes ("Are all of these limes? " Yup. "I'm waiting for somebody
> to show me a kiwi, and I just thought..." Kiwis are furry. "Oh.")
>
> 1 poblano chile. (Her tragic look caused me to volunteer its name
> before the question was formed, but she still couldn't find it on her
> list. The sacker rescued her.)
>
> 1 avocado (got it!)
>
> 1 six pack of beer (got it again!)
>
> 1 sirloin steak (bar code to the rescue!)
>
> 1 bunch cilantro ("Parsley?" Nope.)
>
> 1 jicama (ruh-roh... It's a jicama, with a J, I pipe cheerfully and
> proactively. She searched and searched. "It's not on the list. It
> should be here between the H's and the K's, but it's not." I guess
> there weren't any I's. The friendly sacker strikes out, too, so off
> he trots to the produce section to discover the price. 99 cents, says
> I, too late.)
>
> I try to tell her about jicamas, but her eyes grow sheets of
> Plexiglass and her posture displays the same lack of attention I've
> seen in a dachshund with a full belly. Well, I offer brightly, I
> really put you through a produce test, but this stuff is good.
> Poblanos are used for chile rellenos. Did you ever have a chile
> relleno? Her reply is the headline. She lives in Texas.
>
> Why do people who don't like food work in food stores?


Because it's often the only job going? Most of those problems are easily
solved: training. However most of the time, the poor checkers are tossed
on the tills with about 30 minutes worth of how-to.

>
> Here's a salad idea:
>
> Thinly slice about 1/4 medium jicama (peeled). Add a sliced blood
> orange (don't try to find one in Cow Hill, however), a sliced navel
> orange, and a sliced avocado. Squeeze half a lime over the above
> stuff, and add a generous splash EVOO. Add a scant tsp ground New
> Mexico red chiles. Salt and pepper. Toss. Serve slightly chilled.
>
> modom

  #10 (permalink)   Report Post  
George
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff


"John Gaughan" > wrote in message
...

> her job, or even to know anything about the products being scanned. It
> is like being a salesman, for example, I used to work at CompUSA. Some
> of the computer salesmen knew almost nothing about computers, all that
> mattered is that they pushed merchandise and earned commission. It was a
> paycheck, and a damned good one at that for a job requiring zero
> education beyond high school.



Yes and good advice for anyone who believes the marketing that the "dell
interns" or the "circuit city associates (or whatever they are called)"
actually know anything.

>
> --
> John Gaughan
> http://www.johngaughan.net/
>





  #11 (permalink)   Report Post  
modom
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

On Mon, 08 Mar 2004 07:40:32 -0500, Nancy Young
> wrote:

>modom wrote:
>>
>> That's what the checker at the "super"market told me yesterday as she
>> tried in vain to look up my veggies in her sku list. I'd presented
>> her with:
>>
>> 3 limes ("Are all of these limes? " Yup. "I'm waiting for somebody
>> to show me a kiwi, and I just thought..." Kiwis are furry. "Oh.")

>
>You're saying they sell kiwis there and she can't just walk over and
>look at them herself?


That was D's observation, as well. The dear child at the register had
no interest, no curiosity in her work. Arri and others have pointed
out that for her it's just a McJob, which is of course true. But such
an utter disinterest in the products she deals with bodes ill for any
job she might have now or in the future. Not all jobs are McJobs.

I'm drifting off topic here, but who among us hasn't had a crappy job
at one time or another? One of mine was assembling corrugated boxes
in an un-airconditioned steel building one summer in the Dallas area.
I held an industrial sized hot melt gun in my bare hands (amazing what
you can get used to) for hours at a time in 100+ degree heat. How bad
was it? The only other guy in that part of the factory with me was on
probation after doing time for smuggling ganja back from Vietnam. He
had to be there. Over thirty years later, I still have scars from the
hot glue.

There are other bad jobs on my resume. Assistant grease monkey, e.g.,
and the one at the little gew gaw factory where I stuffed my right
hand into a table saw one afternoon (you don't get used to that, but
it does feel good when it stops).

It's good to be an artist these days.
>
>> 1 jicama (ruh-roh... It's a jicama, with a J, I pipe cheerfully and
>> proactively. She searched and searched. "It's not on the list. It
>> should be here between the H's and the K's, but it's not." I guess
>> there weren't any I's. The friendly sacker strikes out, too, so off
>> he trots to the produce section to discover the price. 99 cents, says
>> I, too late.)

>
>Funny, apparently celery root inspired a similar reaction yesterday.
>That's okay, if I hadn't seen it on tv, I wouldn't have known what
>it was either.
>
>nancy


Right. I really don't expect most folks to recognize a jicama, even
in a grocery store. It was the dully incurious demeanor that
concerned me. Not so much for what it meant for my convenience --
actually that part was fairly amusing, like a rough draft of a comedy
sketch -- but for what it augured for her limited future.

modom
  #12 (permalink)   Report Post  
Default User
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

George wrote:

> Yes and good advice for anyone who believes the marketing that the "dell
> interns" or the "circuit city associates (or whatever they are called)"
> actually know anything.



Hey, my niece works for Circuit City (but not one of those annoying
sales droids).



Brian Rodenborn
  #13 (permalink)   Report Post  
Default User
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

George wrote:

> Yes and good advice for anyone who believes the marketing that the "dell
> interns" or the "circuit city associates (or whatever they are called)"
> actually know anything.



Hey, my niece works for Circuit City (but not one of those annoying
sales droids).



Brian Rodenborn
  #14 (permalink)   Report Post  
Nancy Young
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

modom wrote:
>
> On Mon, 08 Mar 2004 07:40:32 -0500, Nancy Young


> >modom wrote:


> >> 3 limes ("Are all of these limes? " Yup. "I'm waiting for somebody
> >> to show me a kiwi, and I just thought..." Kiwis are furry. "Oh.")

> >
> >You're saying they sell kiwis there and she can't just walk over and
> >look at them herself?

>
> That was D's observation, as well. The dear child at the register had
> no interest, no curiosity in her work. Arri and others have pointed
> out that for her it's just a McJob, which is of course true. But such
> an utter disinterest in the products she deals with bodes ill for any
> job she might have now or in the future. Not all jobs are McJobs.


One thing I can say, growing up I learned one thing ... be it work
or school, you take it seriously and do a good job. I had enough
McJobs, I excelled at them even though I was only making break even
wages, if that. Just saying, I would be embarrassed to ask you if
limes were kiwis if my job was to check groceries.

Oh, and if anyone cares, grocery cashiers are not necessary low paid.
Many are union, with good wages and benefits.

> I'm drifting off topic here, but who among us hasn't had a crappy job
> at one time or another? One of mine was assembling corrugated boxes
> in an un-airconditioned steel building one summer in the Dallas area.


Yikes.

> It's good to be an artist these days.


Do you have a website?

> >Funny, apparently celery root inspired a similar reaction yesterday.
> >That's okay, if I hadn't seen it on tv, I wouldn't have known what
> >it was either.


> Right. I really don't expect most folks to recognize a jicama, even
> in a grocery store. It was the dully incurious demeanor that
> concerned me. Not so much for what it meant for my convenience --
> actually that part was fairly amusing, like a rough draft of a comedy
> sketch -- but for what it augured for her limited future.


I know exactly what you're talking about and it is creepy. As in,
what DO you find interesting, anything? Sure, I've seen it in action.
And they always chew gum. Grrrr.

nancy
  #15 (permalink)   Report Post  
projectile vomit chick
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff


"modom" > wrote in message
...
> That's what the checker at the "super"market told me yesterday as she
> tried in vain to look up my veggies in her sku list. I'd presented
> her with:
>
> 3 limes ("Are all of these limes? " Yup. "I'm waiting for somebody
> to show me a kiwi, and I just thought..." Kiwis are furry. "Oh.")
>
> 1 poblano chile. (Her tragic look caused me to volunteer its name
> before the question was formed, but she still couldn't find it on her
> list. The sacker rescued her.)
>
> 1 avocado (got it!)
>
> 1 six pack of beer (got it again!)
>
> 1 sirloin steak (bar code to the rescue!)
>
> 1 bunch cilantro ("Parsley?" Nope.)
>
> 1 jicama (ruh-roh... It's a jicama, with a J, I pipe cheerfully and
> proactively. She searched and searched. "It's not on the list. It
> should be here between the H's and the K's, but it's not." I guess
> there weren't any I's. The friendly sacker strikes out, too, so off
> he trots to the produce section to discover the price. 99 cents, says
> I, too late.)
>
> I try to tell her about jicamas, but her eyes grow sheets of
> Plexiglass and her posture displays the same lack of attention I've
> seen in a dachshund with a full belly. Well, I offer brightly, I
> really put you through a produce test, but this stuff is good.
> Poblanos are used for chile rellenos. Did you ever have a chile
> relleno? Her reply is the headline. She lives in Texas.
>
> Why do people who don't like food work in food stores?


Hey the kid is just working a part time job to earn some money, you ****ing
pile of shit.




  #16 (permalink)   Report Post  
projectile vomit chick
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff


"modom" > wrote in message
...
> That's what the checker at the "super"market told me yesterday as she
> tried in vain to look up my veggies in her sku list. I'd presented
> her with:
>
> 3 limes ("Are all of these limes? " Yup. "I'm waiting for somebody
> to show me a kiwi, and I just thought..." Kiwis are furry. "Oh.")
>
> 1 poblano chile. (Her tragic look caused me to volunteer its name
> before the question was formed, but she still couldn't find it on her
> list. The sacker rescued her.)
>
> 1 avocado (got it!)
>
> 1 six pack of beer (got it again!)
>
> 1 sirloin steak (bar code to the rescue!)
>
> 1 bunch cilantro ("Parsley?" Nope.)
>
> 1 jicama (ruh-roh... It's a jicama, with a J, I pipe cheerfully and
> proactively. She searched and searched. "It's not on the list. It
> should be here between the H's and the K's, but it's not." I guess
> there weren't any I's. The friendly sacker strikes out, too, so off
> he trots to the produce section to discover the price. 99 cents, says
> I, too late.)
>
> I try to tell her about jicamas, but her eyes grow sheets of
> Plexiglass and her posture displays the same lack of attention I've
> seen in a dachshund with a full belly. Well, I offer brightly, I
> really put you through a produce test, but this stuff is good.
> Poblanos are used for chile rellenos. Did you ever have a chile
> relleno? Her reply is the headline. She lives in Texas.
>
> Why do people who don't like food work in food stores?


Hey the kid is just working a part time job to earn some money, you ****ing
pile of shit.


  #17 (permalink)   Report Post  
projectile vomit chick
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff


>
> Right. I really don't expect most folks to recognize a jicama, even
> in a grocery store. It was the dully incurious demeanor that
> concerned me. Not so much for what it meant for my convenience --
> actually that part was fairly amusing, like a rough draft of a comedy
> sketch -- but for what it augured for her limited future.


What a pompous ****ing ass you are.


  #18 (permalink)   Report Post  
Rodney Myrvaagnes
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

On Mon, 08 Mar 2004 11:27:11 -0600, modom > wrote:

>On Mon, 08 Mar 2004 07:40:32 -0500, Nancy Young
> wrote:
>
>>modom wrote:
>>>
>>> That's what the checker at the "super"market told me yesterday as she
>>> tried in vain to look up my veggies in her sku list. I'd presented
>>> her with:
>>>
>>> 3 limes ("Are all of these limes? " Yup. "I'm waiting for somebody
>>> to show me a kiwi, and I just thought..." Kiwis are furry. "Oh.")

>>
>>You're saying they sell kiwis there and she can't just walk over and
>>look at them herself?

>
>That was D's observation, as well. The dear child at the register had
>no interest, no curiosity in her work. Arri and others have pointed
>out that for her it's just a McJob, which is of course true. But such
>an utter disinterest in the products she deals with bodes ill for any
>job she might have now or in the future. Not all jobs are McJobs.



The store at the bottom of this building is quite different in this
department as in other things. There are usually at least 6 or 7 knds
of hot peppers loose in the produce section, and as many wild
mushrooms.

I have never had a checkout person fail to distinguish a serrano from
a jalapeno, or a bluefoot from a black trumpet. Once one of them
mistook the origin of a tomato, thereby undercharging me (if I hadn't
said anything).

Many of the cashiers have been there since the store opened. Turnover
is almost nonexistent.


Rodney Myrvaagnes J36 Gjo/a

Smoking in a bar is like peeing in a punchbowl.
  #19 (permalink)   Report Post  
Julia Altshuler
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

When you do find someone doing a deadend job really well, it is a joy to
see. I remember one young man working the checkout counter in the
garden department of discount store. If he had merely found the bar
codes and given change, he'd have been doing the job as well as anybody.
Instead, he'd studied up on all the plants and what people were
planting and what sorts of fertilizer to use. He chatted about
customers' purchases as he carried 50# sacks of dirt to their cars. He
knew his stuff. I asked if he were studying landscape design or
majoring in botany, chemistry or biology. He looked surprised and said
he was just in highschool. I suggested that he COULD go into landscape
design or any of those fields. He gave a modest, polite and
non-commital answer.


Then there was the busdriver who had an uncanny way of recognizing stiff
uncomfortable recent grads on their way to their first job interviews.
They had a way of looking like they had on a tie for the first time.
She'd pep talk them all the way downtown and drop them off at their stop
calling after them "make sure they know what a fast learner you are!"


I don't generally find it at supermarkets though.


--Lia

  #20 (permalink)   Report Post  
modom
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

On Mon, 08 Mar 2004 13:24:10 -0500, Nancy Young
> wrote:

>Oh, and if anyone cares, grocery cashiers are not necessary low paid.
>Many are union, with good wages and benefits.


The market here in Cow Hill isn't unionized to my knowledge. I'm
under the impression that my checker works for a pittance.
>
>> I'm drifting off topic here, but who among us hasn't had a crappy job
>> at one time or another? One of mine was assembling corrugated boxes
>> in an un-airconditioned steel building one summer in the Dallas area.

>
>Yikes.
>
>> It's good to be an artist these days.

>
>Do you have a website?


www.koyote.com/users/modom/home.html

I haven't updated it in many months, however, so my work looks rather
different now.

Gotta check the silly rib experiment now.

modom


  #21 (permalink)   Report Post  
Doug Freyburger
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

Nancy Young wrote:
> modom wrote:
>
> > That's what the checker at the "super"market told me yesterday as she
> > tried in vain to look up my veggies in her sku list. I'd presented
> > her with:

....
> Funny, apparently celery root inspired a similar reaction yesterday.


Chuckle. I've got that reaction when buying beer (10 bottles from
Belgium no two alike ;^), when buying a goose and a rabbit, even
when buying bread.

I'm allergic to wheat, so the loaves I buy doesn't always much resemble
bread that much. A solid block of rye kernels steamed into a brick.
Well, the label does call it bread. If you can read German and/or
Dutch ;^)
  #22 (permalink)   Report Post  
Default User
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

Cindy Fuller wrote:

> Note to Nancy: On the coasts, grocery workers can be unionized. That's
> not the case in Texas or NC.



Other places too, like St. Louis.


Brian Rodenborn
  #23 (permalink)   Report Post  
John Gaughan
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

modom wrote:
> www.koyote.com/users/modom/home.html
>
> I haven't updated it in many months, however, so my work looks rather
> different now.


Interesting... I think your talent is better focused on art than gluing
boxes :-)

--
John Gaughan
http://www.johngaughan.net/

  #24 (permalink)   Report Post  
Robin Cowdrey
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

Tried to slice the avocado but the pit got in the way so it's McDs again
tonight! Managed to find blood orange and rest of stuff, BTW, but New
Mexico red chilies not in my supermarket. Thai birdseyes are in local Asian
market, will they do? My plant, which I lovingly cultivated on the kitchen
windowsill through the winter, finally succumbed. I'm devastated, but the
Bougainvillea thrives so there is hope. We do get EVOO (had to use Google)
in these parts since there are lots of ITs here (is that PC?)

Ate faggots (snickers aside, they are made from ground liver, pork belly,
herbs and wrapped in caul), peas and chips last Friday at a friend's home,
had to do a number on my head, but it was tasty, I must admit. Reminded me
of haggis and haslet. We had an interesting conversation about offal being
the food of the poor a generation or three ago. Were it not for food
factories and 'modern' farming practices it's what most of us would be
eating today. Mad cow, srapie, salmonella, e-coli or offal! What a choice!

Robin

"modom" > wrote in message
...

>
> Here's a salad idea:
>
> Thinly slice about 1/4 medium jicama (peeled). Add a sliced blood
> orange (don't try to find one in Cow Hill, however), a sliced navel
> orange, and a sliced avocado. Squeeze half a lime over the above
> stuff, and add a generous splash EVOO. Add a scant tsp ground New
> Mexico red chiles. Salt and pepper. Toss. Serve slightly chilled.
>
> modom


  #25 (permalink)   Report Post  
Bob
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

modom wrote:

> Thinly slice about 1/4 medium jicama (peeled). Add a sliced blood
> orange (don't try to find one in Cow Hill, however), a sliced navel
> orange, and a sliced avocado. Squeeze half a lime over the above
> stuff, and add a generous splash EVOO. Add a scant tsp ground New
> Mexico red chiles. Salt and pepper. Toss. Serve slightly chilled.


Oh, that reminds me of the salad I made a couple weeks ago; I think I posted
it here....checking...yes, I did, but I forgot to mention the avocado, so
here is the amended version:

After watching the mayo episode of "Good Eats," I thought I'd give AB's
method a try. When I was FINALLY done whisking, I put most of the mayo into
a separate container. To the tablespoon or so left in the dish, I added more
lemon juice, some Old Bay, and some Sriracha hot sauce. Having received a
mandoline for Christmas, I took it out of the shrink-wrap and used it to
thinly slice a jicama and a seeded cucumber, both of which went into the
bowl. Then I segmented a pink grapefruit, and the segments went in also.
Added a package of fake crabmeat and tossed to coat everything, then added
salad greens (frisee, arugula, radicchio, and romaine) and tossed again.
Peeled and cut an avocado into chunks, then scattered the chunks over top of
the salad. Tasted and realized it needed black pepper, so a few turns of
the peppermill finished it off.

Put a pita round in the toaster oven and cooked until it inflated and
started to turn crisp, then split it and stuffed it with the salad. Very
nice.

Bob




  #26 (permalink)   Report Post  
Frogleg
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

On Sun, 07 Mar 2004 19:44:23 -0600, modom > wrote:

>3 limes ("Are all of these limes? " Yup. "I'm waiting for somebody
>to show me a kiwi, and I just thought..." Kiwis are furry. "Oh.")


You forgot to mention that kiwis are brown.
>
>1 poblano chile. (Her tragic look caused me to volunteer its name
>before the question was formed, but she still couldn't find it on her
>list. The sacker rescued her.)


Here is a basket of (imaginary) chiles. Identify them.
>
>1 bunch cilantro ("Parsley?" Nope.)


Also known as coriander and Chinese parsley. In appearance, quite
similar to flat-leafed parsley.
>
>1 jicama (ruh-roh... It's a jicama, with a J, I pipe cheerfully and
>proactively. She searched and searched. "It's not on the list. It
>should be here between the H's and the K's, but it's not." I guess
>there weren't any I's.


Odd that she should have been looking between H and K for something
you told her begins with J. Oh, J *is* between H and K. And so sad she
hadn't studied Spanish.
>
>Why do people who don't like food work in food stores?


For the money, you mean toad. There are millions of people in this
country who've never eaten cilantro or kiwi or jicama, and have no
idea what they are nor what they look like. Ignorance isn't stupidity.
  #27 (permalink)   Report Post  
modom
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

On Tue, 09 Mar 2004 17:04:30 GMT, Frogleg > wrote:

>On Sun, 07 Mar 2004 19:44:23 -0600, modom > wrote:
>
>>3 limes ("Are all of these limes? " Yup. "I'm waiting for somebody
>>to show me a kiwi, and I just thought..." Kiwis are furry. "Oh.")

>
>You forgot to mention that kiwis are brown.
>>

The helpful sacker did that before I could chime in.

>>1 poblano chile. (Her tragic look caused me to volunteer its name
>>before the question was formed, but she still couldn't find it on her
>>list. The sacker rescued her.)

>
>Here is a basket of (imaginary) chiles. Identify them.


I imagine them to be serranos, jalapenos, Anaheims, and poblanos.
Those are the fresh chiles available at the Cow Hill market. There are
four varieties of fresh chiles in the produce section. The dried
chiles available in bulk are anchos, chiles japones, arbols, and
something they call a cascabel, though it looks more like a New Mexico
to me.
>>
>>1 bunch cilantro ("Parsley?" Nope.)

>
>Also known as coriander and Chinese parsley. In appearance, quite
>similar to flat-leafed parsley.


True. Not really something I should razz anyone about. Except for
the aroma. They do smell quite distinct. And they don't sell
flat-leaf parsley at this store.
>>
>>1 jicama (ruh-roh... It's a jicama, with a J, I pipe cheerfully and
>>proactively. She searched and searched. "It's not on the list. It
>>should be here between the H's and the K's, but it's not." I guess
>>there weren't any I's.

>
>Odd that she should have been looking between H and K for something
>you told her begins with J. Oh, J *is* between H and K. And so sad she
>hadn't studied Spanish.


Huh? Cow Hill is in Texas. The most common name in town is Jose. We
Anglos live among many many Latinos. Her store has an entire aisle
devoted to Hispanic foods. In a town of 8,000 we have two restaurants
where you can get chiles rellenos (I notice that you cut the portion
of my post about rellenos in your reply), carne asada, huevos con
chorizo, etc. It's less an issue of studying anything academically
than noticing the world one lives in.
>>
>>Why do people who don't like food work in food stores?

>
>For the money, you mean toad. There are millions of people in this
>country who've never eaten cilantro or kiwi or jicama, and have no
>idea what they are nor what they look like. Ignorance isn't stupidity.


Mean toad? A Frogleg called a modom a toad!

Actually, I believe we've failed to communicate on this matter. If
you are interested, you might look at some of my other responses in
this thread to get a better understanding of my attitude which has
little to do with meanness. It's not the lack of knowledge, but the
lack of inquisitiveness.

And there are other places to work here besides that market.

modom
  #28 (permalink)   Report Post  
Frogleg
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

On Tue, 09 Mar 2004 17:39:32 -0600, modom > wrote:

>Huh? Cow Hill is in Texas. The most common name in town is Jose. We
>Anglos live among many many Latinos. Her store has an entire aisle
>devoted to Hispanic foods. In a town of 8,000 we have two restaurants
>where you can get chiles rellenos (I notice that you cut the portion
>of my post about rellenos in your reply), carne asada, huevos con
>chorizo, etc. It's less an issue of studying anything academically
>than noticing the world one lives in.


I grew up in Albuq. where we had 30-minute Spanish lessons twice a
week in 5th and 6th grade. After that, it was an elective. Jeez, even
kids named Baca and Rodriquez didn't speak Spanish. My family went to
restaurants rarely and my mother didn't cook Mexican food.

(I left out the rellenos because I didn't want to go over every single
point. I also left out the beer and avocado.)

>>>
>>>Why do people who don't like food work in food stores?

>>
>>For the money, you mean toad. There are millions of people in this
>>country who've never eaten cilantro or kiwi or jicama, and have no
>>idea what they are nor what they look like. Ignorance isn't stupidity.

>
>Mean toad? A Frogleg called a modom a toad!


And I thought long and hard about it, too. It's the first time I've
ever made an ad hominem attack in a newsgroup. However, I *do* get
stirred up by those who post "look how clever I am and how stupid and
silly the person who waits on me is. Isn't this amusing?" It's *not*
amusing. It's mean-spirited and ugly.
>
>Actually, I believe we've failed to communicate on this matter. If
>you are interested, you might look at some of my other responses in
>this thread to get a better understanding of my attitude which has
>little to do with meanness. It's not the lack of knowledge, but the
>lack of inquisitiveness.


Yes, I read how you worked "one summer" in a box factory. And when
your shift was over, did you explore the factory and find out all you
could about the process? Or did you just want to get the hell out of
there? In your own story, the clerk was wondering about kiwis,
'though it beats me why she couldn't just go look. However, I expect
by the end of the day, a little extra walking across the store
wouldn't be a treat. She *was* at least mildly inquisitive, just not
passionately interested in your jicama chat.

>And there are other places to work here besides that market.


Fine. You go back to that store, ask if she's satisfied with her job,
and if she isn't, tell her you'll find a better one for her. And
manage her life and education, to boot.
  #29 (permalink)   Report Post  
Cindy hamilton
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

Frogleg > wrote in message >. ..
> On Sun, 07 Mar 2004 19:44:23 -0600, modom > wrote:


> Odd that she should have been looking between H and K for something
> you told her begins with J. Oh, J *is* between H and K. And so sad she
> hadn't studied Spanish.


Why? (Why Spanish in particular, I mean.)

I never studied Spanish (chose German instead). Of course, I've
picked up quite a few Spanish food words along the way, just because
I'm curious.

Cindy Hamilton
  #30 (permalink)   Report Post  
Nancy Young
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

Frogleg wrote:

> And I thought long and hard about it, too. It's the first time I've
> ever made an ad hominem attack in a newsgroup.


Michael Odom strikes me as one of the nicest people here.

> However, I *do* get
> stirred up by those who post "look how clever I am and how stupid and
> silly the person who waits on me is. Isn't this amusing?" It's *not*
> amusing. It's mean-spirited and ugly.


I think you're going overboard, reading the situation far too
harshly. He didn't berate the woman or anything, he just told a
story about his shopping experience. I thought it was interesting
and I was surprised that she actually said she was waiting for
someone to bring her kiwis to check out.

Okay, I was taken aback, I thought, does this store not sell kiwis?
If she was at all curious, why not take a spin around the produce
aisle. I would! People here have mentioned many, MANY things that
I have made a point to seek out next time I was in the grocery store
so I'd know what they were talking about.

> >Actually, I believe we've failed to communicate on this matter. If
> >you are interested, you might look at some of my other responses in
> >this thread to get a better understanding of my attitude which has
> >little to do with meanness. It's not the lack of knowledge, but the
> >lack of inquisitiveness.

>
> Yes, I read how you worked "one summer" in a box factory. And when
> your shift was over, did you explore the factory and find out all you
> could about the process? Or did you just want to get the hell out of
> there? In your own story, the clerk was wondering about kiwis,
> 'though it beats me why she couldn't just go look. However, I expect
> by the end of the day, a little extra walking across the store
> wouldn't be a treat. She *was* at least mildly inquisitive, just not
> passionately interested in your jicama chat.


Actually, it should, in my opinion, be mandatory for the checkout
people to have a pretty good knowledge of the produce available in
the store. It's part of their job to know what it is. They have
to check it out. Now, Mike probably did not need to know what
happened elsewhere in the factory, it didn't impact his job. Apples
and oranges.

nancy


  #31 (permalink)   Report Post  
modom
 
Posts: n/a
Default modom's bona fides (was: I only eat - uh - normal stuff)


I wrote:
>>>>Why do people who don't like food work in food stores?
>>>


Forgleg wrote:
>>>For the money, you mean toad. There are millions of people in this
>>>country who've never eaten cilantro or kiwi or jicama, and have no
>>>idea what they are nor what they look like. Ignorance isn't stupidity.

>>

I wrote:
>>Mean toad? A Frogleg called a modom a toad!

>

Frogleg wrote:
>And I thought long and hard about it, too. It's the first time I've
>ever made an ad hominem attack in a newsgroup. However, I *do* get
>stirred up by those who post "look how clever I am and how stupid and
>silly the person who waits on me is. Isn't this amusing?" It's *not*
>amusing. It's mean-spirited and ugly.


I suppose it was the overall tenor of my story that got under your
skin. And while I can see why you may feel called upon to defend the
common woman from what appears to you to have been an assault from an
upper-class twit, your attack just doesn't seem warrented.
>>

I wrote:
>>Actually, I believe we've failed to communicate on this matter. If
>>you are interested, you might look at some of my other responses in
>>this thread to get a better understanding of my attitude which has
>>little to do with meanness. It's not the lack of knowledge, but the
>>lack of inquisitiveness.

>

Frogleg wrote:
>Yes, I read how you worked "one summer" in a box factory. And when
>your shift was over, did you explore the factory and find out all you
>could about the process? Or did you just want to get the hell out of
>there? In your own story, the clerk was wondering about kiwis,
>'though it beats me why she couldn't just go look. However, I expect
>by the end of the day, a little extra walking across the store
>wouldn't be a treat. She *was* at least mildly inquisitive, just not
>passionately interested in your jicama chat.


Some McJob bona fides: After my shift at the box factory, I went home
and washed the sweat and grime from my body. Slammed down some dinner
(OBFood) and went to a second job dipping ice cream (OBFood). That
lasted for about a month before exhaustion forced me to quit the
second job. It was probably just as well since the scabs on my arms
from the hotmelt caused more than a little worry among the customers
watching me hand pack their pints of rocky road (OBFood). The factory
was rather small, so I was aware of the other workers' duties and
working conditions. Besides being a YMCA day camp "counselor", it was
my first job and so I wasn't aware of the proper pace of work under
such conditions. The heat was terrible. I remember on my first day
when I was told to load a pile of wood scraps into a dumpster, an old
African American man at a saw station cam over and told me to slow
down or I'd kill myself. It was a rather large pile of scraps.

Some years later, I worked for a little over a year as a grease monkey
in a university motor pool. Boy can I change a tire. And oil
changes? I can do them under water. The supervisor there finally
drove me to quit. He was a pathologically racist, sexist bully. He
was also very fat and had high blood pressure. I bought him donuts
(OBFood) every day in a failed, sick plot to kill him.

Next I worked for a little over three years in various positions for a
community-based service for mentally retarded adults. Split shifts
making breakfast and dinner (OBFood) for semi-independent men living
in rental houses; working in a sheltered workshop with men and women,
combining product assembly and life-skills training, showering with
one man every now and then when he'd soiled himself (he was not
capable of washing himself), dealing with seizures and bizarre
behaviors. I never made more than $700 a month at that place. But I
attended numerous workshops on job-related issues to better my
performance.

There are others, but nobody cares.
>

I wrote:
>>And there are other places to work here besides that market.

>

Frogleg wrote:
>Fine. You go back to that store, ask if she's satisfied with her job,
>and if she isn't, tell her you'll find a better one for her. And
>manage her life and education, to boot.


This doesn't seem to follow. You are talking to an imaginary modom,
not me.

modom
  #34 (permalink)   Report Post  
Rona Yuthasastrakosol
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

"Frogleg" > wrote in message
...
>
> It would be very nice if that were possible.


Of course it's possible. There is absolutely no reason why it would be
*impossible* unless the cashier were forbidden from entering any other part
of the store (or any other supermarket, for that matter) whether working or
not.

>However, in a non-union
> shop, these are nearly all part-time (no benefits), close to
> minimum-wage workers. For the most part, they come and go with the
> tide. The store has no reason to spend time training them beyond the
> basics.
>


How much one gets paid or how many benefits one gets should have little to
do with the quality of work produced. Whatever job one does should be done
to the best of one's ability. I worked in retail for 3 years and hated it
as much as I could hate anything (that job was, btw, what drove me to
swear--I very rarely did before that). However, I was still the top
salesperson in my store and other stores in the area would call me to work
for them as much as my manager would allow. It was a non-union store with
no benefits and I was paid minimum wage. Does that mean I should have
slacked off? It's amazing to me how many excuses people can make for doing
a shitty job and being lazy. "I'm getting paid minimum wage so it's OK if I
do a crap job." Have some pride in your work and yourself (that's a general
"your"), for god sake.

rona

--
***For e-mail, replace .com with .ca Sorry for the inconvenience!***


  #36 (permalink)   Report Post  
maxine in ri
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

Nancy Young wrote:

> Actually, it should, in my opinion, be mandatory for the checkout
> people to have a pretty good knowledge of the produce available in
> the store. It's part of their job to know what it is. They have
> to check it out. Now, Mike probably did not need to know what
> happened elsewhere in the factory, it didn't impact his job. Apples
> and oranges.
>
> nancy


In most of the markets I've been in, I've found at one time or
another trainees being led through the produce department, item by
item.

And with the blow-on stickers on almost every piece of produce, they
should be able to find the code for what it is.

maxine in ri
  #37 (permalink)   Report Post  
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff

modom > wrote:

> Why do people who don't like food work in food stores?


No one detests all foods unless they have an eating disorder.
No one works in a grocery store unless they have no other way
to earn money. I worked in a small grocery store once; it was
a major pain in the neck.
  #39 (permalink)   Report Post  
Lynne
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff (warning: rant)

To this day I can not understand how any American high school graduate
can not know what a lime looks like. Confuse pepper varieties? True, not
even people who probably should know, can. Cilantro vs. parsley? Happens
every day. Not saying it doesn't bother me.. Because after 14 years I'm
still teaching my poor dh how to differentiate the latter, who has bought
and used (and grown!) them for as long as I have. Tsk!
It is said there are many types of intelligences; and (arguably) one of
them is the kind that one can differentiate details between items such as,
say, similar-looking plants (can you tell the difference between a
leaf-branch of ash-leaved maple, and poison ivy without them being
side-by-side, for instance?). Presumably something to do with survival.
But.. limes? I very don't get it. What much else does it resemble, in the
average American grocery store? Overall I think I'd give the poor girl
credit, since she kept an open mind about things she knew "might be out
there" (beyond her limited scope of recognition), and didn't make any
assumptions. Although still I think she'll end up wiping her ass with a
poison ivy leaf....
In a grocery store a few miles outside Florida I bought a couple of
limes. Just those typical, all-green, citrus fruit we all(?) know as "a
lime". Might've been Persian, might've been Mexican, but not to be confused
with its cousin "the lemon" which, except for its color it could resemble.
The cashier looks at the fruit, asks: "Is this a lemonlime?" Right; one
word. "Lemonlime."
Here this and the, "Does this annoy anyone" thread may cross. If the
person's parents never used any real lemon or lime juice for anything they
ever made (well even the containers have pics, don't they - or are even
shaped like the actual fruit!); then maybe they always only bought
"lemon-lime" jello, or "lemon-lime" koolaid, lemon-lime soda.... Sad.
Or, that girl spent her childhood watching tv instead of observing the
world around her. (Remember the old 7-Up commercial: Made with "lymons"?).
SuperSonic Sad.
Maybe someone will tell me I'm being vicious and arrogant? Well then,
sobeit.
The next cashier who has a clue, I'm going to tip them.

vent/









"modom" > wrote in message
...
> That's what the checker at the "super"market told me yesterday as she
> tried in vain to look up my veggies in her sku list. I'd presented
> her with:
>
> 3 limes ("Are all of these limes? " Yup. "I'm waiting for somebody
> to show me a kiwi, and I just thought..." Kiwis are furry. "Oh.")
>
> 1 poblano chile. (Her tragic look caused me to volunteer its name
> before the question was formed, but she still couldn't find it on her
> list. The sacker rescued her.)
>
> 1 avocado (got it!)
>
> 1 six pack of beer (got it again!)
>
> 1 sirloin steak (bar code to the rescue!)
>
> 1 bunch cilantro ("Parsley?" Nope.)
>
> 1 jicama (ruh-roh... It's a jicama, with a J, I pipe cheerfully and
> proactively. She searched and searched. "It's not on the list. It
> should be here between the H's and the K's, but it's not." I guess
> there weren't any I's. The friendly sacker strikes out, too, so off
> he trots to the produce section to discover the price. 99 cents, says
> I, too late.)
>
> I try to tell her about jicamas, but her eyes grow sheets of
> Plexiglass and her posture displays the same lack of attention I've
> seen in a dachshund with a full belly. Well, I offer brightly, I
> really put you through a produce test, but this stuff is good.
> Poblanos are used for chile rellenos. Did you ever have a chile
> relleno? Her reply is the headline. She lives in Texas.
>
> Why do people who don't like food work in food stores?
>
> Here's a salad idea:
>
> Thinly slice about 1/4 medium jicama (peeled). Add a sliced blood
> orange (don't try to find one in Cow Hill, however), a sliced navel
> orange, and a sliced avocado. Squeeze half a lime over the above
> stuff, and add a generous splash EVOO. Add a scant tsp ground New
> Mexico red chiles. Salt and pepper. Toss. Serve slightly chilled.
>
> modom



  #40 (permalink)   Report Post  
Gabby
 
Posts: n/a
Default I only eat - uh - normal stuff


"Frogleg" > wrote in message
...
> Yes, I read how you worked "one summer" in a box factory. And when
> your shift was over, did you explore the factory and find out all you
> could about the process?


I tried that when I worked in a plant that made electrical components. I'm
very curious, so I asked my supervisors what was done with the components we
were making.
"They're put in boxes and shipped to Montreal."
"No, no, I mean what are they used for?"
"We have no reason to know that. Ours is only to make sure they meet the
specs."
"Okay, sorry I asked."
Nobody, but nobody had any interest beyond their little machine that spun
wires.

Gabby


Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules

Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Normal Food For Normal People Normal Food General Cooking 2 02-05-2012 03:59 PM
Normal Food For Normal People Stephen Andrews General Cooking 28 18-04-2012 09:09 PM
back to normal (for me, at least) Cindy Fuller General Cooking 22 14-10-2007 01:30 AM
I only eat normal stuff Michael Odom General Cooking 15 19-12-2004 06:19 PM
is this normal? V. Stafford Sushi 11 26-11-2003 01:20 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 04:27 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 FoodBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.
 

About Us

"It's about Food and drink"